Customer Reviews

Moondust and Madness

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I cannot believe I read the same book the other reviewers say was horrible. This is absolutely my favorite book of all time, one that I have re-read over and over for the past ten years. The love Varian has for Jana is the stuff women dream about and for me that is the whole point of a romance novel, to be taken out of reality for a few hours. Janelle Taylor is a fabulous author who creates memorable characters you remember even long after the book is finished.

I would also recommend the sequel Stardust and Shadows which is just as good. Beware of the love scenes, as another reader said they are not for the faint of heart :)

There's a reason this thing is out of print. The characters are shallow caricatures of stereotypes. The writing is poor and the plot predictable. There is a romance, and there is lust, which is really what the book is about. It's just done so badly that it becomes more amusing then anything else. But what truly offended me about this book was it's science fiction designation. Space ships, zap guns and humans in alien suits don't make a story SF.

Moondust and Maddness was the first romance I read, and being a Si-Fi reader, also, I LOVED it! Taylor has writen an intreging romance. With well thought out plots and just enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the book.... so three cheers for Taylor and a word of encoragement to write more about our mysterious Space Pirate and beautiful Moonbeam

If you are looking for a trashy porn novel with sex scenes that read like a play-by-play from a game of twister with tripple-jointed aliens, this could well be the book for you. The author seems to have moral sensibilities not too unlike those of John Norman of "Gor" series fame, as evidenced by the following quote: "He shuddered to think he might never have discovered or experienced this if Jana hadn't entered his life, if they hadn't yielded to the chemistry between them, if he hadn't purchased her at the auction." While an abysmal book, Moondust and Madness makes a great party game: Open up to a random page and start reading until you crack up. I think the record was half a page, when we played this game in college.

Wow! This is one of the corniest books I've read in a long time. I couldn't even finish it, even though I got more than half-way through. At first I tried to give the author the excuse that it was published more than twenty years ago, but after continuing on, I came to realize the author was writing a lot, but saying very little. The story could have had potential, but the author's use of description just got ridiculous. The redundant use of "evil", "demonic", and "satanic" just made me laugh at first but then it got annoying. I mean seriously, does every negative action by one of the character need to be described by those adjective?

Then there's the blatant rip-off of terminology many of us are probably aware of having been used in the various Star Trek shows we've seen (or had to see since Trekkies lurk everywhere). I'm pretty sure there were more than I noticed, but I kept thinking of Captain Kirk or Captain Picard whenever I'd read the term "Star Fleet" (or other similar ones used from the shows).

And the characters! Yikes! They had no problem voicing their feelings, yet everyone keeps "wondering" why the other person does what they did to "hurt" them... It's like they have VERY short-term memory! I've never known guys to be so vocal about what's on their mind!

Maybe I'm just the type to expect more from a book, but this one was lacking in so many ways! Spend your time looking for a better sci-fi romance elsewhere and you'll never miss the fact you skipped out on this one (unless you're looking for a roller-coaster ride of absurdity).

I first read this book in 1990, and probably reread it and its sequals at least once a year...it never gets old to me... maybe its the little girl in me still.

I am not a big "romance" reader, but I absolutely love science fiction, and this series just captures you from the start and does not disappoint. I highly recommend it if you can find it

It disturbs me to think that a woman wrote this book. This replay of the old "Mars needs women" cliche gives us an earth woman who is kidnapped by aliens as a sex slave, then finds true love with her enslaver. I thought that kind of masochistic nonsense was a thing of the past.

I have to agree that this series is one of my all time favorites! It seems to me that some people just wander around their little worlds picking up books and dont even bother to read what its about. Call me crazy but if your into SF why are you reading a romance book? These types of books are to entertain us and take us away from everyday strain. I loved the book. The characters are great, the plot moves right along, the story is great, and your a complete boob if you take these books so seriously. Highly recomended if you need a break from this hectic world.

I was looking over all the reviews and was amazed at what they said. Although the book was extremely R rated at times the rest of book was great. It was both, exciting and well written.

I've read all of the reviews on this book and some are pretty harsh. Janelle Taylor is a great author and her books usually get you so hooked that you can't put them down until they are finished. Here are some things to consider when reading this book aside from the fact that it is a Janelle Taylor book and she is an awesome writer.

It was published in 1986, when futuristic romances were just starting to get popular, they were few and far between. This book was very inovative for its time. Most of your romances were historical westerns, pirate novels, victorians, midevil times, and occasionally harem books. The heroines were all beautiful and perfect, never a zit on their face or an ounce of fat, and half the time they were helpless and swooned all the time. The Hero's were big, buff, powerful, arrogant, rich, and took what they wanted withtout asking. Usually there was some terrible evil person that wanted to harm the H/H, Or the Hero treated the Heroine like crap for half the book and then they forgive each other and live happily ever after. Totally different from the books of today. Pick up a historical romance published around the same time and you will see what I am talking about.

Now all you can find are books about vampires, witches, demons, werewolves, & futuristic books, with all kinds of new and interesting terms and descriptions for space ships etc. The H/H are more realistic and allowed to have flaws. The Heroines are stronger, more independent and can kick some major butt. One reviewer called this porn. The sex scenes are tame compared current books. My mom picked up a book on the regular romance shelf recently that had BDSM(look it up on wikipedia) themes.

Moondust & Madness was one of the pioneers of the futuristic romance book. If popular authors like Janelle Taylor and Johanna Lindsay hadn't Taken the risk, we might be reading a different type of romance book.