Snake Moon

by Ray Manzarek

The year is 1863. Deep in the backwoods of Coker County, Tennessee, farmer Boone Dillard and his family live in ritualistic harmony with the earth and its seasons, content to eke out a living from the land, unaware even of the Civil War that engulfs the nation around them... that is, until Boone is seduced by a mysterious traveling peddler’s dulcet promises of fame, fortune, and glory.

As Boone and his hulking yet childlike brother-in-law Jebber set forth in search of their destiny, they set into motion a haunting and disturbing chain of events that threatens to tear the family apart, awaken restless ghosts, and alter the course of their lives forever. From rock and roll legend Ray Manzarek comes Snake Moon, a bewitching and ghostly Civil War-era parable of Eden. Snake Moon stunningly blends ancient myth and fable with the charm and voice of rustic Americana and exposes themes of violence, heroism, and the loss of innocence amid the horrors of war with captivating intensity that builds to a stunning and unforgettable climax.

Doors co-founder and keyboardist Ray Manzarek is the author of the auto-biography Light My My Life with the Doors, and the novel Poet in Exile. In recent years he and co-wrote and directed Love Her Madly, which premiered in February of 2001. He currently tours with Doors co-founder Bobby Krieger, and Cult singer Ian Astbury, as Riders on the Storm.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Ray Manzarek was an American musician, best known as one of the founders, and keyboardist for the rock group 'The Doors'.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining, and appropriately seasonal for October reading, but there was something that bothered me. There was a screenplay sort of feel to the writing, as though it was a script that was stretched thinly into a novel. The sparseness was as if Hemingway or Murakami were telling you a ghost story.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it were possible to give zero stars to this book, I would. Not only is the writing bad, little to no research seems to have been done, and it is filled with wince-worthy anachronism and New Age philosophies that are annoying for both their very presence and for the fact that they are inaccurate for the historical period the book is set in. But worst of all, the plot was unquestionably lifted wholesale from the 1953 Japanese film Ugetsu, a masterpiece work by director Kenji Mizoguchi. Every significant element, plot point, and character in Snake Moon comes from Ugetsu. And this is not just a tribute to Ugetsu; it is heavily suggested that this is an original work and a labor of love; Manzarek and Valentine seem to be hiding the fact that they "borrowed" their plot from another source. My dictionary says taking the ideas and concepts of another's intellectual property without giving a source, and claiming it as one's own, is plagiarism. This is a disappointingly unoriginal and poorly written book. See my full review for more details:

http://mukashi-banashi.livejournal.co...

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 4 out of 5]

она ко мне вернулась, и я ее наконец-то дочитал. надо признаться, что начало когда-то произвело на меня большее впечатление, но и целиком это вполне бесхитростно написанная, но приятная южная готическая фантазия, притча а ля "Мертвец". кинематографическая параллель тем более уместна, что это, по сути, литературный сценарий

[Kit★]

Years and years ago I read The Poet in Exile and loved it, so when I saw this one, I thought, sure let's try it, sounds interesting. Finally got a copy through PBSwap, so yay!