Reviews with content warning for Death - Smrtící Luna

This isn't the first time a fantasy story surprised me. Actually, this is the first time a high fantasy story surprised me.

It wasn't that it started out real slow. It probably didn't, given that I only read this one scene at a time, during my commute hour to and from school. I can still remember my anticipation at the climax of the story on my way home from my exams (because of course I wouldn't be cramming, I'd be reading, lol), and man.

So, this is about the impossible world of the countries of Kisua and Gujaareh, their impossible cultures and religions and beliefs. It's about political intrigue and the question of assassination as a kind of religious service. Mostly, it's about Gatherer Ehiru and his apprentice-Gatherer Nijiri, as they set across the borders from Gujaareh to Kisua, to see whether or not Gathering Kisua's ambassador, Sunandi, is right.

It's a story of questioning your base beliefs, testing the strength of these virtues against differing cultures. It's a story of having love and being devoted to that. It's a story of doing what can harm others less.

Needless to say, this story had its impact, despite it being in a genre I rarely ever reach for. Looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of The Fifth Season after hearing stellar reviews about it!

Content Warnings

pastelwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Let me start off this review by saying I am far too illiterate for N.K. Jemisin. I legitimately felt dumb while listening to this as an audiobook. I know for sure the author was trying to tackle the concept of euthanasia in a fantastical setting, but this was all my brain could offer in terms of my intellectual prowess. That being said, I think this is an excellent novel. It does not surprise me at all now why people love Jemisin so much.

First and foremost, the world of this novel was incredibly rich. I was a bit lost in the beginning of the novel as I got my bearings, but eventually I felt like I knew this world and knew it well. I'm not usually big on world-building--I'm still not--but I can appreciate when it is well done.

Characters are usually what I read books for, and I think this book delivered on that front as well. Although I don't think everyone will love the three main characters of this book, I really did. Sunandi, Ehiru, and Nijiri all came to grow on me. They were all distinct and impossible to confuse. I could understand their motivations and their perspective on issues. I especially liked Ehiru and Nijiri because of their commitment to their faith. I tend to be a sucker for characters, especially male characters, who are devout. This is particularly so when I can understand their faith and their practices.

Still. There's a reason this book is getting four and not five stars. One of the reasons is the whole dynamic between Ehiru and Nijiri. Let me get this straight. At no point does Ehiru lead Nijiri on, but everyone acknowledges that Nijiri sees Ehiru not only as an older brother figure but also as a potential lover...and it just made me so many levels of uncomfortable. This is because Nijiri is sixteen years old and Ehiru is a forty year old man. Gross. Just gross. I understand that teenagers get crushes on older people. Trust me. I do. But when others are low-key encouraging his feelings? That's when shit doesn't fly for me.

The other reason this book got four stars is that the antagonist was just...lackluster. He was interesting in theory, but in reality I didn't find him believable. I didn't get or buy into his reason for why he did what he did. He fell just short of just being your average run of the mill antagonist. It just made me feel very meh.

Nevertheless, I'm happy I picked up this book. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel and seeing how this story really ends.

Content Warnings

whatellisreadnext's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?
𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘧, 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

Gatherers keep the peace in Gujaareh, harvesting the magic of dreams, helping to heal and to soothe. Ehiru, a gatherer, stumbles upon a wrongness bleeding into the city. Someone, or something, is murdering innocent dreamers.

This duology was released 3 years before The Broken Earth Trilogy (my favourite trilogy of all time), and I can't help but feel like Jemisin hadn't quite found her voice yet as an author. Feeling like only a shadow of her incredible writing in The Fifth Season.

One of the things I loved about Broken Earth, was how attached I was to the characters, that even in their dullest moments, I was happy just to be with them. Whereas, in The Killing Moon, I felt detached, I struggled remembering the names of certain characters, I mixed up Nijiri and Ehiru so many times. It just felt as if I was watching the story unfold, but I was never really a part of it.

Something I did love in The Killing moon, was the magic system. Gatherers harvest dreams, they ease people into pain-free death, they feast on these dreams and become soley dependent on them. This was fascinating to me and is probably the main reason I will be picking up the next installment.

I think if I had gone into this book, not knowing who N.K. Jemisin was, I probably would have enjoyed it so much more. Don't let my review put you off, but if you haven't experienced her writing yet, definitely start with The Fifth Season 😁

Content Warnings

narzibenoucdel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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