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theemptybookshelf's review
1.0
I really wanted to like this novella before ever opening it and I think that comes down to judging a book by its cover. Surprisingly though it isn’t this novella that I prejudged, but the second novel in The Dance of the Light series, The Fall of the Giants. If you haven’t seen that epic cover go and check it out after this review. All that is to say that I was expecting the prose to match the pretty picture and that’s my fault.
So let’s get into it. This is my second one star rating of March Madness and if this is the bar for what that is then the last book I gave this score should be three stars instead. From the very first page the writing was clunky and awkward. It felt completely unedited, even though it had clearly been through a proofreader as it was error free. There was barely any two sentences strung together that didn’t make me cringe. I absolutely hate to be this negative, especially about an indie book, but ouch this one really hurt my feelings.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but the decisions being made and the way characters acted felt so wrong. I really didn’t like the whole romance angle – again that’s probably a me thing – and the way that John and Nemesis interacted and fell for each other was not doing it for me. The plot, while intriguing, fell flat with some odd choices.
I didn’t like anything about The Knight of the Moon and it saddens me that I have removed Gregory’s books from my TBR shelf. I don’t have enough time in the day to push on through something that doesn’t work for me. But this might be the perfect story for you, who’s to say?
Rating: 1/5
So let’s get into it. This is my second one star rating of March Madness and if this is the bar for what that is then the last book I gave this score should be three stars instead. From the very first page the writing was clunky and awkward. It felt completely unedited, even though it had clearly been through a proofreader as it was error free. There was barely any two sentences strung together that didn’t make me cringe. I absolutely hate to be this negative, especially about an indie book, but ouch this one really hurt my feelings.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but the decisions being made and the way characters acted felt so wrong. I really didn’t like the whole romance angle – again that’s probably a me thing – and the way that John and Nemesis interacted and fell for each other was not doing it for me. The plot, while intriguing, fell flat with some odd choices.
I didn’t like anything about The Knight of the Moon and it saddens me that I have removed Gregory’s books from my TBR shelf. I don’t have enough time in the day to push on through something that doesn’t work for me. But this might be the perfect story for you, who’s to say?
Rating: 1/5
dawn_marie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The Knight of the Moon by Gregory Kontaxis was an extremely disappointing and problematic read. The book blurb does a disservice to the story– if you squint your eyes, then maybe it is accurate. At less than 100, pages this feels less like a novella and more like a short story. The author tried to fit too much into his limited page count, and as a result the entire story suffered.
The story opens with John Long Arm, a bounty hunter, being accosted by soldiers in service to Walter Thorn, who recently deposed his father (Roger) and named himself ruler of Gaeldeath. The soldiers want John to hunt for Gareth, the titular Knight of the Moon, for . . . . reasons? – There was some convoluted explanation that Walter claimed Gareth disavowed his oaths and/or he is afraid the knight might start a rebellion against him. The soldiers force Nemesis (yes, that really was her name, not a nickname or title, her actual name) to join John on the hunt as “punishment” for having the audacity to defend herself against someone who tried to rape her. The two are given ten days to locate Gareth and return with his head. Failure to do so means Nemesis and John would be hunted and killed by the soldiers/other bounty hunters. The two set off, with companions Alan and Edrick, to locate Gareth . . . and then follows some of the dumbest character behavior I have ever read.
Potential spoilers ahead
It is widely known that Gareth visits his lady love, Alis, in a small village near the Iron Mountains. After refusing to participate in the rebellion, Gareth hangs up his blade and moves to that very village - the one that everyone knows Alis lives in – instead of, oh I don’t know, moving to a different village.
The soldiers know where Gareth is, yet they send a bounty hunter and a female knight to bring him in. I thought the “excuse” of “we don’t want to waste knights/soldiers to track him was ludicrous, especially since they ended up doing just that at the end.
John, who is supposed to be smart, just strolls into a village pretending to be a merchant (which no one believed) and starts asking about Gareth (though he did show enough wisdom to not call him Knight of the Moon). Didn’t he think someone was going to notice and report his actions to the soldiers?
John and his companions spend a great deal of time in the forest/out in the open, yet they didn’t notice the weather changing before they decided to burn their enemies? Also, how horrific was that action and the villagers just say “great, we’re cool with that)?
Nemesis didn’t realize that riding into a remote village in her armor would send up red flags?
The characters showed little depth. They were flat, one-dimensional, and extremely dull. I did not find them interesting or engaging, and as such, I was not interested in their fates. The relationships felt forced and ham-fisted. Nothing was presented in the story to make be believe that John, Alan, and Edrick were friends, nor was there any compelling evidence to demonstrate Gareth or Alis’ love (other than being told that theirs is a love for the ages). The “romance” between John and Nemesis didn’t work she loves him because . . . . he doesn’t disrespect her? And he loves her because . . . she’s brave?
Even given the scattershot plot and pacing, flat characters, and cringey dialog, the absolute worst aspect of the story was the casual sexism and constant, blatant threats of sexual violence against women. Other than John and Gareth, the men demean, belittle, and disparage the women around them. The women are constantly threatened with sexual assault and rape: the woman won’t behave, threaten to rape her; the woman won’t be quiet, threaten her with sexual assault; want the man to surrender, threaten his wife with sexual assault; the man won’t cooperate, threaten to gang rape his wife, and on and on. Why do so many authors default to “threaten women with sexual assault and/or rape”? It doesn’t make your story dark or gritty, it doesn’t add value (unless handled in a very careful, meaningful way) – it feels lazy.
I don’t know if I’ll continue on to the main series - a lot depends on whether or not the author continues with the rampant sexism and causal sexual violence.
The story opens with John Long Arm, a bounty hunter, being accosted by soldiers in service to Walter Thorn, who recently deposed his father (Roger) and named himself ruler of Gaeldeath. The soldiers want John to hunt for Gareth, the titular Knight of the Moon, for . . . . reasons? – There was some convoluted explanation that Walter claimed Gareth disavowed his oaths and/or he is afraid the knight might start a rebellion against him. The soldiers force Nemesis (yes, that really was her name, not a nickname or title, her actual name) to join John on the hunt as “punishment” for having the audacity to defend herself against someone who tried to rape her. The two are given ten days to locate Gareth and return with his head. Failure to do so means Nemesis and John would be hunted and killed by the soldiers/other bounty hunters. The two set off, with companions Alan and Edrick, to locate Gareth . . . and then follows some of the dumbest character behavior I have ever read.
Potential spoilers ahead
The soldiers know where Gareth is, yet they send a bounty hunter and a female knight to bring him in. I thought the “excuse” of “we don’t want to waste knights/soldiers to track him was ludicrous, especially since they ended up doing just that at the end.
John, who is supposed to be smart, just strolls into a village pretending to be a merchant (which no one believed) and starts asking about Gareth (though he did show enough wisdom to not call him Knight of the Moon). Didn’t he think someone was going to notice and report his actions to the soldiers?
John and his companions spend a great deal of time in the forest/out in the open, yet they didn’t notice the weather changing before they decided to burn their enemies? Also, how horrific was that action and the villagers just say “great, we’re cool with that)?
Nemesis didn’t realize that riding into a remote village in her armor would send up red flags?
The characters showed little depth. They were flat, one-dimensional, and extremely dull. I did not find them interesting or engaging, and as such, I was not interested in their fates. The relationships felt forced and ham-fisted. Nothing was presented in the story to make be believe that John, Alan, and Edrick were friends, nor was there any compelling evidence to demonstrate Gareth or Alis’ love (other than being told that theirs is a love for the ages). The “romance” between John and Nemesis didn’t work she loves him because . . . . he doesn’t disrespect her? And he loves her because . . . she’s brave?
Even given the scattershot plot and pacing, flat characters, and cringey dialog, the absolute worst aspect of the story was the casual sexism and constant, blatant threats of sexual violence against women. Other than John and Gareth, the men demean, belittle, and disparage the women around them. The women are constantly threatened with sexual assault and rape: the woman won’t behave, threaten to rape her; the woman won’t be quiet, threaten her with sexual assault; want the man to surrender, threaten his wife with sexual assault; the man won’t cooperate, threaten to gang rape his wife, and on and on. Why do so many authors default to “threaten women with sexual assault and/or rape”? It doesn’t make your story dark or gritty, it doesn’t add value (unless handled in a very careful, meaningful way) – it feels lazy.
I don’t know if I’ll continue on to the main series - a lot depends on whether or not the author continues with the rampant sexism and causal sexual violence.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
readtheblurb's review
4.0
Firstly, thanks to Gregory Kontaxis for sending me a copy of The Knight of the Moon to review. This obviously doesn’t affect my thoughts and review.
The Knight of the Moon is set 30 years before the events in The Return of the Knights and follows Long Arm John, one of the main characters in The Return of the Knights, during his bounty hunting days. Long Arm John was already an interesting character in The Return of the Knights, so it was great to see some of his back story and get more of an idea of events hinted at during the main series.
While short, this novella covers a lot of story. The beginning starts a bit slow, but ends up packing a serious action punch towards the end. Long Arm John, a famous bounty hunter, is recruited by Walter (oh yes Walter…) and tasked to kill the Knight of the Moon, a forsaken Knight and possibly the last existing one. He teams up with Nemesis, a disgraced soldier, who must prove herself to Walter. The two make an unlikely but likeable team of reluctant, underdog heroes. There’s lots of tropey fantasy mixed into their bounty adventure that brews into a fantastic fantasy novella.
As mentioned, the action did take a while to start as it felt like the relationship between Long Arm John and Nemesis took precedence. I enjoyed their character development alongside their relationship, but would have liked this to be more of a side story. Despite this, it still worked very well and once the action started, it started with a bang and I couldn’t help ploughing through the rest of the book.
It helped that both characters were super likeable, both coming to terms with issues in their past and showing nice character development throughout such a short book. Long Arm John was especially enjoyable to read about, not just for back-story, but also because of his humorous, moral and easy-going nature that somehow fit with his edgy and badass, bounty hunting personality.
I highly recommend this read for fans who want more of a background knowledge of past events or more detail into Long John. I also think The Knight of the Moon could be a great stepping stone for readers, who want a taste of the unique world that Gregory Kontaxis has created.
The Knight of the Moon is set 30 years before the events in The Return of the Knights and follows Long Arm John, one of the main characters in The Return of the Knights, during his bounty hunting days. Long Arm John was already an interesting character in The Return of the Knights, so it was great to see some of his back story and get more of an idea of events hinted at during the main series.
While short, this novella covers a lot of story. The beginning starts a bit slow, but ends up packing a serious action punch towards the end. Long Arm John, a famous bounty hunter, is recruited by Walter (oh yes Walter…) and tasked to kill the Knight of the Moon, a forsaken Knight and possibly the last existing one. He teams up with Nemesis, a disgraced soldier, who must prove herself to Walter. The two make an unlikely but likeable team of reluctant, underdog heroes. There’s lots of tropey fantasy mixed into their bounty adventure that brews into a fantastic fantasy novella.
As mentioned, the action did take a while to start as it felt like the relationship between Long Arm John and Nemesis took precedence. I enjoyed their character development alongside their relationship, but would have liked this to be more of a side story. Despite this, it still worked very well and once the action started, it started with a bang and I couldn’t help ploughing through the rest of the book.
It helped that both characters were super likeable, both coming to terms with issues in their past and showing nice character development throughout such a short book. Long Arm John was especially enjoyable to read about, not just for back-story, but also because of his humorous, moral and easy-going nature that somehow fit with his edgy and badass, bounty hunting personality.
I highly recommend this read for fans who want more of a background knowledge of past events or more detail into Long John. I also think The Knight of the Moon could be a great stepping stone for readers, who want a taste of the unique world that Gregory Kontaxis has created.
npscott's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lukesblog1's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thewulverslibrary's review
4.0
Thank you to the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Knight of the Moon by Gregory Kontaxis is a great focal point for a brilliant character and an exciting entry to the Dance of Light series.
John, the Long Arm, leads a life as a bounty hunter at the Three Heads. His name has spread far and wide across the north while plenty of gold weighs down his pockets. Just when everything seems to be going well for him, a group of soldiers order him to take on a new mission.This time, his task is to track down a very dangerous man—a knight who rejected his oaths, turning his back on Gaeldeath and its ruler.Will John choose the way of honour and devotion or will he succumb to his unquenchable thirst for wealth?
This was a novel that took us on a journey of discovery and honour. We walked along the path of darkness and immersed ourselves in the action. John himself is a tough character and Kontaxis has proven he can write complexity in a gripping and surreal way. We really feel for Johns relationships and thoughts and start to wonder what we would do in these situations. The personalities that Kontaxis has written resonate with real life and the sadness that we go through is a bitter hope.
The story itself left a hole that can only be filled by more in this world. Kontaxis has proven that you don’t need magic or creatures, although Return of the Knights handled these well, to make a great fantasy story. The expansion of an already established plot and world leaves us heaving for more. This series has had such a robust start and I am eager to see where this is going.
It is evident that Kontaxis has grown as a writer between this and The Return of the Knights and with a story that dives into authentic character work alongside a hearty plot, this author has definitely earned a place amongst those to keep an eye on.
The Knight of the Moon by Gregory Kontaxis is a great focal point for a brilliant character and an exciting entry to the Dance of Light series.
John, the Long Arm, leads a life as a bounty hunter at the Three Heads. His name has spread far and wide across the north while plenty of gold weighs down his pockets. Just when everything seems to be going well for him, a group of soldiers order him to take on a new mission.This time, his task is to track down a very dangerous man—a knight who rejected his oaths, turning his back on Gaeldeath and its ruler.Will John choose the way of honour and devotion or will he succumb to his unquenchable thirst for wealth?
This was a novel that took us on a journey of discovery and honour. We walked along the path of darkness and immersed ourselves in the action. John himself is a tough character and Kontaxis has proven he can write complexity in a gripping and surreal way. We really feel for Johns relationships and thoughts and start to wonder what we would do in these situations. The personalities that Kontaxis has written resonate with real life and the sadness that we go through is a bitter hope.
The story itself left a hole that can only be filled by more in this world. Kontaxis has proven that you don’t need magic or creatures, although Return of the Knights handled these well, to make a great fantasy story. The expansion of an already established plot and world leaves us heaving for more. This series has had such a robust start and I am eager to see where this is going.
It is evident that Kontaxis has grown as a writer between this and The Return of the Knights and with a story that dives into authentic character work alongside a hearty plot, this author has definitely earned a place amongst those to keep an eye on.
bubblewombat's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Finally back into this world, this time in the form of a novella about one of my favourite characters in the series - JOHN LONG ARM!!! COMMENCE THE CHEERING.
You may remember him as the former bounty hunter, a loyal friend and he's still all of that, but we get to see him during his "glory days" of bounty hunting, as he sets out on a quest to kill The Knight of the Moon to save his own life.
Firstly, yes, this is a prequel, but!! In my opinion you should go read The Return of the Knights first, then go back and read this so you'll know just how cool John is, you'll already know who some of the characters mentioned here will become in the future, and so everything will flow better.
If you want to read this first though, feel free to. I'm sure it'll grip you enough to make you want to continue reading the books that come after. It's also very self-contained, so the ending isn't a cliffhanger and doesn't directly continue into book one. And you get a complete story inside too.
Aside from John's PoV, we get another one in Nemesis, she's anger personified and gets punished unfairly for getting revenge on someone who wronged her. I feel really bad for her, she didn't deserve that.
Her romance with John was very fast, it seemed like they went from just making googly eyes at each other to going all the way without much progression in between, but it's also a novella so that's to be expected. I wouldn't say I ship it, but I don't mind it.
What I liked most was getting to know John a bit better, why he is the way he is and how what happened here shaped the future version of him. Here's to more John novellas!!!
*Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
You may remember him as the former bounty hunter, a loyal friend and he's still all of that, but we get to see him during his "glory days" of bounty hunting, as he sets out on a quest to kill The Knight of the Moon to save his own life.
Firstly, yes, this is a prequel, but!! In my opinion you should go read The Return of the Knights first, then go back and read this so you'll know just how cool John is, you'll already know who some of the characters mentioned here will become in the future, and so everything will flow better.
If you want to read this first though, feel free to. I'm sure it'll grip you enough to make you want to continue reading the books that come after. It's also very self-contained, so the ending isn't a cliffhanger and doesn't directly continue into book one. And you get a complete story inside too.
Aside from John's PoV, we get another one in Nemesis, she's anger personified and gets punished unfairly for getting revenge on someone who wronged her. I feel really bad for her, she didn't deserve that.
Her romance with John was very fast, it seemed like they went from just making googly eyes at each other to going all the way without much progression in between, but it's also a novella so that's to be expected. I wouldn't say I ship it, but I don't mind it.
What I liked most was getting to know John a bit better, why he is the way he is and how what happened here shaped the future version of him. Here's to more John novellas!!!
*Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
stxrlight's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Knight of the Moon is an adventurous novella that pulls you in right from the start. The writing reads away smoothly and the pace is just right. It's a lovely prequel for The Return of the Knights and I assure you if you love this novella you'll love The Return of the Knights as well, and vice versa. And if you haven't read either one of them, I'd recommend you give them both a chance!
I absolutely loved getting to know more about John this way, and I loved Nemesis, Gareth, Alis, Alan and Edrick as well. All characters felt different and unique, each with their own personality and stories. The villains were amazing too, never wanted to punch characters so badly 😂
The depth of this novella was perfectly well done! I'd recommend anyone to read The Knight of the Moon! All the works of this author so far have been truly amazing! 📖✨
I absolutely loved getting to know more about John this way, and I loved Nemesis, Gareth, Alis, Alan and Edrick as well. All characters felt different and unique, each with their own personality and stories. The villains were amazing too, never wanted to punch characters so badly 😂
The depth of this novella was perfectly well done! I'd recommend anyone to read The Knight of the Moon! All the works of this author so far have been truly amazing! 📖✨
kayshiddenshelf's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4/5 Stars
I received an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Honour, romance, cruelty, and high stakes. This is the kind of novella that will leave you wanting more.
The Knight of the Moon is a prequel novella to The Dance of the Light series by Gregory Kontaxis. Taking readers back seventeen years to the beginnings of Walter’s insurrection and giving background to John the Long Arm from The Return of the Knights.
John is a famous bounty hunter in the north and has been tasked with tracking down a Knight who has forsaken their vows to the kingdom and ruler.
Something I had mentioned in my review of The Return of the Knights was how the story was more plot driven and relied on telling rather than showing. With the novella, it was a delight to see how the author’s writing has grown. From balancing character and plot driven storytelling to depth with the character work, Gregory Kontaxis demonstrates exactly why he is an author to watch.
Throughout the story we follow two POV’s from John and Nemesis. I enjoyed learning more about John’s past and what led him to the kind of man he is in The Return of the Knight. Seeing John’s journey, relationships, and the choices he’s faced with was captivating and I loved the complexity we see with his character.
We’re also introduced to a new character named Nemesis. An angry young woman who is faced with a terrible choice. While I both enjoyed and struggled with her character at times, she remains memorable.
Despite the brevity of a novella there was exploration of deeper themes including self-discovery, oppression, and the meaning of honour alongside travel, some action, and even impactful dark moments.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read and left me excited for more stories from the author.
gregkontaxis's review
5.0
As a token of my appreciation for fantasy enthusiasts like you, here's a free ebook copy of "The Knight of the Moon" at www.gregorykontaxis.com.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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