Book Review – The Long Moonlight By RazörFist

Pulp noir in a world of magic with an antihero who has some enhanced abilities that may be supernatural in nature? Sign me up! While not feeling exactly like The Shadow there are certain magical elements in this fantasy world that are reminiscent of it. The plot points hold to a Sam Spade-type pulp detective novel with an “honorable” thief in place of the detective. The femme fatale, the honorable official detective, and underworld crime bosses and stooges all show up. The story is part mystery, part heist, and part revenge with about four different plot focuses.

While operating as a novella the story does not seem short. I believe this is helped by the use of the author’s prose. While not being your typical detective noir slightly over-the-top cadence, there is a style that is intentional and unique. While some may see this as the author attempting to exhaust a thesaurus, most others would just call this entertaining. I quite enjoyed the author’s use of the style and language choices. The choice of words isn’t coming from someone thumbing through a college dictionary for any word; it is deliberate and adds to that slightly over-the-top story with a fun entertainment style.

Not everything fell into perfect explanation for me. There was a plot turn that I didn’t quite get (which is most likely an error on my part) and some of the magic of the world wasn’t explained enough. This also included possibly some magical elements of the main character, Xerdes, becoming shadowlike and a master of his craft. An interesting side character, Coggins, is a great addition to the story as almost a Commissioner Gordan-esk noble detective. However, he isn’t quite the cat-and-mouse foil nor does he make a serious impact on the story until the last part of the story. For a bigger story or a bigger part in the next novella, this detective who works within the system would be a great character to follow especially in a fantasy setting.

Overall, the prose extends the life of the book and the characters provide a good small target to keep your focus on. The unique storytelling in a different type of setting adds to the uniqueness even for those of us who aren’t the biggest fans of fantasy. There is enough here to at least pique the interest of an indie supporter and I would definitely check out another if the series continued or expanded.