Hollow Moon

Hollow Moon by Steph Bennion

I was wracking my brains as to what to give this one. Usually by the end of the book I have a fairly clear idea as to a rating. But this one just sort of slipped past me. It’s a nice read. Very nice in fact, with a very well built up world. Futuristic space pop culture with a rather realistic reasoning for some of the worlds. I think that a younger audience would love it. Maybe that was the niggling feeling I got throughout. That it was a book about teenagers, for teenagers. But I went with 4 stars because despite that, I would read the next one.

The beginning is quite exciting as Ravana follows her cat up a cliff face. It’s a strangely normal scene for a very alien world. Yet manages to capture the fear and excitement of a girl who’s found herself somewhere she’s not supposed be. Then witnesses something she wasn’t supposed to witness. The pace continues, although it slows a little when we switch from Ravana to a group of school kids on their way to a band competition. Which although entertaining, didn’t really capture my imagination quite as much as Ravana’s story.

I felt like it was an almost disneyfied version of a dark story. It’s got political manoeuvring and a civil war with death and disfigurement. But the nasty stuff was glossed over, so for a younger audience it’s fabulous. It’s the story of a girl who battles against corrupt forces to help free her homeland from tyranny. And there are more than a few genuinely funny segments. An investigator so terrible that you have to laugh at her. And a trouble maker who seems to be hiding some deep seated insecurities – that’s not stated in the book but it’s the impression I got. So overall, some very realistic characters. I just can’t really get a hold of it in my mind. It was an enjoyable read, in fact I may read it again some day. There was just something that niggled at me. I’ve never really been a fan of the fairytail, good vs evil but that’s a person opinion.

One last note. You will be disappointed when you put the book down. Little did I know that I could miss holographic mind controlled technology that I’ve never seen in real life. And it’s always a little strange to wake up from a book and realise that you don’t have a space ship. I think I may in fact, remain disappointed until someone can build me a space ship, preferably one that talks to me…

Happy Reading

Oh, and I thought it would be a good idea to start linking to the books. So here is Hollow Moon on goodreads, if you didn't already know, goodreads allows you to link to where you can buy the book so it's easier than giving you all a dozen links for all the different sites and zones etc: