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Jack Raines Thriller
The Girl in the Moon
In his newest heart-pounding novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry Goodkind introduces the world to his most unforgettable and deadly character yet.
Angela Constantine is a girl born broken.
When Angela was young, before she came to realize she had a rare ability, she was a rather ordinary girl. At least, that was what everyone said. But Angela is anything but ordinary. The daughter of a meth addict, she is convinced she was born a freak. Haunted by an abusive childhood, she was forced to become a woman far too soon. And in the process, she became more.
Angela Constantine has a secret life.
Angela juggles multiple jobs to live a secluded life in a cabin in the mountains. But she also lives a secret life, right under everyone’s noses. Because her family’s bloodline carries the ability to recognize killers, she adopts a solitary, violent existence in service of her own, personal mission in life. When Angela unexpectedly finds herself the prey of a group of international terrorists, she is the only one who knows the truth of what they are about to do. She might look like an unlikely hero. She might also be our only hope.
Angela Constantine is . . . The Girl in the Moon.
Angela Constantine is a girl born broken.
When Angela was young, before she came to realize she had a rare ability, she was a rather ordinary girl. At least, that was what everyone said. But Angela is anything but ordinary. The daughter of a meth addict, she is convinced she was born a freak. Haunted by an abusive childhood, she was forced to become a woman far too soon. And in the process, she became more.
Angela Constantine has a secret life.
Angela juggles multiple jobs to live a secluded life in a cabin in the mountains. But she also lives a secret life, right under everyone’s noses. Because her family’s bloodline carries the ability to recognize killers, she adopts a solitary, violent existence in service of her own, personal mission in life. When Angela unexpectedly finds herself the prey of a group of international terrorists, she is the only one who knows the truth of what they are about to do. She might look like an unlikely hero. She might also be our only hope.
Angela Constantine is . . . The Girl in the Moon.
488 pages, Hardcover
First published March 6, 2018
364 people are currently reading
3629 people want to read
About the author
Terry Goodkind
278 books12.3k followersTerry Lee Goodkind was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, which premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons, ending in May 2010.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
Goodkind was a proponent of Ayn Rand's philosophical approach of Objectivism, and made references to Rand's ideas and novels in his works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 380 reviews
March 28, 2018
I knew this author for his "Sword of truth"series. While not one of my favorite authors, I thought to try this new book, which I heard was of a very different kind. I am very sorry to say that I found it crude, harsh and unappealing. It features repeated scenes of rape and abuse described very graphically, that I found very disturbing....with cardboard characters, an abundance of killers and perverts and a less than probable plot. Definitely not recommendable.
May 18, 2018
Very creative premise
BUT, the author repeated himself so much I wanted to the throw the damn book across the room.
I don’t need to be told the same damn thing over, and over, and over, and over, and over.
The worst? In a page and half he said the same thing 4 different ways.
This author getting paid by the word?
Great book for the forgetful.
BUT, the author repeated himself so much I wanted to the throw the damn book across the room.
I don’t need to be told the same damn thing over, and over, and over, and over, and over.
The worst? In a page and half he said the same thing 4 different ways.
This author getting paid by the word?
Great book for the forgetful.
dnf
January 7, 2018The crones sit together in silence. You've heard that in their youth they roamed the land, gathered their knowledge close. They were once many but now only two remain. They'll share what they learned with you, if only you have the strength to listen.
You draw nearer, the list clutched in your trembling hand.
"Ageless ones," you croak, "I asked the internet what to read next while I wait for Winds of Winter. Does this satisfy?"
The nearer one, her hair as pale as the moon, gently takes the page. Her eyes are pained as she glances to her sister. She shakes her head.
"Oh child," the other sighs. You swear you see a hundred worlds in her dark stare. "Friends don't let friends read Goodkind."
You draw nearer, the list clutched in your trembling hand.
"Ageless ones," you croak, "I asked the internet what to read next while I wait for Winds of Winter. Does this satisfy?"
The nearer one, her hair as pale as the moon, gently takes the page. Her eyes are pained as she glances to her sister. She shakes her head.
"Oh child," the other sighs. You swear you see a hundred worlds in her dark stare. "Friends don't let friends read Goodkind."
March 21, 2018
This book is a 2nd amendment, right wing propaganda. There is nothing good in it. It is misogynistic (even though it was a female protaganist). It is anti-islamic, anti-immigrant, entirely US nationalistic - slave to the current populist agenda. I about threw it in, except I don't usually leave a book unfinished.
Don't bother reading it.
Also Terry's treatment of his editors and artist (cover art from his other book) is shameful. I wish I could get my $'s back for this purchase.
Don't bother reading it.
Also Terry's treatment of his editors and artist (cover art from his other book) is shameful. I wish I could get my $'s back for this purchase.
June 20, 2018
This is truly appalling. 1.The writer insults the reader - he has to explain the most obvious things and he does this repeatedly. 2. The dialogue is excruciating. Nobody talks like this! 3. The characters are cardboard cutouts (not even one dimensional) 4. The gratuitous scenes of rape and violence are offensive. I mean really - after being repeatedly gang raped you just get up and carry on as before?? No PTSD or signs of trauma. I could go on but badly written books like this anger me. The writer is lazy and this just ends up being insulting to the reader.
July 12, 2018
Yeahhhh.... soooo
This story needs a TRIGGER WARNING. There are REALLY graphic scenes of child rape. I mean, downright grotesque scenes of child rape and abuse.
Some of these descriptions were completely unnecessary and didn't need to be added to the story.
I mean, really Terry, you wanted your audience to visualize your child character walking to school with the taste of semen from her rapist in her mouth?
Like Come on man, was that really necessary??? so yeah, readers beware. Our character is raped by many many many many men. In fact, every single man in this book is a complete dooshbag.
you've been warned.
Well anyway, I keep going back and forth with 1 or 2 stars on this because of that main issue above. Ill round up because once I got over the filthy taste of all THAT in my mouth, there was a really good story that was powerful and well written. Thankfully the author eventually took it easy on us and allowed our main heroine to grow into a very powerful independent woman.
I understand its necessary to make your audience squirm, but this was beyond squirm. I have a hard stop with graphic child rape. I don't wish to read any stories that have this and wish they all had a trigger warning.
Ive listened to quite a few audiobooks since this one, but I still have this story lingering in my head, not sure if that's good or bad.
Brain palette cleanse time!
This story needs a TRIGGER WARNING. There are REALLY graphic scenes of child rape. I mean, downright grotesque scenes of child rape and abuse.
Some of these descriptions were completely unnecessary and didn't need to be added to the story.
I mean, really Terry, you wanted your audience to visualize your child character walking to school with the taste of semen from her rapist in her mouth?
Like Come on man, was that really necessary??? so yeah, readers beware. Our character is raped by many many many many men. In fact, every single man in this book is a complete dooshbag.
you've been warned.
Well anyway, I keep going back and forth with 1 or 2 stars on this because of that main issue above. Ill round up because once I got over the filthy taste of all THAT in my mouth, there was a really good story that was powerful and well written. Thankfully the author eventually took it easy on us and allowed our main heroine to grow into a very powerful independent woman.
I understand its necessary to make your audience squirm, but this was beyond squirm. I have a hard stop with graphic child rape. I don't wish to read any stories that have this and wish they all had a trigger warning.
Ive listened to quite a few audiobooks since this one, but I still have this story lingering in my head, not sure if that's good or bad.
Brain palette cleanse time!
June 8, 2023
Full disclosure : I won a free autographed copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
The Girl in the Moon builds upon ideas from Goodkind’s previous book, Nest. There are also characters in common. That said, TGITM can be read on its own, without any prior knowledge of the earlier book.
Angela Constantine has had it rough. Her mother is a drug addict, and, despite a steady stream of men passing through, she's never really had a father. In spite of rape and neglect, she's managed to carve out a life for herself with a steady job and a place of her own. But Angela is special. She possesses the ability to recognize dangerous serial killers by simply looking into their eyes. Such men--because in this book (and in Nest) they're all men ... go figure--aren’t prepared to have Angela turn the tables on them, and she's killed quite a number of them by the time we meet her. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice to say that we wind up with a group of terrorists bent on striking a horrific blow against the USA, and the only one who can stop them is Angela …
As with Nest, this is a compelling thriller of a book. Be warned that it gets quite gory in spots, and there are some fairly graphic depictions of rape as well. I do think it's all in service of the story, but it's not for the faint of heart.
Parts of the book seem to be drawn from some of the more conservative elements of the news of the day. Much is made of the terrorists entering the country across the US-Mexico border and taking advantage of sanctuary cities to lessen their chances of capture. They're all strictly from central casting, and aren't given much in the way of personalities. They're there to be the Bad Guys and nothing more. Also, when Angela gets attacked, raped, left for dead, and manages to free herself, the police seem more upset about her illegal weapon than the crime she's reporting. Come to think of it, the whole business of looking into someone's eyes and instantly knowing if they're an irredeemable killer is a very conservative fantasy: some people just need killing, and it's a waste of resources to try and rehabilitate them. And, since this power operates with 100% accuracy, there's no chance of someone innocent getting killed by mistake.
It's entirely possible that the only reason I even noticed all of that are my barely-latent liberal tendencies. I’m not ready to go to a Save the Whales wine and cheese party just yet, but I definitely skew in that direction. Anyway, I found the experience of trying to second guess a book’s politics while reading it somewhat distracting. Fortunately, I’ve had a fair amount of experience with Facebook, so the practice of mentally rolling my eyes while reading something is familiar.
All that said, I did find this book a compelling page turner. There are a couple of false endings, places where the only reason I knew it wasn't really over was because I could see how many pages were left. I’m curious to see where these books are going. With this book and Nest, we’ve been introduced to some characters and ideas. Standard story logic says that further books in the series may introduce more characters, and then all the characters we’ve met will unite against some huge threat, possibly more threats if the series continues. But, if I’ve learned anything from these books, it is that Terry Goodkind is hardly a standard author. One thing’s for sure: we’re in for one hell of a ride. Recommended!
The Girl in the Moon builds upon ideas from Goodkind’s previous book, Nest. There are also characters in common. That said, TGITM can be read on its own, without any prior knowledge of the earlier book.
Angela Constantine has had it rough. Her mother is a drug addict, and, despite a steady stream of men passing through, she's never really had a father. In spite of rape and neglect, she's managed to carve out a life for herself with a steady job and a place of her own. But Angela is special. She possesses the ability to recognize dangerous serial killers by simply looking into their eyes. Such men--because in this book (and in Nest) they're all men ... go figure--aren’t prepared to have Angela turn the tables on them, and she's killed quite a number of them by the time we meet her. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice to say that we wind up with a group of terrorists bent on striking a horrific blow against the USA, and the only one who can stop them is Angela …
As with Nest, this is a compelling thriller of a book. Be warned that it gets quite gory in spots, and there are some fairly graphic depictions of rape as well. I do think it's all in service of the story, but it's not for the faint of heart.
Parts of the book seem to be drawn from some of the more conservative elements of the news of the day. Much is made of the terrorists entering the country across the US-Mexico border and taking advantage of sanctuary cities to lessen their chances of capture. They're all strictly from central casting, and aren't given much in the way of personalities. They're there to be the Bad Guys and nothing more. Also, when Angela gets attacked, raped, left for dead, and manages to free herself, the police seem more upset about her illegal weapon than the crime she's reporting. Come to think of it, the whole business of looking into someone's eyes and instantly knowing if they're an irredeemable killer is a very conservative fantasy: some people just need killing, and it's a waste of resources to try and rehabilitate them. And, since this power operates with 100% accuracy, there's no chance of someone innocent getting killed by mistake.
It's entirely possible that the only reason I even noticed all of that are my barely-latent liberal tendencies. I’m not ready to go to a Save the Whales wine and cheese party just yet, but I definitely skew in that direction. Anyway, I found the experience of trying to second guess a book’s politics while reading it somewhat distracting. Fortunately, I’ve had a fair amount of experience with Facebook, so the practice of mentally rolling my eyes while reading something is familiar.
All that said, I did find this book a compelling page turner. There are a couple of false endings, places where the only reason I knew it wasn't really over was because I could see how many pages were left. I’m curious to see where these books are going. With this book and Nest, we’ve been introduced to some characters and ideas. Standard story logic says that further books in the series may introduce more characters, and then all the characters we’ve met will unite against some huge threat, possibly more threats if the series continues. But, if I’ve learned anything from these books, it is that Terry Goodkind is hardly a standard author. One thing’s for sure: we’re in for one hell of a ride. Recommended!
July 25, 2018
The story is disgusting and the writing is amateurish. There’s too much repetition. I gave up when Angela repeated what happened to her for what felt like the 15th time. The book clearly has little story so Goodkind had to find a way to increase the word count. He’s been doing it for years and he’s losing fans because of it. I refuse to read another book in this awful series.
March 14, 2018
This book was intense! I loved it. Angela is fascinating in so many ways. I love how bad-ass she is, and for all of the right reasons! The story sucked me in and had my blood pressure up, but not in that maddening way that I hate. My heart raced, and I had fun learning what made Angela tick, and wondering what she could possibly do next. I got angry right along with her and felt her frustrations, but then, Wow! I can't tell you too much about that, without major spoilers. She's awesome! For those of you who like his Sword of Truth series, you'll be interested to know that Kahlan in the Con Dar is a children's tale in comparison.
September 15, 2018
No! Don’t do it!!! Save yourself!!!
September 23, 2018
I was excited to see a new Terry Goodkind novel. What a let down. Where was his editor? There is so much repetition and so many clumsy sentences, that it was hard going to keep the flow. But the plot and characters are just so awful too! Graphic violence and rape, very little psychological insight and one dimensional portrayals. From the magic and depth of The Sword of Truth to supernatural drivel, the author is losing my respect rapidly. Abysmal, amateurish writing.
September 16, 2020
MAJOR DNF at 50 pages
Repetitive, insipid writing. An insane amount of violence and rape. Trigger warning for child-rape. Literally makes me sick. Please do not read this. I'm begging you.
Repetitive, insipid writing. An insane amount of violence and rape. Trigger warning for child-rape. Literally makes me sick. Please do not read this. I'm begging you.
February 6, 2019
It is hard not to like Angela. I know a lot of enforcement officers wouldn't approve of her tactics. But regular folks would love someone like Angela to protect them. Laws are made to protect people, but many times they hurt not only the victims , but also the people who enforce the laws. Like I said many people like lawyers and police would have a problem with this. It is a book though, and the author knows it's never good to take the law into your own hands. This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it. And I hardly ever give a book 5 stars. This truly deserves it.
July 20, 2018
The guy who wrote this is one sick puppy. And when he started throwing in his conspiracy theory political views, I had to stop reading.
January 25, 2018
Note: This book is NOT Sword of Truth "Fantasy". I would classify it as a Supernatural Thriller set in the modern world.
I was fortunate enough to acquire one of the ARCs for this book and spent a few days immersed in the story. Wow. This book definitely had a grittier, no-holds-barred, Terry's-writing-what-he-wants-so-f**k-off, feel to it. Not that NEST didn't, this just took it to another level. I had to walk around the block a few times to wind down/de-energize after finishing it.
If this is the new writing direction Mr. Goodkind intends to pursue, I find that I am liking it. His storytelling now seems to flow with a greater grounding in reality. It hits home in a very visceral way.
I was fortunate enough to acquire one of the ARCs for this book and spent a few days immersed in the story. Wow. This book definitely had a grittier, no-holds-barred, Terry's-writing-what-he-wants-so-f**k-off, feel to it. Not that NEST didn't, this just took it to another level. I had to walk around the block a few times to wind down/de-energize after finishing it.
If this is the new writing direction Mr. Goodkind intends to pursue, I find that I am liking it. His storytelling now seems to flow with a greater grounding in reality. It hits home in a very visceral way.
December 14, 2023
I've read the first 5 or so of Terry Goodkind's fantasy series, and gave up once the gratuitous violence, rape, and sadism (I would not be in the least surprised if they found a dungeon (with skeletons) in his basement!); plot holes; repetitive plots; oh so many very convenient occurrences; preaching; and not-so-wonderful writing got on my nerves... somewhere after the evil chicken. But the lady at the bookshop was waxing lyrical about this particular book and going on about how unique she found it and kept recommending I read it, "even though it's not my usual type of reading". So, I gave it a try.
***** POSSIBLE SPOILERS *****
Interesting concept, adequate plot, prose with too much exposition and repetition, unoriginal characters, semi-Mary-Suish protagonist, the many very convenient occurrences, the usual gratuitous overly-descriptive sadistic violence including rape and large scale carnage; making this a typical Goodkind novel that reads like an episode of the Sword of Truth series without the fantasy setting. I can see why the bookshop lady liked it, but this sort of thing isn't my jam. If I hadn't promised to read the book and discuss it with the bookshop lady, I would have ditched it before the halfway mark.
***** POSSIBLE SPOILERS *****
Interesting concept, adequate plot, prose with too much exposition and repetition, unoriginal characters, semi-Mary-Suish protagonist, the many very convenient occurrences, the usual gratuitous overly-descriptive sadistic violence including rape and large scale carnage; making this a typical Goodkind novel that reads like an episode of the Sword of Truth series without the fantasy setting. I can see why the bookshop lady liked it, but this sort of thing isn't my jam. If I hadn't promised to read the book and discuss it with the bookshop lady, I would have ditched it before the halfway mark.
March 14, 2018
The Girl in the Moon by Terry Goodkind is a so-so violent thriller.
Angela Constantine considers herself to be a girl who was born broken. Her mother was an addict who would do anything to get a plethora of illegal drugs. While her grandparents were protective and loving when they were alive, she spent most of her time with her strung-out mother and the abusive scum that hung around their trailer. She escaped as soon as she could and Angela has made a private life for herself with a secret mission.
Angela has been born with the ability to recognize killers by looking into their eyes. Not only does she recognize their capacity for violence, she also knows who they killed and how they did it. She uses this secret ability to take revenge on men who victimize women, by killing them first.
The first thing any prospective reader needs to know immediately is that this is an over-the-top bloody, graphically violent novel that features multiple rape scenes. This was almost a Did Not Finish, a very rare event for me. I set it aside more than once, asking myself how much more violence and rape could I put up with in order to finish the story. Angela has no redeeming qualities. Okay, maybe just one, she loved her grandparents. The writing is uninspired and flat. The only reason I kept reading was I wanted to know how her ability to identify killers was going to be tied into fighting terrorism.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/0...
Angela Constantine considers herself to be a girl who was born broken. Her mother was an addict who would do anything to get a plethora of illegal drugs. While her grandparents were protective and loving when they were alive, she spent most of her time with her strung-out mother and the abusive scum that hung around their trailer. She escaped as soon as she could and Angela has made a private life for herself with a secret mission.
Angela has been born with the ability to recognize killers by looking into their eyes. Not only does she recognize their capacity for violence, she also knows who they killed and how they did it. She uses this secret ability to take revenge on men who victimize women, by killing them first.
The first thing any prospective reader needs to know immediately is that this is an over-the-top bloody, graphically violent novel that features multiple rape scenes. This was almost a Did Not Finish, a very rare event for me. I set it aside more than once, asking myself how much more violence and rape could I put up with in order to finish the story. Angela has no redeeming qualities. Okay, maybe just one, she loved her grandparents. The writing is uninspired and flat. The only reason I kept reading was I wanted to know how her ability to identify killers was going to be tied into fighting terrorism.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2018/0...
April 12, 2018
I really loved this book! I enjoyed Nest, but I really loved this book. I hope this series continues, the characters have so much more they can do. I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t put it down. It is not like the Sword of Truth series, but it is great in its own way. I’ve loved every book Terry Goodkind has written and he is such an amazing author. He doesn’t shy away from anything and he is a very powerful storyteller.
March 25, 2018
Everyone loves a good vigilante story. This is a great, fast-paced adventure. Fun read!
April 6, 2019
A wicked horror style read.
It sent a shiver through my spine every time I turned each page and read each word.
An eye-locking read.
It sent a shiver through my spine every time I turned each page and read each word.
An eye-locking read.
April 16, 2018
This is an excellent read, following on from the Nest standalone story. Brutal, gritty and non-stop action. Not for the squeamish. It tells the story of Angela, the girl in the moon, she can look into your eyes and see if you are a murderer. Her quest to bring such foes to justice. After reading about her back story she teams up with Jack (from Nest) to counter a major terrorist plot which is being planned in New York. Gripping stuff till the end.
June 7, 2023
At the start I did not really like this book as there was a lot of brutality. But Goodkind usually puts his hero's through hell somewhere along the line so this was nothing new. Just in this book, it was right at the beginning. The story gradually grew on me and the revenge meted out to the bad guys was justified by the things they had done in the beginning.
My problem is I was never sold on the special ability of the protagonist and I had to shelve this one under Fantasy or at least Urban Fantasy. Goodkind is also making some social commentary here that's even more relevant today than when this book was written in 2018.
My problem is I was never sold on the special ability of the protagonist and I had to shelve this one under Fantasy or at least Urban Fantasy. Goodkind is also making some social commentary here that's even more relevant today than when this book was written in 2018.
May 26, 2018
I went into this book loving it, but the more I read the more icky it made me feel. The way immigrants, and women are spoken about just doesn't feel right.
Not to mention the editing was horrible! There were so many words missing from sentences or sentence that were half repeated, that it made it difficult to read in some chapters.
Angela is awesome though, and for that, I can't not rate this book at least a 3/5, was originally a 4 star read, but I couldn't get past the errors and the attitudes towards certain groups.
Not to mention the editing was horrible! There were so many words missing from sentences or sentence that were half repeated, that it made it difficult to read in some chapters.
Angela is awesome though, and for that, I can't not rate this book at least a 3/5, was originally a 4 star read, but I couldn't get past the errors and the attitudes towards certain groups.
October 31, 2018
Verbose
I love Terry Goodkind. But not so much this book. The story was good, and mostly kept my attention. But there were so many details he felt needed repeating (almost endlessly) - it's almost like he made notes of those details while writing the book, but forgot to edit them out in the final draft. Makes the read tedious and redundant in parts. Goodkind is a better writer than that, and I expected more from him.
I love Terry Goodkind. But not so much this book. The story was good, and mostly kept my attention. But there were so many details he felt needed repeating (almost endlessly) - it's almost like he made notes of those details while writing the book, but forgot to edit them out in the final draft. Makes the read tedious and redundant in parts. Goodkind is a better writer than that, and I expected more from him.
April 10, 2018
I am so bored with terrorists as part of the plot of a book. This started good and the protagonist is just perfect for a good old murder thriller until Terry pulled a extremist terrorist out of the hat. The writing is also not on par, found myself reading repeated phrases during the final scenes. Below par book and not a good storyline, for me that is.(Too cheezy)
August 3, 2018
Good read!
September 17, 2018
Plot deserves 5 stars but too much graphic violence against the main character bothered me.
August 30, 2018
http://arianafae.com/2018/08/the-girl...
We have all seen news footage or read actual accounts of people and their families lives torn apart by the brutality and senseless acts of killers and madmen. I’m sure we all have wanted those monsters found, and justice served so they couldn’t do it again. Well, Terry Goodkind lets us live that fantasy in THE GIRL IN THE MOON through Angela Constantine.
Angela intrigued me from the first paragraph “…her first thought was to wonder if this was the night she was going to die.” and by the end of chapter six I was a fan. If there were only one word I could use to describe Angela it would be deadly. I also liked that Goodkind didn’t make her a completely bad-ass and untouchable character. She lost fights, she got hurt, and faced defeat. I admired that she never gave in and kept fighting even when the odds were against her. One of my favorite lines in the book that defined Angela was this one:
“In fact I’ve found that the law has little do with justice, that laws are merely a way for some people to have power over others and that if you want justice sometimes you have to make it happen yourself. Know what I mean.” Angela’s words to Prosecutor John Babbington.
In THE GIRL IN THE MOON, Goodkind touched on topics that hit me on such a visceral level that I had to stop reading to recollect myself. For example chapter 11, and one of my favorites in the book, is when Angela’s grandfather Vito confronted and put the school Principal in his place defending Angela’s actions against bullies. My inner cry for justice was crowing.
Goodkind does not hold back details with the graphic scenes in his book. I’ve seen reviews from other’s about them especially the rape scene, which was hard for me to read. However, I’ve read just as graphic scenes from a few of my favorite female thriller authors, so I feel Goodkind didn’t push the boundaries. If anything, it made me admire Angela even more, and it showed how the justice system always blames the victim, and how laws protect criminals, not victims.
Dean Koontz’s blurb for THE GIRL IN THE MOON best describes what I thought of it.
“Terry Goodkind writes suspense with a slight fantastic edge, and the result is a fresh, compelling thriller. This is pure entertainment, a true page-turner, and great fun.” I enjoyed it tremendously it and hope to see another Angela Constantine novel soon.
We have all seen news footage or read actual accounts of people and their families lives torn apart by the brutality and senseless acts of killers and madmen. I’m sure we all have wanted those monsters found, and justice served so they couldn’t do it again. Well, Terry Goodkind lets us live that fantasy in THE GIRL IN THE MOON through Angela Constantine.
Angela intrigued me from the first paragraph “…her first thought was to wonder if this was the night she was going to die.” and by the end of chapter six I was a fan. If there were only one word I could use to describe Angela it would be deadly. I also liked that Goodkind didn’t make her a completely bad-ass and untouchable character. She lost fights, she got hurt, and faced defeat. I admired that she never gave in and kept fighting even when the odds were against her. One of my favorite lines in the book that defined Angela was this one:
“In fact I’ve found that the law has little do with justice, that laws are merely a way for some people to have power over others and that if you want justice sometimes you have to make it happen yourself. Know what I mean.” Angela’s words to Prosecutor John Babbington.
In THE GIRL IN THE MOON, Goodkind touched on topics that hit me on such a visceral level that I had to stop reading to recollect myself. For example chapter 11, and one of my favorites in the book, is when Angela’s grandfather Vito confronted and put the school Principal in his place defending Angela’s actions against bullies. My inner cry for justice was crowing.
Goodkind does not hold back details with the graphic scenes in his book. I’ve seen reviews from other’s about them especially the rape scene, which was hard for me to read. However, I’ve read just as graphic scenes from a few of my favorite female thriller authors, so I feel Goodkind didn’t push the boundaries. If anything, it made me admire Angela even more, and it showed how the justice system always blames the victim, and how laws protect criminals, not victims.
Dean Koontz’s blurb for THE GIRL IN THE MOON best describes what I thought of it.
“Terry Goodkind writes suspense with a slight fantastic edge, and the result is a fresh, compelling thriller. This is pure entertainment, a true page-turner, and great fun.” I enjoyed it tremendously it and hope to see another Angela Constantine novel soon.
June 27, 2018
Spoilers included. I just didn’t feel I could talk about this without addressing some of the plot.
I can’t make up my mind on this one. There were some big issues I had with the book that I’ll outline below, but I did enjoy the overall premise of the novel – the supernatural aspect and a (somewhat) strong woman as the protagonist. I may check out another story revolving around Angela Constantine, but it’s not something I’m ready to recommend. On to my issues:
- I am a firm believer that those that hurt anyone/anything weaker than themselves aren’t redeemable. So a story based around a vigilante really appeals to me. But I was surprised at how much I despised the joy Angela felt inflicting justice. To me she was hardly any better than those she sought to punish. She seemed to take the same gratification they did from killing. I never realized I would expect this of a vigilante, but this book exposed my belief that they should know that what they’re doing isn’t “right”, but that it’s necessary.
- The continuous repetition. I kept thinking that surely the editor should have caught this. It got really annoying to be told the same thing over and over. I do have a functioning short term memory – no need to rehash this yet again!
- The fact that I had to get 70% of the way though the book before the two subplots melded. Way past the point of interest on the terrorist line. Once they joined, I gained interest in it.
- The way Angela was written. This is harder to pinpoint. I know the author had to get the point across that she is attractive, but the descriptions of her were too much, and again, repetitive. I can’t recall how many times we’re told why she wears short shorts to a gun fight. We get it. Most definitely felt like a man writing what he thought was a strong woman. Would have benefited from a female editor. If it was a female, she needs to speak up a little more to ensure the characters are believable.
I can’t make up my mind on this one. There were some big issues I had with the book that I’ll outline below, but I did enjoy the overall premise of the novel – the supernatural aspect and a (somewhat) strong woman as the protagonist. I may check out another story revolving around Angela Constantine, but it’s not something I’m ready to recommend. On to my issues:
- I am a firm believer that those that hurt anyone/anything weaker than themselves aren’t redeemable. So a story based around a vigilante really appeals to me. But I was surprised at how much I despised the joy Angela felt inflicting justice. To me she was hardly any better than those she sought to punish. She seemed to take the same gratification they did from killing. I never realized I would expect this of a vigilante, but this book exposed my belief that they should know that what they’re doing isn’t “right”, but that it’s necessary.
- The continuous repetition. I kept thinking that surely the editor should have caught this. It got really annoying to be told the same thing over and over. I do have a functioning short term memory – no need to rehash this yet again!
- The fact that I had to get 70% of the way though the book before the two subplots melded. Way past the point of interest on the terrorist line. Once they joined, I gained interest in it.
- The way Angela was written. This is harder to pinpoint. I know the author had to get the point across that she is attractive, but the descriptions of her were too much, and again, repetitive. I can’t recall how many times we’re told why she wears short shorts to a gun fight. We get it. Most definitely felt like a man writing what he thought was a strong woman. Would have benefited from a female editor. If it was a female, she needs to speak up a little more to ensure the characters are believable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2018
I couldn't wait for the continuation of Nest. Nest was the first book I've ever read by Goodkind and I loved it. As a woman I have to admit, the rape scenes in The Girl in the Moon made me squirm (extremely violent), and some of the dialogue dragged (seemed unnecessary). But the story was strangely compelling despite these minor flaws. This book is fast-paced and the plot was fantastic. The protagonist was aloof but likable. Don't get me started on the evil antagonist(s)! If I had a life like Angela's, I would turn Dexter too!
I think the author's political views were strongly expressed in this book, and that's okay, after all, it's his book. He'll probably lose a lot of fans with this one. But he gained a new one--me!
I think the author's political views were strongly expressed in this book, and that's okay, after all, it's his book. He'll probably lose a lot of fans with this one. But he gained a new one--me!
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