Hello Fellow Journeyers,
It's the end of December and I went MIA again without having finished a full-length book in almost 2 months. 😖 I've been trying to finish my (revised) reading goal of 40 books for 2022 and most of them have ended up being comic books or shorter stories (novellas) that don't merit a full review. Thankfully, this last one did! I'm pretty sure this will be my last review of the year and will allow me to meet the 40 book goal at least 😄. So here's to the final book of 2022!
What's the story about: A Silvery Moon is a short, barely 100+ page story of a monster hunter on a mission to save a town from an evil that plagues them. It follows three main POVs with a singular plot that reads like a much more simplistic and straightforward Witcher tale.
Despite the covers of this trilogy being... rough (the next two being especially bad), this beginning tale was quite good and well-executed! Since this novella is actually a complete first story in a trilogy, it doesn't meander before getting going in chapter one. At the beginning we're introduced to two of the main characters in a disjointed but sufficient introduction that quickly sets up their goals and motivations. What shocked me was how fast I was enthralled with the mystery and mission of Lucius, the main protagonist. While he's initially introduced as a simple priest, it's quickly revealed that he is more than he appears, and I was impressed with how well he revealed aspects of Lucius' story. The author chose to resemble his order to the witchers of Sapkowski's work but they are definitely not the same, and yet similar enough to feel familiar.
The main magnetism of this story was the mystery and action of the plot. While I'm not normally attracted to stiff, plot-focused narratives, I figured it'd be fine to invest in such a short story even if I didn't really connect with the characters. The plot was not convoluted, but it was definitely not predictable either. There is very specific and well-realized worldbuilding that happens throughout the story that comes about naturally, which was very welcome. After the 30% mark, the author really got into a groove of narration that worked and the story flew by. While I wouldn't say the twists that are employed are as jarring or mind-altering as in a full-length book, they still worked splendidly for what they were. The plot's progression was very natural, organic, and utterly intriguing to me. I never knew what to expect while reading and in many instances I was happily surprised rather than expectedly disappointed (as is often the case with self-published short stories on Kindle Unlimited).
Lastly, the three main characters are brought together by somewhat weakly established circumstances, but after accepting them as a group we're to follow, they were really fun to spend time with. Lucius is smart, contemplative, and has much more going on than what he lets off. Oskar may seem one-dimensional, but his charm and traits that define him felt realistic and sufficient for his part. And finally, Donata was introduced and has a fun back and forth with the other two that is sometimes cheesy and at other times pretty believable. All of this to say that the author's writing improved significantly as he wrote this story and I don't come across that very often, which was great! This wasn't a perfect story, but since it got increasingly better as it progressed, I definitely enjoyed the time spent in this world!
★★★★ 3.5 Stars - A Silvery Moon is so much better than its cover may have you believe! The world's introduction is intentionally kept small and the plot is focused, but has the potential to expand and grow with the next installments. In this introductory tale, the author uses each page purposefully for the story at hand rather than meandering or providing useless information. The characters, while not fully fleshed out, do grow on you and are fun to learn about and journey with. The strongest aspect in this novella is the well-executed action and smart storytelling that is exciting and full of adventure and intrigue. I fully believe that Luis Falcao de Magalhaes will improve upon his writing after this installment and I look forward to seeing how the story continues in the sequel!
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book; it is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★★* 4.5 Stars: It was nearly perfect. I really loved almost every aspect of it, but a few things kept it from being amazing.
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was very worth reading and satisfying; highly recommend.
★★★★* 3.5 Stars: I thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it was lacking in certain crucial areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★★* 2.5 Stars: I wanted to enjoy it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★★* 1.5 Stars: I finished it, but it was a chore to get through.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.
*I round up based on the system on Goodreads.