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A review by dawn_marie
The Knight of the Moon by Gregory Kontaxis
- 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