Book Review: Pilgrim's Moon

Reviewed By: Cheryl - RAM

Pilgrim's Moon     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Stacey S. Thompson
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction

This novel contains almost too many plot lines for any one book, and unfortunately none of them are really well-developed. The main storyline follows the adventures of a group of people lost in space due to a malfunctioning spacecraft. The title, along with the presence in the group of members of a strict religious sect is, of course, reminiscent of the story of the first European settlers in what is now the United States. However, in spite of various political themes, this is not really a book about the story of the founding of the United States, transferred to a nearly planet-sized moon complete with aliens. Rather, it is a collection of science fiction adventures that do not really work together to make a coherent novel.

One of the main difficulties with the book is that none of the plots are very well-developed or reasonable. The crew of the damaged spacecraft performs tests and studies before landing - although their only real alternative is to stay in the ship until the orbit decays sufficiently for them to burn up in the atmosphere. The various power struggles among characters and factions are unconvincing and two-dimensional. One plot device is very reminiscent of one used by Marian Zimmer Bradley, but she uses it as an important part of her imagined world. In this book, it is mentioned, and then ignored. The author also tends to describe what a character is doing rather than show it through the action.

The book is really too ambitious. If one of the story lines had been better developed, the book could have been a standard bit of space opera. As it is, the book never comes together to tell a coherent and convincing story.

Cheryl - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM