Lycans have lived among us for a very long time, or at least they have in this very plausible alternate America. Caused by a prion similar to Mad Cow Disease, Lycans transform into wolf like creatures when angered or aroused, however drugs such as Volpexx help control the urges. Surprisingly, in keeping with proper werewolf myth, silver can still harm them. Up until the start of the book, Lycans and humans coexisted in a state of truce when things suddenly take a turn for the worse. The novel follows the lives of a number of characters, primarily two teenagers, Claire, a Lycan whose parents are murdered in cold blood by government forces following the events that open the book, and Patrick whose life is permanently changed after he becomes the lone survivor of a Lycan terrorist attack on a commercial flight. We cannot also forget the gun toting cowboy Governor Chase.

Originally intended as a trilogy, this novel has been expertly blended into one epic story. At around 350 pages, it’s not going to be quick read. Yet, in spite of its length, the reader is rewarded with rich tapestry and a world hauntingly similar to ours, with landscapes reminiscent of early Stephen King and more recently John Connolly.

Characterisation is by far this book’s strength. In an epic novel, it is always difficult to keep track of who is who and to keep the voices clear and distinct. Each chapter is divided into smaller excerpts and Benjamin Percy manages to successfully glide in and out of each character whilst ensuring that they retain their history and identity. This leads to a very fast paced book and suspense is carefully drawn out so that you have to keep reading. Gore is also expertly handled so that it does not feel gratuitous even though practically every page drips with blood. The shocks are not meant to horrify in the way a slasher flick does, but add weight to the plight of the characters. It is almost certainly a book that ultimately ends up with a couple of missed tube stops.

Throughout its length the book is thick with obvious political allegory. The war on terror, weapons of mass destruction and religious extremism have all been packed into the alternate history of Percy's world, and the Middle East conflict has been substituted with a war in the Lycan Republic. 9/11 and the current occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan are clearly in the forefront of the author’s brain. Terrorist attacks and knee-jerk government reaction are both heavily criticised, yet the author does not come down on either side, thus demonstrating both the good and the bad in society and the world in general.

It can be said that by switching the real world for Lycans actually oversimplifies or trivialises the very issues it is trying to address and, in part at least, I agree. But we have to decide why we are reading the book in the first place. If Percy wanted to address the issues in their entirety, then surely a non-fiction book would have been a better vehicle, otherwise the author runs the risk of a didactic tale, putting the novel at risk. What we have here is a brilliant story, with a highly charged political backdrop. It’s a love story, an odyssey, a fairy tale and a bloody good adventure. Please let there be a book number two.

Red Moon is published by Hodder & Stoughton on 9th May, and is available with free delivery from The Book Depository and on the high street from Blackwell and all good book stores.

Benjamin Percy can be found at his website, and on Twitter or Facebook

Come and listen a Q&A with Benjamin Percy about Red Moon, and see the first two episodes of Hemlock Grove TONIGHT at SCI-FI-LONDON and They Live Among Us.

Review by Leila
Posted by Robert