Benjamin Percy

"A werewolf epic. Can't stop thinking about it."--Stephen King They live among us. They are our neighbors, our mothers, our lovers. They change. When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realizes just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and hours later stepped off it, the only passenger left alive, a hero. Chase Williams has sworn to protect the people of the United States from the menace in their midst, but he is becoming the very thing he has promised to destroy. So far, the threat has been controlled by laws and violence and drugs. But the night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge...and the battle for humanity will begin.

A Novel

Red Moon

Colton Ray

All I can say is "wow". This is a masterful book. Yes, it's about werewolves, but it's also about so much more than that. On a thematic level, it brings up so many important issues. 

On a technical level, it is very well-crafted. Percy switches effortlessly between multiple characters all across the globe, and draws them together in ways that felt organic and real. 

The tension is built steadily. These werewolves are not the monsters lurking in the woods, though they could be. These monsters are your fellow human beings. Percy utilizes the werewolf mythos very well. These werewolves could be the Muslim extremists in the Middle East. These werewolves could be the gang members of inner-city ghettos. These werewolves could be AIDs victims, homosexuals, . They are both familiar and foreign. They represent something that cannot be understood, and quoting from Batman Begins, "You always fear what you don't understand." 

The werewolf virus, Lobos, can be transmitted through biting, but bites are rare, as most werewolves are just regular citizens. However, now there are terrorist werewolf attacks happening. 

In the midst of this awesome plot, the author introduces a host of characters who are very well fleshed out. Each character has their own personal arcs, spiralling in and out of contact with the others. I haven't read a book that's been able to accomplish this in a long while. There are no good guys and bad guys in this book. There are only people with different ideas clashing. Even the most evil guy is given reason for his actions. The author takes these characters and breaks them down, physically, mentally, psychologically, changes them and grows them into something stronger, galvanized by the dire situation.

The book goes from dark to darker to pitch black. There is disease, death, violence, rape, and torture. Normally, I don't like reading about such things, but the story was so compelling, and in the context, it seemed like these things would happen. There are so many adjectives I could throw on this book. Gripping. Involving. Darkly entertaining. I recommend this book to all and I will be checking out more from Mr. Percy.

*Benjamin Percy's brand new speculative thriller, The Ninth Metal, is available to pre-order now* Every teenage girl thinks she's different. When government agents kick down Claire Forrester's front door and murder her parents, Claire realises just how different she is. Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and, hours later, stepped off it, the only passenger left alive. A hero. President Chase Williams has vowed to eradicate the menace. Unknown to the electorate, however, he is becoming the very thing he has sworn to destroy. Each of them is caught up in a war that so far has been controlled with laws and violence and drugs. But an uprising is about to leave them damaged, lost, and tied to one another for ever. The night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge, and the battle for humanity will begin.

Red Moon A Novel

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