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A review by bridgett
Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant
3.0
3.75 stars
Don't let the tacky 1970's cover of this out of print book put you off!
This is an extremely well written high-fantasy book, written in a style between The Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings. I'm amazed this book has been allowed to go out of print, and if I could buy a beautiful new hardcover of this book, I would.
I love that this story (1 of 3 set in this world) was written by a woman, which was quite rare for the fantasy genre of the early 1970's.
It's a great story, but I do have a few criticisms. My biggest criticism is that in this story, there is a powerful enchantress who is forced to make the cliched choice between her own power and a man. She sacrifices her powerful position in the world of magic for the sake of love. As a female reader, I want more of my female characters, especially those written by a female writer.
This book does have echoes of Christian theology, particularly in the last half of the book. It was interesting picking it out within the tangled pantheistic world of the story.
I agree with a criticism I've seen elsewhere, that there are some very interesting characters introduced, who shine brightly for a few chapters, and then all but disappear for the remainder of the story. I would have liked those characters to have remained a permanent part of the plot.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's been so long since I've read epic fantasy and this is a beautiful example of the genre.
Don't let the tacky 1970's cover of this out of print book put you off!
This is an extremely well written high-fantasy book, written in a style between The Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings. I'm amazed this book has been allowed to go out of print, and if I could buy a beautiful new hardcover of this book, I would.
I love that this story (1 of 3 set in this world) was written by a woman, which was quite rare for the fantasy genre of the early 1970's.
It's a great story, but I do have a few criticisms. My biggest criticism is that in this story, there is a powerful enchantress who is forced to make the cliched choice between her own power and a man. She sacrifices her powerful position in the world of magic for the sake of love. As a female reader, I want more of my female characters, especially those written by a female writer.
This book does have echoes of Christian theology, particularly in the last half of the book. It was interesting picking it out within the tangled pantheistic world of the story.
I agree with a criticism I've seen elsewhere, that there are some very interesting characters introduced, who shine brightly for a few chapters, and then all but disappear for the remainder of the story. I would have liked those characters to have remained a permanent part of the plot.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's been so long since I've read epic fantasy and this is a beautiful example of the genre.