Reviews

Wolfsmond by Ian McDonald

eastofthesunwestofthemoon's review against another edition

3.0

This is a relatively decent second-in-the-series book, which follows the continuing developments of a future moon colony. It involves families, clans, alliances, power struggles, and the changing fortunes of the 'ruling elite' of the moon. It's sprawling and complex, and in general the author has created quite an interesting world and story. It does drag in places, and sometimes even the action sequences are written with such attention to detail and to the minutiae of every passing second that I wanted to tear my hair out and yell 'just get on with the story!" Since I was listening to this on audio, I could only speed up the play, not conveniently skip a page or 3 when it hit a long, drawn-out patch. My main objection to New Moon (Luna #1) is sort of addressed - the character to whom I objected is now solidly in the bad guy camp. I would have rated this book higher, except it left me feeling somewhat confused about the 'war' part - what the hell was that all about? It's like all he lets us see is the result of the war on a very few characters, lingering over their experiences but never tying the story together. It just felt really disjointed in that part of the story.

katekoda's review against another edition

5.0

Awesome stuff!

sarahstands's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

luisvilla's review against another edition

2.0

Meh. McDonald is trying to do too much here, and it shows. Too many characters, too thinly drawn to be interesting; too many plot lines, too confusing to follow. Hard to recommend, despite liking lots of his other things.

chirson's review against another edition

3.0

A slightly less exciting volume which suffered from middle book problems like having to set the stage for the inevitable conclusion. I thought it just didn't have the compelling tragic force of its predecessor; and much of the central plot machinery takes place off screen, giving the results of said plotting (on page) a somewhat deflated feel. It also overrelied a little on "can character x survive in moon conditions without suit/air/heating for y amount of time", which yields diminishing returns.

I didn't like reminders that Bryce is fat. A bad allegory there.

I am very curious about the conclusion but hope it improves on this.

bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition

4.0

Deliciously soapy space drama. Thrilled that there will be a third book.

kelo's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

paladin_spout's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

leovinas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

perch15's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoy the Luna series. The story is, in my opinion, excellent.

But MAN, McDonald makes it difficult. So much of the world building feels either tacked on or drawn from the 2019 “what to include in an APPROPRIATELY INCLUSIVE SCI FI NOVEL” playbook. I also never want to see the words “sinter” or “regolith” ever again.

And yet the parts that click click so well. Great story. Ok book.