Customer Reviews

Moongazer (Shomi)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm glad to see that Dorchester's SHOMI imprint may have some hope after all. While I their first offering Wired qualifies as one of the worst books I read all summer, I'm happy to say Mariane Mancusi's Moongazer is the second best.

Skye Brown is a videogame designer haunted by strange dreams. She's been having nightmares of a strange underground world were she's ruthlessly pursued by government soldiers. One night she is pulled across dimensions and wakes up in this strange reality. This has arrived on Terra, a ruined alternate version of Earth. Nuclear war has forced humanity underground. A select few with wealth and power live in luxury while the poorer Dark Siders, the citizens forced to live deeper underground, live in squalor and desperation. Here she must get to the bottom of conflicting claims that Skye is Mariah Quinn, scion of a wealthy family turned leader of a rebellion, or that she is just a girl who resembles Mariah accidentally pulled to Terra through the Moongazing Program, an attempt to relieve overcrowding through immigration to the alternative world.

With a unique well-realized subterranean Las Vegas-like setting and plenty of unexpected plot twists, Moongazer hits all the right the notes. Complementing the action is a competently written romance between Skye and follow rebel Dawn Grey. Skye is a well-written character who acts with believable skepticism at first to her new surroundings and undergoes a plausible character evolution as she discovers the truth of things. It's a real page-turner and there were times that I found it hard to tear myself away from the world of Moongazer. The ending is a bit open ended though. Is it too much to hope for a sequel?

I really wanted to like this book. When I first saw it, I'll admit that I was drawn to it by the artwork and then the description on the back, along with the first chapter which I read while shopping. But as I dived further into the world, it began to lose its luster, and slowed to a screeching halt.

Kudos to Dorchester for all the risks it lets its authors take with lines like Shomi. It gives me hope.

Moongazer is the second book released from the manga-esque line Shomi and it's just as good as Liz Maverick's Wired.

In this story, Mancusi gives us Skye, but is she Mariah? And a dimension flipping world of Terra, devastated by war and famine and those lucky souls who leave through Moongazing to live on Earth.

Skye gets pulled to Terra where people there think she's a revolutionary named Mariah, including the very sexy blond who whisks her away on his hoverbike.

Mancusi delivers lots of taut action, steamy romance and excellent storytelling and I can't say enough wonderful stuff about Moongazing so I'll close by urging you all to get out and grab this one for yourselves.

First, I wanted to like this book, I really did. I usually love books with futuristic settings and slightly quirky romances. The premise was good- a woman who seems to travel between worlds, and the main character is interesting, as a geeky gamer girl/cultural icon. Normally, I don't post negative reviews, but I'd heard such good things about this book and wanted to let other readers know that they might need to temper their expectations. Jayne Castle crossed with J.D. Robb/Kelley Armstrong/Sherrilyn Kenyon/Sharon Shinn, it is not. Yes, perhaps that was high hopes, but with such rave reviews...

I found the actual plot progression between the two romantic interests quite unbelievable and the author's writing style off-putting. Additionally, Skye's inner pondering and pouting pushed me away more than they pulled me in. The premise also reminded me of Piers Anthony's Total Recall a bit, but not nearly as interesting.

This book gets a tepid "Meh" from me. Won't be reading this author again.

Dorchester SHOMI continues the theme of alternative reality with MOONGAZER the second title in this new action romance imprint.

Skye Brown is a game designer for Chix0r an all female video company based in New York City. With a deadline for a new game imminent, Skye is troubled by dreams that are interfering with her work as well as her sleep. The dreams involve a post-apocalyptic underground world called Terra, which has striking similarities to Earth. There she finds herself a fugitive on the run from government soldiers.

Skye is given a cryptic message by her yoga instructor to find Dawn and avoid Duske. In actuality Glenda is an Eclipser sent to pull Skye back with her to Terra. With each dream Skye's own memories blur and Terra becomes more real. There people know her as Mariah Quinn, a revolutionary leader of the Eclipsers, a group of rebel Indy's who hope to free the Dark Siders (irradiated mutants kept as slaves) from the oppressive Council she'd been born to govern. Only if Dawn Grey is to be believed she'd betrayed their cause on the very night of their uprising. Dawn had once been her lover but now he has nothing but contempt for her.

The government has developed the Moongazing program to give the people of Terra new hope. Or so they said. Those with enough money could "gaze into the moon" and visit Earth. It was a chance to escape the reality of a war torn Terra, to live above ground in a world free of radiation and to take on whatever role they chose to play. Some chose to visit regularly, others chose to relocate permanently.

Mariah had investigated the Gazing experience hoping to expose government crimes but once involved had become addicted to the Gazer's inhalant and had wanted nothing more than to stay on Earth forever. She had left the resistance at the most critical moment. But because Dawn had loved her, he had hidden her behavior from the Eclipsers and the Dark Siders who continued to worship her. To the Eclipsers Mariah is their savior, which is why they have forcibly pulled her (Skye) back from Earth. In spite of Skye's protests that she is not the person they seek, even her fingerprints match the missing leader's. Dawn believes the drugs have simply taken away her memories.

Senator Duske of the Council of Eight, the totalitarian government of Terra, has a different explanation. He accepts her identity of Skye Brown, Earthling computer geek and he is willing to send her back home if she will agree to talk up Earth at a Moongazing seminar. Who to believe? Duske, the wealthy politician who can give her back the only identity she's ever known, or Dawn, the courageous, caring neuro-Terran soldier who risks his life on a daily basis to put an end to the unspeakable atrocities perpetrated on his people - a meaningless existence or a just cause and the man she is rapidly coming to love? At what point does reality cease to matter?

The book is written in such a way that even the reader is unsure of her true identity until the last possible moment. And the truth is mind blowing! The SHOMI imprint is geared to attract a younger adult audience and this tale has done its job admirably. The gaming generation will love it. For the more mature reader never fear, there is enough romance, fantasy and suspense to keep anyone riveted. I found myself unable to put the book down until the very last word had been savored. Written in the first person the reader will follow Skye herself through layers of intrigue, twists and turns, moves and countermoves to the stunning conclusion. Kudos to Dorchester for this timely concept, and bravo to Ms. Mancusi for crafting a truly engrossing tale. I highly recommend this read.

Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch for PNR Reviews

5/5

Skye Brown, video game designer, New Yorker.........or not? She's been having sleep terror where she's trapped in an underground world running for her life. Trapped between two worlds, one an underground wasteland where everyone insist she is their rebel queen Mariah. One where her life make sense, New York where she is happy, has a boyfriend, job and a life as Skye. Can she believe her memories or are they the ultimate betrayal?

Dystopian storytelling at its best!!!! Mancusi does an excellent job with her characters, plot, setting, and relationships. I could feel each and every character, see where they lived, and in some parts almost smell it. Great job with all aspects of this novel!!!

The author originally wrote this story as a screenplay for a university course, and it benefits us all that she resurrected it as this novel. I sorely miss Dorchester's SHOMI imprint, and MOONGAZER was not only one of its launch titles, but also one of the best. The whole concept - even the name - of Moongazing, what it entails, its effects, why it exists...everything is brilliantly executed. The different societies - and how they each operate separately and together - humanise Mariah Quinn's world, and the surgeries are always fascinating. Marianne Mancusi may be writing YA vampires nowadays, but her futuristic adult novels are her finest works.

This is the most interesting fiction I have read in years...

What an awesome head trip. It takes an immense amount of mental energy to write novels in the "first-person, I / present tense" narrative, & in this non-stop page-turner, Mancusi seemingly does so without effort. This thought provoking, tightly written, fast moving work is well-planned, well-organized, & well-researched. There are renowned authors who publish 600 page door-stops by the arm load, with their names printed 2-3 times the size of their titles, who throw their books together & expect me to just roll with it, because they're famous, & because I always have in the past--who do not write as well as this author did. Mancusi knows her subject matter (ie. the structure & function of MMO-RPG gaming, socio-political unrest, & young love...) and she put her heart & soul into producing an entertaining, highly intriguing, incredibly readable, quality sci-fi romance.

Regardless of a few typos that slipped past the editor, the author wields the English language as proficiently as Skye Brown wields her sword. It consistently held my interest, the ending was not predictable 100 pages in advance (or even 30...), I found its characters likable & engaging, & I was never bored. King & Roberts could take lessons... I would recommend "Moongazer" to fans of science fiction, romance novels, &/or on-line gaming. And, to people who have taken SSRIs that knocked them into another world nightly as they slept.

This novel exceeded my expectations, I was a little sad to see the last page arrive, & I really wish I could read more fiction like this. If a sequel emerges, I want to read it.

However, if the reader cannot define what an MMO-RPG is, & has never played one, let alone ever loaded one on a PC screen--its high tech concepts may sail right over their heads. Judging by some of the negative reviews, I think this has happened. But, as for me, I actually logged out of Guild Wars--to go read this book... lol :) Granted you know what that means, there is no higher compliment can I give it!

If you like your books to contain a mix of romance, sci-fi, and action, then Moongazer is a must-read. It hooks you in starting with the first page and not once loses its fast-paced momentum. The post-apocalyptic world Mancusi has created is compelling, as are Skye's struggles as she tries to unravel her true identity and which reality to believe in -- the life she believes to have on Earth, or the darker version of it that she doesn't even recall in the world known as Terra. Skye's first-person narration is delightful to read and is enough to keep your eyes glued to the pages even if the book wasn't filled with impressive world-building and clever plot twists. I especially loved how Skye was a video game designer, for it added different depths to the quandary of reality. The romance that develops between Skye and Dawn helps keep the story grounded amidst the action and will draw you in as much as the other gripping aspects of the book. The characters have great chemistry together, adding just the right amount of tension to an already suspenseful plot. Moongazer is one of the better paranormal romances I have read in a while, and I recommend that you take a break from reality and pick up your own copy to immerse yourself in now.

I've been a fan of paranormal romance since Christine Feehan first introduced us to her Carpathians nearly ten years ago. While I still love the genre, there have been so many vampire/werewolf novels lately that I was itching to read something different, something that pushed the envelope of paranormal romance.

With a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat and twists that keep you guessing until the very end, Moongazer is everything I could have hoped for and more. I absolutely could not put this book down.