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Moon Rising
(Luna #3)
by
The continuing saga of the Moon's Five Dragons, already under option from CBS, a fast-paced, intricately plotted space opera pitched as Game of Thrones meets The Expanse
A hundred years in the future, a war wages between the Five Dragons—five families that control the Moon’s leading industrial companies. Each clan does everything in their power to claw their way to the top ...more
A hundred years in the future, a war wages between the Five Dragons—five families that control the Moon’s leading industrial companies. Each clan does everything in their power to claw their way to the top ...more
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Hardcover, 437 pages
Published
March 19th 2019
by Tor Books
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Ian Mcdonald
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Start your review of Moon Rising (Luna #3)

Ian McDonald is one hell of a writer. I've been following his career rather closely and I've loved the kinds of intricate people-centric webs he weaves. They always appear rather rambling and exploratory but more than that, they're deeply about the characters.
Fascinating doesn't begin to describe them. And these three popular Luna novels give us the full run of the five families on the Moon and the gory feud that culminated in mass death in the first book and ending with a fully brilliant ...more
Fascinating doesn't begin to describe them. And these three popular Luna novels give us the full run of the five families on the Moon and the gory feud that culminated in mass death in the first book and ending with a fully brilliant ...more

What an ending!
This is one of my most awaited books for 2019, as I absolutely adore New Moon and Wolf Moon. I already sang praises on the characters and the writing in my previous reviews, in this final review I will focus on the worldbuilding aspect.
I have to admit I was a bit surprised that the author actually expanded the world by adding new settings, new characters, and even new subplots. As with the previous books, the pacing is fast, details might be missed, yet everything came up nicely ...more
This is one of my most awaited books for 2019, as I absolutely adore New Moon and Wolf Moon. I already sang praises on the characters and the writing in my previous reviews, in this final review I will focus on the worldbuilding aspect.
I have to admit I was a bit surprised that the author actually expanded the world by adding new settings, new characters, and even new subplots. As with the previous books, the pacing is fast, details might be missed, yet everything came up nicely ...more

Ahoy me mateys! Grab yer grog! Here be book 3 of the seventh installment of the 3 Bells trilogy showcase. While I try to post no spoilers, ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .
luna: moon rising (Ian McDonald)
Whew! It was certainly a rush down to the wire to finish this trilogy and write me review in time. This review is going to be super short because of a) the time crunch and b) I can't explain much without massive spoilers. I did think this book was much stronger than the ...more
luna: moon rising (Ian McDonald)
Whew! It was certainly a rush down to the wire to finish this trilogy and write me review in time. This review is going to be super short because of a) the time crunch and b) I can't explain much without massive spoilers. I did think this book was much stronger than the ...more

Four stars for the novel
Four and half stars for the trilogy
Really, this is a very good trilogy, brilliant in some aspects, as usual in Ian McDonald's novels. I enjoyed it a lot. However, I have read (or reread) the three novels in a row and for now -and for some time I think- I have enough of Cortas and McKenzies.
For me, highly recommended.
Four and half stars for the trilogy
Really, this is a very good trilogy, brilliant in some aspects, as usual in Ian McDonald's novels. I enjoyed it a lot. However, I have read (or reread) the three novels in a row and for now -and for some time I think- I have enough of Cortas and McKenzies.
For me, highly recommended.

A telenovela themed Dune-esque trilogy set on a colonized Moon comes to an end.
Full disclosure, I'm a fanboi for this author. I also have a recent fetish for all science fiction set on the Moon.
This book was the conclusion of the series. It was well written and richly detailed. The near-future world building was exceptionally good. Of the three (3) books in the series it was the most Dune-like , whereas the middle book in the trilogy (my review) had more of an old fashioned cyberpunk feel ...more
Full disclosure, I'm a fanboi for this author. I also have a recent fetish for all science fiction set on the Moon.
This book was the conclusion of the series. It was well written and richly detailed. The near-future world building was exceptionally good. Of the three (3) books in the series it was the most Dune-like , whereas the middle book in the trilogy (my review) had more of an old fashioned cyberpunk feel ...more

Apr 22, 2019
Lata
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
scifi-fantasy,
2019-read
Oh man! The Mackenzies may " pay back three times", but damn, don't get ever on the Corta's bad side!
This hasn't been the easiest series to get into, and I remember struggling mightily in book one to keep track of everyone and the different motives, and once the violent overthrow of the Cortas began, the deaths were numerous and often horrible, which continued into book two. This book has its share of sudden, violent death, but the Cortas are in a different place at the story's open, with ...more
This hasn't been the easiest series to get into, and I remember struggling mightily in book one to keep track of everyone and the different motives, and once the violent overthrow of the Cortas began, the deaths were numerous and often horrible, which continued into book two. This book has its share of sudden, violent death, but the Cortas are in a different place at the story's open, with ...more

These books are epic on the scale of Game of Thrones, gory on the scale of Stephen King, clever on the scale of Kaz Brekker, and diverse to boot. I recommend this series every chance I get.
But that isn't to say the books aren't without their flaws. There are definitely some things I would have liked tightened up. The primary one being the amount of reading between the lines that's needed to fully grasp these books. I happened to read this with buddies, who were wonderfully patient with me, and I ...more
But that isn't to say the books aren't without their flaws. There are definitely some things I would have liked tightened up. The primary one being the amount of reading between the lines that's needed to fully grasp these books. I happened to read this with buddies, who were wonderfully patient with me, and I ...more

This trilogy got weaker with each book. The final novel was just boring and repetitive. Many of the characters really had no point in the story at all - Robson, Wagner, Lucasinho, Luna - they're all in the story, they all had large parts of the book dedicated to them, but what was the point? It was tedious and dull.
I'm really tired of reading about Wagner's dual light/dark sides, of Robson climbing all over the city, of Ariel's endless internal dialogs about fashion, of the extraneous ...more
I'm really tired of reading about Wagner's dual light/dark sides, of Robson climbing all over the city, of Ariel's endless internal dialogs about fashion, of the extraneous ...more

A great book that finishes a great trilogy. Really, I have no doubts now that a tv-series, if it ever reaches that far, would be a great and popular show, enjoyed by many diverse and different people.
The annotations of these books often screams "Game of Thrones" meets "The Expanse" or something similar. While I can find vague similarities with both of these shows, the treachery, politics, absolute ruthlessness and even a few villains brings me up a whole different sci-fi mammooth - the ...more
The annotations of these books often screams "Game of Thrones" meets "The Expanse" or something similar. While I can find vague similarities with both of these shows, the treachery, politics, absolute ruthlessness and even a few villains brings me up a whole different sci-fi mammooth - the ...more

Well if you made it here to the end, then you know what to expect, and that's exactly what Moon Rising delivers: complicated, political, violent, and full of the expected unexpected.
One thing of exceptional note is the writing. In this final book in particular McDonald shows his mastery of language and structure. Many passages are poems in the guise of narrative, adding an extra experiential layer to the story.
She is never comfortable now. She has no comfort on this world. This chuckle of water, ...more
One thing of exceptional note is the writing. In this final book in particular McDonald shows his mastery of language and structure. Many passages are poems in the guise of narrative, adding an extra experiential layer to the story.
She is never comfortable now. She has no comfort on this world. This chuckle of water, ...more

I loved the first two books of this series very much but found the third rather impenetrable, possibly because there are a great many characters and, despite the useful brief synopsis at the beginning, I found it difficult to remember all that has happened to them. I would definitely recommend reading this hot on the heels of book 2. Now the focus is on the future of the moon as the remaining dragons (chiefs of the key familes) scramble for influence, and control of the dominant Corta family.
...more

Jun 19, 2018
Maja
marked it as to-read
I can't believe that I have to wait until March 2019 for this book!

Phenomenal. The third act is absolute bonkers. Never before has the "Game of Thrones in space" comparison hit the mark as much as this one did.
Moon Rising was one of my most anticipated novels of 2019, and when my publisher offered me the chance to read a pre-proof copy of the third and final installment of Ian McDonald's trilogy, I dived right in. Knowing it would be a dense and fantastic read, but afraid my expectations wouldn't be met. They were. They were met in spades.
The prose is ...more
Moon Rising was one of my most anticipated novels of 2019, and when my publisher offered me the chance to read a pre-proof copy of the third and final installment of Ian McDonald's trilogy, I dived right in. Knowing it would be a dense and fantastic read, but afraid my expectations wouldn't be met. They were. They were met in spades.
The prose is ...more

I did not enjoy this book as much as the other two in the series, but Ian McDonald's writing is as gorgeous as ever, and his Byzantine Game of Thrones meets the 80's primetime soap Dynasty view of the Moon is as outrageous as ever. The story continues, and I will chomp at the bit for the next installment.

I read the novel courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
It's rare that cover copy is as accurate as in the case of McDonald's Luna trilogy; I was promised A Game of Thrones on the moon, and I got pretty much that, except with an ending. Moon Rising brings a few excellent plot developments and character beats and a good conclusion to the story, but there was something about the style - the narrative choices of what was and wasn't shown, the omissions and descriptions - that kept ...more
It's rare that cover copy is as accurate as in the case of McDonald's Luna trilogy; I was promised A Game of Thrones on the moon, and I got pretty much that, except with an ending. Moon Rising brings a few excellent plot developments and character beats and a good conclusion to the story, but there was something about the style - the narrative choices of what was and wasn't shown, the omissions and descriptions - that kept ...more

While the first two books were gripping and enjoyable, the third fell apart under the weight of its lore,
It is an unenjoyable slog through lengthy and often unbelievable prose about characters who've ceased being people and become magnified caricatures.
The first two books created a fascinating future with dynasties battling for control of the moon, and the third throws all of that away for a constant barrage of mystical, pointless proceedings that bloom into existence and die immediately ...more
It is an unenjoyable slog through lengthy and often unbelievable prose about characters who've ceased being people and become magnified caricatures.
The first two books created a fascinating future with dynasties battling for control of the moon, and the third throws all of that away for a constant barrage of mystical, pointless proceedings that bloom into existence and die immediately ...more

Nov 05, 2017
Ophelia
marked it as to-read
what??? I had no earthly idea this was happening and I'm crying a little rn

"It is time for me to take the blade." - Lucas Corta
Finally. I've been waiting for the finale to this saga for four years. And the result? Slightly disappointing.
I'm probably being harsh, there's no way it could have lived up to my expectations. It's no secret I think that this series is the greatest piece of science fiction since sliced cyber-bread, and I recommend it to anyone who sits still long enough. In particular I recommend it to people who think GoT is overrated (my personal viewpoint), ...more

I admit, my expectations for *Luna: Moon Rising* were high. Maybe they were too high. Whatever the case, the novel failed to meet them.
I came across the first book in the series, *Luna: New Moon*, by chance. I hadn't been much of a sci-fi reader before that, but McDonald painted such a vivid, compelling picture of the nearish-future and the families struggling for control of the moon that I was completely absorbed. I wanted to spend time with his well-drawn characters in their surprising, ...more
I came across the first book in the series, *Luna: New Moon*, by chance. I hadn't been much of a sci-fi reader before that, but McDonald painted such a vivid, compelling picture of the nearish-future and the families struggling for control of the moon that I was completely absorbed. I wanted to spend time with his well-drawn characters in their surprising, ...more

Let me try to find words for this book, this whole trilogy. Ian McDonalds „LUNA“-series is inaccessible, even repulsive at times. Its highly complex story wrestles with you. Its grim, sharp-edged world does not want you in it. And the character’s soulless business (driven by a very own sense of ethics) doesn’t want any spectators. Or witnesses.
But if you let yourself in for these novels, you’ll discover ingeniously plotted and stunningly realized Sci-Fi. Pt. 3 is a near perfect (and ...more
But if you let yourself in for these novels, you’ll discover ingeniously plotted and stunningly realized Sci-Fi. Pt. 3 is a near perfect (and ...more

108th book for 2019.
A disappointing ending for what should have been a excellent trilogy. The first book was great and then, it just went down hill. Lots of characters are mentioned here, without much purpose. I strongly get the idea that McDonald had a lot of passion for this project but lost interest, or simply didn't know how to conclude things. Too bad.
2-stars.
A disappointing ending for what should have been a excellent trilogy. The first book was great and then, it just went down hill. Lots of characters are mentioned here, without much purpose. I strongly get the idea that McDonald had a lot of passion for this project but lost interest, or simply didn't know how to conclude things. Too bad.
2-stars.

Overwhelming. Disappointing. Incoherent. And not especially well edited - especially in the first third of the book - there were missed words, misspellings and even the wrong name. I think the book just got away from the author. There's a lot here. And the world and the characters are interesting and fascinating. But also ugly. And violent in a quite uncomfortable way. I was hoping for a different book. I think this series is still worth reading, including this book. But not I was hoping for.

If you've been following the Hotlist for a while, you are aware that every single Ian McDonald adult novel I've read since creating this blog has ended up in my Top 10 for that year. Hence, I was pretty excited when I learned that he was taking a break from his foray into the YA market to return to the more hardcore science fiction works that made him an award-winning author. And yet, although Luna: New Moon was another quality read, it wasn't quite as captivating as books such as River of Gods,
...more

This book was sent to me by the publisher, Hachette, at no cost. It's out now.
This is the third and final book in Ian McDonald's Luna series, and it really doesn't stand alone.New MoonandWolf Moon (which apparently I didn't review? must have been when I was stressed out) are both outstanding and terrifying and if you are interested in near-future, near-Earth speculation, with intensely human characters and scheming dynasties, you really want to read the whole series, so off you go.
There are ...more
This is the third and final book in Ian McDonald's Luna series, and it really doesn't stand alone.New MoonandWolf Moon (which apparently I didn't review? must have been when I was stressed out) are both outstanding and terrifying and if you are interested in near-future, near-Earth speculation, with intensely human characters and scheming dynasties, you really want to read the whole series, so off you go.
There are ...more

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This trilogy falls into the "rarefied masterpiece territory" category, a thing of literary daring, achievement and accomplishment. A suitable comment is "wow".
Again, like in the reading of Hurley's The Light Brigade, it's clear, specially in this last tome, the dialogue with a Heinlein book, in the case The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Ian McDonald's trilogy is even more ambitious, and altogether better.
One picks this because of the characters and the plot, because of the Cortas and the remaining ...more
Again, like in the reading of Hurley's The Light Brigade, it's clear, specially in this last tome, the dialogue with a Heinlein book, in the case The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Ian McDonald's trilogy is even more ambitious, and altogether better.
One picks this because of the characters and the plot, because of the Cortas and the remaining ...more

Moon Rising is the concluding volume in the Luna trilogy. In the future, the moon is controlled by five families, the Dragons, each of whom controls a major industry. It's a libertarian society crossed with the Godfather (which pretty much is what a libertarian society would quickly become), dominated by the ruthless rich, who protect their own riches and family while at times negotiating with and at times waging war against their rivals.
In the preceding two volumes, two of the five families, ...more
In the preceding two volumes, two of the five families, ...more
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Ian Neil McDonald was born in 1960 in Manchester, England, to an Irish mother and a Scottish father. He moved with his family to Northern Ireland in 1965. He used to live in a house built in the back garden of C. S. Lewis’s childhood home but has since moved to central Belfast, where he now lives, exploring interests like cats, contemplative religion, bonsai, bicycles, and comic-book collecting.
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“The true legends are the broken ones: fragments of histories, tellings, embellishments, edits and re-edits. Truth abhors a narrative.”
—
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