A review by jenmcgee
Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant

5.0

I've always loved Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry, so I was rather horrified to read this and realize that huge swathes of Kay's plot and worldbuilding are cribbed directly from Chant's book, with the protagonists and themes pitched to an older audience: the evil being in the dark mountain in the north who kidnaps the woman from our world for nefarious purposes; the young man who becomes a hero among the horse-riding plainsmen; the young man who sacrifices himself willingly to the chthonic goddess; the gathering of the scattered people into a single army to face down the armies of the evil being. Chant's book is a little less complex, but still beautiful and sad and haunting (and has the benefit of being first!)