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Deathlands #77
Cannibal Moon
POUND OF FLESH
In the hostile new world of postnuclear America, there are many ways to die, but few are clean or quick. Long ago Ryan Cawdor and his band threw in their lot together—to do or die trying. It was a pact sealed in blood, one of selflessness and sacrifice that put a premium on the value of loyalty, friendship and honor—and the blind faith that survival is a better option than certain death.
FEEDING FRENZY
Compassion is a luxury in a brutal land where life is cheap, but Dr. Mildred Wyeth holds fast to her physician's oath to show mercy. Now she's stricken by a plague that brings on a deep craving for human flesh. Unwilling to lose one of their own to this pervasive pestilence without a fight, the companions follow the trail to Cajun country, where the mysterious queen of the Cannies is rumored to possess the only antidote to the grim fate that awaits Mildred… and perhaps her warrior friends.
In the hostile new world of postnuclear America, there are many ways to die, but few are clean or quick. Long ago Ryan Cawdor and his band threw in their lot together—to do or die trying. It was a pact sealed in blood, one of selflessness and sacrifice that put a premium on the value of loyalty, friendship and honor—and the blind faith that survival is a better option than certain death.
FEEDING FRENZY
Compassion is a luxury in a brutal land where life is cheap, but Dr. Mildred Wyeth holds fast to her physician's oath to show mercy. Now she's stricken by a plague that brings on a deep craving for human flesh. Unwilling to lose one of their own to this pervasive pestilence without a fight, the companions follow the trail to Cajun country, where the mysterious queen of the Cannies is rumored to possess the only antidote to the grim fate that awaits Mildred… and perhaps her warrior friends.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
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103 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 27, 2015
Well, this is certainly a case of getting pretty much what I expected.
If any of you know what I've read before and what this is by comparison you pretty much know that this might be a fairly unusual read for me, and it rather is. Wanna know why I read it? 'Cause I had to know! I had to see why works like this are published by the shovelful by Harlequin Enterprises and similar publishers that can get away with releasing stuff like this bi-monthly! Could you imagine? If I could write novels bi-monthly I'd last maybe two months and then probably catch fire from the friction on the keyboard.
Also, the name of the book is Cannibal Moon, how could I not?
I'm not a connoisseur of the Deathlands setting or similar works. In fact, this is my very first. I think, in a way, it's perfect: the buildup comes in a page long of text that tells me, rather matter of factually, what the setting is and who the characters are. Since they were referred to by multiple names in the novel, I just started to insert my own based on action movies and other references. Thus, from what I understand, Snake Pliskin and his lover Milla Rage are joined by Eli from the Book of Eli if the spoilery thing hadn't happened yet and he happened to like explosives, His son Sir Not Appearing In This Film, a very pissed off interpretation of Johny Depp's Tonto, Dr. Michonne if her katana had been replaced by silver medalist handgunnery and almost literally The Time Traveler a-la the book The Time Machine but now he likes to carry around a sword cane and occasionally go psychotic because he has seen things man is not meant to see. My biggest question thus far is why is this not an action movie?
Seriously why is it not an action movie? That sounds like what this was written for. It even had the scrolling text at the beginning to explain who all those characters I just listed actually were, just on a single page and the scroll is your eyes moving along the words. Everything is very visual in this book. Characters are defined by their most visually obvious traits and what they say. There are tons of 'camera angles' one could easily see happening in the way things are described, probably more creative than a lot of the shots used today in modern actiony flicks.
What's the central plot point? Well a character has the literal infectious disease that causes cannibalism in the post apocalypse. The cannibals themselves are supposed to slowly die out because their disease is not just literally melting their brains, but also ensures they get less and less nutrition from human flesh. But, then they learn there's a woman frozen from the past who might be the originator of the disease itself that carries an immunity to keep them alive long past their expiration date!
Starting to get the picture here?
This novel is amazing in it's ability to draw from every possible spectrum with this kind of nonchalance that I would imagine is really difficult to replicate in other forms of media: Well all the cannibals are in Louisiana and we happen to live in Oregon, oh wait we have fast travel! It just works don't worry about it too much. So the cannibals are what curable? Nope, just have to kill all of them, aim for the head, kind of like zombies except they can shoot back and talk and do other stuff. That's okay though, they're all still unrepentantly evil, like zombies. There's even a sex scene, albeit it's a paragraph long and is the most business-like sexual encounter I've ever seen committed to writing but it's there! Someone likes it!
So did I figure out why stuff like this gets published nowadays?
I think so. It's simple really: why do action movies keep getting made when we very clearly have movies that are far better at capturing the experience of many 'action heroes?' When we have games like The Last of Us why do we keep getting Call of Duty and Minecraft clones? When we have books that can be emotionally, intellectually and artistically satisfying, why do we keep getting the latest Twilight rip offs and, frankly, Cannibal Moons?
Because they're easy to read. Not just in the literal sense, I'm used to works that can be far more dense, but in the emotional and intellectual sense. Never once did I feel like I was being challenged to think about anything that was happening. I felt a sense of accomplishment for getting through the thing despite my misgivings or the little nagging sense that it was a 'waste of time' in the back of my mind, but I didn't grow as a person or consider any particularly difficult questions except perhaps whether I would want to try out a Mat-Trans or not. And the best part is it's so inoffensive while being all about action and stuff: it hits every button to make sure that everyone is okay with it, other than perhaps pacifists, I mean the woman on the cover with the rather decently sized firearm should probably clue one in.
Do I recommend this book? Well, there are far better things to do with your time, of course, but if you're just looking for a really smooth ride with a lot of violence, one liners and explosions and you think you're a better director in your head than Micheal Bay is on the big screen then I would say definitely go for it. It will certainly not disappoint on that front.
If any of you know what I've read before and what this is by comparison you pretty much know that this might be a fairly unusual read for me, and it rather is. Wanna know why I read it? 'Cause I had to know! I had to see why works like this are published by the shovelful by Harlequin Enterprises and similar publishers that can get away with releasing stuff like this bi-monthly! Could you imagine? If I could write novels bi-monthly I'd last maybe two months and then probably catch fire from the friction on the keyboard.
Also, the name of the book is Cannibal Moon, how could I not?
I'm not a connoisseur of the Deathlands setting or similar works. In fact, this is my very first. I think, in a way, it's perfect: the buildup comes in a page long of text that tells me, rather matter of factually, what the setting is and who the characters are. Since they were referred to by multiple names in the novel, I just started to insert my own based on action movies and other references. Thus, from what I understand, Snake Pliskin and his lover Milla Rage are joined by Eli from the Book of Eli if the spoilery thing hadn't happened yet and he happened to like explosives, His son Sir Not Appearing In This Film, a very pissed off interpretation of Johny Depp's Tonto, Dr. Michonne if her katana had been replaced by silver medalist handgunnery and almost literally The Time Traveler a-la the book The Time Machine but now he likes to carry around a sword cane and occasionally go psychotic because he has seen things man is not meant to see. My biggest question thus far is why is this not an action movie?
Seriously why is it not an action movie? That sounds like what this was written for. It even had the scrolling text at the beginning to explain who all those characters I just listed actually were, just on a single page and the scroll is your eyes moving along the words. Everything is very visual in this book. Characters are defined by their most visually obvious traits and what they say. There are tons of 'camera angles' one could easily see happening in the way things are described, probably more creative than a lot of the shots used today in modern actiony flicks.
What's the central plot point? Well a character has the literal infectious disease that causes cannibalism in the post apocalypse. The cannibals themselves are supposed to slowly die out because their disease is not just literally melting their brains, but also ensures they get less and less nutrition from human flesh. But, then they learn there's a woman frozen from the past who might be the originator of the disease itself that carries an immunity to keep them alive long past their expiration date!
Starting to get the picture here?
This novel is amazing in it's ability to draw from every possible spectrum with this kind of nonchalance that I would imagine is really difficult to replicate in other forms of media: Well all the cannibals are in Louisiana and we happen to live in Oregon, oh wait we have fast travel! It just works don't worry about it too much. So the cannibals are what curable? Nope, just have to kill all of them, aim for the head, kind of like zombies except they can shoot back and talk and do other stuff. That's okay though, they're all still unrepentantly evil, like zombies. There's even a sex scene, albeit it's a paragraph long and is the most business-like sexual encounter I've ever seen committed to writing but it's there! Someone likes it!
So did I figure out why stuff like this gets published nowadays?
I think so. It's simple really: why do action movies keep getting made when we very clearly have movies that are far better at capturing the experience of many 'action heroes?' When we have games like The Last of Us why do we keep getting Call of Duty and Minecraft clones? When we have books that can be emotionally, intellectually and artistically satisfying, why do we keep getting the latest Twilight rip offs and, frankly, Cannibal Moons?
Because they're easy to read. Not just in the literal sense, I'm used to works that can be far more dense, but in the emotional and intellectual sense. Never once did I feel like I was being challenged to think about anything that was happening. I felt a sense of accomplishment for getting through the thing despite my misgivings or the little nagging sense that it was a 'waste of time' in the back of my mind, but I didn't grow as a person or consider any particularly difficult questions except perhaps whether I would want to try out a Mat-Trans or not. And the best part is it's so inoffensive while being all about action and stuff: it hits every button to make sure that everyone is okay with it, other than perhaps pacifists, I mean the woman on the cover with the rather decently sized firearm should probably clue one in.
Do I recommend this book? Well, there are far better things to do with your time, of course, but if you're just looking for a really smooth ride with a lot of violence, one liners and explosions and you think you're a better director in your head than Micheal Bay is on the big screen then I would say definitely go for it. It will certainly not disappoint on that front.
June 9, 2017
Cannibal Moon is the 77th book in the Deathlands series under the house name James Axler.
First and foremost, I am a fan of the Deathlands series, it is one of my guilty little pleasures. I say "guilty" because they are pulp, formulaic, predictable, violent, often misogynist and anti-social. Thank goodness they are not racist. Apparently the nuclear holocaust eliminated racism (guess it's not all bad).
Cannibal Moon is focused on (you guessed it) cannibalism. Cannibals often play a part in the deathlands saga. Until this book however, they were usually loosely organized, poorly equipped and easily dispatched by the companions. In Cannibal Moon this is not the case. The cannibals here are organized, very well outfitted and threatening to take over.
Books in this series often focus on different companions as the main character being affected by the story line. In Cannibal Moon it happens to be Mildred. What struck me with this story was how little the rest of the companions contributed. Since Mildred and J.B. have a romantic connection it was surprising to me that he had such a small impact here. Also Jak seemed to be almost a disinterested party to what was happening.
Although I read Deathlands books expecting just what I get; over the top violence, machismo, dystopian societies, and heroes that emerge victorious no matter the odds. I don't expect high quality writing, lofty prose. I expect down and dirty, gritty, in-your-face descriptions of the horrors of the "hellscape". I was a bit disappointed in Cannibal Moon. It struck me as a little flat. I still enjoyed it, but not as much as others in the series. I guess that is to be expected with such a large series; not every book is going to thrill every reader.
Deathlands is still my not so secret pleasure, and Cannibal Moon may not be the pinnacle of the series but it was enjoyable enough. Fans of the series will still like it. Enjoy!
Mike
First and foremost, I am a fan of the Deathlands series, it is one of my guilty little pleasures. I say "guilty" because they are pulp, formulaic, predictable, violent, often misogynist and anti-social. Thank goodness they are not racist. Apparently the nuclear holocaust eliminated racism (guess it's not all bad).
Cannibal Moon is focused on (you guessed it) cannibalism. Cannibals often play a part in the deathlands saga. Until this book however, they were usually loosely organized, poorly equipped and easily dispatched by the companions. In Cannibal Moon this is not the case. The cannibals here are organized, very well outfitted and threatening to take over.
Books in this series often focus on different companions as the main character being affected by the story line. In Cannibal Moon it happens to be Mildred. What struck me with this story was how little the rest of the companions contributed. Since Mildred and J.B. have a romantic connection it was surprising to me that he had such a small impact here. Also Jak seemed to be almost a disinterested party to what was happening.
Although I read Deathlands books expecting just what I get; over the top violence, machismo, dystopian societies, and heroes that emerge victorious no matter the odds. I don't expect high quality writing, lofty prose. I expect down and dirty, gritty, in-your-face descriptions of the horrors of the "hellscape". I was a bit disappointed in Cannibal Moon. It struck me as a little flat. I still enjoyed it, but not as much as others in the series. I guess that is to be expected with such a large series; not every book is going to thrill every reader.
Deathlands is still my not so secret pleasure, and Cannibal Moon may not be the pinnacle of the series but it was enjoyable enough. Fans of the series will still like it. Enjoy!
Mike
July 25, 2014
Not a bad story. My first time reading a Deathlands novel, seemed like an okay place to jump in. The typos really annoy me though.
July 10, 2019
Interesting change in perspective, but some of it was unrealistic (given that this is a book series about a nuclear cannibal apocalypse world) - like that J.B. was almost absent from a story about his girlfriend slowly dying.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews