Elizabeth Hand

Anticipating the everyday pleasures of college life, student Katherine Sweeney Cassidy learns that her university is being controlled by a secret religious faction that also influences every major government and institution in the world. Reprint.

Waking the Moon

Sarah Sammis

Elizabeth Hand's books were recommended on a science fiction / fantasy reading list. I had only read one of her short stories, "The Far Shore" so I set about to read as many of her novels as I could find.

The first book I found was Waking the Moon. It starts at a prestigious university. A young woman falls in with the wrong crowd, falls in love and discovers the dark truth behind how the university and much of the world is being run. To keep the truth a secret she is forced to leave the university.

The rest of the book deals with the aftermath of those events. The main character is grown up and has been working on a digital archive and doesn't quite have the life she had once hoped for. Meanwhile her ex-roommate has become famous but dangerous.

The events way back when unleashed a sleeping goddess who is systematically planning her revenge on the patriarchy. She is blood thirsty and willing sacrifice her son as a means to reaching her goal.

Although the book is long by my standards (512 pages) it was a relatively quick read. The first third which has scenes at the university reminded me a bit of the darkest parts of Revolutionary Girl Utena which I was watching around the same time as I was reading the book. Later pieces of the book are more straight up horror and less Gothic fantasy. It was a strange but compelling book to read.

Beginning her first year at the University of the Archangels, Katherine Sweeney Cassidy accidentally discovers the existence of the Benandanti, a clandestine order that has been secretly manipulating the world's governments and institutions.

Melody Izard

** spoiler alert **
           This is a sort of comic-book-sex-predator-as-hero book. A 38 year old woman and an 18 year old boy. We’re supposed to cheer for her I guess. There is almost-bull-sex and sacrifices and some people who evidently are in charge of protecting …. I’m not sure who they are supposed to protect… the world, religions, certain people? The moon is the star here. I don’t think it is too complimentary of the concept of goddess worship.

Waking the Moon

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