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The Cold Moons
Follows a band of badgers who count good and evil members among their ranks as well as demagogues and visionary leaders, as they flee from the deadly designs of humans.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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517 people want to read
About the author
Aeron Clement
1 book6 followersAeron Clement (1936-1989) was a Welsh[1] science fiction author. He is most known for having written The Cold Moons, a Watership Down-style story about badgers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
November 21, 2017
I read this wonderful book over a few days in between the others among my current list and loved it. I have a weakness for books about badgers for I feel they get such a bad press and what fascinating creatures they are! The dreadful and cruel practice of capturing badgers for dogs to kill for sport has long incensed me and although illegal, apparently still goes on. On holiday in recent years in Scotland we had a family of badgers nearby and we had the delightful privilege of watching them at play each evening. It is a debatable point whether they really are responsible for giving cattle TB and an argument which I don't want to get into here; but is the wholesale culling of badgers the only method of solving this serious problem for farmers. I recommend this book highly for all those readers who are animal lovers. Another book to enjoy is "The Badgers of Summercombe" by Ewan Clarkson - a fine writer of stories about animals.
August 7, 2016
You might think, on first glance, that this book is very similar to the plot of Watership Down. That it, in fact, might be too similar to Richard Adam's 1972 Furry classic to be enjoyed.
The barebones plot are very similar. A group of small, harmless animals are disturbed from their homes by man. A group of survivors venture out into the unknown and very British country side with a very Moses like leader. There are trials and tribulations, including a conflict with their own kind, but eventually, they find the promised land where they can live in peace... at least for a few generations.
At least, that's why it sat on my shelf for almost a decade collecting dust.
This week, I felt the need to dip into some more children's literature. I found The Cold Moons an equal to, if not superior to Watership Down. Part of what makes this an interesting and intriguing story is the tie in to a real life event. In the early Seventies, the British government was convinced that outbreaks of tuberculosis in cattle was due to diseased badgers. This view was fostered by a conservative newspaper apparently run by a cousin of James Jonah Jameson. Without much research, the government ordered an extermination force to destroy the every last badger in England. The extermination teams went after the goal of badger extinction with an engineer's precision. They would find a sett, block all the exits they could find, and pump in cyanide gas to produce a slow and painful death for their victims.
They also proceeded in an orderly fashion from south to north. At first, they had limited resources associated with this battle. Later, they would bring in helicopters and trackers... and these are the people our badgers are fleeing.
In place of Hazel, we have Buckwheat. Like Hazel, Buckwheat is warned that disaster is coming. Unlike the rabbits' story, it's not a mystic dreamer that acts as a harbinger, but a scarred badger named Bamber that some how escapes the extinction patrol.
The entire first chapter is dedicated to Bamber's happy life with his mate, Dainty, and her death. The tone from sweet to sour is as realistic as any death scene I've read. His whole tribe wiped out... this is the first 9 pages of the story. His sole goal is to survive and find more of his kind that the humans have gone crazy and to warn them.
Thus begins a quest for Elysia.
One of the over-riding themes of this tale is of Legacy. The Legacy that Bambers gives to Buckwheat. The Legacy that Buckwheat, in turn, gives to his son Beaufort. The Legacy that Beaufort has to fight to keep.
Because of Bamber's sacrifice, almost 200 badgers escaped death. I had no idea badgers were so social. Rather than the mere dozen rabbits in Watership Down to flee, the entire power structure of the badgers is intact and that creates a lot of wonderful plot points. You can see different badgers grow (and fail)... including a corrupt, power hungry badger who is willing to kill most of them just to make sure that he gets his way.
I enjoyed this book greatly, although I didn't care too much for the insertion of newspaper articles about the fleeing badgers and the efforts to kill them all. In the end, they were helpful to watch the raising tide of public opinion for badgers that eventually resulted in the critters becoming a protected species. It kept me from becoming too cynical about the ending of the book. So, I shouldn't complain.
The barebones plot are very similar. A group of small, harmless animals are disturbed from their homes by man. A group of survivors venture out into the unknown and very British country side with a very Moses like leader. There are trials and tribulations, including a conflict with their own kind, but eventually, they find the promised land where they can live in peace... at least for a few generations.
At least, that's why it sat on my shelf for almost a decade collecting dust.
This week, I felt the need to dip into some more children's literature. I found The Cold Moons an equal to, if not superior to Watership Down. Part of what makes this an interesting and intriguing story is the tie in to a real life event. In the early Seventies, the British government was convinced that outbreaks of tuberculosis in cattle was due to diseased badgers. This view was fostered by a conservative newspaper apparently run by a cousin of James Jonah Jameson. Without much research, the government ordered an extermination force to destroy the every last badger in England. The extermination teams went after the goal of badger extinction with an engineer's precision. They would find a sett, block all the exits they could find, and pump in cyanide gas to produce a slow and painful death for their victims.
They also proceeded in an orderly fashion from south to north. At first, they had limited resources associated with this battle. Later, they would bring in helicopters and trackers... and these are the people our badgers are fleeing.
In place of Hazel, we have Buckwheat. Like Hazel, Buckwheat is warned that disaster is coming. Unlike the rabbits' story, it's not a mystic dreamer that acts as a harbinger, but a scarred badger named Bamber that some how escapes the extinction patrol.
The entire first chapter is dedicated to Bamber's happy life with his mate, Dainty, and her death. The tone from sweet to sour is as realistic as any death scene I've read. His whole tribe wiped out... this is the first 9 pages of the story. His sole goal is to survive and find more of his kind that the humans have gone crazy and to warn them.
Thus begins a quest for Elysia.
One of the over-riding themes of this tale is of Legacy. The Legacy that Bambers gives to Buckwheat. The Legacy that Buckwheat, in turn, gives to his son Beaufort. The Legacy that Beaufort has to fight to keep.
Because of Bamber's sacrifice, almost 200 badgers escaped death. I had no idea badgers were so social. Rather than the mere dozen rabbits in Watership Down to flee, the entire power structure of the badgers is intact and that creates a lot of wonderful plot points. You can see different badgers grow (and fail)... including a corrupt, power hungry badger who is willing to kill most of them just to make sure that he gets his way.
I enjoyed this book greatly, although I didn't care too much for the insertion of newspaper articles about the fleeing badgers and the efforts to kill them all. In the end, they were helpful to watch the raising tide of public opinion for badgers that eventually resulted in the critters becoming a protected species. It kept me from becoming too cynical about the ending of the book. So, I shouldn't complain.
July 29, 2014
Bamber the Badger discovers that his sett has been destroyed by people, and that all the badgers, including him, have been poisoned. Realising that this is part of a systematic eradication programme, he stumbles off to warn others. He arrives at Cilgwyn Cadre, another sett, and is able to pass on the message before his untimely death.
This sets off a quest for survival in a story that owes a lot to Richard Adams, particularly his books, Watership Down and The Plague Dogs. A story that involves culling of badgers to stop the spread of tuberculosis feels very topical, considering some of the events of a few years ago (although this was written in 1987).
I read this book about twenty years ago, and reading it again I noticed that this book is largely about badger politics. When the reader is introduced to Cilgywn Cadre, the writer talks about the strict system involving elders and council members that shows that the badgers in the story have similarities to humans. The story even goes as far as to introduce a villain, a badger called Kronos, who is determined to create, and win, a battle for power; it almost felt like Game of Thrones with badgers.
Aside from this, the story is largely about the badgers' struggle to escape the imminent danger, and survive all the dangers on their way. The tone of the story is far from cheerful, as many of the characters in the book end up perishing, and there are some incredibly harrowing moments. Throughout the book, Kronos becomes increasingly evil and twisted.
Reading this again, it did occur to me that this felt like a Pilgrim's Progress-style Christian allegory, with the badgers' quest being very similar to the Israelites travelling in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt, with Kronos as the devil (there are even references to him tempting other badgers with promises that they could not fulfil). The badgers in the book are also given their own religion, which seemed heavily influenced by Viking mythology.
I noticed that, since almost all the book is from the point of view of the badgers, there were some things that they did not understand, particularly one moment when people are seen getting off a train, the badgers think they are looking at a monster.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was the fact that there was no dialogue, something that I never noticed when I was younger. I know that it's supposed to be a book about badgers, but there is some suspension of disbelief in the fact that they formed a council, and are evidently able to have intelligent conversations. Instead of showing what exactly is said, the book just mentions briefly what the badgers discussed with each other, which has the disadvantage that most of the characters feel very two-dimensional, with not much indication of personality, except that Kronos is dislikeable, and that other characters are heroic and courageous.
Overall, I thought this was an okay book; not exactly a classic, but I loved the way that this got across a serious conservation message as well as being an enjoyable adventure story.
This sets off a quest for survival in a story that owes a lot to Richard Adams, particularly his books, Watership Down and The Plague Dogs. A story that involves culling of badgers to stop the spread of tuberculosis feels very topical, considering some of the events of a few years ago (although this was written in 1987).
I read this book about twenty years ago, and reading it again I noticed that this book is largely about badger politics. When the reader is introduced to Cilgywn Cadre, the writer talks about the strict system involving elders and council members that shows that the badgers in the story have similarities to humans. The story even goes as far as to introduce a villain, a badger called Kronos, who is determined to create, and win, a battle for power; it almost felt like Game of Thrones with badgers.
Aside from this, the story is largely about the badgers' struggle to escape the imminent danger, and survive all the dangers on their way. The tone of the story is far from cheerful, as many of the characters in the book end up perishing, and there are some incredibly harrowing moments. Throughout the book, Kronos becomes increasingly evil and twisted.
Reading this again, it did occur to me that this felt like a Pilgrim's Progress-style Christian allegory, with the badgers' quest being very similar to the Israelites travelling in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt, with Kronos as the devil (there are even references to him tempting other badgers with promises that they could not fulfil). The badgers in the book are also given their own religion, which seemed heavily influenced by Viking mythology.
I noticed that, since almost all the book is from the point of view of the badgers, there were some things that they did not understand, particularly one moment when people are seen getting off a train, the badgers think they are looking at a monster.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was the fact that there was no dialogue, something that I never noticed when I was younger. I know that it's supposed to be a book about badgers, but there is some suspension of disbelief in the fact that they formed a council, and are evidently able to have intelligent conversations. Instead of showing what exactly is said, the book just mentions briefly what the badgers discussed with each other, which has the disadvantage that most of the characters feel very two-dimensional, with not much indication of personality, except that Kronos is dislikeable, and that other characters are heroic and courageous.
Overall, I thought this was an okay book; not exactly a classic, but I loved the way that this got across a serious conservation message as well as being an enjoyable adventure story.
July 23, 2011
An interesting idea let down by the telling. Clement's style is rambly, detached and alienating; he creates a wealth of interesting characters among the badgers, then declines to animate them/give them any real voice of their own. Everything they say, feel and do is told at a distance, often passively - e.g. "It was Palos who spoke, saying that the group should..." - and in the style of dry reportage, rather than dialogue, POV etc. Mindstates are described rather than shown - like a child copying grown-ups while playing barbies, it's all about rendering action rather than illuminating motivation. One's main reaction is "oh, he's read a lot about badgers".
That said, there are moments of genuine emotional import, and some surprisingly well-painted ones; stronger towards the end of the book, but I would argue they work despite the surrounding prose style, not because of it.
The often longwinded text is as a result very flat in tone, often highly skimmable, and one tends to miss genuinely important material (usually events) buried in distant, uninvolving paragraphs which seem to be about something else entirely. One keeps asking oneself "when did that happen?" and having to turn back to find out.
Overall, this works against the presumed aim of the book (that we should identify with the badgers, fear for them, care for them on their journey). While we do come to understand and care for them, it happens agonisingly slowly, and without any sense of real knowing.
It also makes the rather strange religious tone at times hard to fathom (or the whimsical pastoral sentimentality); it is clear the badgers' belief system exists, but it is a handful of pagan/Norse/semi-christian references dropped in in a higgledy-piggledy fashion; the connections between and implications of them are unclear. It is also hard to believe that the badgers themselves feel strongly about anything, being for the most part so amorphous themselves.
That said, there are moments of genuine emotional import, and some surprisingly well-painted ones; stronger towards the end of the book, but I would argue they work despite the surrounding prose style, not because of it.
The often longwinded text is as a result very flat in tone, often highly skimmable, and one tends to miss genuinely important material (usually events) buried in distant, uninvolving paragraphs which seem to be about something else entirely. One keeps asking oneself "when did that happen?" and having to turn back to find out.
Overall, this works against the presumed aim of the book (that we should identify with the badgers, fear for them, care for them on their journey). While we do come to understand and care for them, it happens agonisingly slowly, and without any sense of real knowing.
It also makes the rather strange religious tone at times hard to fathom (or the whimsical pastoral sentimentality); it is clear the badgers' belief system exists, but it is a handful of pagan/Norse/semi-christian references dropped in in a higgledy-piggledy fashion; the connections between and implications of them are unclear. It is also hard to believe that the badgers themselves feel strongly about anything, being for the most part so amorphous themselves.
August 19, 2018
I have never forgotten the joys and sorrows of Watership Down by Richard Adams and now there is a companion book, “The Cold Moons”. Beautifully written with vivid characters and scapes of Wales throughout the entire story. I will cherish this book and share with others who respect and love the animal world. Thank you Aeron Clement for writing this memorable legend.
September 29, 2013
Sorry everyone, but I loved this book. I found myself laughing and then in tears. I especially liked how he intertwined the story-telling with the actual attempt of extinction of these poor creatures.
November 4, 2016
An interesting idea let down by the telling. The idea of a book about Badgers has always grasped at my heartstrings. As a HUGE fan of Redwall and its Badgers, I dove into this book with a schoolgirl like glee.
I was wrong.
The Book its self isn't all that bad, but I wasn't a fan of his style of writing. The Art was nice, as well as the handy-dandy map. but, again, his writing style tossed me around a bit.
I was wrong.
The Book its self isn't all that bad, but I wasn't a fan of his style of writing. The Art was nice, as well as the handy-dandy map. but, again, his writing style tossed me around a bit.
August 21, 2012
This book took me a long time to get into and i contemplated abandoning it several times. The author's style is detached and over the top, yet almost in spite of myself, I found that I was engaged and emotionally involved in the lives of the badgers. I ended up really enjoying it, but the author's writing style prevents it from being a really good book.
April 12, 2020
Story weakened by its dry narrative, and some of the odd badger politics. The interweaving of the human side of this man v animal story is interesting, but the rest makes it harder to care, despite the drama of the plot.
August 26, 2020
A lovely book. I like the fact that there is no dialogue, because of course badgers don't speak in the sense that we do. The pacing was good, bad things were allowed to happen, and I liked the way the author interspersed it with human journalism.
June 1, 2025
Als kind hield ik van de pan europese reeks, "beestenbos is boos" over een groep dieren uit een lokaal bosje dat verdreven werd van hun thuis door menselijke bouwactiviteiten, de dieren maken een pact dat ze elkaar zullen helpen en niet eten vooraleer ze het half mythische hertenbos vinden waar ze een nieuwe thuis kunnen maken. De intro deun zit nog steeds in mijn hoof na 25 jaar en zo ook een aantal van de personages zoals ondermeer een das, dat nog altijd één van mijn favoriete diersoorten is.
Het was dan ook logisch dat ik dit boek, over de reis van een grote groep dassen van hun thuis naar het beloofde land, opmerkte en begon te lezen. Zoals in beestenbos is boos, zijn de dassen niet zomaar dieren maar gaat het nog een stuk verder met een leiderschapstructuur, wetten, tradities, mythes en religie die hun leven vorm geeft, dit is een gemeeschap geen groep dieren. Doch blijven ze wel op vier poten lopen en snappen ze mensen niet het zijn dus dieren maar van een paar gradaties specialer.
De personages zijn met name heel sterk en vooral Kronos en Eldon sprongen er voor mij uit, die laatste tot mijn eigen verbazing dat ik er zo aan gehecht was geraakt. Maar dat gezegd zijnde vond ik haast alle figuren leuk en interessant op hun eigen manier al wou ik dat sommige iets meer momenten hadden gekregen dan andere.
Ten slotte heeft het boek mij gewezen op een echte historisch en hedendaags fenomeen; het afmaken van dassen in bestrijdingscampagnes, dit is blijkbaar al decennia een ding in de UK en dat schokte mij enorm, heel goed gedaan was de integratie van nieuwsberichten van verschillende kanten (voor en tegen) die de context geven waarin de reis van de dassen zich afspeelt.
ik vond hem zeker de moeite waard voor iedereen die een sucker is voor dierenverhalen maar evenzeer voor wie van exodus verhalen houdt.
Het was dan ook logisch dat ik dit boek, over de reis van een grote groep dassen van hun thuis naar het beloofde land, opmerkte en begon te lezen. Zoals in beestenbos is boos, zijn de dassen niet zomaar dieren maar gaat het nog een stuk verder met een leiderschapstructuur, wetten, tradities, mythes en religie die hun leven vorm geeft, dit is een gemeeschap geen groep dieren. Doch blijven ze wel op vier poten lopen en snappen ze mensen niet het zijn dus dieren maar van een paar gradaties specialer.
De personages zijn met name heel sterk en vooral Kronos en Eldon sprongen er voor mij uit, die laatste tot mijn eigen verbazing dat ik er zo aan gehecht was geraakt. Maar dat gezegd zijnde vond ik haast alle figuren leuk en interessant op hun eigen manier al wou ik dat sommige iets meer momenten hadden gekregen dan andere.
Ten slotte heeft het boek mij gewezen op een echte historisch en hedendaags fenomeen; het afmaken van dassen in bestrijdingscampagnes, dit is blijkbaar al decennia een ding in de UK en dat schokte mij enorm, heel goed gedaan was de integratie van nieuwsberichten van verschillende kanten (voor en tegen) die de context geven waarin de reis van de dassen zich afspeelt.
ik vond hem zeker de moeite waard voor iedereen die een sucker is voor dierenverhalen maar evenzeer voor wie van exodus verhalen houdt.
February 1, 2024
Do you have a book you read as a teenager that just really stuck with you? Did you reread it? Was it the same?
‘Cold Moons’ by Aeron Clement was such a book for me. And I love it still!💙
Background: Tuberculosis broke out in the UK in the 1970’s and 80’s within the cattle population and badgers were found to be carriers. Even though there was no real substantial evidence to prove that TB spread from badger to bovine, a mass extermination of badgers began.
Lending his voice to the badger plight, Aeron Clement uses newspaper articles of the time, juxtaposed with his fantasy prose about a group of badgers who embark on a journey to find a new safe haven.
In this book you will find:
🌔 Fantastic theme of leadership
🌓 Gorgeous nature description
🌒 Reference to deities of ancient cultures and lore
🌑 Wonderful, memorable characters
🌘 The kindness of humans, in the end.
Most of all, it is the theme and experience of “leadership” which really makes this book for me. All manner of challenges that leaders might face come to light. A real study on leadership.
Its only real fault (in my opinion) is that it is a bit patriarchal. Yet, there are moments when the females among the badgers win the day.
🎨Artwork done by his wife, Jill Clement. Gorgeous B&W illustrations, mostly in the form of spot illustrations and full-page maps. Also, the first letter of each chapter is decorated in seasonal blooms, which change with the seasons.
Do Note: contains animal death, and description of how humans in the program carried out badger exterminations.
‘Cold Moons’ by Aeron Clement was such a book for me. And I love it still!💙
Background: Tuberculosis broke out in the UK in the 1970’s and 80’s within the cattle population and badgers were found to be carriers. Even though there was no real substantial evidence to prove that TB spread from badger to bovine, a mass extermination of badgers began.
Lending his voice to the badger plight, Aeron Clement uses newspaper articles of the time, juxtaposed with his fantasy prose about a group of badgers who embark on a journey to find a new safe haven.
In this book you will find:
🌔 Fantastic theme of leadership
🌓 Gorgeous nature description
🌒 Reference to deities of ancient cultures and lore
🌑 Wonderful, memorable characters
🌘 The kindness of humans, in the end.
Most of all, it is the theme and experience of “leadership” which really makes this book for me. All manner of challenges that leaders might face come to light. A real study on leadership.
Its only real fault (in my opinion) is that it is a bit patriarchal. Yet, there are moments when the females among the badgers win the day.
🎨Artwork done by his wife, Jill Clement. Gorgeous B&W illustrations, mostly in the form of spot illustrations and full-page maps. Also, the first letter of each chapter is decorated in seasonal blooms, which change with the seasons.
Do Note: contains animal death, and description of how humans in the program carried out badger exterminations.
January 25, 2024
I thought I hated novels like Watership down, Moby Dick, Black Beauty, Animal farm, Water for elephants etc for the brutal, graphic animal cruelty.
This takes it to a whole new level.
There was an animal death on pretty much every single page.
The story centred on a colony of badgers exodus to find a safer habitat from man.
Basically every one of any note dies on the way.
We all know nature is brutal but this turned me sick, it's worse for animal cruelty than any of those books I listed.
Absolutely awful and I switched off and just read to get to the end, I couldn't care about any of the characters as I didn't have time to as the author killed them off.
This will haunt me for a long time the description of their deaths.
I couldn't read anything else by this author as animal related topics are a personal trigger for me.
This takes it to a whole new level.
There was an animal death on pretty much every single page.
The story centred on a colony of badgers exodus to find a safer habitat from man.
Basically every one of any note dies on the way.
We all know nature is brutal but this turned me sick, it's worse for animal cruelty than any of those books I listed.
Absolutely awful and I switched off and just read to get to the end, I couldn't care about any of the characters as I didn't have time to as the author killed them off.
This will haunt me for a long time the description of their deaths.
I couldn't read anything else by this author as animal related topics are a personal trigger for me.
September 11, 2025
Loved this: like "Watership Down" with badgers.
September 23, 2025
A poor man's Watership Down. Very dull.
April 28, 2023
Es curioso que muchos de los libros que tienen animales como protagonistas tienen tramas similares, que van generalmente de los animales teniendo que migrar de su lugar de origen para llegar a una tierra mejor, y todo esto por culpa de los humanos.
Este libro sigue la misma lógica, pero el papel de los humanos me parece más interesante. Por culpa de un brote de tuberculosis, los humanos deciden exterminar a los tejones del área, por ser los animales que se sospecha que esparcen esta enfermedad. Si bien no son protagonistas, cada ciertos capítulos se nos muestra lo que ocurre con los humanos a través de reportajes de diario. Vemos al alcalde intentando salvar al ganado de las personas con maniobras de exterminio, y por otro lado tenemos un grupo que defiende a los tejones.
Ahora, a la parte central del libro. Me sorprendió lo trágico que llegaba a ser; murieron muchos personajes, habían muchas descripciones violentas que me tomaron por sorpresa. Hubo por lo menos dos personajes que pensé que llegarían a ser protagonistas, pero murieron antes de llegar a serlo.
Los personajes, tristemente, fueron bastante planos, tanto los protagonistas como el villano. Creo que la historia, que fue bastante larga, podría haber desarrollado más y mejor a sus personajes; solo los describía como súper heroicos y buenos, o al villano como extremadamente malo. Creo que para el tono que tenía el recorrido de estos tejones hubiese estado bueno ver, por ejemplo, a un antagonista más firme o con razones más fuertes que solo ser malo.
Me encantó como estaba escrito el libro. Los finales de los capítulos eran muy poéticos, y las descripciones eran hermosas. De hecho, estaba escrito todo de manera tan fluida que me fijé muy tarde ya en el libro que no habían diálogos.
Y el final quedó tan lindo y tan redondo que casi se me sale una lagrimita de la emoción.
Me hubiese encantado haber leído este libro más tranquila y de corrido, sin tener tantos trabajos de por medio para poder disfrutarlo más.
Este libro sigue la misma lógica, pero el papel de los humanos me parece más interesante. Por culpa de un brote de tuberculosis, los humanos deciden exterminar a los tejones del área, por ser los animales que se sospecha que esparcen esta enfermedad. Si bien no son protagonistas, cada ciertos capítulos se nos muestra lo que ocurre con los humanos a través de reportajes de diario. Vemos al alcalde intentando salvar al ganado de las personas con maniobras de exterminio, y por otro lado tenemos un grupo que defiende a los tejones.
Ahora, a la parte central del libro. Me sorprendió lo trágico que llegaba a ser; murieron muchos personajes, habían muchas descripciones violentas que me tomaron por sorpresa. Hubo por lo menos dos personajes que pensé que llegarían a ser protagonistas, pero murieron antes de llegar a serlo.
Los personajes, tristemente, fueron bastante planos, tanto los protagonistas como el villano. Creo que la historia, que fue bastante larga, podría haber desarrollado más y mejor a sus personajes; solo los describía como súper heroicos y buenos, o al villano como extremadamente malo. Creo que para el tono que tenía el recorrido de estos tejones hubiese estado bueno ver, por ejemplo, a un antagonista más firme o con razones más fuertes que solo ser malo.
Me encantó como estaba escrito el libro. Los finales de los capítulos eran muy poéticos, y las descripciones eran hermosas. De hecho, estaba escrito todo de manera tan fluida que me fijé muy tarde ya en el libro que no habían diálogos.
Y el final quedó tan lindo y tan redondo que casi se me sale una lagrimita de la emoción.
Me hubiese encantado haber leído este libro más tranquila y de corrido, sin tener tantos trabajos de por medio para poder disfrutarlo más.
September 26, 2012
I vaguely recollect an interesting story about the struggle to publish The Cold Moons. If I recall it right, the author had his manuscript rejected by several publishing houses in the first place. Then later, he and his wife and a number of supportive friends set up their own publishing house specifically to get the book released. It did surprisingly well and was picked up by Penguin Books for its paperback release.
The story is essentially a thinly disguised retread of Watership Down, with a new animal at the core of the narrative (this time it's badgers). Clement's writing style is occasionally too flowery and over-indulgent but his description of the badger's perilous journey is engaging enough. He adopts a deliberate non-dialogue approach - the badgers' communication is described rather than spoken throughout the book, presumably for the sake of "realism". It's a very odd approach which takes some getting used to... some may find it impersonal, but I felt it added a degree of feasibility to the proceedings. (Books where animals engage in a full-on conversation sometimes leave me bewildered and uninvolved).
The plot involves a misguided human decision to eradicate a badger community, and the badgers' long and arduous journey to escape from the humans. It's a very straightfroward quest narrative - the quest being to find their Watership...erm, I mean their Elysia... before they're all destroyed. Some make it, some don't.
There's not a lot to add about the book. If you like animal fiction it will no doubt appeal. If you like fiction more broadly, like myself, there's sufficient interest to keep you reading but the book is hardly a lost classic. Just an enjoyable, straight-forward time killer, really.
The story is essentially a thinly disguised retread of Watership Down, with a new animal at the core of the narrative (this time it's badgers). Clement's writing style is occasionally too flowery and over-indulgent but his description of the badger's perilous journey is engaging enough. He adopts a deliberate non-dialogue approach - the badgers' communication is described rather than spoken throughout the book, presumably for the sake of "realism". It's a very odd approach which takes some getting used to... some may find it impersonal, but I felt it added a degree of feasibility to the proceedings. (Books where animals engage in a full-on conversation sometimes leave me bewildered and uninvolved).
The plot involves a misguided human decision to eradicate a badger community, and the badgers' long and arduous journey to escape from the humans. It's a very straightfroward quest narrative - the quest being to find their Watership...erm, I mean their Elysia... before they're all destroyed. Some make it, some don't.
There's not a lot to add about the book. If you like animal fiction it will no doubt appeal. If you like fiction more broadly, like myself, there's sufficient interest to keep you reading but the book is hardly a lost classic. Just an enjoyable, straight-forward time killer, really.
November 12, 2021
‘The Cold Moons’ is the story of a group of badgers who flee their territory after humans attempt to exterminate them, and their adventures as they search for a new home. This idea appealed to me as I love animal stories, but I was disappointed with it.
It is written in a very odd style. This is neither an immersive talking-animals story like ‘Watership Down’ nor an impersonal narrator-style story like ‘The Call of the Wild’ – it is somewhere in between. We are told that the badgers are talking to each other, but there is no dialogue. We never get to see exactly what they are saying. For me, this made it hard to get to know the characters, which resulted in moments that were supposed to be touching or sad not meaning very much, because I didn’t feel I knew the characters well enough to care about them. The book was something of a chore to read for this reason.
Additionally, some of the badgers’ behaviour was too anthropomorphic for my liking – for example, hugging each other and their mates being referred to as their ‘wives’. They have what appears to be a religion (never explained in detail), but it uses many terms from human mythology, such as Asgard, which an animal would obviously have no way of knowing.
The story itself was not awful – I’ve read much worse books – but it did not capture my attention or engage my emotions in any way. I can’t honestly recommend it even to animal lovers.
It is written in a very odd style. This is neither an immersive talking-animals story like ‘Watership Down’ nor an impersonal narrator-style story like ‘The Call of the Wild’ – it is somewhere in between. We are told that the badgers are talking to each other, but there is no dialogue. We never get to see exactly what they are saying. For me, this made it hard to get to know the characters, which resulted in moments that were supposed to be touching or sad not meaning very much, because I didn’t feel I knew the characters well enough to care about them. The book was something of a chore to read for this reason.
Additionally, some of the badgers’ behaviour was too anthropomorphic for my liking – for example, hugging each other and their mates being referred to as their ‘wives’. They have what appears to be a religion (never explained in detail), but it uses many terms from human mythology, such as Asgard, which an animal would obviously have no way of knowing.
The story itself was not awful – I’ve read much worse books – but it did not capture my attention or engage my emotions in any way. I can’t honestly recommend it even to animal lovers.
October 5, 2022
***ENGLISH REVIEW BELOW***
Dit was een leuk boek. Het heeft een beetje een sprookjesachtig gevoel, hoewel de schrijfstijl ook wat Bijbelachtig aandeed. Het is op een bepaalde manier voorspelbaar, maar het is toch leuk. Ik miste vrouwelijke personages; ze hebben maar enkele keren tekst, en dan alleen maar om de mannen te ondersteunen. Ik vond de twist op het einde leuk, dat was hartverwarmend. Ik vond de nieuwshoofdstukken tussendoor ook leuk, ik weet niet hoeveel daarvan waar is, maar het geeft het een meer realistisch gevoel en ik vind het leuk om te denken dat dit verhaal echt gebeurd is. Ik hou van een goed einde, en het verhaal maakt de cirkel mooi rond. De tekeningen waren ook mooi. Alles bij een elkaar, een leuk verhaal :)
***ENGLISH REVIEW***
This was an amusing read. It has a bit of a fairytale feel to it, although the writing style also sometimes feels somewhat biblical. In some ways, it's predictable, but it's amusing nonetheless. I missed female characters; they only occasionally have a speaking role, and then only to support the males. I enjoyed the twist at the end, that was heartwarming. I also liked the news paper chapters in between, I don't know how much of it is true, but it gives it a more realistic feel and I'd like to think of this story as something that really happened. I always love a happy ending, and the story coming full circle is a nice touch. The images were also pretty. All in all, a fun story :)
Dit was een leuk boek. Het heeft een beetje een sprookjesachtig gevoel, hoewel de schrijfstijl ook wat Bijbelachtig aandeed. Het is op een bepaalde manier voorspelbaar, maar het is toch leuk. Ik miste vrouwelijke personages; ze hebben maar enkele keren tekst, en dan alleen maar om de mannen te ondersteunen. Ik vond de twist op het einde leuk, dat was hartverwarmend. Ik vond de nieuwshoofdstukken tussendoor ook leuk, ik weet niet hoeveel daarvan waar is, maar het geeft het een meer realistisch gevoel en ik vind het leuk om te denken dat dit verhaal echt gebeurd is. Ik hou van een goed einde, en het verhaal maakt de cirkel mooi rond. De tekeningen waren ook mooi. Alles bij een elkaar, een leuk verhaal :)
***ENGLISH REVIEW***
This was an amusing read. It has a bit of a fairytale feel to it, although the writing style also sometimes feels somewhat biblical. In some ways, it's predictable, but it's amusing nonetheless. I missed female characters; they only occasionally have a speaking role, and then only to support the males. I enjoyed the twist at the end, that was heartwarming. I also liked the news paper chapters in between, I don't know how much of it is true, but it gives it a more realistic feel and I'd like to think of this story as something that really happened. I always love a happy ending, and the story coming full circle is a nice touch. The images were also pretty. All in all, a fun story :)
November 23, 2016
I suppose this is quite similar as Watership Down (Ruohometsän kansa) which I haven't read. The basic idea about the animal community forced to move (escape) is at least the same.
I did not especially like this novel even though I like badgers and everybody trying to protect them. As I like all animals and their protectors.
Humanizing the animals is not the way we should try to understand them and give them the value they earn and own by default. The animals are not valuable according to the level they resemble homo sapiens or appeal to us.
In this novel badgers were made to resemble humans in many irritating ways giving them features which are mostly "human" features: envy, cruelty, egoism, hate... even a badger religion was added to the story with bits and pieces from different old and new beliefs (including Valhalla etc.).
The purpose of the novel is most likely very good but the format is not for my liking. Anyway I hope it had and has an effect in the fight against the unbelievable badger cull (persecution) which is almost yearly raising its ugly head in UK putting the badgers in danger - based on totally unscientific belief that badgers spread tuberculosis amongst cattle. The truth seems to be vice versa. People are good in inventing excuses for killing.
Kylmät kuut
WSOY 1989
I did not especially like this novel even though I like badgers and everybody trying to protect them. As I like all animals and their protectors.
Humanizing the animals is not the way we should try to understand them and give them the value they earn and own by default. The animals are not valuable according to the level they resemble homo sapiens or appeal to us.
In this novel badgers were made to resemble humans in many irritating ways giving them features which are mostly "human" features: envy, cruelty, egoism, hate... even a badger religion was added to the story with bits and pieces from different old and new beliefs (including Valhalla etc.).
The purpose of the novel is most likely very good but the format is not for my liking. Anyway I hope it had and has an effect in the fight against the unbelievable badger cull (persecution) which is almost yearly raising its ugly head in UK putting the badgers in danger - based on totally unscientific belief that badgers spread tuberculosis amongst cattle. The truth seems to be vice versa. People are good in inventing excuses for killing.
Kylmät kuut
WSOY 1989
August 1, 2025
Actual rating 3.5/5
I did overall like this one, but I think it's pretty flawed. The biggest issue for me is the writing voice the author uses, and the choice to not include dialogue despite the characters clearly being anthropomorphized. This isn't your White Fang or Tarka the Otter where having the animal characters talk would be out of place, these badgers have clear human traits. But no dialogue or inner thoughts, for some reason.
The book also suffers from some issues like some characters not being as interesting as they could be (mostly as a result of the writing voice making them feel less distinct), lazy world-building using human elements and there is definitely some sexism present here that I don't like seeing in my books.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...
I did overall like this one, but I think it's pretty flawed. The biggest issue for me is the writing voice the author uses, and the choice to not include dialogue despite the characters clearly being anthropomorphized. This isn't your White Fang or Tarka the Otter where having the animal characters talk would be out of place, these badgers have clear human traits. But no dialogue or inner thoughts, for some reason.
The book also suffers from some issues like some characters not being as interesting as they could be (mostly as a result of the writing voice making them feel less distinct), lazy world-building using human elements and there is definitely some sexism present here that I don't like seeing in my books.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...
April 23, 2022
I think I enjoyed the prose more than the story itself which, while not bad, definitely felt inferior to Richard Adams' Watership Down. That is not a knock against Clement's writing or the story that he chooses to utilize that prose on, but I always felt a certain disconnect with the characters due to most of the story being told to the reader in summaries. It's not a bad tactic, but does rob the reader of getting to personally know the badgers in not utilizing sentences to display a conversation with words like "he/she said". Also, Clement switches back and forth between the perspectives of a scenario from the badgers and humans perspective that I found added a sense of causality to either groups actions.
September 21, 2024
Let's start by saying that if you didn't like Richard Adams' "Watership Down" you won't like this book because the story is very similar. Instead of rabbits we have anthropomorphized badgers. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad story by any means, it's just that I feel that in many cases the author over did the anthropomorphization when descriptions of the badgers' actions are way more human than badger. For example, "...he wandered over to his bride of the last birth time and embraced her lovingly.". One of the main underlying themes of the book was actually based on fact, and that was the British government's effort to exterminate all badgers in the 1970s, an effort that was essentially stopped by humane organizations but to an extent continues to this day.
April 10, 2021
Un libro che ha del meraviglioso. Per chi ama la natura questa è una fiaba bellissima e che fa riflettere. È la storia di una comunità di tassi costretta a fuggire dal suo insediamento a causa di una legge crudele inglese che ne prevedeva lo sterminio. Un vero e proprio avventuroso esodo verso una terra promessa. Un lungo viaggio pieno di insidie, in cui il vero nemico, quello più cattivo e spietato, più di ogni catastrofe naturale, è l'uomo con la sua cecità, la sua presunzione, il suo egoismo. Da leggere.
May 8, 2023
I enjoyed reading this story of badgers on a journey to survive and find a safe, new place to call home, while also learning, as I read it, about badger’s habits, the countryside they encountered, as well as the parallel real-life story of the attempt (in the 1970s) to eliminate all badgers from the UK. The author brilliantly set this story in the midst of that real-life history. It could definitely be seen as a Watership Down-type story, but is also enough different from it that it can be called unique. Very enjoyable.
January 9, 2015
Lack of dialogue makes the characters kind of unidentifiable, and the book bares a strong resemblance to Watership Down (the rabbits -- oops, I mean badgers -- are driven from their home by man, find a new one, encounter death and obstacles on the way, and confront an evil badger), the mythology is not well-developed, but it's kind of enjoyable nonetheless.
December 18, 2020
I really expected to like this book, as talking animals is one of my favorite genres. But by about a third of the way through, I realized I was almost re-reading Watership Down, but with badgers, and the writing style not as good. So disappointed I didn't even read to the end, just flipped to the last chapter to see if it ended as I thought it would, and it did.
May 25, 2022
I find this book very contradictory. On the one hand, the story is very good and interests me a lot. On the other hand, I find the book very exhausting to read because there is no verbatim speech at all. This makes it seem monotonous and you read "as if in a trance".
I think this could have been done better.
The illustrations give the book a nice depth.
I think this could have been done better.
The illustrations give the book a nice depth.
December 25, 2008
Cried and cried. A Watership Down for badgers. Just read this again and it is so emotive you feel desperate for the badger's plight. One for nature lovers, it has poignancy, comedy, tragedy and tremendous spirit.
August 26, 2016
Watership Down about badgers. Surprisingly no one wanted to publish this book initially, yet turned into quite a success.
Aeron's wife produced the artwork and cover, from Carmarthenshire, Wales. He has since passed away.
Aeron's wife produced the artwork and cover, from Carmarthenshire, Wales. He has since passed away.
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