Customer Reviews

Red Moon and Black Mountain

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

 

 

...you might well produce Joy Chant's RED MOON,
BLACK MOUNTAIN. Oliver, Penelope and Nicholas are
three English children drawn by magical power into
another universe, where they have a role to play
in an upcoming war. I very much enjoyed the
quasi-Celtic culture of the Horse People and
Chant's honest picture of the tribalism. Although
the plot slows in places the sweet, strong language
and beautifully realized world she has invented
easily distracted me from this (minor)flaw.
I read this book first as a teen, then returned to
it after nearly twenty years to find my positive
memories of it justified: Recommended to any
intelligent young person or adult.

I read this book years ago and loved it. A similar start to the Narnia series with children transported to another world, but much more complex and richly drawn. Not only are multiple complex societies presented, she also presents different understandings of what it means to be good and evil. A very satisfying ending, more to it than just the kids come home after saving the day and all is well. I reread it aloud to my young daughter several years after my first reading. She loved it, but it was difficult to read some passages without choking up. Truly a marvelous and under-appreciated classic of fantasy. I am a big fantasy fan. This doesn't have the scope of the current mega-series books by Jordan, Martin, Elliott, etc. but I prefer it to the Narnia books for depth of character, believability, and more nuanced plot, though it does not have Lewis' alagorical foundation. This is one of my primary recommendations to friends considering fantasy or children's fantasy, though it is not always easy to find.

I first read this book when I was 15 years old and it absolutely captivated me. I read it again 25 years later, and it was just as magical. I have never forgotten the bittersweet ending, and just the other day, picked it up and read the last few pages again, and was filled with emotion. Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy - this is as rich as Lord of the Rings, in a different fashion.

I am NOT a big fantasy fan, and found the "children in the woods" start a little offputting, but after the first chapter...I was hooked. The "eagles" chapter is one of the best pieces of writing of this kind ever, including Tolkien. This entire book is worth reading and keeping, because you'll read it over and over, for the pure pleasure of it.

Joy Chant's Red Moon and Black Mountain was probably my favorite book as a young adult. Though obscure and woefully under acknowledged, this 'modern day people drop into alien world' saga is the absolute BEST of it's ilk. It combines both mysticism and fantasy, battle and intrigue into an absolutely spellbinding story. I truly think this marvellous work is dismissed by many as being another 'Tolkien lite' but the story is so much, MUCH more. Like Tolkien, Ms. Chant is able to define several rich and varied cultures and do so skillfully in the same book - but that is where the similarity ends! The Hurnei bear very little resemblance to Tolkien's horse peoples - and their culture is, in fact, much more richly detailed (in The Grey Mane of Morning - another of Ms. Chant's books in this universe) than Tolkien's Rohirrim.

There are images and names in this book that I have kept in my heart for more than 30 years. That of Vir'vachal riding her earth colored pony through the earth, of the flame and gold of Dur'chai's coat, the sweet terror Li'vanh Tuvoi feels when he jumps to his death, the beautiful but terrible face of the fallen Prince of Heaven as he sees the little being who has defeated him. The Dancer at his Fountain... The child 'death-eyed'... I have not laid eyes on this book for more than 20 years and STILL I remember these details! This was a story that sang to me, that made me ache and filled me with joy at the same time. Perhaps I am the only person on the planet for whom this book spoke such volumes, but if I can convince another of its worth, another who would hear this story, these peoples, sing as I have, then it is worth the time I take to write this review.