A review by wisecraic
Moth by Michael Takeda
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through BookSirens as a prize in a giveaway. I provide an honest review of my own accord.**
With Moth, Michael Takeda explores Urbino, Italy through the lens of a young gay man with a heroin addiction. The grungy underbelly of the city and the habits of those swept up in the messy cycle of sex and drugs are brought to the reader by the character Michael, called Moth. One day Moth meets a Stranger who he simply can't ignore and the Stranger's golden eyes only add to the fact that poet Moth thinks that he has found his muse. When someone shows up dead, Moth realizes he may have found more than he bargained for.
If the initial summary was unclear, this work has quite a few content warnings, so readers should be aware of those prior to engaging with this content.
Takeda's writing is interesting and is unlike anything I have commonly read in the horror or paranormal genres. The choice to use a third person present tense can be a bit off-putting to start, but I found it easy to adapt to after a chapter or so. It is very easy to see why the book is marketed to fans of the classic vampire modernized and I really liked the surrealist quality to Takeda's manifestation of the lore.
Overall, this was an odd, but enjoyable story with concepts that I really liked.