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Unseen Moon
Ghosts in a mansion. A home invasion. A group of friends haunted by a murder. An unlikely friendship, a dead body in an abandoned house.
Unseen Moon collects four suspenseful stories by award-winning author Eliza Victoria.
Unseen Moon collects four suspenseful stories by award-winning author Eliza Victoria.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 25, 2013
4 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
About the author
Eliza Victoria
40 books340 followersEliza Victoria is the author of several books including the Philippine National Book Award-winning Dwellers, the novel Wounded Little Gods, the graphic novel After Lambana (a collaboration with Mervin Malonzo), and the science fiction novel-in-stories, Nightfall. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in several publications, most recently in LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, The Best Asian Speculative Fiction, The Dark Magazine, The Apex Book of World SF Volume 5, Fireside Fiction, and Future SF. She has won prizes in the Philippines’ top literary awards, including the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. Her one-act plays (written in Filipino) have been staged at the Virgin LabFest at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 30, 2017
I expected more.
August 20, 2014
"...in the cold, cold tomb we laid your ashes, and wept, but could not weep enough..."
Originally posted here.
Late last year, I picked up A Bottle of Storm Clouds: Stories and liked it so much that I knew it wouldn’t be the last time I would read Eliza Victoria’s works – she is such a talented and imaginative writer, judging from the way she wrote the stories that comprise Storm Clouds. And so when I won a signed(!) copy of her other compendium, Unseen Moon , from another book blogger’s giveaway, I was ecstatic.
Unseen Moon is made up of four short stories and a novella, The Viewless Dark , which is also separately available in digital format. After Storm Clouds, I more or less knew what to expect from this collection, and had been, in fact, looking forward to it – eerie things, creepy stuff, strange occurrences and frightening incidents. While I was prepared to be scared out of my wits, thanks to the feedback from book club friends, I was still, well, scared out of my wits. I was also alternately horrified, annoyed, and bothered, but mainly, I just remember closing my eyes and rubbing my arms, feeling goosebumps all over as I read the book.
Of the five stories that are included in this collection – Needle Rain, The Ghosts of Sinagtala, Summer Evening, December, and The Viewless Dark – my favorites would have to be The Ghosts of Sinagtala and The Viewless Dark.
*
The Ghosts of Sinagtala was spine-chillingly scary, I still shudder when I try to imagine particular scenes described in it. This is the story of orphaned siblings Ben and Emma, who travel all the way from the city to the province to check out an old mansion that was passed down to them from their ancestors. The mansion is called – you guessed it – Sinagtala. It is huge, it is spooky, and it has a dark and sinister history that dates from the last two centuries that come unfurling when Ben and Emma arrive for their (short and abbreviated) visit. Just thinking about the story gives me goose pimples from head to toe. That was one helluva ghost story.
The Viewless Dark was no less eerie or dark; on the contrary, because it explores satanism and the occult, I felt that it was the strangest, most disturbing and most fascinating story in the collection. It tells of Anthony and his best friend Flo, who avidly follow a series of bizarre events in the campus – Flo, who was genuinely fixated on them, was in the lead. This fixation compels them to involve themselves in whatever appears to be the moving force behind these events, which proves to be unnecessary and unwise when Flo ends up dead, and Anthony is left to his own devices.
As with the all stories in Storm Clouds, those in Unseen Moon are well-crafted. I was engaged from the first page all the way up to the last. Yes, I will admit that I had to stop reading at certain points because I’m a big scaredy-cat, but I loved the stories anyway. ;)
May 11, 2015
I got a digital copy of this anthology which contains only 4 stories instead of 5 which is the case with the print copy. I wanted to wait until I have the print copy but I was in the mood for some quick reads so I decided to just go ahead and read this. It has been a while since I last read an Eliza Victoria, anyway. Unlike A Bottle of Storm Clouds, I found the stories contained in Unseen Moon more eerie and haunting, and even though I am not easily scared of ghost stories, The Ghosts of Sinagtala actually gave me goosebumps. Needle Rain and Summer Evening are equally disturbing and I sometimes could not wrap my head around the criminal inclinations of the young characters. December, on the other hand, reminds me of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. I am looking forward to reading The Viewless Dark, which is the last story which was omitted in the digital copy. Truly, Eliza Victoria writes with sharp precision and I will always remain a fan of her crazy and sometimes scary imagination.
Also posted in here.
Also posted in here.
April 27, 2019
I think I like the short stories here a lot better than the ones from A Bottle of Storm Clouds which I've read last year. Maybe that's because this compilation only has four short stories but I have to say that A Bottle of Storm Clouds has more interesting stories, they just felt plodding to me.
Here are my individual ratings for each story:
Needle Rain - 4 stars
This short story had me continuously guessing what the story is going to be while reading it. It was shocking and completely unpredictable. My favorite one from the book.
The Ghosts of Sinagtala - 3.75 stars
This one is really creepy, especially the rat under the bed thingy. This had me dreading vacations on our old mansion house.
Summer Evening - 3 stars
I don't really know what to make out of this story. It felt incomplete to me and just...random. The story just doesn't make sense for me I think.
December - 3.25 stars
Well, this one felt similar with Summer Evening and I just give this a higher rating because I liked the characters better.
This is my second book from Eliza Victoria and I have to say that her short stories feel compelling but not so outstanding from the local scene.
Here are my individual ratings for each story:
Needle Rain - 4 stars
This short story had me continuously guessing what the story is going to be while reading it. It was shocking and completely unpredictable. My favorite one from the book.
The Ghosts of Sinagtala - 3.75 stars
This one is really creepy, especially the rat under the bed thingy. This had me dreading vacations on our old mansion house.
Summer Evening - 3 stars
I don't really know what to make out of this story. It felt incomplete to me and just...random. The story just doesn't make sense for me I think.
December - 3.25 stars
Well, this one felt similar with Summer Evening and I just give this a higher rating because I liked the characters better.
This is my second book from Eliza Victoria and I have to say that her short stories feel compelling but not so outstanding from the local scene.
May 6, 2013
Original post from One More Page
When Eliza Victoria sent me an email about sending a review copy of her newest book, I couldn't say no. Note that I'm not really a fan of dark fiction, or horror or suspense, but this is Eliza, guys. I read her stuff and liked it, even if they're not the usual things I go for. I'm not really one for scaring myself, but I make certain exceptions especially when the author just writes really, really well.
Unseen Moon is Eliza's newest collection that contains several of her short stories, most of them never been published in print. They're part horror, lots of crime and suspense...and well, lots of dead bodies. Like her other works, the stories are well-written and I think they are exactly what she intended them to be -- dark. Sometimes, a bit too bloody. But definitely dark. Here's a mini-review of each of the stories, and my rating for them.
Needle Rain (3/5) - This is the story of Cleofe, Cedric, Brian and Emily, their friendship and the murder that happened in their town. For some reason, this story felt distinctly Filipino. The combination of the small town, hanging out with friends in the afternoon while eating, and the storms that raged in the story reminded me of my own younger years, where I would work on projects at home while a storm happened outside and it was only a matter of minutes before the house is plunged in darkness because the storm caused a power interruption. Of course, that's the only thing that I related to in this story. :P Needle Rain comes off as a murder mystery story at first, and then it spirals into something else. I was quite prepared to be scared at first, but in the end I felt more sad. If only the characters were wiser, then it wouldn't have turned out that way.
The Ghosts of Sinagtala (4/5) - This is a story of Ben and Emma, who inherited a mansion from their grandparents that had a dark history. Oh what a creepy, creepy story. Tricia was tweeting about this when she read it first, so I knew well enough to read this in broad daylight. And even then, I still got terribly creeped out. This is my favorite in the book, and I really liked the connection between the mansion's past to Ben and Emma. This is the story that successfully made me not want to go out of my room at night to get a glass of water because I was afraid to find a little girl crying in the darkness. O_o
Summer Evening (2/5) - Twins Amarilis and Carlos were left behind by their older brother, Nathan, to his ex-girlfriend, Alicia, because he had a job to do. The twins hate Alicia, so when two guys entered their house to do something to her, they turned their backs. I wasn't really a big fan of this because it felt too violent for me, and it kind of took me by surprise. That, and there was just something a little too disturbing with the characters -- perhaps I just refused to believe that they are capable of what they are doing in the story? It's still well-written, though, and the ending kind of made me want to wring one of the characters' necks, but this was one story that I kind of wanted to end quickly because the events made me just a bit queasy.
December (3/5) - Gabriel makes an unlikely friend in an orphan named December, who has her own issues with the people around her. A dead body in an abandoned mansion, a dead body in the lake and lots of music form the core of this story. This one sort of reminds me of Summer Evening, but it was less violent and a little more melancholic than the previous story. In some ways it was a little bit disturbing, but I was able to sympathize with the two main characters in the story more than I did for the previous story.
The Viewless Dark (4/5) - I read this back in October 2012 and I really liked it. I didn't exactly reread all of it when I read this book again. I still read parts of it, though, and felt the same chill I had when I first read it, and felt the same attachment to the characters, both dead and alive. I think this is a good story to end this collection.
Overall, Unseen Moon is another good collection of Eliza's stories. It's not as scary as I expected (except for The Ghosts of Sinagtala - remembering several scenes still gives me the creeps), but it was really quite dark. This collection is a little bit more similar to Lower Myths than A Bottle of Storm Clouds , sans the paranormal aspect. If you want to get to know Eliza's works but you're not a huge fan of anything that is out of the normal world, then Unseen Moon might be the right Eliza book for you. If you've read Eliza's other works and you want more, then you won't want to miss this one. :)
When Eliza Victoria sent me an email about sending a review copy of her newest book, I couldn't say no. Note that I'm not really a fan of dark fiction, or horror or suspense, but this is Eliza, guys. I read her stuff and liked it, even if they're not the usual things I go for. I'm not really one for scaring myself, but I make certain exceptions especially when the author just writes really, really well.
Unseen Moon is Eliza's newest collection that contains several of her short stories, most of them never been published in print. They're part horror, lots of crime and suspense...and well, lots of dead bodies. Like her other works, the stories are well-written and I think they are exactly what she intended them to be -- dark. Sometimes, a bit too bloody. But definitely dark. Here's a mini-review of each of the stories, and my rating for them.
Needle Rain (3/5) - This is the story of Cleofe, Cedric, Brian and Emily, their friendship and the murder that happened in their town. For some reason, this story felt distinctly Filipino. The combination of the small town, hanging out with friends in the afternoon while eating, and the storms that raged in the story reminded me of my own younger years, where I would work on projects at home while a storm happened outside and it was only a matter of minutes before the house is plunged in darkness because the storm caused a power interruption. Of course, that's the only thing that I related to in this story. :P Needle Rain comes off as a murder mystery story at first, and then it spirals into something else. I was quite prepared to be scared at first, but in the end I felt more sad. If only the characters were wiser, then it wouldn't have turned out that way.
The Ghosts of Sinagtala (4/5) - This is a story of Ben and Emma, who inherited a mansion from their grandparents that had a dark history. Oh what a creepy, creepy story. Tricia was tweeting about this when she read it first, so I knew well enough to read this in broad daylight. And even then, I still got terribly creeped out. This is my favorite in the book, and I really liked the connection between the mansion's past to Ben and Emma. This is the story that successfully made me not want to go out of my room at night to get a glass of water because I was afraid to find a little girl crying in the darkness. O_o
Summer Evening (2/5) - Twins Amarilis and Carlos were left behind by their older brother, Nathan, to his ex-girlfriend, Alicia, because he had a job to do. The twins hate Alicia, so when two guys entered their house to do something to her, they turned their backs. I wasn't really a big fan of this because it felt too violent for me, and it kind of took me by surprise. That, and there was just something a little too disturbing with the characters -- perhaps I just refused to believe that they are capable of what they are doing in the story? It's still well-written, though, and the ending kind of made me want to wring one of the characters' necks, but this was one story that I kind of wanted to end quickly because the events made me just a bit queasy.
December (3/5) - Gabriel makes an unlikely friend in an orphan named December, who has her own issues with the people around her. A dead body in an abandoned mansion, a dead body in the lake and lots of music form the core of this story. This one sort of reminds me of Summer Evening, but it was less violent and a little more melancholic than the previous story. In some ways it was a little bit disturbing, but I was able to sympathize with the two main characters in the story more than I did for the previous story.
The Viewless Dark (4/5) - I read this back in October 2012 and I really liked it. I didn't exactly reread all of it when I read this book again. I still read parts of it, though, and felt the same chill I had when I first read it, and felt the same attachment to the characters, both dead and alive. I think this is a good story to end this collection.
Overall, Unseen Moon is another good collection of Eliza's stories. It's not as scary as I expected (except for The Ghosts of Sinagtala - remembering several scenes still gives me the creeps), but it was really quite dark. This collection is a little bit more similar to Lower Myths than A Bottle of Storm Clouds , sans the paranormal aspect. If you want to get to know Eliza's works but you're not a huge fan of anything that is out of the normal world, then Unseen Moon might be the right Eliza book for you. If you've read Eliza's other works and you want more, then you won't want to miss this one. :)
December 23, 2014
(Trigger warnings for scenes of sexual assault and violence.)
Eliza Victoria is at her best when her stories unfold with an almost dispassionate reserve, the measured cadence of her sentences like a steady stride of a predator approaching. I like how this collection slowly coalesces into an examination of collective violence, delusion and hysteria, sometimes called folie a plusieurs. I was ambivalent about this theme when it emerged from the first story titled "Needle Rain," but slowly the notes started building upon themselves, reaching a satisfying crescendo of wtf.
Eliza Victoria is at her best when her stories unfold with an almost dispassionate reserve, the measured cadence of her sentences like a steady stride of a predator approaching. I like how this collection slowly coalesces into an examination of collective violence, delusion and hysteria, sometimes called folie a plusieurs. I was ambivalent about this theme when it emerged from the first story titled "Needle Rain," but slowly the notes started building upon themselves, reaching a satisfying crescendo of wtf.
October 11, 2015
What a great read!
As a reader, story is important to me, but so is mood, setting, language and tone. Eliza's stories are creepy tales that are more than just simple horror stories because of her mastery of mood, setting, language and tone. Every story has murder, sociopathic characters and some horrifying acts, told in spare but beautiful prose. The standout here is Ghosts of Sinagtala, about a brother and a sister who inherit their grandparents' mansion in the province. The story is such a nesting doll of dreams within visions within dreams that I was lulled into a dark fairytale sense of surrealism -- like those Jim Henson's The Storyteller episodes, except a lot more frightening.
As a reader, story is important to me, but so is mood, setting, language and tone. Eliza's stories are creepy tales that are more than just simple horror stories because of her mastery of mood, setting, language and tone. Every story has murder, sociopathic characters and some horrifying acts, told in spare but beautiful prose. The standout here is Ghosts of Sinagtala, about a brother and a sister who inherit their grandparents' mansion in the province. The story is such a nesting doll of dreams within visions within dreams that I was lulled into a dark fairytale sense of surrealism -- like those Jim Henson's The Storyteller episodes, except a lot more frightening.
March 9, 2014
A collection of Horror Stories from Eliza Victoria, a brilliant and undeniably good Filipina Author, Unseen Moon is something that every Horror/Mystery/Crime fan must read.
First in the collection is Needle Rain. A story of a barkada and how they try to uncover the mysteries of a murder that happened in their hometown. One of the most mysterious stories in the pack, this is a good way to build the tension and suspense that one should feel while reading the book. However, aside from being scary, there's bit of sadness and surprise here, too. What's good is that the author was really able to capture the old-skool Filipino neighborhood--she was able to build the feel and imagery that was needed.
And then comes my favorite story in the book: The Ghosts of Sinagtala. Oh, god, this is the perfect thing to read right now as the Holy Week is coming up soon, and aside from being "Holy", we all know that it's also the time when they say that bad spirits are all over the place. This (and I told the author about this) SERIOUSLY. CREEPED. ME. OUT. It's not about monsters or the usual white ladies or whatever, but the kind of horror depicted in this story is so psychological that it would really rack your brain. (And I'm getting goosies again while writing this). Read it and you will know what I mean. It's really something you'd have to put down and continue once the sun shines again (yeah I read it late, late at night and god my mind worked so bad) because it's so scary. Watch out for rats.
Summer Evening, meanwhile, is brutal. You never know how twins' minds' work these days. You might be disturbed by this story and by the brutality, but all in all it was good. I like how different and creative the author can get.
A tale that will surely tug at your heartstrings without losing its mystery, December, is about an orphan named December, who makes friends with a boy named Gabriel. Together, they discover secrets and mysteries about a dead body in the lake, an abandoned mansion and the people around them.
Finally, there is the Viewless Dark. If you're a student and are frequenting the library, you'll be afraid. Okay seriously, this was one of the best. It's about finding out about someone's death and learning what you need to learn about that person. It's scary, it's suspenseful and it's a work that's just definitely top of the line. If you're fond of trying to solve mysteries, this story is for you.
Give this book a chance because you will not regret it. And you know what? I think I'm going to re-read these stories sometime soon. They're THAT good.
First in the collection is Needle Rain. A story of a barkada and how they try to uncover the mysteries of a murder that happened in their hometown. One of the most mysterious stories in the pack, this is a good way to build the tension and suspense that one should feel while reading the book. However, aside from being scary, there's bit of sadness and surprise here, too. What's good is that the author was really able to capture the old-skool Filipino neighborhood--she was able to build the feel and imagery that was needed.
And then comes my favorite story in the book: The Ghosts of Sinagtala. Oh, god, this is the perfect thing to read right now as the Holy Week is coming up soon, and aside from being "Holy", we all know that it's also the time when they say that bad spirits are all over the place. This (and I told the author about this) SERIOUSLY. CREEPED. ME. OUT. It's not about monsters or the usual white ladies or whatever, but the kind of horror depicted in this story is so psychological that it would really rack your brain. (And I'm getting goosies again while writing this). Read it and you will know what I mean. It's really something you'd have to put down and continue once the sun shines again (yeah I read it late, late at night and god my mind worked so bad) because it's so scary. Watch out for rats.
Summer Evening, meanwhile, is brutal. You never know how twins' minds' work these days. You might be disturbed by this story and by the brutality, but all in all it was good. I like how different and creative the author can get.
A tale that will surely tug at your heartstrings without losing its mystery, December, is about an orphan named December, who makes friends with a boy named Gabriel. Together, they discover secrets and mysteries about a dead body in the lake, an abandoned mansion and the people around them.
Finally, there is the Viewless Dark. If you're a student and are frequenting the library, you'll be afraid. Okay seriously, this was one of the best. It's about finding out about someone's death and learning what you need to learn about that person. It's scary, it's suspenseful and it's a work that's just definitely top of the line. If you're fond of trying to solve mysteries, this story is for you.
Give this book a chance because you will not regret it. And you know what? I think I'm going to re-read these stories sometime soon. They're THAT good.
July 9, 2016
The stories are fresh, set in an inverted world where young characters are somewhat sick, mad, diabolic or stupid. Murder was an effortless task -no fear of consequences, lawless/unconscientious. Younger people seemed stronger, wild and smarter than the adults. This book hated parents; they maybe away, missing or dead which might have cause these characters to see the world in an obtusely dark way. Crimes aren't fully resolved which juvenile offenders stay free at the end :-( Emotions are somewhat missing, real emotions to feed sympathy or dread and i hate most of their thoughts and ideas. (****) The stories are unbelievable, but who knows in the real world the worst maybe happening.
The stories are just bold. The collection title (Unseen Moon) was just the best title for this collection. It could mean the world as we have not seen it or have not known it; the world on the other side of the mirror. Sometimes, I tend to like a newer blend of coffee and I would want to read more from the works of this gifted author.
What draws me really to finish the book was the writing talent (*****) that was brilliantly making me turn pages to the end. Stories are short, fast-paced but full-bodied. My hands are clapping!
The stories are just bold. The collection title (Unseen Moon) was just the best title for this collection. It could mean the world as we have not seen it or have not known it; the world on the other side of the mirror. Sometimes, I tend to like a newer blend of coffee and I would want to read more from the works of this gifted author.
What draws me really to finish the book was the writing talent (*****) that was brilliantly making me turn pages to the end. Stories are short, fast-paced but full-bodied. My hands are clapping!
January 26, 2017
It appears that Unseen Moon is published later than Lower Myths, but I feel like Unseen Moon isn't quite as tight as Eliza Victoria's other works? The best one I feel is 'Ghosts of Sinagtala' which has the best atmosphere and very visual. The others were good, but somehow I didn't really connect with them as much? A good read nevertheless.
May 21, 2013
Rating is more of a 4.5. :)
My review was published on GMA News Online: Horrors by the light of an unseen moon
My review was published on GMA News Online: Horrors by the light of an unseen moon
June 1, 2014
As expected of Eliza Victoria, her stories are always well written. But in this collection, only two stories resonated with me---The Ghosts of Sinagtala and Needle Rain. I particularly love the way she writes horror and suspense and I hope to see more of that in her next work.
April 30, 2013
Loved the stories. Review to follow :)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews