Killing with the Edge of the Moon

by A.A. Attanasio, John Bauer (Illustrator)

Mama’s boy Chester Hubert drums up the courage to ask a witch’s granddaughter to the school dance—and finds himself hurtling through a modern, demonic fairy tale. Quiet, elfin Flannery is not like other kids. She has caught the attention of the faerie, beautiful wicked creatures from a mysterious Otherworld. They seduce their victims at midnight raves, then feed them to a dragon. For sport, they hunt souls with a black dog of prodigious evil. And they have taken Flannery for one of their own. Thrust together in the Otherworld’s dark enchantment, Flannery and Chester discover they know each other better than they know their own hearts ... but can they sort things out before the black dog finds them? And what was that about a dragon?

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Fairy Tales, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction Fantasy

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2006

About the author

I’m a novelist and student of the imagination living in Honolulu. Fantasies, visions, hallucinations or whatever we call those irrational powers that illuminate our inner life fascinate me. I’m particularly intrigued by the creative intelligence that scripts our dreams. And I love carrying this soulful energy outside my mind, into the one form that most precisely defines who we are: story.

Reviews

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Young Adult con tonos de fábula.-

Género. Narrativa Fantástica.

Lo que nos cuenta. Nedra Fell trata de controlar a los espíritus para que sigan prolongando su vida y le den poder, aunque una fuerza en forma de perro negro trata de impedirselo y casi lo consigue. La nieta de Nedra, Flannery, una jovial adolescente, será el nuevo objetivo del perro, dejando su cuerpo muy mal herido indirectamente pero abriendo su mente a otra realidad, a la que sabe que, de alguna manera, pertenece.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Iyanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautifully realized, dark faerie tale is a novella featuring a few two-page chapters that get right to the point, lush language and full-bodied imagery. Killing with the Edge of the Moon takes you against your will to a parallel land that sits astride our own. The author blended Celtic myth and contemporary stylization with impeccable technique. His wordplay is at once poetic and action-packed. As a lover of the fantastic written word I wondered why I hadn't heard of any of A.A. Attanasio's books until now. How it happened: One Saturday, I'd taken my daughter to the pool at a recreation center that happened to have a library attached to it. I went in looking for a book she needed for a school project. The library was closing soon and I only had about ten minutes to spare. Short story shorter, couldn't find my kid's book. The way-too-intense chief librarian is barking the two minute warning. So I rush over to the sci fi/fantasy section and just grab Killing with the Edge of the Moon because the gothic inspired cover features a crow, three chalices sporting Celtic knot work and a full and pitted moon. And it's called Killing with the Edge of the Moon. Duh. Of course I'm taking this book out. And I'm glad I did because it turned out to be one of my favorite books. I wanted to relate this tale to you guys because the wonderful and random ways that we discover the books and authors we love are as interesting to me as the books themselves. Hope you have a story like this in your archives somewhere.

[Mauoijenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover of this book grabbed my attention.
I took a gamble on it and it turned out very good.
Written well, just wasn't what I normally read.

[Maki ⌒☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witches out to teach people a lesson? Check. Fairies trying to lure people into their realm? Check. World dragon? Check. Strong basis in Celtic mythology and folklore? Definitely. Now that's an Attanasio book!

I liked this book a lot more than I liked the Conjure Book. It felt more like what I was used to from Attanasio. The story was very poetic...not necessarily the way it was written, but the plot itself: girl gets taken by the fairies, her love has to win her back. It's a story of love and redemption. And writers always get bonus points with me for writing fairies properly.

I also noticed that Attanasio writes dragons well - both in this book, and The Dragon and the Unicorn. It's an interesting mythology, that the world is a dragon.

Another part I enjoyed about this book was how contained this story was. There's really only five essential characters that the book focuses on, and each of them has time to develop. All of the other background characters stay just there - in the background. The book doesn't stop to go into details about why Chester's family is vegetarian. That information isn't important to the plot, so there's no lengthy sidetracking to go into detail about it. I loved how focused the book was on the story.

The characters, while not the most likeable cast, were interesting enough. Really, it was the Daoine Siddhe that kept me reading.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

Flannery's grandmother is a witch. Charms, herbs, cottage on the edge of town, and all the trimmings. Flannery, on the other hand, is not so keen - until a younger boy with a crush gets hurt running after her, and a handsome fairy on a motorcycle rescues her from death's dark clutches. Then it gets complicated, and both she and the boy must work to find a way out of fairyland.

I'm not a fan of urban fantasy or supernatural romance, and this is both. On the other hand, it's also A. A. Attanasio. The result is a surprising, poetic, and intelligent but flawed story built from off-the-shelf ingredients. Attanasio gets a little carried away with the language, and parts of the story are overwritten, which is unusual for him. It's distracting and unfortunate, but not a major barrier to enjoyment.

I'm not too sure Wiccans would appreciate their characterization in the story, and it again feels like an unusual misstep for the tolerant, progressive Attanasio. In addition to using standard props, some of the story's action is on the thin side - a little too easy, and the logic gets a bit ragged toward the end.

All in all, enjoyable for its language, but not one of Attanasio's stronger efforts.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Avoid the audio version.

[Eric F · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The green moment before lightning strikes..." - I came across a short story by Attanasio in an '07 sci-fi/fantasy magazine - and really was taken with the amount of story and rich description he could pack in so few pages (he's a monster with description). In looking up other books, this is the first one I went to - liking the summary of magic, faerie, doors between worlds, and keen to meet the Black Dog. Attanasio's style holds true: these 150 pages hold more thoughtful writing and depth of detail than Twilight can manage in 550. Less is more. "For an instant, she seemed woven of light." The keen way Nedra is stitched together and contrasted with her waifish, initially disconnected granddaughter, Flannery arcs nicely as their relationship and understanding of each other grows through experience and exposure. Poor, hapless Chet's transformation from nerdling into young warrior: "All I wanted was to go to the spring dance with her -- and now we're already at death do us part." The line between our world and the Otherworld - distinct at times and blurrily overlapping at others, "in dreams, where the two worlds bleed together." The allure of the easy way - even if its self-destructive or outright false. Great, sharp details are called out for the dragon's lair: "The acetylene brilliance illuminated clotted arches and stalactite lofts of a gruesome cathedral." The story holds neatly together as a written work and (but for a swelling "ta da" moment in the last chapter) avoids made-for-the-big-screen sloppiness that a lot of current fantasy is fouled by. As "dogs love to fetch a good bone", I will fetch more works by Attanasio.

[Harold Ogle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attanasio is an amazing author, not so much because he writes great stories (though he often does), but because each book seems to be the result of a challenge to write a story "in the style of" another famous author. Not content with settling on one style and one voice for his works, Attanasio cribs others' so effectively that one can only marvel at the craft involved. It also makes a fun reading exercise with each new Attanasio book: to which author is this an hommage? Killing with the Edge of the Moon is Attanasio's Neil Gaiman book. If you've ever read Neil Gaiman in novels or comics, you will recognize his style immediately. This is not limited to the language, either, but includes the type of story being told. Ordinarily, this sort of a writing exercise would seem contrived and irritating, but Attanasio is so effective at perfectly evoking an author in each of his books, I've yet to be anything less than amazed at the craft that goes into it. Killing with the Edge of the Moon is a faerie story that involves an intersection of two worlds that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has read Sandman, American Gods, Anansi Boys, or particularly Stardust, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere, and Coraline. I won't bore you with further details, but this is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys faerie stories and/or Neil Gaiman and other authors influenced by him (such as Susanna Clarke).

[Zach Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I understand, Attanasio normally sets out to write his books in the style of another author, it's the literary quirk he's known for, and his fans love to try and guess who he is emulating. In this case, Attanasio is giving us an extremely good version of a modernized Celtic myth as seen by none other than Neil Gaiman. It just feels a lot like Gaiman, the writing has the same taste and sense as Stardust and Neverwhere. On the whole, I was very impressed with the story, I just wish it was longer.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well done short book about a young girl who is more than she seems. Mixes Celtic lore and modern day society in an interesting way.
The two heroes of the book are young outcasts, Flannery because her 'grandmother' appears to be a Wiccan priestess, and Chet because he is a bookworm from a strange family.
They both discover something about themselves and their world through their adventure. A well told, fast paced story.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this little gem while browsing the library. If you love witch imagery, you will enjoy this book. The ending of the story was a little anticlimactic but this book is about the journey. I feel that Goodread's synopsis doesn't do the story justice; in fact if I had read the synopsis looking for something new to read, I probably would have passed it over. If you love faery tales, fantasy and poetic prose, you will enjoy this book.

[Don]

1992 Nebula Award nominee Attanasio gives us a dark, neo-Celtic fantasy, along with teen romance and a dragon. Flannery and Chet are taunted at school because they are intelligent and different. Chet will soon learn just how different Flannery is when he is called upon by the girl’s very old grandmother to rescue her from the Otherworld.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun fantasy story. A little predictable but still very well-written and a modern take on the Celtic folklore that is covered in great detail in the Perilous Order of Camelot series. I was just looking on Amazon and didn't realize Attanasio had written so many books. I guess my reading list just got longer!

[Deb · Rating 1 out of 5]

When an author is compared to the best of Charles de Lint, Jane Yolen and Holly Black all at once in a favorable book review done by Publisher's Weekly (the reader's bible), I am obligated to read it. But not to finish it.

[Salam Tims · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work of magic from the world's best teller of magical tales! Written for a young audience, it updates faerie lore in a contemporary setting, and has sufficient depth and lyrical writing more than sufficient to enchant readers of any age.

[william Goodrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Killing with the Edge of the Moon

Well written a thoroughly enjoyed by me. Awesome storyline and characterization, held spellbound from beginning to end. Highly recommended by me for anyone interested in great fantasy.

[Carly Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

This was an excellent story that blends a little bit of today with magic. And not soft magic, but the tricky scary kind. Very enjoyable... and if the author writes (or wrote) more about these people, I definitely want to read it.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

"We... are not impressed."

[Kansas City Southern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing plot, but I thought it took a weird turn and finished as if the author had a more pressing engagement. Pity that.

[Rosann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute young adult reading. Im sure girls hearts will go pitter pat with the cute romance in the book :-)

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Things went very quickly, and I just couldn't get into the story. I know it's a work of fiction, but everything was so unbelievable, and even forced, to make make the story continue.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little stilted in the dialogue, a few missed chances to do something really cool, but all in all a sweet little story.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting.

I like trying out new authors, without doing really any research but sometimes it just doesn't play out like I hope.