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Moonlight
It began with a power outage. A power outage that went beyond lights and televisions. Clocks stopped telling time. Cell phones no longer received signals. Cars became dead relics that wouldn't start.
As the world around them becomes darker, so do the inhabitants of the small town of Westmont, Illinois. A mysterious and evil presence has taken a hold over the village, making the once peaceful town a place of violence and despair.
A small group of individuals, untouched by this presence, must uncover the mystery of why they remain normal and discover what (or who) is taking control of their town, one soul at a time.
Because the Man in the Dark Coat is out there. Hunting them.
And not everyone can remain untouched forever.
As the world around them becomes darker, so do the inhabitants of the small town of Westmont, Illinois. A mysterious and evil presence has taken a hold over the village, making the once peaceful town a place of violence and despair.
A small group of individuals, untouched by this presence, must uncover the mystery of why they remain normal and discover what (or who) is taking control of their town, one soul at a time.
Because the Man in the Dark Coat is out there. Hunting them.
And not everyone can remain untouched forever.
472 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2007
18 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Keith Knapp
5 books13 followersKeith Knapp is the author of the novels "Coda," "Moonlight" and numerous short stories including "Battalion" and "The Cat on Alpine Road." Between the day he discovered writing and now, he has played the drums in more bands than he can remember, went to film school in Chicago and has taken up residence in Hawai’i, Missouri, California and Illinois. He loves cats, and if there isn’t always one around he starts to go a little crazy.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 7, 2008
Though this book is almost 500 pages, don't let that prevent you from reading it. There is a lot of space and the font is large. If this had been printed by most of the mass market crew this book would probably be in the 330-350 page range. Beyond that... the almost 500 pages of this book are very good and the author manages to entertain from beginning to end.
Short Summary: The power goes out, and along with it everything else stops working from cars to watches to everything else. As if that isn't enough suddenly people aren't acting right... in fact they have become downright homicidal, and for some reason when you knock them down, they just keep getting back up, alive or not. We follow a band of survivors as they try to figure out what is going on and how they are going to live through the madness.
With echoes of "The Stand" and "The Rising" this novel takes off quickly. This is a very easy read, it flows well and although at first it appears that this might end up being something we've read before, it turns down a different path. The author does a good job of keeping the tension up and not spoon feeding us all of the truth of what is going on too quickly. I also really appreciated that no-one in the book immediately had the answer. There were guesses all over the ball park, which is far more realistic than many other horror novels where someone always seems to know exactly what the problem is right from the get go. Knapp also does a wonderful job with his characters. Though I won't say they were all multidimensional, the ones we needed to care about, he was able to evoke enough emotion for. The reader will be concerned for many of them, and not all of them will make it. Though for the most part it is pretty clear who is going to live and die, there were a few stray deaths in there that I wasn't expecting (which is always good). As far as the ending... I could a used a little more umph but other than that, I closed the book and felt satisfied with what I had read.
My only real issue with the book was the title which really didn't have anything at all to do with the story. In fact many readers may be confused at the lack of werewolves in the story. Oh and a warning for those of you who don't seem to have the concept of horror (see other reviewer) there is a good bit of gore in this book and there IS profanity, though I didn't find it excessive or out of place.
I would suggest this book to the standard horror fans (King, Koontz, Matheson), I don't know that the extreme horror crew will find enough of the truly disgusting moments to keep them satisfied. Also this book is PG rated when it comes to the nudity and sex aspect (which I was completely happy with) but if that's what you are looking for, head for some Laymon or Lee rather than this novel. I really enjoyed this read and will pick up others by this author when they come out. Highly recommended.
Short Summary: The power goes out, and along with it everything else stops working from cars to watches to everything else. As if that isn't enough suddenly people aren't acting right... in fact they have become downright homicidal, and for some reason when you knock them down, they just keep getting back up, alive or not. We follow a band of survivors as they try to figure out what is going on and how they are going to live through the madness.
With echoes of "The Stand" and "The Rising" this novel takes off quickly. This is a very easy read, it flows well and although at first it appears that this might end up being something we've read before, it turns down a different path. The author does a good job of keeping the tension up and not spoon feeding us all of the truth of what is going on too quickly. I also really appreciated that no-one in the book immediately had the answer. There were guesses all over the ball park, which is far more realistic than many other horror novels where someone always seems to know exactly what the problem is right from the get go. Knapp also does a wonderful job with his characters. Though I won't say they were all multidimensional, the ones we needed to care about, he was able to evoke enough emotion for. The reader will be concerned for many of them, and not all of them will make it. Though for the most part it is pretty clear who is going to live and die, there were a few stray deaths in there that I wasn't expecting (which is always good). As far as the ending... I could a used a little more umph but other than that, I closed the book and felt satisfied with what I had read.
My only real issue with the book was the title which really didn't have anything at all to do with the story. In fact many readers may be confused at the lack of werewolves in the story. Oh and a warning for those of you who don't seem to have the concept of horror (see other reviewer) there is a good bit of gore in this book and there IS profanity, though I didn't find it excessive or out of place.
I would suggest this book to the standard horror fans (King, Koontz, Matheson), I don't know that the extreme horror crew will find enough of the truly disgusting moments to keep them satisfied. Also this book is PG rated when it comes to the nudity and sex aspect (which I was completely happy with) but if that's what you are looking for, head for some Laymon or Lee rather than this novel. I really enjoyed this read and will pick up others by this author when they come out. Highly recommended.
December 6, 2008
an apocalyptic horror
The electricity goes out. Battery-powered devices freeze up. Cars stop dead on the streets. Oh, and most everybody in town is now a member of the living dead, shuffling around the streets and muttering "no more room."
It's kinda like a combo between Stephen King's "Cell" and S. M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire". But different, in that Keith Knapp's "Moonlight" gives us a peek inside the zombies' minds, and he even lets us know why the world is in such a horrible state.
Set in Chicago suburb of Westmont, "Moonlight" is an apocalyptic horror story that shows us what happens when hell runs out of space. Knapp narrates his tale from the perspectives of the zombies, those about to become zombies, and the four "innocents" who must work together to fight the evil monster, the Man in the Dark Coat.
Knapp does a nice job building and portraying his main characters: Jennifer the mayor, John the writer, Heather the cop, Richard the psychiatrist, his wife Lindsay the painter, and Gloria the pregnant receptionist (and surprise: not all of them are innocents). Knapp builds the suspense and the gruesomeness, and ends up with an old fashioned good-vs-evil showdown.
A solid debut by Knapp!
The electricity goes out. Battery-powered devices freeze up. Cars stop dead on the streets. Oh, and most everybody in town is now a member of the living dead, shuffling around the streets and muttering "no more room."
It's kinda like a combo between Stephen King's "Cell" and S. M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire". But different, in that Keith Knapp's "Moonlight" gives us a peek inside the zombies' minds, and he even lets us know why the world is in such a horrible state.
Set in Chicago suburb of Westmont, "Moonlight" is an apocalyptic horror story that shows us what happens when hell runs out of space. Knapp narrates his tale from the perspectives of the zombies, those about to become zombies, and the four "innocents" who must work together to fight the evil monster, the Man in the Dark Coat.
Knapp does a nice job building and portraying his main characters: Jennifer the mayor, John the writer, Heather the cop, Richard the psychiatrist, his wife Lindsay the painter, and Gloria the pregnant receptionist (and surprise: not all of them are innocents). Knapp builds the suspense and the gruesomeness, and ends up with an old fashioned good-vs-evil showdown.
A solid debut by Knapp!
August 6, 2021
Found this one in the Free Little Library in my neighborhood. It is the weirdest little zombie book I’ve read yet. Somehow I managed to get through the multiple publishing typos and read to the end. While I was not enlightened, it was mildly entertaining. Thirteen year olds probably love it.
April 23, 2014
I really enjoyed this story. There were very few typos and that made the book all the more enjoyable. The character development was perfect. You learned a little about each character and more for the main characters. While I want to call this a zombie novel, it really isn't. There is no eat your brains shoot them in the head stuff in this book. It's a different take on being a zombie and this really held my interest. There also seemed to be a little element of the spiritual in it but that is up to the reader to interpret. While I felt there was a couple of unanswered questions, I also feel that the author may have left it open for the possibility of a part two or it could perhaps be that you draw your own conclusion at the end. Either way, it was a great story with an interesting take on the zombie genre and definitely worth the time to read.
May 12, 2011
I've never read a zombie book before, not likely to again after this. The only reason for two stars instead of one is because the pace picked up a little at the end. Either that or I just wanted it to be over. I found it derivative and flat. The "Man in the Dark Coat" is immediately recognizable to Stephen King fans, and not a very flattering or well done copy. The characters aren't well-developed, I had no sense of why the ending happened the way it did. Don't waste your precious reading time on this one.
September 6, 2011
Ok, so I really enjoyed this book, I haven't read a good horror in a while and this definitely qualifies. I never discriminate a book by it's page count or subject matter, sometimes I discriminate based on genre, but that's just because I don't really enjoy certain genres. This would certainly count under the genre's I really enjoy.
I felt the book was reminiscent of King in a good way, it reminded me more of Under the Dome than The Stand but The Stand was obviously inspiration for this story. I think it was well done and I would recommend this for any true horror fan.
I felt the book was reminiscent of King in a good way, it reminded me more of Under the Dome than The Stand but The Stand was obviously inspiration for this story. I think it was well done and I would recommend this for any true horror fan.
September 30, 2009
Disappointing ... I really enjoy apocalyptic fiction, but this one is an obvious (and very pale imitation of) rip-off of my FAVORITE book The Stand ... "a dark man in a trenchcoat" is prominent during a pro-longed power outage (and "the change" of people into unstoppable zombies) and its chaotic results on a small suburb near Chicago. Very shallow characterizations, with emphasis on blood and gore. And one of those frustrating "is that the end?"
March 5, 2012
I liked the premise of this book, and the author did a good job of developing the characters and plot, however the ending was abrupt and unsatisfying. I was also very put off by the typos, e.g. multiple instances of where instead of were. I downloaded this on my Kindle from Amazon, for free, but I think some basic editing is still required, even for free books.
November 2, 2010
Pretty good story, but could have used a little expansion. Very little is explained, which I understand is the norm in zombie-type stories. But this book actually seemed like it was going to provide an explanation for the setting, but didn't deliver.
June 4, 2008
My brother knew the author and my mom got a signed copy...sadly, it didn't make the book any better. I had hope, but it just didn't follow through.
August 31, 2009
So far, it's intersting. I thought it was a typical post-apoc. story, but it has a supernatual thread running through it. Wish the cursing was not there, but other than that no complaints so far.
November 11, 2009
Another free kindle book. Entertaining and scary but didn't like the ending.
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May 11, 2010Moonlight by Keith Knapp (2007)
January 19, 2011
Another Kindle read.
This was an really enjoyable read. It was slow in some parts, but overall I liked the newer concept of the zombie. Very good.
This was an really enjoyable read. It was slow in some parts, but overall I liked the newer concept of the zombie. Very good.
July 26, 2021
Fantastic!!! Read it in about 3 days, can't quit thinking/talking about it! I've told every one I've come into contact with in the last few days that they need to read it. GREAT read!
January 28, 2011
kindle version. Paid .99
June 23, 2011
A very different take on the zombie genre. I really liked the characters and their flaws.
December 5, 2011
I HAVE GIVEN UP ON THIS BOOK FOR THE MINUTE AS IT IS JUST NOT KEEPING MY ATTENTION.I WILL PROBABLY COME BACK TO IT AT A LATER DATE BUT AS OF NOW I HAVE OTHER MORE INTERESTING BOOKS I WANT TO READ.
February 9, 2013
Took me awhile to read. Not really the worst book I have read but definitely not the best. Just didn't keep my interest.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews