Moon Paperback – 10 May 2012

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge James Herbert fan and have read all his book at least twice and some perhaps more. Moon is not a favourite of mine simp,y because it does not have that classic feel a lot of the others do. Why? Simply put not very much happens. We focus much too much time on the main characters personal life and while I do enjoy fleshing out characters it’s only him that gets any depth. Both main female leads ex wife and new girlfriend do nothing and are never in any danger whatsoever, any tragedy that befalls them happens as a result of main characters ongoing war with the creature in his mind. Only one person actually has a murder scene in the book the rest are either witnessed or talked about after the event and even then it’s only another three killings and one grave disturbance. This book always reminds me of those talky thrillers you used to get on 70’s or early 80’s TV where characters would sit full of anxiousness and not much else would happen. Still it’s well written for what it is, and let’s face it even not classic Herbert is head and shoulders above most other books.

I was quite surprised to find I had not read this book, I had avoided reading it for a number of years assuming I had already done so, so had a nice surprise. The book itself is classic James Herbert - in this case, the hero Jon Childe is living and working on an un-named, assumed Channel Island to escape from the rat race after events a few years previously, when he was involved, due to his psychic powers, in helping police catch a particularly gruesome serial killer. Life since then has trundled along nicely until the visions start again ...Not a particularly unique storyline but James Herbert is a skilled storyteller and doesn't fail the reader here, the plot is engaging and the story moves along at a nice, suspense filled pace to the climax - you keep reading because you just have to know what happens next. The characters were realistic and well rounded, with the exception of Amy's father who did tend to come across as the stereotypical over protective father. The love angle between Jon and Amy was pleasant reading and provided a nice contrast to the more sinister happenings, given them more impact when they did appear (I don't like a shock a page, I like a bit of normal real life in between gruesome gory goings on)Only a couple of things didn't sit right with me, there were two major parts of the story - including the surprise twist at the end which, although well written, lost their impact slightly purely because James Herbert, in later novels, used the same basic ideas again which just doesn't quite sit right when you are reading it in this day and age, especially for the twist at the end which I believe should be unimagineable and unique every time. In 1985, of course, it would have had more impact as being more original and that is how I have tried to view it here.On the whole, however, it does seem to have stood the test of time, and is well worth reading, it will draw you in and keep you interested to the very end.

Words fail me...However here are a few.....superb, brilliant....faultless. This was the genius of James Herbert at his spellbinding best. You simply must read this 👌.

Class, didn't put it down. Highly recommended!

A graphic and believable tale with real characters and a surreal situation. As is the custom with most of Herbert's work, the main characters seem to have been created with a certain amount of damage right from the beginning in a style not dissimilar from those of Tennessee Williams.I give this a 4 star rather than a 5 because the main antagonist of the novel has only limited backstory, but is still creepy enough to hold my interest.Definitely recommended to any of Herberts fans, or any horror junkie with an interest in dark, brooding and moody character pieces

great reading exactly what you would expect from James Herbert

I do enjoy reading JHs novels and find him very comaparable to the excellent Stephen King, though not as long-winded - thank goodness! MOON does not disappoint but contains more gore than I would like. I disagree with the poorer reviews and found this to be an exciting read with lots of suspense, a real page turner. Characters one can care about too. I've only given it 4* as opposed to 5* as the ending - though not particularly disappointing - could have been better. Having said that, I can imagine this making a great TV movie. Worth a read.

This is a very good novel set on of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It’s nicely paced with growing tension.