Dark of the Moon [Hardcover]

P C Hodgell (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: HYPATIA PRESS; First Thus,First Print edition (January 1, 1994)
• ISBN-10: 0940841428
• ISBN-13: 978-0940841420
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,131,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pat Hodgell can't remember a time when she wasn't passionately interested in science fiction and fantasy. She's sold stories to such anthologies as Berkley Showcase, Elsewhere III, and Imaginary Lands and has also published four novels. God Stalk and Dark of the Moon, the novels included in The God Stalker Chronicles, begin her critically praised fantasy saga which is concerned not! only with high adventure, but also with questions of personal identity, religion, politics, honor, and arboreal drift. She earned her doctorate at the University of Minnesota with a dissertation on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, and is a graduate of both Clarion and the Milford Writers Workshop. Recently retired, she was a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in modern literature and composition, and teaches an audio-cassette-based course on science fiction and fantasy for the University of Minnesota. Par lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in a nineteenth-century wood-framed house, which has been in her family for generations. In addition to writing and teaching, she attends science fiction conventions, collects yarn, knits, embroiders, raises cats, and makes her own Christmas cards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arguably the finest fantasy fiction that I have ever read., June 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark of the moon (Hardcover)

In her ongoing series centered (more or less) on the lost Kencyr Jame of Knorth, P. C. Hodgell has crafted some of the most compelling fiction that I have ever encountered in any field. She deftly weaves a background culture spanning thiry millenia of warfare into the tangled thread of a charming--but very, very dangerous--young woman's destiny. Full of flawed, human characters that readers can readily identify with--no shining, flawless heroines here!--and leavened with dark, whimsical humor, these books draw you into Jame's life and refuse to let you go. It is a terrible loss to the general fantasy-reading public that only the first two books (Godstalk and Dark of the Moon) have been widely published. Fortunately, the third (Seeker's Mask) and hopefully soon the fourth (Jame Goes to the Citadel) are available in limited editions from Hypatia Press, along with a Jame anthology, Blood and Ivory. I hope that some day, publishers will recognize these treasures for what they are, and help them to reach the larger readership they deserve.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jame times two, August 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Of The Moon (Paperback)

If you've read God Stalk, you already know how incredible a writer P.C. Hodgell is. You're probably looking for Dark of the Moon, its sequel, to be in a setting as claustrophobic, bizzare, zany and ironic as Tai-Tastigon was in the last. Well, it's not. In leaving Tai-Tastigon in her search for her brother, Jame has moved into a harsher world, where her own identity is as lost as her trail. But it's just as compelling, if not more so, for being so different. Jame has to face hard truths about her life and her conduct, and the even harder truth that what she thought was true is only a small part of the reality that is the world of Rathillien. In Dark of the Moon, Tori, her twin, also appears, every bit as intelligent and as lost as Jame, but ten years older and the leader of the Kencyrath, their people. And what a people! Tai-Tastigon's denizens were often frustrating, but always colorful and generally intelligent. In the Kencyrath, the lords which Tori must control are mostly venal, deluded, vain, selfish, crafty, and you occasionally want to punch out even the nice ones-- Tori included. That's (oddly enough) the charm of this book. Hodgell has created a maze of personalities, intersecting in as intricate and deadly a labyrinth as Tai-Tastigon's streets, through which Tori and Jame must maneuver. Like both God Stalk before it and Seeker's Mask after it, Dark of the Moon is a witty, provocative, and dark look at a girl searching for her identity in a world where no one's is certain.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Returning the Sword and Ring, February 12, 2009

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Of The Moon (Paperback)

Dark of the Moon (1985) is the second fantasy novel in the Kencyrath series, following God Stalk. In the previous volume, Jame caused the destruction of the Skyrrman Inn, revived two dead gods and untempled all the rest of the gods in Tai-Tastigon for a night. The city will not be forgetting her for a while.

In this novel, Jamethiel is the daughter of Ganth Gray Lord and Jamethiel Dream-Weaver. She is Highborn and Shanir, with strange powers. She also has a nice set of retractable claws.

Torisen is Jame's twin brother. Since leaving his father's hold, he has trained as a randon and fought with the Southern Host. Three years ago, Tori announced his ancestry and became the Highlord.

Burr is a Kendar who was assigned to take care of Tori by Ardeth, one of the Kencyrath Council. When Tori became the Highlord, Burr stayed with him. Although Tori thinks of him as Ardeth's spy, Burr has long since been bound to the Highlord.

Marcarn is a Kendar who has become Jame's retainer. Seven feet tall, Marc is a formidable warrior. But he keeps getting hit in the head.

Jorin is a young ounce, a cat-like creature. He was born blind and has only partial use of his other senses. Jame sometimes is able to mindlink with Jorin, but the ounce can always see through her eyes.

In this story, Jame, Marc and Jorin head for the Blue Pass to cross the Ebonbane. They encounter wyrsan, a shaper, an Arrin-ken, and the Dream-Weaver herself before they even reach the pass. On the other side, they descend to the town of Peshtar.

They find the town remarkably crowded. The brigands have come down from the mountain to spend their loot. The town only lets one band at a time into the town to reduce the brawling.

Jame is eager to replace her boot, which had been shredded by a wyrsan kit. Since the incidence, she has been wearing one of Marc's mittens on her foot. After obtaining her new boots, they go into a tavern for food and drink.

Unfortunately, Black Band brigands are enjoying themselves in the tavern. One of the brigands is Bortis, who had lost both eyes because of Jame. In the ensuing fight, the townsmen -- with some help from Jame, Marc and Jorin -- eject the brigands from the town. Everyone celebrates until Jame tells them why Bortis wants her.

Meanwhile, Torisen has a group of young Kencyr traveling with him. He is trying to make himself familiar to the youngsters before they become set in their ways. After sending them to bed, Tori and Burr ride off to see Kithorn, where the Merikit had slaughtered a Highborn household.

There Tori finds destruction, but no bones. The young Highborn have been sneaking off to retrieve the bones for decades. It is a rite of passage for the local youths.

Then the Merikit enter the grounds. While escaping, Tori falls into a cellar and finds the bones of a young girl. Burr helps him gather them and then both escape over the parapet and down a tree.

After retrieving their horses, they are on the way out of the grounds when they encounter Caineron. As the Highborn is working up enough nerve to attack Tori, the Merikit rush them. In the confusion, Tori and Burr get away.

This tale includes an invasion of a million Wasters from the desert. The Southern Host goes forth to deter them, but messages sent from the front tell of their destruction. Tori calls for all the Kencyr forces to gather against the invasion. Caineron tries to foil these plans, but stumbles over his own foolishness.

Shapers also work against Tori. Although few in number, they sow fear and confusion among the forces. Jame tries to reach Tori with their father's sword and ring, but shapers are also working against her.

This story is a direct continuation of the previous volume. More is revealed, but much is still left unexplained. The next volume is Seeker's Mask. Read and enjoy.

Highly recommended for Hodgell fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high magic, deadly artifacts, and persevering women.

-Arthur W. Jordin