Customer Reviews

Moon

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A schoolteacher, Jonathan Childes, has certain psychic abilities over which he has little control. A Sadistic Killer keeps on putting visions in his head of gruesome murders. Sometimes even before the murder happens.

Jon Childes has created a new life for himself on an Island off the coast of England. His dark secrets from the past are shared only with his new girlfriend as he tries to create a safe haven for himself and forget the events from the previous year. But the visions surface once again and it brings evil, which threatens everyone Jon has become close to. The Killer finds out where Jon is hiding and comes to inflict more pain. Definitely not for the faint hearted.

The story starts off a little slow then picks up and you are dragged along with the horror of it. The ending is totally different.

I have read HAUNTED which is a 4 star but my favourite of his is NOBODY TRUE 5 star. My accurate rating on MOON would be a 3.5 not as good as his others but still worth a look.

Having previously read books such as "The Fog", "The Rats" and "The Dark" by Herbert, I found this book to be very different from the type of storie he has written in the past. The other books focuses on gore, violence and mass-destruction, whereas Moon tended to be more syspence-and-mystery type horror.

Jonathan Childes is a physic who helps the police investigate matters such as child murder. When he is called to an island to investigate strange goings on he witnesses a series of brutal murders, and shares a frightening psychic connection to the killer.

Good story when kept me gripped and had a good ending.

I've read all of James Herbert's books and, usually, they get a tad homogenous after a while. Enjoyable - but similar. _Moon_ is a departure from that. It does follow Herbert's favorite type of character - an ordinary man forced into an extraordinary situation - but this offering is better than most. The characters and the Jersey Island setting are particularly engaging and the antagonist is exceedingly chilling - more so than usual. This book is Herbert at his near-best.

Moon

Moon is a story about knowing ones self and accepting yourself for who you are. In the end we control our destiny, we have the power within ourselves to be all we can be; we just have to learn to guide this source and not let it guide us.

Jon Childes has created a new life for himself on an Island off the coast of England. His dark secrets from the past are shared only with his new girlfriend as he tries to create a safe haven for himself and forget the events from the previous year. This is not to be so, Jon has a certain power that has surfaced once again, and it brings evil, which threatens everyone Jon has become close to.

James Herbert's writing is sleek and fast; his prose at times seems less than refined but in the end his command of the English language dose surface and shine through.

This is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Having read "The Fog", an absolutely terrific book by this author, I looked forward to reading this one. I am sorry to say that this book does not even begin to compare to "The Fog", a book that is superior in every way to this effort.

The plot is simple. A schoolteacher, Jonathan Childes, has certain psychic abilities over which he has little control. He can apparently meld his mind with that of a sadistic killer. Unfortunately for him, this killer is aware of Childes' mental intrusion and deduces who and where Childes is.

Some tension is created by having Childes become a suspect in a series of murders of which Childes is aware due to his mind meld with the actual killer. His knowledge is a double edged sword. The killer then decides to bring his handiwork a little too close to home for Childes' tastes, and the plot thickens.

This book is mildly entertaining at best, as the tension does not really hold up. Moreover, the ending is somewhat ridiculous and disappointing, reminiscent of a promise unfulfilled. The author is certainly capable of better. If one is looking for a book of unrelenting horror, then this is not the book for which one is looking. It is more of a murder mystery with supernatural overtones, and a somewhat mediocre one, at that.

Having read "The Fog", an absolutely terrific book by this author, I looked forward to reading this one. I am sorry to say that this book does not even begin to compare to "The Fog", a book that is superior in every way to this effort.

The plot is simple. A schoolteacher, Jonathan Childes, has certain psychic abilities over which he has little control. He can apparently meld his mind with that of a sadistic killer. Unfortunately for him, this killer is aware of Childes' mental intrusion and deduces who and where Childes is.

Some tension is created by having Childes become a suspect in a series of murders of which Childes is aware due to his mind meld with the actual killer. His knowledge is a double edged sword. The killer then decides to bring his handiwork a little too close to home for Childes' tastes, and the plot thickens.

This book is mildly entertaining at best, as the tension does not really hold up. Moreover, the ending is somewhat ridiculous and disappointing, reminiscent of a promise unfulfilled. The author is certainly capable of better. If one is looking for a book of unrelenting horror, then this is not the book for which one is looking. It is more of a murder mystery with supernatural overtones, and a somewhat mediocre one, at that.

I've always made no secret of it that I prefer the realistic/ suspense kind of horror novel over the supernatural one (Jimmy, if you're reading this, sorry). I always loved James Herbert and he's becoming more and more of an idol to me. However, most of his novels have dealt with the supernatural. MOON to me is a welcome exception to this rule and that's why I think it's also his best.

Why Herbert has always so appealed to me is that nine out of ten times he uses the same set up: There's always this one, male character who battles seemingly impossible odds but stays this realistic often flawed human being. He wins in the end, but it's how he gets there that's important, and it's never an easy road he has to travel!
The other element his books always have (untill his last ones, like CREED, OTHERS and ONCE) is these amazing setpieces which are almost like scenes out of a slashermovie. They always go like this: There's a character introduced in a few pages, we follow them and think the're going to play a big part in the novel, but then (totally unexpected) he or she gets it, often in a particulary nasty way....BAM!
I love that, and I love James Hebert for doing that every time!

It may come as no suprise that MOON has these elements also. I'm not going to delve into the plot. The set up is simple (man against lunatic killer) and both the situation and it's island location are used to maximum, often harrowing effect.
To use a cliche; read the book and find out.

James Herbert is no literary writer (read Ramsey Campbell if you prefer your horror that way). He is however capable of making a juicy, fastpaced horrornovel which - in case of MOON - never disappoints!

I see MOON is out of print in the States. However Amazon.co.uk has this, and most of Herbert's titles in stock in a cool new MacMillan paperback edition, all with similar covers and packaging.
THIS IS MUST READ FOR HORROR FANS!

In Moon, Herbert creates an evil shared by all of us in the darkest regions of our common soul. Most of us can't see it, so we blithely go through our lives ignorant of the peril within. But for those who can peer into that darkness, the horror is manifest, consuming, even gleeful in its glorification of utter pain and degradation. In comparison to James Herbert, Stephen King sounds like Shirley Temple.