Hunters of the Red Moon

Hunters #1

by Marion Zimmer Bradley, George Barr (Cover Artist)

1st paperback edition. The hunters were fair by their standards... but their standards were inhuman. They kidnapped intelligent beings from far-off planets as prey for their hunt. If they could survive until the next eclipse of the red moon, wealth & freedom would be theirs.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Adult, Space Opera

176 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1973

About the author

Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook.

Bradley's first published novel-length work was Falcons of Narabedla, first published in the May 1957 issue of Other Worlds. When she was a child, Bradley stated that she enjoyed reading adventure fantasy authors such as Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, and Leigh Brackett, especially when they wrote about "the glint of strange suns on worlds that never were and never would be." Her first novel and much of her subsequent work show their influence strongly.

Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, Marion Zimmer Bradley produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels. For example, I Am a Lesbian was published in 1962. Though relatively tame by today's standards, they were considered pornographic when published, and for a long time she refused to disclose the titles she wrote under these pseudonyms.

Her 1958 story The Planet Savers introduced the planet of Darkover, which became the setting of a popular series by Bradley and other authors. The Darkover milieu may be considered as either fantasy with science fiction overtones or as science fiction with fantasy overtones, as Darkover is a lost earth colony where psi powers developed to an unusual degree. Bradley wrote many Darkover novels by herself, but in her later years collaborated with other authors for publication; her literary collaborators have continued the series since her death.

Bradley took an active role in science-fiction and fantasy fandom, promoting interaction with professional authors and publishers and making several important contributions to the subculture.

For many years, Bradley actively encouraged Darkover fan fiction and reprinted some of it in commercial Darkover anthologies, continuing to encourage submissions from unpublished authors, but this ended after a dispute with a fan over an unpublished Darkover novel of Bradley's that had similarities to some of the fan's stories. As a result, the novel remained unpublished, and Bradley demanded the cessation of all Darkover fan fiction.

Bradley was also the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series, which encouraged submissions of fantasy stories featuring original and non-traditional heroines from young and upcoming authors. Although she particularly encouraged young female authors, she was not averse to including male authors in her anthologies. Mercedes Lackey was just one of many authors who first appeared in the anthologies. She also maintained a large family of writers at her home in Berkeley. Ms Bradley was editing the final Sword and Sorceress manuscript up until the week of her death in September of 1999.

Probably her most famous single novel is The Mists of Avalon. A retelling of the Camelot legend from the point of view of Morgaine and Gwenhwyfar, it grew into a series of books; like the Darkover series, the later novels are written with or by other authors and have continued to appear after Bradley's death.

Her reputation has been posthumously marred by multiple accusations of child sexual abuse by her daughter Moira Greyland, and for allegedly assisting her second husband, convicted child abuser Walter Breen, in sexually abusing multiple unrelated children.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

DAW Books (DAW Collectors #71

Cover Artist: George Barr

Name: Bradley, Marion Eleanor Zimmer, Birthplace: Albany, New York, USA., (3 June 1930 - 25 September 1999

Alternate Names: Lee Chapman, John Dexter, Miriam Gardner, Morgan Ives, Marlene Longman.

This long unavailable novel by Bradley, the bestselling author of "The Mists of Avalon", and her brother, a well-known science fiction author in his own right, tells the story of the Hunters--fierce killers who promise fabulous wealth to any opponents who can survive being hunted by them for the time between two eclipses of the Red Moon.

Bradley is best known for her 'Darkover' science fantasy series and her Arthurian masterpiece, "The Mists of Avalon". She also edited anthologies for 14 years and published Marion Zimmer Bradley's FANTASY Magazine.

The series consists of:

1. Hunters of the Red Moon (1973)
2. The Survivors (1979)

The hunters were fair by their standards... but their standards were utterly inhuman. They kidnapped intelligent beings from many far-off planets as prey for their hunt. They gave them their choice of the best weapons available, allowed them plenty of time to practice, gave them a "chance"

If they could survive until the next eclipse of the red moon, wealth and freedom would be theirs. The catch was this, nobody knew what the hunters looked like.

[The Pirate Ghost (Formerly known as the Curmudgeon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was voting on a list of Sci-fi books and I realized that this book hasn't had a lot of attention. I read this in High School and it's affected everything sci-fi wise from what I read to those things I tried to write and even Television Shows.

This is an adventure story into the vast unknown void of space. It's full of rich and interesting characters from a huge 9 foot tall Protosaur (lizardman) with a wonderful sense of humor to a beautiful empath and a sexy lady warrior. The Protagonist is interesting, dashing and handsome and the world they roam has an interesting history and a deadly secret.

This is probably the best Action Adventure that Bradley ever wrote. It's more exciting than her Darkover Novels, if perhaps a little rougher around the edges and more of a genre filling paperback (pulp fiction maybe?)

For a Synopsis listen to "Come Sail Away" by Styx. Except, these illegal aliens can't be confused with angels. They abduct the main hero from a sailboat in the middle of the ocean and the "renascence man" goes to the stars for the adventure of his life. The first part, escape from the Slavers that grabbed him! Can he team up with the 9 foot Lizard with the gentle, laid back disposition? Does he bite?

The Protosaurian is probably one of the coolest supporting cast characters in Sci-fi. There female characters are generally alright, for a book written in the 70s. It's likely that they were pushing boundaries in 1973, though by modern standards and expectations they may not be as "equal" as they could be. They are fighters and leaders, intelligent and capable. The villains are interesting, complex and, in a wonderful way, very alien.

If you like weapons, there is all manner of weaponry to be seen here. If you like fighting, this is one big brawl almost from start to finish. If you like love stories, there is, of course, a love story here. If you like thrillers this is the sci-fi version of the Island of Dr. Moreaux and if you like action...trust me, there is action.

It may not be seen as more than pulp fiction. There may be things that modern readers and writers look at as terrible flaws. You could look at it that way, but I say a fun read's just a fun read. Why spoil it by thinking. Just read and enjoy.

But for those who cannot let go of "important themes" and "social responsibility" there is a clear message about what you do to yourself when you bring harm willingly to others, even in a fight for your life through the Empath. There's a gentle, lesson about finding "humanity" or the equivalent of it, in a creature that is utterly strange and alien to you in this book through the Proto-saurian and a lesson in the dangers of "not being alone out there" for the conspiracy theorists and fans. Sure, this book doesn't look like Childhood's End or A Space Odyssey, nor does it read like one. Yet, it's all there like you can find in any good science fiction story, if you’re willing to look.

Warnings (have to be some right?)

1) Violence... yes, lots of that wonderful 70s era violence. It's a good story. It’s nothing horrible or frightening. It's manageable by YA readers, teens and old people. If you have a thing against violence, then this isn't for you, but, if you can handle a prime time police show, you can handle this.

2) Love, Sex and Romance - Yes, it's all here too. Do not confuse this with a Sci-Fi-Romance. It's just a space fantasy-adventure but it's got some beautiful ladies who can kick butt, human and otherwise, and a hot he-one-hunky-dude hero and none of them know...(big sigh, heaving breast flutter eyelashes and let the dude's say "Schwing!") if they'll live to see another day! What the heck do you think's going to happen under these conditions?

Bottom line 4 stars... it's just a darned fun read.

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suspect that if I reread this as an adult I'd find it dated and extremely cheesy. As I kid I just thought it was bad.

[Sonia Almeida Dias (Peixinho de Prata) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first sci-fi book I've read, somewhere in the early 90's. And I loved it and have been reading sci-fi ever since.

Now, some many years later, I felt the urge to revisit it. It has stood the passage of time, it is still refreshing and entertaining, fast-paced and interesting.

Some minor aspects that are too dated, but nothing that makes me cringe. So it was a nice read, and I still think it is worth reading it.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance four stars might seem high for this book, but i give the high marks for pure enjoyment value. I read this long ago and it was just the thing for an adrenalin charged hormone engorged young man who got into action packed thrill rides.

Kidnapped, carried away from earth...the hero gets involved in an attempted takeover of the slaver's ship. This shows a certain amount of...appitude for what is needed by the Hunters. Once delivered there, all he has to do is survive till the Red Moon eclipses, again.

And guess what? We get to come along. So, pick you favorite weapon and get ready to kill or be killed. This might be called sort of an adult amped-up Hunger Games except, you know, not so tame.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take it for what it is: a fun little read to while away a heatwave afternoon. There's action scenes, lots of weapons, and a couple of interesting characters. If you look too closely, it falls apart, torn down by an extreme case of 70s cheesiness and predictability.

[Alex Vandivier · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty slow and boring build that I'm not sure really added much to the story. Once the action started it was good though and a worthwhile read, though I think a bit rushed in the end.

[Glen Stripling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the 1973 edition, (George Barr cover). Until I found this book I have never heard of Marion Zimmer Bradley but I am pleased she is in my idea of sci-fi. Her take on alien worlds and unique beings is imaginative and her command of theme and philosophy is great.

Hunters is the story of Dane Marsh, who is abducted from Earth to an alien slave ship. He befriends a group of fellow captives who join together for an attempted escape. And one sees his new friends as a whole spectrum of unique characters. He meets Rianna, a streetsmart warrior girl, Aratak, a lizard like being who is wise and philosophical, (a bit of suprise to me as I would not expect these from a reptile crature), and the tender Dallith, an empath girl from Spica 4. Since she feels the emotions of other beings, we meet her as a weak character but she proves to be more tough than first glance.

They attempt a revolt that fails, only to find the opportunity they found for it was an actual set-up to test their cunning.

As a reward for their bravery they are sent to a planetary system where they can train to be targets for hunters and earn their freedom.

After some training with weapons, Dane and his friends are taken to the hunting world where hunters try to kill them.

It is here the adventure gets very exiting and the weapons and fighting are researched material. (Ms. Bradley got a lot of great help from her brother Paul Zimmer, from the Society for Creative Anachronism). But some of the battle scenes tend to be wordy and a bit cartoonish.

That is not to say the book lacks realism. I felt very much involved in the emotional dynamics as the characters deal with the affection and grief they have for one another in this situation of violence and fear.

And I admit I felt much contempt for the beings that put them in this arena just for this sick game of a blood sport. But we are not shown what they are really like until the end of the novel and then I see them in a different manner.

And best of all, Marsh comes away with a new take on his demons of love and death from all these experiences.

I am much curious to find more of the Bradley books.

[David Nix · Rating 5 out of 5]

How have we forgotten about this novel? An why the heck has no one made this into a film? The plot could be ripped straight from a video game, even though Bradley wrote the story long before Atari. Or Pac-Man. Or Nintendo. Or Play Station. Or whatever your generation thinks of as the first "real" gaming system. The plot goes something like this. Random Earth Man is kidnapped by aliens to fight to the death on an alien planet against creatures that can assume any form. Man must choose alien allies and weapons wisely or die. Man must survive thirty days under constant attack to win riches and glory. Death, should it come, is graphic and bloody.

Because this is a decades-old novel, the writer wrote in a style no longer favored by readers. That includes techniques such as writing in complete sentences, using big words, and omitting gratuitous detail during sexual encounters. If you can accept that style, then you will love this story. If you can't, then you always have Manga.

[Juniper Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this, as a boring 28 year old adult with a 9-5, was like reliving my pre teen years, in the best way. This story was so reminiscent of hundreds of fantastical stories that I’ve read that it brought me right back to that mind set of spending hours in my room, dreaming of far off planets and fair but savage alien hunters. Was the story complex and sophisticated? No, maybe not. But the story felt visceral, the characters inspired empathy, and I’m so very glad I read it.

[E Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another older sci-fi/fantasy book I picked up on a whim, and thoroughly enjoyed. Pleased to learn there is a second (perhaps more?) , follow-on book. Entertaining plot that brought greatly-differing aliens together in pursuit of a common goal, survival. Old school sci-fi, a refreshing change from modern, uber-techy, angst filled, or overly-woke themes. Sometimes you just need an adventure.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the idea of this book to be interesting even thought the central character makes you want to kill him. He isn’t quite as annoying as Anita Blake, but then again who is? In some ways, it reminds of me of Spell for Chameleon, at least in terms of the love interests.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story full of suspense and danger this story tells of an Terran abducted as prey for a hunt with big prizes if he can survive. I must have read this book at least a dozen times and now I am re reading it yet again as I have found a sequel and like to refresh before starting part 2

[Peter Cook · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only remembered reading this when I saw the cover. It didn't appeal to me at the time. It only had a slight effect, now forgotten, on my writing about humanoid alien felines. If I could rate it zero stars I would.

[Steven Brito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! 👍🏽

Loved it! I read this book as a child, and the story did not age. It is still a breath of fresh air.

[Lightwhisper · Rating 5 out of 5]

What not to like in this author. Wonderfully written. Pure sci-fi!!!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, moderately amusing anecdote:

This was published originally in 1973. My cousin and I read it ~1995, and he wrote a book report on it when he was in 8th grade. The format of the book report required by the teacher included evaluating whether the book took place in the past, the present, or the future. My cousin noted that at one point the main character of the book makes reference to men only recently walking on the moon, and concluded that it took place in the past.

The teacher docked him points for that, on the grounds that a book which includes aliens and spaceships must be taking place in the future.

[Dave Osmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is kind of like a mash-up of the Hunger Games and Predator, (which is why I was so excited to give it a read). It started strong, but then fell apart from there. The main human character (who is abducted by an enigmatic alien race) is forced to fight alien "Hunters" along side other fellow abductees from other planets. If you survive the 11-day hunt/game then you are rewarded and released. Unfortunately the build-up to the fighting is VERY slow and there's also an annoyingly forced love-triangle that made my eyes roll till I was dizzy. Ultimately, the end stumbled to a predictable end... Not Bradley's best novel.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunters of the Red Moon is a pretty straightforward tale. Dane Marsh finds out the hard way that some of those stories of extraterrestrial abduction are true, and in doing so lands in a real pickle. Shanghai'd for fun and profit, Marsh and assorted other aliens find themselves the property of the Hunters-legendary beings who play a sort of ET version of The Most Dangerous Game. Survive and riches are yours-or die. No one knows who the Hunters are, what they look like, what their weak points are, etc. This novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley was published in 1973 but it still holds up today and it is a thrilling story.

[Héloïse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I reread this recently (got it at least 15 years ago)... it is terrible. The main character is insufferable, there is some pseudo-pedantic philosophy and the plot was also predictable and irritating. Conveniently one of the love interest (his true love that he didn't want to sleep with because she was less curvy than the other girl... WTF) Quite short so I was put out of my misery soon enough... except.. Checking if others felt like me is when I saw MZB was a child molester and laught when it was suggested to her maybe to stop her husband raping a child..... great. I used to love the darkover series as a teenager, they all went to the bin as well.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid SF adventure reminiscent of Andre Norton but with more adult themes. A man of Earth is abducted by proto-feline aliens, joining a group of captives from other planets. Initially destined for the slave market, the captives are sold to the titular Hunters where they are forced to engage in a "dangerous game" with this race of mysterious aliens. To my mind, not as good as Bradley's Darkover novels of the same period. This novel reads like an earlier work that was published to capitalize on Bradley's success.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remembered reading this pulpy sci-fi novel out of the 70s when I was a kid, where some guy was abducted out in the middle of the ocean and put in some sort of intergalactic jail. One of his fellow inmates was this ten-foot-tall philosopher lizard, and it was this big, imprinting experience to meet this character. I've had this great love of philosopher-giants ever since, from the Ogier in the Wheel of Time novels to the Gurahl in White Wolf's Werewolf: the Apocalypse game. I wanted to double back and read the novel again to see if it still held up, and then I was tipped off to the sequel when I mounted a search for it. Since I'm a slow reader (much to my great shame) that meant I've been spending a couple of months inside the fictional universe of the Unity, a cosmic government that brings together a whole host of different species. The Unity is little more than a backdrop for basic space adventures, but that's all right.

Hunters of the Red Moon is the first book of the series, and I slightly misremembered the plot from all those years ago. Dane Marsh is a thrill-seeker who's in the middle of sailing alone through the Atlantic when he's stolen by the Mekhar, a felinoid race of slave traders. After organizing an escape attempt with a fellow "proto-simian" (the Unity's term for human-like races), a telepath and an enormous proto-saurian, the group finds itself given over to the Hunters, a mysterious race for whom killing has been elevated to something of a religion. Along with one of the Mekhar captors they bested, they find themselves in the strange position of being "sacred prey," forced to survive for roughly a month against Hunters no one has ever seen.

It's an interesting concept, and if you're into straight-ahead soft sci-fi that's more action-oriented than anything, this is a book for you. Author Marion Zimmer Bradley spends quite a great deal of her time with the novel exploring the universe, and that's just fine for me -- it's a fascinating setting. We get to meet various members of the Unity and rough shades of what individual societies are like. The proto-felines are quite good with martial affairs and were the inventors of hyper-space travel. The proto-saurians are large but peaceful, devoting most of their pursuits to philosophies and the humanities. Proto-simians are the most curious and gregarious, but there's this shade of disdain among the other species because they don't have a "heat" cycle and have sex pretty much whenever they feel like it. It's a cool tweak to the reputation of humans in an inter-stellar society; I don't think I've ever heard of it before.

Beyond that, the action scenes are pretty competently written. The spaces between them are marked with a smattering of conversations and thoughts from Dane on how to survive from one moment to the next. The book doesn't like to get too deep -- despite the fact that Dane lives in a world where there's never been conclusive proof of aliens before, he takes finding out in one of the most extreme possible ways in stride. And besides a bit of light bemusement about the alien-ness of the characters he meets, nothing much rattles him. He is very much a man of action, more of a template than a character, a man whose chief characteristic is his force of will.

The supporting cast is far more interesting. I've mentioned Aratak, and while a lot of his philosophy reads more like a fuzzy carbon copy of Spock's Vulcanism, he's still easily the best thing about the book. Cliff-Climber, the Mekhar guard who chooses to join Dane's party, is another interesting fellow -- his outlook is so far removed from the rest of the group that he spends much of his time at odds with them, and his slow-but-steady integration is the closest you get to a character arc. Dane simply acts to survive, and so does Aratak. The women in the party -- Dallith the telepath and Rianna the proto-simian -- are mostly love interests and their personalities serve to off-set each other. Rianna is something of a sociologist, but she's got quite a temper and knows her way around a knife. Dallith, on the other hand, is pretty much a damsel in distress the entire time. Her people almost never leave their home planet, and when they do it almost never ends well. Dallith has lain down to die when Dane meets her, and it's only his sheer force of will that essentially carries her through the rest of the novel.

It's possible I'm being a little unfair; to be honest, Dallith and Rhianna are fine as far as characters go, and given Dallith's culture it makes perfect sense for her to react the way she does. I chafe a little at their role in the story primarily because Dane is such a square-jawed hero it's hard to see why either of them would fall for him. I'm never quite sold on his romance with Dallith, especially, simply because it doesn't feel like he's responding to her specifically -- he likes the idea of being needed, of upholding the ideal of manliness in some way. Dallith becomes something of a cypher in this way, a prop that completes Dane's image of himself. We don't know too much about her otherwise.

But these are problems coming from a different time. Hunters is a pretty good sci-fi pulp adventure and a rather quick read. It won't necessarily rock your socks off, but it's a solidly-constructed, simple story that's worth checking out if you're nostalgic for that brand of fantasy.

[James Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early 1970’s book - an adventure about creatures from many planets who are forced to become the prey of alien hunters. Would have made a great movie I think. I enjoyed the book as a kid on the 70’s and read it again now in 2023. I still think it’s a good book. It’s a fun sci-fi read with interesting characters and lots of action.

[mickythomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Geschichte selbst hat mir sehr gut gefallen, leider war es erzählerisch für mich nicht gut. Zu viel philosophisches zu wenig action. Die Duelle und Kämpfe waren sehr konfus und abgehackt beschrieben. Teils fand ich auch Längen in der Erzählung bis das sehr kurze schnelle Ende da war. Daher nur zwei Sterne.

[pol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid read, perfect for commuting on the subway. There wasn’t a huge amount of depth to it but I think that’s what I was looking for. There was action, big talking lizard and cat men and a love triangle. All around a fun sci-fi adventure and interesting take on the short story the most dangerous game.

[Steve Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this a long time ago and recently found it in a bookshop again. Not as good as I remember but still an entertaining read for the holidays. There is a follow on book with the same characters that sounds worthwhile to track down.

[Matthew Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why has this never been made into a movie?

I entertaining sci-fi action story. A man abducted from Earth by aliens. Sold by cat like slavers to a mysterious race looking for prey for their ritual hunts on their moon.

[Eric N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple adventure novel delivers,reminiscent of a Star Trek episode.

[Geoff Field]

This is old-school sci-fi, as you'd expect from MZB.
I was prepared to move it out to the street library (and I did in the end), but I was almost tempted to keep it in my regular indoor library.

[John Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little science fiction book from the 70's. Moves fast, don't expect some big ending though!