A review by briarrose1021
The Book of Night with Moon by Diane Duane
5.0
I first discovered Diane Duane with So You Want To Be A Wizard in the late 90s and quickly read all of the series that had been published at that time, continuing to follow along as more came out (though I will admit that the series fell off my radar after book 8 - I don't remember why). At the time, I did not know that there was a spinoff, featuring the wizard cats that we saw in that series.
Reading this book, and re-discovering that universe, was a wonderful experience. It was a little odd at first, getting used to the telling from a cat's perspective - though that was largely centered around trying to figure out how to say the words in their language, as it was dominated by vowels. I will also admit (I think because I was so far removed from the original series) that it took me entirely too long to figure out that Har'lh was Carl, of the Carl and Tom pair that advised Nita and Kit (who have cameos in this book!).
Once I got used to the language, I was free to enjoy the book and, I must say, it was wonderful. There are so many twists and turns, with little puzzles pieces being dropped along the way that you have to pick up, even if you have no idea where they're going to go. While I normally am one to try and solve the mystery before the book tells me the answer, with this one I rather enjoyed just being along for the ride (mostly because every time I thought I had something figured out, I was wrong LOL).
My only real complaint about the book (and it's more a complaint about me and when I found it) is that it has been so long since I read the original series, that it's hard to remember when this one falls in that timeline. Of course, all that means is that my TBR pile just got taller, since I'm now going to have to go back and reread the original series in order to refresh my memory. In fact, I'll probably go ahead and read the sequel to this one as well. After all, not only is it neat to have a book told from a cat's perspective, but I want to know how our new wizard handles things, now that he's through his Ordeal.
Reading this book, and re-discovering that universe, was a wonderful experience. It was a little odd at first, getting used to the telling from a cat's perspective - though that was largely centered around trying to figure out how to say the words in their language, as it was dominated by vowels. I will also admit (I think because I was so far removed from the original series) that it took me entirely too long to figure out that Har'lh was Carl, of the Carl and Tom pair that advised Nita and Kit (who have cameos in this book!).
Once I got used to the language, I was free to enjoy the book and, I must say, it was wonderful. There are so many twists and turns, with little puzzles pieces being dropped along the way that you have to pick up, even if you have no idea where they're going to go. While I normally am one to try and solve the mystery before the book tells me the answer, with this one I rather enjoyed just being along for the ride (mostly because every time I thought I had something figured out, I was wrong LOL).
My only real complaint about the book (and it's more a complaint about me and when I found it) is that it has been so long since I read the original series, that it's hard to remember when this one falls in that timeline. Of course, all that means is that my TBR pile just got taller, since I'm now going to have to go back and reread the original series in order to refresh my memory. In fact, I'll probably go ahead and read the sequel to this one as well. After all, not only is it neat to have a book told from a cat's perspective, but I want to know how our new wizard handles things, now that he's through his Ordeal.