Reviews

Black Moon, by Kenneth Calhoun

silkysullivan's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.25

catsandclover's review against another edition

2.0

A great premise for an apocalypse style book. It also has a great start and drew me in right away. But it promises way more than it delivers and lost momentum halfway through. I had to force myself to finish reading and was disappointed by the abrupt endings for all of the characters.

purplejoy's review against another edition

3.0

M

alixgb's review against another edition

4.0

Black Moon was another book I could not put down. Beautifully written, great characters, and just a really good story. It was nice to get back to some quasi-science fiction. I enjoyed the multiple story lines and getting to "hear" the book from the sleeper and the non-sleeper perspectives. You may not like it if you prefer all your story lines to be neatly wrapped up, but I liked the open-endedness of it.

jenstef's review against another edition

The premise of a world held hostage by a sleepless epidemic is interesting, as I suffer from insomnia myself. The prose is well-written but the characters are flat and I simply cannot form a fondness or any sort of connection with them. Their individual motives are understandable but too boring to get me hooked in their stories. I am glad I gave this book a shot, but I guess it's just not for me. 

ory12's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

brebdob's review against another edition

3.0

I feel that this book was a somewhat confused attempt at what was essentially a really good premise: a world where most people have suddenly lost the ability to fall asleep, and the attempts of the few who still can at piecing their lives back together. There were probably too many protagonists for a book of its length, because it didn’t seem like enough time was given to really get into any of them. But there were a lot of things that I think were done exactly right: the mystery of the sleeplessness, the ambiguity about central characters’ fates, the utter bleakness of it all. But I still think it could have been a much better novel either by losing (or putting less focus on) a couple characters, or by giving each one more time to develop. And less focus on boners—seriously, that’s a thing that happens here.

This was the author’s first novel, I believe, so I’d definitely be interested in checking out what he writes next.

sabrinahughes's review against another edition

2.0

It’s possible that I would have enjoyed it more and maybe finished it if I was reading it rather than listening to the audiobook. Idk, I just got annoyed with the baby part and decided to give up.

theatlantean's review against another edition

2.0

Nothing wrong with this book - I was intrigued to begin with. But it's just not the sort of thing I'm looking for right now.

jljaina's review against another edition

2.0

Confusing. The time lines jump all over the place with the different characters. And honestly Felicias and Chase bored me the most. Chase's made the least sense. Briggs and Lili were decent but still....

I struggled to get through this, and just as I felt I was starting to get it it threw some strange twists that didn't even make sense. And nothing is explained as to what, why etc. No resolution either. Can't have it both ways. It starts and ends in the middle of a story. Toss in multiple POVS and timelines and you get a mess.