Official Review: The Size of the Moon by E.J. Michaels

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kandscreeley
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Official Review: The Size of the Moon by E.J. Michaels

Post by kandscreeley »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Size of the Moon" by E.J. Michaels.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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What would the world be like if elves actually existed? E.J. Michaels attempts to give a fictional answer to that question in The Size of the Moon. At around 450 pages, this science fiction would be enjoyable to fans of supernatural creatures like elves, vampires, and dwarves.

Soulless beings called strigoi (closely related to vampires) create havoc in the world. Supposedly, a cure is being created by a dark elf called Mordravin. However, he isn't known for doing anything from the kindness of his heart; it seems that something more sinister is happening.

Marcus finds himself wrapped up in the world of the strigoi and elves, though he is a human. Autumn has been tasked with killing strigoi by the mayor, and Marcus is her contact. With a new threat on the scene, the two must work together to find out what Mordravin is really after.

This is a book that I really wanted to love. After all, the book starts off with how elves actually could have existed at one point; there is some archaeological evidence that I found fascinating. Plus, there is plenty of action to keep the reader engaged. What got to me, though, was the abundance of characters.

The characters were overwhelming at the beginning. I made note after note, wondering if I would ever be able to get them straight. With names such as Draekafiel and A'nyiavera Rhealianna D'Sur, who could blame me? Plus, most of those people also had a second name. For example, A'nyiavera Rhealianna D'Sur is most commonly known as Autumn. It took a little longer than I'd like, but I did, finally, get the hang of them.

After the initial confusion, the action and plot drew me in. I felt hooked. Again towards the end, though, I found myself extremely lost. This person was related to this person in this way, who was related to this person because of that. I read sentences two or three times trying to make sense of it, but I eventually gave up. Honestly, it made me feel stupid, and I never did fully understand how everyone was related.

In addition, the book takes place in Bucharest. As such, there were often words and phrases the author used but never explained. Some of the words might have been Romanian. Some were probably elvish. Most of the time, I figured out enough to know they were cuss words. That wasn't always the case, however, and it was frustrating. For example, the author refers to how elves bond as "fer l'amare alkawari."

The book was not professionally edited either. I mostly found homophone errors, but I did see misused words as well. For example, the word though was written instead of thought. These errors were consistent throughout but weren't necessarily overly distracting. It was enough to know that the book was not professionally edited, though.

One final note on the ending - it's definitely a cliffhanger. There were major plot points that were not brought to a conclusion. It seems there is a second book planned, but I won't be reading it.

Overall, I have to give The Size of the Moon 2 out of 4 stars. The editing caused one star to be taken away. I subtracted the other star due to my confusion. If the characters had only been confusing at the beginning, I would not have subtracted that second star. I would recommend this to those who love a cast of numerous fantastical creatures and are quick to pick up on relationships as well as foreign words. If you are easily confused, this is one to skip.

******
The Size of the Moon
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Sounds like that book was hard work! I had a similar problem with Anna Karenina. Everybody could be refereed to by first name, second name, nickname or title, all of which were complicated Russian. However, the editing was superb 😄 Great review and well done for sticking with it.
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Post by kandscreeley »

Helen_Combe wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 13:28 Sounds like that book was hard work! I had a similar problem with Anna Karenina. Everybody could be refereed to by first name, second name, nickname or title, all of which were complicated Russian. However, the editing was superb 😄 Great review and well done for sticking with it.
The book itself has a great plot. But those characters are something else. They just gave me a headache! Thanks.
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Post by Kristy Khem »

Interesting premise. However, the term 'strigoi' is borrowed from the Vampire Academy series. In that book, they are also evil, vampiric creatures who are constantly hunted. There are also Romanian characters in that series. For me, the originality of this story is compromised. However, I do like the names you mentioned in the review!
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Post by Cecilia_L »

Ugh--I hate being confused all the way through a book! Great review of what sounds like a challenging book.
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Post by kandscreeley »

KristyKhem wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 17:47 Interesting premise. However, the term 'strigoi' is borrowed from the Vampire Academy series. In that book, they are also evil, vampiric creatures who are constantly hunted. There are also Romanian characters in that series. For me, the originality of this story is compromised. However, I do like the names you mentioned in the review!
I'm not sure it's necessarily borrowed from that series. It's more likely a myth in that culture that both authors are taking advantage of. Vampire stories have been around forever, after all. Thanks for commenting.
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Post by kandscreeley »

Cecilia_L wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 17:56 Ugh--I hate being confused all the way through a book! Great review of what sounds like a challenging book.
Thank you. It was for sure. However, it had an interesting premise.
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Post by Vscholz »

The premise sounds so intriguing that it is a shame that it is confusing and poorly edited. I like seeing the term strigoi because I have a fascination with the paranormal and supernatural; I think the last time I heard that word was on the episode of Ghost Adventures (one of my guilty pleasures) when they investigated Transylvania.

Thanks for the great review! Your personal voice comes through. I'm always afraid to be too casual or personal in my reviews for fear of points being lost.
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Post by kandscreeley »

Vscholz wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 18:30 The premise sounds so intriguing that it is a shame that it is confusing and poorly edited. I like seeing the term strigoi because I have a fascination with the paranormal and supernatural; I think the last time I heard that word was on the episode of Ghost Adventures (one of my guilty pleasures) when they investigated Transylvania.

Thanks for the great review! Your personal voice comes through. I'm always afraid to be too casual or personal in my reviews for fear of points being lost.
I don't about anyone else, but I love when reviewers share with personality. It really helps them stand out and be unique. As far as the book, if you are familiar with that culture, the book might be more understandable. Thanks!
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Post by holsam_87 »

A lot of times I find that fantasy worlds with convoluted characters are too confusing, especially if there's no clear explanation. I might take a look, but I might not.
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Post by kandscreeley »

holsam_87 wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 20:54 A lot of times I find that fantasy worlds with convoluted characters are too confusing, especially if there's no clear explanation. I might take a look, but I might not.
Fantasy worlds can be confusing. I've read my fair share of fantasy and science fiction. This just seemed a bit more difficult than most.
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Post by Espie »

I could definitely see your point. We all meet a lot of people who each play a different role in our lives. Some we'd just encounter so briefly; there are those who would stay on so it's more possible for us to know and remember them better. Nonetheless, all of us are unique in our own right, but it doesn't readily mean that we deserve less than others. Thank you for your honest review.
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Post by Bavithra M »

Editing issues are big turn-off for a person while reading the book agree with your point. Good review by the way. Thanks.
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Post by gen_g »

I was deciding whether to pick this book up for review; I'm glad you still enjoyed it somewhat. It seems like the author's thoughts didn't translate well onto paper, which made it confusing. It would probably be good to have a glossary of foreign terms at the front/back. Thanks for the detailed review!
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Post by Jackie Holycross »

I like the idea of mystical beings living among us, but too many characters with complex names would lose me. I guess I won't be looking for this one.
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