Customer Reviews

Moondeath

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Rick Hautala is Maine's OTHER horror writer (I don't recall who the fellow is right now) and he is quite a good one. Hautala's strong point has always been his firm grip of character and motivation, and the mechanics of the horror story itself. Moondeath, on the surface, would seem to be a standard werewolf thriller, but Hautala rips the rug out from beneath your feet. A worthwhile addtition to any horror fan's library. Recommended.

Moondeath, Rick Hautala's first published horror novel, centers around a small town that is slowing seeing its population decreasing. The main character guesses the origin of the creature, but is unable to convince the longtime citizens. The town always reports the deaths to the media in a way that makes no mention of animal attacks. The conclusion is a little weak, especially after the long buildup.

Although predictable, the novel is still entertaining. Hautala's style is very smooth and the novel is an easy read. This is not his best work, nor the one for which he is best known. If you can locate a copy, read "Little Brothers". Others which I highly recommend are "Night Stone" and "Moon Walker". While long out-of-print, it's worth the effort to try to locate a copy of each.

I just recently discovered this novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a dearth of good werewolf novels out there and this deserves to be ranked highly among them. The obvious similarity would be to `Salem's Lot. A werewolf suddenly appears in a Peyton Place-like New England town. Of course, nobody really knows it is a werewolf - there are just unexplained deaths around each full moon. The novel takes its time building suspense and developing the relationships among all the characters of the small community.

This is a well-written first novel that deals well with the concept of lycanthropy. It doesn't treat it ironically as many recent novels have. A worthwhile read!