Release: April 11, 2019
Format: Ebook
Publisher: FLAME TREE PRESS
Source: Amazon
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle.
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A town trapped in the grip of spreading evil.
Isolated on the moors of northern England, the town of Moonwell has remained faithful to their Druid traditions. And they kept their old rituals alive. Right-wing evangelist Godwin Mann isn’t about to let that continue. And his intolerant brand of fundamentalism has struck a chord with the residents. But Mann goes too far when he descends into the pit where the ancient being who’s been worshipped by the Druids for centuries is said to dwell.
What emerges is no longer Mann, but a demon in Mann’s shape and only the town’s outcasts can see that something is horribly wrong. Slowly, as the evil spreads, Moonwell becomes cut off from the rest of the world. Telephone lines become disconnected. Roads no longer lead out of town. And the monster’s power only grows… and grows.
About the Author:
Ramsey Campbell (born 4 January 1946 in Liverpool) is an English horror fiction writer, editor, and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. Two of his novels have been filmed, both for non-English-speaking markets.
Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that “Campbell reigns supreme in the field today,” and Robert Hadji has described him as “perhaps the finest living exponent of the British weird fiction tradition.” At the same time, S. T. Joshi stated, “future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood.”
The Oxford Companion to English Literature describes Ramsey Campbell as “Britain’s most respected living horror writer.” He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association.
The Hungry Moon Review:
To begin with, I loved the vast number of characters in the storyline. Having a large cast is usually a hit or miss, but I thought it worked very well in this book! The author beautifully toggles between the various characters and their experiences and merge their storylines seamlessly. Nick and Diana shine in the role as they try to stop the evil evangelist Godwin Mann. Eustace is hilarious with his snarky conversations of Gloom & Despondency. Similarly, I also liked Craig, Vera, Jeremy, and Geraldine. At the same time, characters like June and Ms. Scragg turn into characters you love to hate.
I enjoyed the author’s slow-burn style of writing and felt it created a nice creepy ambiance. The storylines get bizarre midway as the characters notice strange creatures, and the townspeople turn into an unruly mob. Many disturbing moments stood out for me. Some memorable moments are when Phoebe chases her baby or when Jeremy and Geraldine meet Jonathan. I also liked the backstory that Nathaniel explains to Diana about the druids and the Romans that started the supernatural phenomenon. While the first half of the book feels like a slow-burn, the pacing swiftly builds to an incredible climax. The ending is bittersweet but made the experience memorable.
However, there were a few scenes that I felt the author over-described that staggered the pace. The author could have trimmed a few scenes completely to shorten the book. But, I didn’t feel this an issue because the storyline and the characters ultimately drew me in. Overall, “The Hungry Moon” is a terrific story to pick up if you are in the mood for a horror mystery revolving around the residents of a small town.
