by
ROD GLENN
- Paperback: 326 pages
- Publisher: Wild Wolf Publishing (November 2, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0956211488
- ISBN-13: 978-0956211484
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
Tragedy, lies and deceit mar their every step as they are cast into a dark and twisted world that is itself on the brink of destruction.
Review - First, I've got to say that The Killing Moon was one of the few books that I went out of my way to try to get a copy of to review, well, really Reagan went out of her way to get it for me, but who's counting ;) Anyways, the fine folks at Wild Wolf Publishing were kind enough to send a copy as well as copies of several of their other books, all of which will be reviewed by both Reagan and I here in the somewhat near future.
Let me take a moment and let you all know that this is NOT a book of kids or young adults. It is a realistic view of humanity after the 'end of the world', so it can be a bit harsh at times. With that said, it's a great book! Rod does a great job of setting the tone of the book right from the beginning. The story draws you in with believable characters.
The writing style reminds me of a classical music piece, it builds up tension for a sudden release only to start building up the tension again. This is accomplished by showing both the dark side of humans, wither because a person is prone to such things or, because of survival instinct, happens upon it, as well as the good side of humanity and how hope will always spring eternal.
Conclusion - A great book that will be going into my post apocalyptic collection. I had a hard time setting the book down and fervently hope that someday Mr. Glenn will write a sequel. I'm very interested in seeing how things play out. Until then, I whole heartily recommend this book as one of the top post apocalyptic fictions written in quite a while.
This book is only available in the US (for now anyways) from Amazon.com and The Book Depository for anyone interested in picking it up.
We were lucky enough to interview Rod Glenn, as well here is what he had to say. Thank you again for agreeing to interview with us.
1. How did you come up with the idea behind the story of The Killing Moon?
The idea was formulated with my good friend Jamie Mitchell whom I've known since we were three years old. We both loved the same sorts of books and films - I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the Mad Max trilogy, Escape From New York, The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, the George A Romero zombie films and many more. The Killing Moon is our homage to all these greats. As kids we fantasized about what we would do if some great catastrophe caused a total breakdown in civilization and how we personally would try to cope with it. The ideas and plot lines in this novel stem from these early 'what if' conversations.
2. Did you base the personalities of any of your characters off any real people? That would be telling! What I can say is that there are certain traits and elements of many characters that hold similarities with people that I have met over the years. I'm a people watcher - I study what they do, how they react, their conversations. It all helps a great deal when trying to write realistic and fully rounded characters. None of my characters are black and white. They all have multiple shades of grey (even the really nasty ones!!!).
3. Out of the 5 Main Characters, which was the hardest to write and why? The hardest to write was Ritchie. He was also the character I was most fond of. He was the youngest of the group and handicapped, but in some ways the was strongest and wisest of them all. Trying not to give anything away, I found myself getting emotional at times while writing certain scenes with Ritchie.
4. Are there any thoughts of writing a sequel to this book, as it is left open enough to possibly write more. It is actually open to a sequel and I have thought about where I could possibly take it with a sequel, but it isn't planned as yet.
5. Is Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic your favorite genre to write or are there other genres you prefer? It is one of my favorite genres and I have a couple of other ideas for different types of post-apocalyptic scenarios. I have also written a sci-fi thriller (The King of America) and a contemporary thriller (Sinema: The Northumberland Massacre). So I'm not limiting myself to one genre, instead I'm still exploring my writing and going where the ideas and my imagination take me.
6. Who are some of your favorite authors? Richard Matheson, John Wyndham, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Christopher Brookmyre, H G Wells, Edgar Allen Poe, Hunter S Thompson just to name a few. I've always been a prolific reader since as long as I can remember.
7. What is next? I am currently writing a sequel to Sinema. I've been getting hundreds of emails asking when/if a sequel would be coming out since its release in 2007. After finishing The Killing Moon I vowed to get stuck in to that and I'm so far about 15,000 words into it.
I don't know about you, but after reading this book, He certainly has my attention and I will be keeping an eye out for his upcoming releases.
