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The Moth Saga #1
Moth
They say the world used to turn. They say that night would follow day in an endless dance. They say that dawn rose, dusk fell, and we worshiped both sun and stars.
That was a long time ago.
The dance has died. The world has fallen still. We float through the heavens, one half always in light, one half always in shadow. Like the moth of our forests, one wing white and the other black, we are torn.
My people are the fortunate. We live in daylight, blessed in the warmth of the sun. Yet across the line, the others lurk in eternal night, afraid... and alone in the dark.
I was born in the light. I was sent into darkness. This is my story.
That was a long time ago.
The dance has died. The world has fallen still. We float through the heavens, one half always in light, one half always in shadow. Like the moth of our forests, one wing white and the other black, we are torn.
My people are the fortunate. We live in daylight, blessed in the warmth of the sun. Yet across the line, the others lurk in eternal night, afraid... and alone in the dark.
I was born in the light. I was sent into darkness. This is my story.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2013
About the author
Daniel Arenson
153 books866 followersDaniel Arenson is a bookworm, proud geek, and USA Today bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction. His novels have sold over a million copies. The Huffington Post has called his writing "full of soul." He's written over forty novels, most of them in five series:
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
EARTHRISE — They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Against the alien onslaught, Earth stands alone. But we will fight. We will rise. We will win. Start reading with Earth Alone, the first novel in this military science fiction series.
REQUIEM — Welcome to Requiem, an ancient kingdom whose people can grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem is explored in six trilogies, which can be read in any order. If you're new to Requiem, you can start reading with Requiem's Song (you can download it for free). For fans of dark, gritty fantasy like A Game of Thrones.
MOTH — Discover Moth, a world torn between day and night—its one half drenched in eternal daylight, the other cloaked in endless darkness. For fans of classic fantasy worlds such as Middle Earth and Narnia. Start reading with Moth, the first novel in this epic fantasy saga.
ALIEN HUNTERS — Got trouble with aliens? Call the Alien Hunters. A group of scruffy mercenaries, they'll remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Start reading with Alien Hunters, the first book in this space opera series. For fans of Star Wars, Firefly, and Guardians of the Galaxy.
KINGDOMS OF SAND — Enter a world of sand and splendor, a world where gladiators battle in the arena, where legionaries and barbarians fight for glory, and where empires rise and fall.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
February 17, 2016
I love Lucky Charms. It’s a great cereal. When I was younger, I used to eat around the marshmallows so that I could eat them all at the end. It was a reward for finishing the more boring parts first. It made eating it fun. And then I grew up and between the stress of a job in a highly technical field, a mortgage, student and car loans, yard work, house work, etc, etc, that delayed satisfaction has lost its appeal.
So I now have this endearing (my fiancé claims annoying) little habit of eating the marshmallows straight out of the box when I’m stressed out. It took him a while to realize what was happening because he hadn’t eaten the cereal since he was a kid and he figured that they were putting fewer marshmallows in it because they were trying to make it healthier. Then one day he was the first one to open the box and things started to add up.
His big “Ah-ha!” moment came when he found me half-shitfaced after an especially stressful week at work, sitting in the dark on our pantry floor with my hand stuck in the box. The crumbs on my shirt told him all he needed to know.
Most books I pick up are like boxes of Lucky Charms. I never know if some asshole has gone through them first and eaten all the good parts. Fantasy seems to be the exception to this rule for me. I consistently enjoy it more than any other genre and for that reason I keep coming back to it.
This book is a perfect example of why. It has a unique and incredibly built world, fantastic characterization, gorgeous writing, underdog MCs, ruthless villains, some potential game changers lingering on the sidelines, power struggles, impossible odds, epic battles, the list goes on and on.
Reading this book was like opening a box of Lucky Charms to find that someone had replaced all the crap I didn’t want with more marshmallows. And I don't mean that this book was sugary sweet. It wasn't. It was intricate and dark, detailed and daring. What I'm trying to say is that this book was fucking awesome.
If you’re a fantasy fangirl or boy you should totally pick it up. If you’re not, you should still totally pick it up because it’s a wonderful example of the magic that this genre has to offer. I cannot wait to see where Arenson takes this series.
This review can also be found at The Book Eaters.
So I now have this endearing (my fiancé claims annoying) little habit of eating the marshmallows straight out of the box when I’m stressed out. It took him a while to realize what was happening because he hadn’t eaten the cereal since he was a kid and he figured that they were putting fewer marshmallows in it because they were trying to make it healthier. Then one day he was the first one to open the box and things started to add up.
His big “Ah-ha!” moment came when he found me half-shitfaced after an especially stressful week at work, sitting in the dark on our pantry floor with my hand stuck in the box. The crumbs on my shirt told him all he needed to know.
Most books I pick up are like boxes of Lucky Charms. I never know if some asshole has gone through them first and eaten all the good parts. Fantasy seems to be the exception to this rule for me. I consistently enjoy it more than any other genre and for that reason I keep coming back to it.
This book is a perfect example of why. It has a unique and incredibly built world, fantastic characterization, gorgeous writing, underdog MCs, ruthless villains, some potential game changers lingering on the sidelines, power struggles, impossible odds, epic battles, the list goes on and on.
Reading this book was like opening a box of Lucky Charms to find that someone had replaced all the crap I didn’t want with more marshmallows. And I don't mean that this book was sugary sweet. It wasn't. It was intricate and dark, detailed and daring. What I'm trying to say is that this book was fucking awesome.
If you’re a fantasy fangirl or boy you should totally pick it up. If you’re not, you should still totally pick it up because it’s a wonderful example of the magic that this genre has to offer. I cannot wait to see where Arenson takes this series.
This review can also be found at The Book Eaters.
September 6, 2016
ATTENTION: This whole series is currently on sale for $0.99!
I love Lucky Charms. It’s a great cereal. When I was younger, I used to eat around the marshmallows so that I could eat them all at the end. It was a reward for finishing the more boring parts first. It made eating it fun.
And then I grew up, and between the stress of a job in a highly technical field, a mortgage, student and car loans, yard work, house work, etc, etc, that delayed satisfaction has lost its appeal.
So I now have this endearing (my fiancé would say annoying) little habit of eating the marshmallows straight out of the box when I’m stressed out. It took him a while to realize what was happening, because he hadn’t eaten the cereal since he was a kid and he figured that they were putting fewer marshmallows in it in an attempt to make it healthier.
Ha.
Then one day he was the first one to open the box and things started to add up. His big “Ah-ha!” moment came when he found me half-shitfaced after an especially stressful week at work, sitting in the dark on our pantry floor with my hand stuck in the box. The crumbs on my shirt told him all he needed to know.
What I'm trying to say is that most books I pick up are like boxes of Lucky Charms. I never know if some asshole has gone through them first and removed all the good parts. Fantasy seems to be the exception to this rule for me. I consistently enjoy it more than any other genre, and for that reason I keep coming back to it.
This book is a perfect example of why. It has a unique and incredibly built world, fantastic characterization, gorgeous writing, underdog MCs, ruthless villains, some potential game-changers lingering on the sidelines, power struggles, impossible odds, epic battles, the list goes on and on.
Reading this book was like opening a box of Lucky Charms to find that someone had replaced all the crap I didn’t want with MORE MARSHMALLOWS. And I don't mean that this book was sugary sweet. It wasn't. It was intricate and dark, detailed and daring. What I'm trying to say is that this book was frigging awesome.
If you’re a fantasy fangirl or boy you should totally pick it up. If you’re not, you should still totally pick it up, because it’s a wonderful example of the magic that this genre has to offer. I cannot wait to see where Arenson takes this series.
I love Lucky Charms. It’s a great cereal. When I was younger, I used to eat around the marshmallows so that I could eat them all at the end. It was a reward for finishing the more boring parts first. It made eating it fun.
And then I grew up, and between the stress of a job in a highly technical field, a mortgage, student and car loans, yard work, house work, etc, etc, that delayed satisfaction has lost its appeal.
So I now have this endearing (my fiancé would say annoying) little habit of eating the marshmallows straight out of the box when I’m stressed out. It took him a while to realize what was happening, because he hadn’t eaten the cereal since he was a kid and he figured that they were putting fewer marshmallows in it in an attempt to make it healthier.
Ha.
Then one day he was the first one to open the box and things started to add up. His big “Ah-ha!” moment came when he found me half-shitfaced after an especially stressful week at work, sitting in the dark on our pantry floor with my hand stuck in the box. The crumbs on my shirt told him all he needed to know.
What I'm trying to say is that most books I pick up are like boxes of Lucky Charms. I never know if some asshole has gone through them first and removed all the good parts. Fantasy seems to be the exception to this rule for me. I consistently enjoy it more than any other genre, and for that reason I keep coming back to it.
This book is a perfect example of why. It has a unique and incredibly built world, fantastic characterization, gorgeous writing, underdog MCs, ruthless villains, some potential game-changers lingering on the sidelines, power struggles, impossible odds, epic battles, the list goes on and on.
Reading this book was like opening a box of Lucky Charms to find that someone had replaced all the crap I didn’t want with MORE MARSHMALLOWS. And I don't mean that this book was sugary sweet. It wasn't. It was intricate and dark, detailed and daring. What I'm trying to say is that this book was frigging awesome.
If you’re a fantasy fangirl or boy you should totally pick it up. If you’re not, you should still totally pick it up, because it’s a wonderful example of the magic that this genre has to offer. I cannot wait to see where Arenson takes this series.
September 10, 2023
This book inspired me . . .
. . . to skip to the end. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. What a rush! So freeing. It came to me in a flash of brilliance as I trod off to bed last night, sent up by my wife because I was nodding off while reading this, then at roughly the 40% mark. I’m not good at DNFing a book, and that’s not what I did here, because I did finish. I just did not middle (DNM). I’ll have to hold onto this trick.
It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying the book. I just wasn’t enjoying it enough to feel good about the time it would take to read the entire thing (although it’s not that long.) The plan that sprung to mind was to skip ahead and read the last four chapters. If I encountered anything intriguing there, I could go back and see what I missed leading to that. That did not happen. Instead, what I encountered made me appreciate my decision to skip ahead even more. The fourth-to-last chapter featured a new POV character, which the e-book search function told me was first introduced half-way into the book. This doesn’t have to be a terrible thing, but given that the story was structured to reflect the nature of the world, half light and half dark, with two POV characters, one from each side, adding this new character violated that foundational structure which was one of the key aspects that interested me up to that point. That third POV character subsequently had zero role in the book’s outcome across the last three chapters, so was clearly only filler and/or placed for future books in the series.
Jumping ahead in the book also gave me a fresh look at the writing quality, which really is not bad, particularly for self-publishing. I had thought earlier that even if I didn’t care for this book, the writing craft was sufficient that I would not say no to a newer book by this author should one find me in the future. I still hold to this, but in the last chapters, a cheesy quality to the writing jumped out at me. I already thought it had a YA quality to it, a degree of simplicity and superficiality to the characters, plot, and worldbuilding. But decent writing within that context.
Much earlier, it took some effort of will to continue after the first couple of chapters. Although this was a significantly better product than some other free self-published long-hoarded e-books I’ve been working through lately, the first chapters strained logic in multiple ways, and it required an active choice to suspend disbelief and roll with the story to see what came next. (It probably helped that my tablet battery was running low enough that I wouldn’t have time to engage with a new book before it ran out, so I just continued. Saved by the diminishing charge.) I won’t go into all the details but here is one example:
The book’s concept is a tidal-locked world. I.e. one side permanently faces the sun, and the other permanently faces away (although it receives moonlight and starlight). At the opening, two day-side characters are heading into the middle dusk zone looking for a missing child. The book states, “Torin had never seen the sun shine from anywhere but overhead,” but where they are, “The shadows deepened, stretching across the forest floor like slender men in black robes.” HOW FUCKING FAR DID THEY WALK? On a planet that doesn’t rotate, to go from having the sun overhead to a place where the angle produces long shadows would require walking a full quarter of the way around the planet. Is this a tiny fucking planet? Does the Little Prince live here? Even going from moderate-length shadows to long shadows would require traversing a hefty portion of the planet’s circumference. I haven’t done the math, but this makes sense, right? These are not world travellers either, these are teenagers walking from their podunk village.
I was also very disappointed to learn that on the dark side of the planet, where people have evolved to have giant eyes like deep sea fish, they still use copious light. Lanterns, candles, bonfires everywhere to light up their cities, in addition to the moon and starlight. So why are their eyes huge? And why did they also evolve long pointy ears, how does that help them adapt to darkness?
Anyway, that’s the stuff I had to deal with before pushing past the initial chapters, and I won’t even go into the inadequate portrayal of the first characters’ home village, populated solely by four teenagers and 496 zombie sheep villagers, apparently.
To end on a positive: I liked the idea of the light/dark story balance, and I truly enjoyed the portrayal of the dark side world’s beauty and culture, with crystal fields and non-sun-dependent foodstuffs (mostly mushrooms and seafood).
. . . to skip to the end. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. What a rush! So freeing. It came to me in a flash of brilliance as I trod off to bed last night, sent up by my wife because I was nodding off while reading this, then at roughly the 40% mark. I’m not good at DNFing a book, and that’s not what I did here, because I did finish. I just did not middle (DNM). I’ll have to hold onto this trick.
It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying the book. I just wasn’t enjoying it enough to feel good about the time it would take to read the entire thing (although it’s not that long.) The plan that sprung to mind was to skip ahead and read the last four chapters. If I encountered anything intriguing there, I could go back and see what I missed leading to that. That did not happen. Instead, what I encountered made me appreciate my decision to skip ahead even more. The fourth-to-last chapter featured a new POV character, which the e-book search function told me was first introduced half-way into the book. This doesn’t have to be a terrible thing, but given that the story was structured to reflect the nature of the world, half light and half dark, with two POV characters, one from each side, adding this new character violated that foundational structure which was one of the key aspects that interested me up to that point. That third POV character subsequently had zero role in the book’s outcome across the last three chapters, so was clearly only filler and/or placed for future books in the series.
Jumping ahead in the book also gave me a fresh look at the writing quality, which really is not bad, particularly for self-publishing. I had thought earlier that even if I didn’t care for this book, the writing craft was sufficient that I would not say no to a newer book by this author should one find me in the future. I still hold to this, but in the last chapters, a cheesy quality to the writing jumped out at me. I already thought it had a YA quality to it, a degree of simplicity and superficiality to the characters, plot, and worldbuilding. But decent writing within that context.
Much earlier, it took some effort of will to continue after the first couple of chapters. Although this was a significantly better product than some other free self-published long-hoarded e-books I’ve been working through lately, the first chapters strained logic in multiple ways, and it required an active choice to suspend disbelief and roll with the story to see what came next. (It probably helped that my tablet battery was running low enough that I wouldn’t have time to engage with a new book before it ran out, so I just continued. Saved by the diminishing charge.) I won’t go into all the details but here is one example:
The book’s concept is a tidal-locked world. I.e. one side permanently faces the sun, and the other permanently faces away (although it receives moonlight and starlight). At the opening, two day-side characters are heading into the middle dusk zone looking for a missing child. The book states, “Torin had never seen the sun shine from anywhere but overhead,” but where they are, “The shadows deepened, stretching across the forest floor like slender men in black robes.” HOW FUCKING FAR DID THEY WALK? On a planet that doesn’t rotate, to go from having the sun overhead to a place where the angle produces long shadows would require walking a full quarter of the way around the planet. Is this a tiny fucking planet? Does the Little Prince live here? Even going from moderate-length shadows to long shadows would require traversing a hefty portion of the planet’s circumference. I haven’t done the math, but this makes sense, right? These are not world travellers either, these are teenagers walking from their podunk village.
I was also very disappointed to learn that on the dark side of the planet, where people have evolved to have giant eyes like deep sea fish, they still use copious light. Lanterns, candles, bonfires everywhere to light up their cities, in addition to the moon and starlight. So why are their eyes huge? And why did they also evolve long pointy ears, how does that help them adapt to darkness?
Anyway, that’s the stuff I had to deal with before pushing past the initial chapters, and I won’t even go into the inadequate portrayal of the first characters’ home village, populated solely by four teenagers and 496 zombie sheep villagers, apparently.
To end on a positive: I liked the idea of the light/dark story balance, and I truly enjoyed the portrayal of the dark side world’s beauty and culture, with crystal fields and non-sun-dependent foodstuffs (mostly mushrooms and seafood).
May 26, 2022
POLILLA. Novela del género fantástico, el primero de la saga "Moth", que actualmente no cuenta con traducción al español.
La trama acontece en el mundo de Moth (Polilla), un planeta dónde la mitad se halla en permanente luz y la otra mitad en permanente oscuridad. A partir de ahí, la novela seguirá dos líneas argumentales; la de Torin, un chico nacido bajo el eterno sol y que intentará evitar una guerra en contra de los residentes de la oscuridad, y la de Koyee, el mejor personaje de la novela, una chica nacida bajo la eterna noche que hará lo posible para convencer a sus congéneres de que los seres de la luz existen y que pretenden invadirlos.
Está novela la leí tras suscribirme a la página web del autor que, a cambio, regalaba uno de sus libros a elección y la verdad que de todo el catálogo que tiene, "Moth" fue de las que me parecieron más interesantes. El concepto de mundo luz-oscuridad con gente buena y asustada de ambos lados me llamó la atención, así que por supuesto le di su oportunidad.
Sin embargo, la historia va en un constante declive que terminó de echar por tierra todo ese interés inicial.
Para comenzar, la historia de Torin es bastante aburrida, que si la sacamos y la dejáramos por sí sola no se sostiene para nada. Cosa aparte es la historia de Koyee, algo sufrida, pero que al menos nos hace conectar con su personaje a un nivel suficiente como para que nos importe. Aún así, su arco argumental se va llenando de inconsistencias que... ¡Vamos! Una chica joven, casi una chiquilla, comandando y derrotando a un ejército entrenado solo con ayuda de aldeanos con "picas y palas" que por conveniencia de la trama en algunos puntos parecieran ser 50 y en otros 500.
El mundo luz-oscuridad es otra cosa de las que hacen ruido. Se entiende que esto sea fantasía, pero acá el autor lo trata de manera tan poco prolija que resulta contraproducente. Para empezar, en un mundo con estas características no sería posible la vida... y aún así, si la hubiera, el lado del eterno día sería claramente un interminable desierto, acá hay plantas, jardines, árboles, rios, lagos, etc. En el lado de la eterna noche al menos tiene un poco más de sentido, se alimentan de cosas como hongos y es un gran espacio de roca desnuda, aún así no llega a ser lo suficientemente Interesante o bien construido como para robar nuestra atención. De hecho es un lado del planeta bastante monotono y aburrido.
Finalmente, la trama es demasiado predecible. Desde el mismo momento en que el autor pone las fichas en el tablero sabremos cómo va a terminar. Pese a que no he leido las continuaciones, es más qué evidente que habrá un romance entre Torin y Koyee en libros futuros, así como qué era más que evidente que la novela terminaría con un enfrentamiento entre representantes de ambos bandos (luz-oscuridad) y el problema no es realmente ello, sino que la forma en como el autor nos hace llegar hasta allá. Un viaje deslucido y con pocas sorpresas.
En fin, una novela con un mundo interesante pero en el que, lamentablemente, su autor no pudo encontrar una muy buena historia.
¡Entretiene por partes... y si apagas tu cerebro e ignoras las inconsistencias, seguramente disfrutarás más!
*Está saga cuenta con 6 partes, considerando el tiempo que ha pasado desde que leí este primer libro (hace ya varios años atrás), probablemente nunca lea las continuaciones.
La trama acontece en el mundo de Moth (Polilla), un planeta dónde la mitad se halla en permanente luz y la otra mitad en permanente oscuridad. A partir de ahí, la novela seguirá dos líneas argumentales; la de Torin, un chico nacido bajo el eterno sol y que intentará evitar una guerra en contra de los residentes de la oscuridad, y la de Koyee, el mejor personaje de la novela, una chica nacida bajo la eterna noche que hará lo posible para convencer a sus congéneres de que los seres de la luz existen y que pretenden invadirlos.
Está novela la leí tras suscribirme a la página web del autor que, a cambio, regalaba uno de sus libros a elección y la verdad que de todo el catálogo que tiene, "Moth" fue de las que me parecieron más interesantes. El concepto de mundo luz-oscuridad con gente buena y asustada de ambos lados me llamó la atención, así que por supuesto le di su oportunidad.
Sin embargo, la historia va en un constante declive que terminó de echar por tierra todo ese interés inicial.
Para comenzar, la historia de Torin es bastante aburrida, que si la sacamos y la dejáramos por sí sola no se sostiene para nada. Cosa aparte es la historia de Koyee, algo sufrida, pero que al menos nos hace conectar con su personaje a un nivel suficiente como para que nos importe. Aún así, su arco argumental se va llenando de inconsistencias que... ¡Vamos! Una chica joven, casi una chiquilla, comandando y derrotando a un ejército entrenado solo con ayuda de aldeanos con "picas y palas" que por conveniencia de la trama en algunos puntos parecieran ser 50 y en otros 500.
El mundo luz-oscuridad es otra cosa de las que hacen ruido. Se entiende que esto sea fantasía, pero acá el autor lo trata de manera tan poco prolija que resulta contraproducente. Para empezar, en un mundo con estas características no sería posible la vida... y aún así, si la hubiera, el lado del eterno día sería claramente un interminable desierto, acá hay plantas, jardines, árboles, rios, lagos, etc. En el lado de la eterna noche al menos tiene un poco más de sentido, se alimentan de cosas como hongos y es un gran espacio de roca desnuda, aún así no llega a ser lo suficientemente Interesante o bien construido como para robar nuestra atención. De hecho es un lado del planeta bastante monotono y aburrido.
Finalmente, la trama es demasiado predecible. Desde el mismo momento en que el autor pone las fichas en el tablero sabremos cómo va a terminar. Pese a que no he leido las continuaciones, es más qué evidente que habrá un romance entre Torin y Koyee en libros futuros, así como qué era más que evidente que la novela terminaría con un enfrentamiento entre representantes de ambos bandos (luz-oscuridad) y el problema no es realmente ello, sino que la forma en como el autor nos hace llegar hasta allá. Un viaje deslucido y con pocas sorpresas.
En fin, una novela con un mundo interesante pero en el que, lamentablemente, su autor no pudo encontrar una muy buena historia.
¡Entretiene por partes... y si apagas tu cerebro e ignoras las inconsistencias, seguramente disfrutarás más!
*Está saga cuenta con 6 partes, considerando el tiempo que ha pasado desde que leí este primer libro (hace ya varios años atrás), probablemente nunca lea las continuaciones.
January 21, 2014
The book started off interesting, a bit improbable but interesting. I just could not come to like the main protagonists torin and koyee at all. All the other supporting characters were not interesting enough either except for Bailey who seemingly has no ability to control herself. I basically gave up after this fishermans daughter koyee somehow ends up as some sort of military genius and shouting orders and directing soldiers on how to defend the city. I mean come on this is the same girl whose spent months playing a flute on street corners ( and robbed twice) and then playing flute yet again as some sort of indentured servant in a brothel. Was this a mystical flute that bestowed her with magical battle prowess? Could have been a much better book - it seemed like the author was really trying to rush us along to the end.
November 2, 2021
As the author kindly offered the first book in the Moth series free of charge and considering that at least one of my friends had read it, I decided to give the book a try. The concept of a world divided literally into light and darkness seems quite original and offers plenty of space to develop moral themes—particularly themes as familiar as racism, the perversion of religion, and ways to act morally or less so in the midst of a world in chaos. The novel has moments of intense action, in a general warlike setting, and satisfactory character development. I enjoyed the first ‘Moth’ book and look forward to reading the other books in this series.
July 7, 2014
As soon as I started to read Moth, I knew I wouldn't enjoy it. It has every fantasy cliché and stereotype you could think of from the very first page. I found it completely forgettable, as soon as I put it down I forgot all the characters' names and I'm really not sure how it works out that a year passes for one guy but the Elorian girl thinks it's only been a few months. Their timelines seemed SO forced; so many non-events happen just so time will move along for both protagonists.
Honestly, I thought it started out quite well. I could just about overlook the nonsense behind the entire premise of the world not turning anymore but somehow every still survives, sure, okay. But unfortunately the storylines just get worse and worse, not a single thing happens that surprised me or made me think "Gee, this is exciting, I wonder what will happen next." The addition of the third narrator also seemed forced just to add some drama when the rest of the plot was stagnant, and then nothing came of it anyway.
I really, really wish I could enjoy this type of high fantasy but I am yet to find a book or series in the genre that has felt truly original.
Honestly, I thought it started out quite well. I could just about overlook the nonsense behind the entire premise of the world not turning anymore but somehow every still survives, sure, okay. But unfortunately the storylines just get worse and worse, not a single thing happens that surprised me or made me think "Gee, this is exciting, I wonder what will happen next." The addition of the third narrator also seemed forced just to add some drama when the rest of the plot was stagnant, and then nothing came of it anyway.
I really, really wish I could enjoy this type of high fantasy but I am yet to find a book or series in the genre that has felt truly original.
November 1, 2013
When I picked up Moth, I did so looking for something to save me from another book that I just couldn't finish.
What a great choice I made!
Moth immediately drew me in and the other day, when I glanced down and saw that I had hit 78% I wondered how that had happened, I was completely shocked that I was that far along. Moth pulled me in so completely that the reading of it went by in a blink. I found the pacing to be perfect, and don't recall a slow moment within the book.
I absolutely loved the characters. They were well-written and stayed true to themselves throughout the book, allowing for enough growth to keep them from feeling one-dimensional. I'd be hard-pressed to choose a favorite.
The setting was interesting and different enough to make Moth stand out from other fantasy that I've read this year. I am really looking forward to the next in the series, it's already bookmarked as a "must have" in my library.
If you read and enjoy fantasy, pick up Moth. You won't be disappointed.
What a great choice I made!
Moth immediately drew me in and the other day, when I glanced down and saw that I had hit 78% I wondered how that had happened, I was completely shocked that I was that far along. Moth pulled me in so completely that the reading of it went by in a blink. I found the pacing to be perfect, and don't recall a slow moment within the book.
I absolutely loved the characters. They were well-written and stayed true to themselves throughout the book, allowing for enough growth to keep them from feeling one-dimensional. I'd be hard-pressed to choose a favorite.
The setting was interesting and different enough to make Moth stand out from other fantasy that I've read this year. I am really looking forward to the next in the series, it's already bookmarked as a "must have" in my library.
If you read and enjoy fantasy, pick up Moth. You won't be disappointed.
November 24, 2014
I knew I was going to have issues with this book when I found a typo in the first sentence. I did not, however, guess things would go south as quickly as they did. Had I read the book blurb (bought this as part of an eight book collection), I would have skipped Moth entirely because there's nothing worse than a Fantasy world which has not been well thought out. The suspension of disbelief is broken right off the bat. The world for Moth is static, which means it should be completely inhospitable. The day side would become insufferably hot; the night side impossibly cold. There are other things that would happen which would further hamper life, but I won't waste your time or mine listing them. Suffice it to say there are better Fantasy books out there based in worlds that are truly immersive. Better edited, too, with far fewer clichés and more complex characters.
August 15, 2017
Well, that was disappointing, I have had this book and series on my TBR for over a year and a half but now I do not think I’ll read past the first anytime soon.
Anyway, overall it’s a cool concept that might have worked had it not proven to be too ambitious for the author. I have heard that sequels, as well as his other work, get a lot better, but I won’t be finding out first hand anytime soon.
(It is 2 stars because nothing is worse than Twilight, and I had to give Twilight 1 star because you can't go into negative on Goodreads)
Anyway, overall it’s a cool concept that might have worked had it not proven to be too ambitious for the author. I have heard that sequels, as well as his other work, get a lot better, but I won’t be finding out first hand anytime soon.
(It is 2 stars because nothing is worse than Twilight, and I had to give Twilight 1 star because you can't go into negative on Goodreads)
April 30, 2016
Review to come
April 11, 2017
1 star for effort ??
Moth started out great, thought this could be very interesting and refreshing... Booooooy was I wrong!
Cliches are thrown at your head like there's no tomorrow, the characters have no depth and all talk like they're some insecure hero of the day: "This isn't going to work BUT I SHALL BE VICTORIOUS" kinda thing, very awkward.
Every character is a whiny child, there are 5 freaking pov's in a book of 322 pages and some of them are just disposable.
There's this pov where the character is in a pack and it's about the alpha-beta kinda hierarchy and it was brought in such a juvenile way, it really struck a nerve.
I would not recommend this to anyone who eats fantasy as their breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Moth started out great, thought this could be very interesting and refreshing... Booooooy was I wrong!
Cliches are thrown at your head like there's no tomorrow, the characters have no depth and all talk like they're some insecure hero of the day: "This isn't going to work BUT I SHALL BE VICTORIOUS" kinda thing, very awkward.
Every character is a whiny child, there are 5 freaking pov's in a book of 322 pages and some of them are just disposable.
There's this pov where the character is in a pack and it's about the alpha-beta kinda hierarchy and it was brought in such a juvenile way, it really struck a nerve.
I would not recommend this to anyone who eats fantasy as their breakfast, lunch and dinner.
December 20, 2013
This book features characters you won't care about and conflicts that are contrived.
August 1, 2017
This ended up being a fun read. Nothing mind-blowing, but just some decent fantasy. I thought that the world was engaging and exciting. The characters started out a bit basic and flat but they grew throughout and improved. The same could be said of the plot too. And again, nothing phenomenal in the writing but no large flaws either. Just a solid, fun book. I think eventually I would like to read the sequel, as this one left on a pretty exciting ending, but it won't be my next few reads. Anyways, for a free ebook, it was enjoyable.
August 24, 2015
I read this book because, you know, it was free on Amazon, and it seemed like a good entry into Arenson's oeuvre. This was, I believe, the first book that Arenson wrote and published... and unfortunately it shows.
Let's recognize the good stuff: the setting is interesting and unique. The world is divided into two halves, a day half and a night half, following a poorly-understood catastrophe in the distant past which caused the world to stop turning. The night half of the world is expecially intriguing, as Arenson has built a fascinating culture and ecology based on a place that never sees sunlight, and he manages to convey most of how the night side works without resorting to infodump. There are some really beautifully described scenes, mostly on the night side of the world, and some excellent battles towards the end.
Furthermore, there are some very clever subversions and reversals of expectation in the presentation of the two halves. Initially we're given to understand the inhabitants of the night as monsters, creatures who live in eternal darkness, but after a few chapters we move into the POV of one of the night-dwellers. From her perspective, the day-dwellers are demons of fire, creatures who inhabit the realm of blistering light and who emerge from the heat to kill for inscrutable reasons.
But there are numerous problems with the story. We start out in bog-standard Fantasyland, with characters who are pretty stock. We have the Clueless Farmboy who must become a warrior, the Tomgirl (complete with an foreshadowed romance with the Farmboy), a pair of Sidekicks distinguished solely by the fact that one is fat and the other is skinny, a Noble King, and an Evil Priest. All of the creativity seems to have gone into the night half of the world, but since half the story takes place in the day, that means that half of the book is dull and cliche.
The night half of the plot has its own problems: the protagonist of that half of the story leaves early on on a quest, but she's then presented with a series of irrelevant obstacles which mostly serve to assure that she's still in the place required by the plot when the end of the book comes. And there is a second subplot which takes place in the dark (which I won't give details about because of spoilers), which shows up very late, never impacts the main story, and then abruptly closes with no resolution. I can only assume that that plot thread exists to set up elements of the sequel, but it doesn't pull its weight in this book.
Overall, I would not recommend this book very highly, except as an introduction to the world. The good news, though, is that I'm reading some other books by Arenson, and they get better. Much better.
Let's recognize the good stuff: the setting is interesting and unique. The world is divided into two halves, a day half and a night half, following a poorly-understood catastrophe in the distant past which caused the world to stop turning. The night half of the world is expecially intriguing, as Arenson has built a fascinating culture and ecology based on a place that never sees sunlight, and he manages to convey most of how the night side works without resorting to infodump. There are some really beautifully described scenes, mostly on the night side of the world, and some excellent battles towards the end.
Furthermore, there are some very clever subversions and reversals of expectation in the presentation of the two halves. Initially we're given to understand the inhabitants of the night as monsters, creatures who live in eternal darkness, but after a few chapters we move into the POV of one of the night-dwellers. From her perspective, the day-dwellers are demons of fire, creatures who inhabit the realm of blistering light and who emerge from the heat to kill for inscrutable reasons.
But there are numerous problems with the story. We start out in bog-standard Fantasyland, with characters who are pretty stock. We have the Clueless Farmboy who must become a warrior, the Tomgirl (complete with an foreshadowed romance with the Farmboy), a pair of Sidekicks distinguished solely by the fact that one is fat and the other is skinny, a Noble King, and an Evil Priest. All of the creativity seems to have gone into the night half of the world, but since half the story takes place in the day, that means that half of the book is dull and cliche.
The night half of the plot has its own problems: the protagonist of that half of the story leaves early on on a quest, but she's then presented with a series of irrelevant obstacles which mostly serve to assure that she's still in the place required by the plot when the end of the book comes. And there is a second subplot which takes place in the dark (which I won't give details about because of spoilers), which shows up very late, never impacts the main story, and then abruptly closes with no resolution. I can only assume that that plot thread exists to set up elements of the sequel, but it doesn't pull its weight in this book.
Overall, I would not recommend this book very highly, except as an introduction to the world. The good news, though, is that I'm reading some other books by Arenson, and they get better. Much better.
October 31, 2013
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng ***
#NerdGirlSunshine review
I was first introuduced to Daniel's writing style when I got to read an earlier book about dragons. I love dragons. I couldn't resist. But now, Daniel has come out with a new book. Moth, a world of half darkness and half light. Two groups of people unbelieving of the other. 1 group of radical monks that want to stir things up. There you have the premise for this fantasy novel. I couldn't believe how much I loved this book. My ARC was wonderful. There's so much too this book and his writing style thay over layers together. We have a few different viewpoints throughout the book, and none of it is confusing. It's actually completely interesting to see the different cultures and what their thoughts are, who their villians are, and how their plans are going to overlap. Koyee was a lovely character, flawed, phsyically but beautifully written. Torin and Bailey's relationship was interesting and there were countless times I wanted to slap bailey because she was just being unbareable. The details in this book were outstanding, and my level of involvement in the story was so high, I couldn't stop reading!
Overall, this story has a wonderful moral, an enthralling epic journey and wonderfully written characters. Daniel writes perfect fantasy in the vein of Tolkien and doesn't shy away from the gore, but provides us a lovely story which causes us to think. I loved it. His writing is wonderful and I can't wait for more
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#NerdGirlSunshine review
I was first introuduced to Daniel's writing style when I got to read an earlier book about dragons. I love dragons. I couldn't resist. But now, Daniel has come out with a new book. Moth, a world of half darkness and half light. Two groups of people unbelieving of the other. 1 group of radical monks that want to stir things up. There you have the premise for this fantasy novel. I couldn't believe how much I loved this book. My ARC was wonderful. There's so much too this book and his writing style thay over layers together. We have a few different viewpoints throughout the book, and none of it is confusing. It's actually completely interesting to see the different cultures and what their thoughts are, who their villians are, and how their plans are going to overlap. Koyee was a lovely character, flawed, phsyically but beautifully written. Torin and Bailey's relationship was interesting and there were countless times I wanted to slap bailey because she was just being unbareable. The details in this book were outstanding, and my level of involvement in the story was so high, I couldn't stop reading!
Overall, this story has a wonderful moral, an enthralling epic journey and wonderfully written characters. Daniel writes perfect fantasy in the vein of Tolkien and doesn't shy away from the gore, but provides us a lovely story which causes us to think. I loved it. His writing is wonderful and I can't wait for more
*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 5, 2019
"We are the night."
I can't even begin to express how much I enjoyed this book. How much I loved reading it. To be rather honest, I picked it up because of the numerous bad reviews. They spiked my curiosity, for the more I read them, the more I was convinced this book was for me. And I was not wrong. As a fantasy novel, this book has all the things I crave, all that I love. Slow paced, giving me all the time to immerse myself into the intricately detailed world, character driven in the sense that I felt as one with the characters, I was there, inside the story, with them; rich, lush descriptions that brought to my mind's eye this extraordinary world the author created here... And what a world! Being married to a physics professor, I've been told plenty of times by him and his colleagues that the world as we know it is not proof life can only exist in these very same conditions, so I was one of the readers who didn't feel jarred by the way the world of Moth is placed half in light and half in darkness. Plus, this is fantasy, I prefer to be thrown outlandish theories and possibilities that show me the author has a vivid, curious, rippling imagination. It may not be for you, this, but it is for me. It is for me, and I only wish to be as creative, as imaginative as Daniel Arenson is. I only wish to one day be able to write something as good as this.
I can't even begin to express how much I enjoyed this book. How much I loved reading it. To be rather honest, I picked it up because of the numerous bad reviews. They spiked my curiosity, for the more I read them, the more I was convinced this book was for me. And I was not wrong. As a fantasy novel, this book has all the things I crave, all that I love. Slow paced, giving me all the time to immerse myself into the intricately detailed world, character driven in the sense that I felt as one with the characters, I was there, inside the story, with them; rich, lush descriptions that brought to my mind's eye this extraordinary world the author created here... And what a world! Being married to a physics professor, I've been told plenty of times by him and his colleagues that the world as we know it is not proof life can only exist in these very same conditions, so I was one of the readers who didn't feel jarred by the way the world of Moth is placed half in light and half in darkness. Plus, this is fantasy, I prefer to be thrown outlandish theories and possibilities that show me the author has a vivid, curious, rippling imagination. It may not be for you, this, but it is for me. It is for me, and I only wish to be as creative, as imaginative as Daniel Arenson is. I only wish to one day be able to write something as good as this.
July 8, 2021
This was quite a simple book and quite predictable. The storyline was interesting with a world that is half in day and half in night. The conflict was obviously going to be a main part of the book and the series but I found myself quite bored by the action and the events that took place. Nothing reached out and went wow for me. So although it was an ok story, I don't think I will continue the series.
July 30, 2017
I'm giving this 5 stars without a second thought. Moth is inventive, imaginative and is decidedly in the epic realms of both fantasy and sci-fi. Thoroughly enjoyable!
July 30, 2014
I received a free copy of Moth from Netgalley.
Disclaimer:
I try to write spoiler free reviews, but inadvertently, usually let a few things slip. Sorry in advance!
The skinny:
In a world that has stopped turning, two civilizations reside: Eloria (the part of the world that is cloaked in darkness), and Timandra (the part of the world that is in sunlight). One of the main characters, Koyee, is from Oshy, a small fishing village in Eloria. Torin and Bailey, two more main characters, are from Fairwool-by-Night, which is part of Timandra. Timandra knows little about the world of Eloria, and vice versa (both sides do not stray out of their respective day/night). Ultimately, boundaries are crossed, and misunderstandings ensue, leading to a clash of worlds.
What I liked:
At first, I thought the novel was incredibly slow, and dare I say dry?! It seemed to lack forward momentum, making it appear very stagnant. But as I continued to read, I became more and more immersed in the world that the author painted. I truly felt, due to the vivid desciptions, that I could picture both Timandra and Eloria. If I was artistic, I feel certain that I could paint the most detailed of pictures of the two worlds (both Timandra and Eloria are both part of one world, but I don’t know how else to put it, so for the sake of this review they will be deemed worlds). I especially LOVED the way Pahmey was described; wholly cripes would I like to be in that city for even just a nano-second!!!
Not only was I drawn in by the vivid “world” descriptions, but also because of the characters. My favorite character was probably Koyee. Starting with her time in Pahmey, I felt so DEEPLY for Koyee, that I just wanted to cry. Despite all of the terrible things that happened to her, she kept dusting herself off and driving forward. Whereas another character might have succumbed to all that had happened, Koyee kept a level head, even in the most trying of times. Relying on her friend (?!?!) during the hard times helped Koyee work towards making her father, her town, and eventually her city, proud.
Another character I grew to love was Bailey. At first, Bailey and her attitude reminded me of a typical high school student (aghhh!!!!!!!); she was very snappish towards Torin, and oftentimes condescending. As the story progressed though, Bailey’s actions and words gave her away; she actually truly cared about Torin and wanted to protect him. In one scene, which I will try not to spoil, Bailey responds to Torin’s attempted heroics with “I already had to save you twice, and that was here in the daylight.” In saying this, she is basically making a snarky, yet playful jab at Torin’s inability to protect himself; If he can’t even protect himself in the daylight (which he is accustomed to), how does he expect to do so in the dark?! Well played Bailey, well played.
Dislikes:
*The dislikes I am about to discuss have to do more with my preferences and oddities than the book itself.*
The first dislike has to do with how DAMN frustrating the book was at times. On more than one occasion, I had to step away from reading because I thought I was going to toss my Kindle across the room. Why, OH WHY, were some of the characters so STUPID?! Torin, tried and tried to get people to see reason, but they refused. I thought it was bad when I wanted to throttle most of the people in his town, but it got worse. I eventually wanted to throttle 99.9% of the people in Timandra. Le sigh. I guess, grudgingly, this is a mark of a good book though.
Second pet peeve had to do with Okado. At first, Okado seemed to be a very flat character to me. He seemed to have the sense and intelligence of a caveman. He also lacked what I thought were normal human feelings. Once again though, I was proven wrong, because I ended up liking his character a lot more by the end.
My last dislike, and the weirdest of them all. I really didn’t like how the author used the word mewled (I tried to keep track and my final count was 6 times...and I don't think I caught them all) repeatedly throughout the book. I felt like certain people and creatures were supposed to be hard and tough, yet when they faced adversity, or were injured, they…..mewled. This just doesn’t work for me. Weird, I know.
Final conclusion:
I felt that 75% of this book was setting us up for the second book. This was okay with me though, because I really enjoyed the process. I will be eagerly looking forward to the next installment.
4/5 stars.
Disclaimer:
I try to write spoiler free reviews, but inadvertently, usually let a few things slip. Sorry in advance!
The skinny:
In a world that has stopped turning, two civilizations reside: Eloria (the part of the world that is cloaked in darkness), and Timandra (the part of the world that is in sunlight). One of the main characters, Koyee, is from Oshy, a small fishing village in Eloria. Torin and Bailey, two more main characters, are from Fairwool-by-Night, which is part of Timandra. Timandra knows little about the world of Eloria, and vice versa (both sides do not stray out of their respective day/night). Ultimately, boundaries are crossed, and misunderstandings ensue, leading to a clash of worlds.
What I liked:
At first, I thought the novel was incredibly slow, and dare I say dry?! It seemed to lack forward momentum, making it appear very stagnant. But as I continued to read, I became more and more immersed in the world that the author painted. I truly felt, due to the vivid desciptions, that I could picture both Timandra and Eloria. If I was artistic, I feel certain that I could paint the most detailed of pictures of the two worlds (both Timandra and Eloria are both part of one world, but I don’t know how else to put it, so for the sake of this review they will be deemed worlds). I especially LOVED the way Pahmey was described; wholly cripes would I like to be in that city for even just a nano-second!!!
Not only was I drawn in by the vivid “world” descriptions, but also because of the characters. My favorite character was probably Koyee. Starting with her time in Pahmey, I felt so DEEPLY for Koyee, that I just wanted to cry. Despite all of the terrible things that happened to her, she kept dusting herself off and driving forward. Whereas another character might have succumbed to all that had happened, Koyee kept a level head, even in the most trying of times. Relying on her friend (?!?!) during the hard times helped Koyee work towards making her father, her town, and eventually her city, proud.
Another character I grew to love was Bailey. At first, Bailey and her attitude reminded me of a typical high school student (aghhh!!!!!!!); she was very snappish towards Torin, and oftentimes condescending. As the story progressed though, Bailey’s actions and words gave her away; she actually truly cared about Torin and wanted to protect him. In one scene, which I will try not to spoil, Bailey responds to Torin’s attempted heroics with “I already had to save you twice, and that was here in the daylight.” In saying this, she is basically making a snarky, yet playful jab at Torin’s inability to protect himself; If he can’t even protect himself in the daylight (which he is accustomed to), how does he expect to do so in the dark?! Well played Bailey, well played.
Dislikes:
*The dislikes I am about to discuss have to do more with my preferences and oddities than the book itself.*
The first dislike has to do with how DAMN frustrating the book was at times. On more than one occasion, I had to step away from reading because I thought I was going to toss my Kindle across the room. Why, OH WHY, were some of the characters so STUPID?! Torin, tried and tried to get people to see reason, but they refused. I thought it was bad when I wanted to throttle most of the people in his town, but it got worse. I eventually wanted to throttle 99.9% of the people in Timandra. Le sigh. I guess, grudgingly, this is a mark of a good book though.
Second pet peeve had to do with Okado. At first, Okado seemed to be a very flat character to me. He seemed to have the sense and intelligence of a caveman. He also lacked what I thought were normal human feelings. Once again though, I was proven wrong, because I ended up liking his character a lot more by the end.
My last dislike, and the weirdest of them all. I really didn’t like how the author used the word mewled (I tried to keep track and my final count was 6 times...and I don't think I caught them all) repeatedly throughout the book. I felt like certain people and creatures were supposed to be hard and tough, yet when they faced adversity, or were injured, they…..mewled. This just doesn’t work for me. Weird, I know.
Final conclusion:
I felt that 75% of this book was setting us up for the second book. This was okay with me though, because I really enjoyed the process. I will be eagerly looking forward to the next installment.
4/5 stars.
November 20, 2013
This is a difficult one for me to rate. When the story opened up, I was sucked in. Solid four stars. When we were introduced to Koyee, it dropped to three stars, with slight moments of two at times. I thought about walking away several times, but I rarely do that and was encouraged by others to continue. At around 65% I was again sucked in. I had maybe another moment or two where I lost interest, but otherwise it was good after that.
I'm not skilled at writing reviews like so many are on here. But I'll do my best to describe the things that were drawbacks for me. The endless descriptions of towns and what not were boooooring to me. I get that we need this to get a good picture of the world, but holy hell I felt like gouging my eyes out!!!! This happened at multiple points throughout the book. If it was just when we initially met Koyee and then it went away, that would've been fine. Koyee was a character I sort of struggled to like. I didn't warm up to her until the ending, and even then we didn't bond. I'm usually not into books with kings and empires and blah blah so that was something else I didn't love. I knew going in that this was the type of book I was walking into, but I wanted to give it a try. This isn't the book's fault, it's just my taste. The pace was too slow for me. The endless descriptions made me yearn for more excitement even more. I wasn't granted the level of excitement I wanted til late in the story.
What did I like? I looooooved Bailey!!! Loved her!! She's a badass and has heart!!! At first I thought Koyee's friend Eelani was a ridiculous character, but I grew to really really like her!!! I liked getting the different point of views from different sides of the worlds, the light and the dark. It made it difficult to be on one side cuz you knew what each side was thinking. Ferius was one of the most ferocious and for me, hated characters I've ever read. OMG did I simply despise him!!! There were moments I couldn't even read anymore because he made me so damn angry!!! That's good writing!!
I rated this three stars after much debating with myself because I didn't love the whole book and there was a lot I struggled with. I did enjoy it. I had thought I wouldn't read the sequel, but the end hooked me and so now I must!! If half stars were available, this would be 3.5 stars!
I'm not skilled at writing reviews like so many are on here. But I'll do my best to describe the things that were drawbacks for me. The endless descriptions of towns and what not were boooooring to me. I get that we need this to get a good picture of the world, but holy hell I felt like gouging my eyes out!!!! This happened at multiple points throughout the book. If it was just when we initially met Koyee and then it went away, that would've been fine. Koyee was a character I sort of struggled to like. I didn't warm up to her until the ending, and even then we didn't bond. I'm usually not into books with kings and empires and blah blah so that was something else I didn't love. I knew going in that this was the type of book I was walking into, but I wanted to give it a try. This isn't the book's fault, it's just my taste. The pace was too slow for me. The endless descriptions made me yearn for more excitement even more. I wasn't granted the level of excitement I wanted til late in the story.
What did I like? I looooooved Bailey!!! Loved her!! She's a badass and has heart!!! At first I thought Koyee's friend Eelani was a ridiculous character, but I grew to really really like her!!! I liked getting the different point of views from different sides of the worlds, the light and the dark. It made it difficult to be on one side cuz you knew what each side was thinking. Ferius was one of the most ferocious and for me, hated characters I've ever read. OMG did I simply despise him!!! There were moments I couldn't even read anymore because he made me so damn angry!!! That's good writing!!
I rated this three stars after much debating with myself because I didn't love the whole book and there was a lot I struggled with. I did enjoy it. I had thought I wouldn't read the sequel, but the end hooked me and so now I must!! If half stars were available, this would be 3.5 stars!
June 7, 2014
Started off solid - I was really excited in the first few pages, because this seemed like it was going to be amazing. Then Koyee was introduced, and I hated her like nobody's business. SO. MUCH. I actually felt a lot like Arenson struggled to write decent women characters, because I hated Bailey too. The men were interesting and diverse and motivated, but the women were very shallow and one-dimensional, basically props to the male story arcs.
The world is incredible, very detailed and rich, and I love the idea of the two different sides in light and dark (although I did wonder how the dark side didn't freeze to death).
I'm not sure if I'll bother with the rest of the series yet - I didn't really care what happened to most of the people by the time I came to the end. It seems like he's taking it in an interesting direction, but - I dunno if it's worth it to me.
The world is incredible, very detailed and rich, and I love the idea of the two different sides in light and dark (although I did wonder how the dark side didn't freeze to death).
I'm not sure if I'll bother with the rest of the series yet - I didn't really care what happened to most of the people by the time I came to the end. It seems like he's taking it in an interesting direction, but - I dunno if it's worth it to me.
March 25, 2019
I went into this book expecting it to be average, and now that I’m done here’s my honest review.
The beginning was indeed average. Basic. By the 50% I was annoyed and flustered.
This book had many plot holes, unrealistic events, inconsistencies, and was overall rough.
But the ending was great, surprisingly. I enjoyed the fighting and war scenes. The plot was good enough by the end to make me want to read the rest of the series.
This books issues would be easily solved if it had 100-200 more pages, to develop characters and plot better, because a lot of things were glanced over and rushed. If it was only 2 main characters, it’d be okay, but there was a lot of characters and plots we were following.
Was a 2 star but the ending gave me hope so 3 stars.
The beginning was indeed average. Basic. By the 50% I was annoyed and flustered.
This book had many plot holes, unrealistic events, inconsistencies, and was overall rough.
But the ending was great, surprisingly. I enjoyed the fighting and war scenes. The plot was good enough by the end to make me want to read the rest of the series.
This books issues would be easily solved if it had 100-200 more pages, to develop characters and plot better, because a lot of things were glanced over and rushed. If it was only 2 main characters, it’d be okay, but there was a lot of characters and plots we were following.
Was a 2 star but the ending gave me hope so 3 stars.
December 14, 2013
I had high hopes for this one, but I felt a little let down.
Moth essentially follows Torin and Koyee, from the light and dark sides of their world, as both journey towards war with the other side. The problem was, there were so many parts that just had the characters moving around from place to place that I got bored quickly. I also didn't much care for either Torin or Koyee. But it was the plot that really got me - this book is filled with hate and prejudices (although not from either of the two leads), and that was rather distasteful to me.
Moth essentially follows Torin and Koyee, from the light and dark sides of their world, as both journey towards war with the other side. The problem was, there were so many parts that just had the characters moving around from place to place that I got bored quickly. I also didn't much care for either Torin or Koyee. But it was the plot that really got me - this book is filled with hate and prejudices (although not from either of the two leads), and that was rather distasteful to me.
February 24, 2015
The best part of this book is its write-up. What could have been a great story just fell flat. I didn't like either protagonist, they did stupid things and I didn't really care what happened to them. The female protagonist, Koyee, was meant to be 16 but seemed more like a 12 year old. The only reason I didn't abandon this book is because I have a weird compulsion to finish every book I start reading - sometimes years later.
Shelved as 'dnf'
June 20, 2016#DNF 27%
Just too simplistic for my taste. The characters seemed rather shallow and naive (as did the narration), but there was plenty of book left for that to change when I gave up. Basically, I just wasn't enjoying it so I set it aside.
Just too simplistic for my taste. The characters seemed rather shallow and naive (as did the narration), but there was plenty of book left for that to change when I gave up. Basically, I just wasn't enjoying it so I set it aside.
Shelved as 'read-sample-and-passed'
March 1, 2015Sadly, this book doesn't work for me for stylistic reasons. Arenson's voice falls into the 'saga' style. It's an (in my opinion) over the top way of writing in the heroic tradition. As a long time fantasy fan it's never worked for me. I can see other people loving it but I'm not interested.
March 11, 2023
“The greatest danger to Eloria is not swords, not arrows, not catapults—it’s words. Words ignite the fires of war. Words kill more innocents than swords” (Location No. 3887).
Torin, one of the main characters, speaks these words to his friends, and this is the philosophical stance that Daniel Arenson explores in his novel Moth, which is Saga 1 of a 6-part fantasy series. I was memorized by Arenson’s world-building: a fantasy world divided into two halves (light and dark), multiple religions, multiple languages, maps for all the lands explored, and well-rounded characters.
There are multiple POVs in this novel: Torin who is from the lighted side of the world; Koyee who is from the dark side of the world; and Koyee’s brother who is the leader of an outcasted group of the dark side of the world. Arenson uses these characters to demonstrate that cultural biases and the fear of the unknown can be overcome through a willingness to communicate as well as acts of kindness.
I had not read any of Arenson’s books. I didn’t research him before reading the book. But, I eagerly looked online to see how many more books were in the series. I’m excited to read the others in the series. I only wish there was a movie series to accompany his written texts. The well-pruned narrative left me wanting to see the characters on the cinematic screen. And, the vivid descriptive work of the dark side left me wanting to see the world brought to life on the big screen.
Readers will be drawn into Arenson’s purpose: 1) Question how and why they view or judge others. 2) Determine what communit(ies) they belong to and support their social circles with uplifting words and corrective behaviors as needed. There is a beautiful scene where Koyee says: “‘Because I’m no longer alone,’ she whispered. ‘Because I’ve lived through poverty and through war, and I found a place to belong, and I found something to fight for.’” (Location No. 4215)
-May we all find our places in this world.
Torin, one of the main characters, speaks these words to his friends, and this is the philosophical stance that Daniel Arenson explores in his novel Moth, which is Saga 1 of a 6-part fantasy series. I was memorized by Arenson’s world-building: a fantasy world divided into two halves (light and dark), multiple religions, multiple languages, maps for all the lands explored, and well-rounded characters.
There are multiple POVs in this novel: Torin who is from the lighted side of the world; Koyee who is from the dark side of the world; and Koyee’s brother who is the leader of an outcasted group of the dark side of the world. Arenson uses these characters to demonstrate that cultural biases and the fear of the unknown can be overcome through a willingness to communicate as well as acts of kindness.
I had not read any of Arenson’s books. I didn’t research him before reading the book. But, I eagerly looked online to see how many more books were in the series. I’m excited to read the others in the series. I only wish there was a movie series to accompany his written texts. The well-pruned narrative left me wanting to see the characters on the cinematic screen. And, the vivid descriptive work of the dark side left me wanting to see the world brought to life on the big screen.
Readers will be drawn into Arenson’s purpose: 1) Question how and why they view or judge others. 2) Determine what communit(ies) they belong to and support their social circles with uplifting words and corrective behaviors as needed. There is a beautiful scene where Koyee says: “‘Because I’m no longer alone,’ she whispered. ‘Because I’ve lived through poverty and through war, and I found a place to belong, and I found something to fight for.’” (Location No. 4215)
-May we all find our places in this world.
September 29, 2017
This is a book which blew me away, it's idea of the world standing still on its axis with half the world being all the time in the sunlight and the other half all the time in darkness with a dusk area being the dividing border and no man's land is so interesting! As is usual in the world people are afraid of anything that is different to themselves, hence the people of the sun where scared of those of the night, in fact they considered them to be creatures and less than human whilst those of the night called the others demons of light. Both feared that the others wanted what they had however it was not so, both were happy the way they were and could not understand how the others could live. Then of course we get the real evil faction who instilled most of the fear in the people of the sun, the sailith monks who were so full of hatred for the night creatures that they vowed they would eradicate them all to bring the light to that part of the world, and Ferius with all his bigotry had the ear of the king who in turn needed a scapegoat and the war started, the light invaded the city of night however they forgot that war always burns both sides. The light took on the darkness but not only that of the night but also that of the soul! This is a series that cries to be read, well done Daniel Arenson for this great book!!
May 26, 2020
Fantastic series beginner
I love this authors stories and this one is no different.Daniel Arenson weaves such a spellbinding tale and I love the depths which he takes his characters to. Highly recommend
I love this authors stories and this one is no different.Daniel Arenson weaves such a spellbinding tale and I love the depths which he takes his characters to. Highly recommend
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