Customer Reviews

New Moon: Book One of the Oran Trilogy

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

 

 

I happened to be lucky enough to pick up the other 2 books in the New Moon trilogy; all in all, it has to be one of the best series I've ever read. Likeable characters, marvelous descriptions that bring the setting to life... everything anyone could ask for. It's just unfortunate that you have to search hard to find this first one... you can read the other 2 without reading "New Moon" first, but I recommend searching for it, as it gives some of the background that is only touched upon in the other 2.

This book is by far one of the better fantasy books that I have read in a long, long time. It contained everything one could ever want in a fantasy novel - mystery, suspense, intrigue, magic, and a bit of that 'something else' that makes it so special. The only problem i have with it is that it is so difficult to find, as are its sequels. The characters of the novel are endearing and one quickly grows fond of them. All in all, a brilliant book

"New Moon" was a very good start to what promises to be a great trilogy. The book opens the trilogy with the many plots being hatched in the country of Oran due to the misrule and oppression of its queen. Two hundred years ago, the queen, part of a quartet of queens who each ruled an element (Air, Water, Earth or Fire), upset the balance of magic and power in the city by killing her sister queens.

Now, common laborers and nobles are uniting in an underground movement called New Moon, with the thought to take back the city of Beldan (which I am guessing is the capitol, since the queen lives there). But there's more than just that going on. While New Moon gains followers, two girls meet randomly who could play a part in bringing balance back to the magic of the city.

This book is full of nonstop action. Characterization is shown through action over internal dialogue (although there is a little bit of that).

I picked this book up as the reissue edition. I don't know what the out-of-print version was like, but I hope it had better editing than the reissue. Hence the four star mark - there were so many editing flaws that it interrupted the flow of the story.

The other thing I found off kilter about this book was where I had found it in the bookstore - the young adult section. Based on language alone, I would probably shelve this in the adult fantasy section.

Other than that, a solid read and I am looking forward to the second book in the series.

I've read this trilogy several times, and have just started it again. It's very engaging, and the characters are interesting, and, depending on the case, believably endearing and/or repulsive.

However, the thing that really frustrates me every time I read these books is the editing, or lack thereof. This book -hasn't- been edited. It reads like a first draft that the author herself hasn't even looked over. That's not to say the prose isn't good. However, the disgraceful lack of commas and other punctuation really interrupts the flow of the story, and causes one to focus on the words and grammar, rather than the mental imagery, as it should be. Fortunately, though, the frequency of these errors decreases in the later books.

Despite these incredibly irksome problems, the story itself is very good, and well worth reading! (As soon as I'd finished reading the books myself - or perhaps even before getting the second two; I can't remember - I read them to my mother! :P)

I read this book when I was younger and recently found it again while unpacking some old boxes. I immediatly searched out the other two in the series and practically gobbled them up. The writing is rich with images, the prose is beautiful, and the charectars are unforgetable. I have read some of Ms. Snyder's more recent work and can only say that she's gotten even better.

I read the book many years ago and it stuck in my memory - enough that tracked it down again (yeah for amazon searchs) and bought the whole set. I found the type to be a bit small which made it a little uncomfortable when reading for many hours in one sitting. It is a good adventure with strong female characters.

I read this about 4 years ago, and just recently read it again. It is a book rich with fantasy, and Midori Snyder Realy places you within the book itself, characters and places feel real, and the world itself is very much alive. I only wish i could get the other books

Full of back alley twists and turns, magic and intrigue, New Moon begins the series with amazing characters and fun settings that suck you in from the first chapter. I read this book years ago and love the new covers. Don't just buy them one at a time- get all three so you don't have to wait when you've finished the last one.