Today we’re very excited to host a stop on the blog tour for the release of werewolf epic novel Red Moon. You might even say, we’re howling at the moon (too much?) to have author Benjamin Percy over to talk briefly about some of the inspiration for the book, and to host a giveaway.
Please give a warm welcome to Benjamin, folks!
Speculative fiction often holds up a cracked mirror to our world. We see in it a warped version of ourselves. In Godzilla, there is a spiny-backed monster laying waste to Tokyo, yes, and we love the spectacle of this, but the story is especially resonant because the monster channels post-atomic energies. This is the crack that runs jaggedly through Red Moon: the infected live among us. In prehistoric times, prions—equivalent to Mad Cow and chronic wasting disease—leapt out of the wolf population and mutated in its human host, effecting the brain, the ability to control rage and sexual impulses, a Jekyll/Hyde scenario. Throughout history, they have been feared and persecuted, shoved to the margins, and now a faction of terrorists are battling back against the xenophobia they face. I guess I’m writing my own Godzilla in this way, channeling the culture of fear that we live in—especially out paranoia about infection and terrorism.
About the Book:
Award -winning author Benjamin Percy presents an explosive and deeply layered literary thriller set in the American West.
They live among us.
They are our neighbors, our mothers, our lovers.
They change.
When government agents kick down Claire Forrester’s front door and murder her parents, Claire realizes just how different she is.
Patrick Gamble was nothing special until the day he got on a plane and hours later stepped off it, the only passenger left alive, a hero.
Chase Williams has sworn to protect the people of the United States from the menace in their midst, but he is becoming the very thing he has promised to destroy.
So far, the threat has been controlled by laws and violence and drugs. But the night of the red moon is coming, when an unrecognizable world will emerge…and the battle for humanity will begin.
About the Author:
Benjamin Percy is the author of the novels Red Moon and The Wilding, and two short story collections, Refresh, Refresh and The Language of Elk. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Esquire, Orion, Outside, The Wall Street Journal, Tin House and elsewhere. His honors include the Pushcart Prize, a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the George Plimpton Prize for Fiction awarded by The Paris Review, and a Whiting Award. Raised in the high desert of central Oregon, he is the writer-in-residence at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Find out more about Benjamin on his website, or follow him on twitter (@Benjamin_Percy).
Giveaway Details:
We have one copy of Red Moon up for grabs, open to all! The giveaway will run until Sunday, January 26 at 12:01am EST. To enter, use the form below!
30 Comments
Carl
January 17, 2014 at 9:57 amI think my favorite story with fairies in it is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This looks like a fun book, I’d really like to win a copy. Thanks.
Damaris
January 17, 2014 at 11:31 amI enjoy how Jim Butcher depicts fairies in his Dresden series. Thanks for the giveaway. I actually had Red Moon on my radar when I first saw it in Barnes and Noble. I found the synopsis is very interesting.
Erin
January 17, 2014 at 11:44 amStardust, by Neil Gaiman, is my favorite book with fairies. I also love love love Deathless by Catherynne Valente.
Lexi
January 17, 2014 at 1:40 pmI read Boardertown when I was younger and have always enjoyed that world and its Fae.
Shannon H
January 17, 2014 at 2:30 pmI do love the Dresden Files, but I think my favorite fairy stories are Robin McKinley’s
Anita Yancey
January 17, 2014 at 3:34 pmMy favorite so far has been Stardust. I’d love to read this book. Thanks for having the giveaway.
AH@badassbookreviews
January 17, 2014 at 6:20 pmFavorite Fairy (fae) book – KMM’s Fever series.
Victoria Zumbrum
January 17, 2014 at 8:14 pmI haven’t read any fairy books yet but I would like to. Thanks for the giveaway.
Gaby Metivier
January 17, 2014 at 9:07 pmThe Fever and Dany O’Malley series by Karen Marie Moning. Loooove it! Barrons and Riordan all the way! Grrrrrr!!! xD
Jana Nyman
January 17, 2014 at 11:49 pmMy favorite fairy book is “Lady Cottington’s Pressed Farie Book.” It’s hilarious, well-done, and the illustrations are surprisingly detailed. Thanks for the giveaway!
Mary Preston
January 18, 2014 at 5:07 amMy daughter has a Fairy book of verse that my parents gave her. It’s wonderful.
Steffi Koh
January 18, 2014 at 7:48 amI used to scour my library for Cicely Mary Barker’s Book of Flower Fairies. It was amazing entering the world of the varied fairies through her beautiful illustrations and learning about flowers at the same time.
Katharine
January 18, 2014 at 8:35 amA favorite is the series of Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books, in colors. Wish I had a set!
Helle M.
January 18, 2014 at 10:03 amThe Spiderwick Chronicles. 🙂
Emilia
January 18, 2014 at 11:15 amNot sure how this post has to do with fairy tales, but I am looking forward to this book!
Ray
January 18, 2014 at 12:50 pmMy favorite has to be Gaiman’s Stardust.
mary anne
January 18, 2014 at 5:10 pmemma bull’s “war for the oaks”. one of the very first urban fantasies, way back before they were trendy, and one of the best. (and because i can never name just one, charles de lint’s “jack the giant slayer” books – can’t remember the name. also old urban fantasy. and gael baudino’s “gossamer axe”. all three of these books involve the world of fairy/the fae edged up against the world as we (knew) it back before we were all wireless and connected.
Barbara Elness
January 18, 2014 at 5:46 pmI’d say War for the Oaks by Emma Bull, as well as Allison Pang’s Abby Sinclair series.
Alison C
January 18, 2014 at 7:40 pmI’d say my one of my favorite fairy-esqe books is Shadowmarch by Tad Williams
Hebe
January 18, 2014 at 8:01 pmI love the Artemis Fowl series – fairies with attitude!
Becky C.
January 19, 2014 at 4:28 pmLike the karen moning series
Sarah
January 19, 2014 at 4:42 pmHmm…I think this maybe have gotten mixed up with the Fairyland contest, but…my favorite book featuring fairies would probably be the PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS series – though Tink is NOT a fairy, she would insist.
Laura
January 19, 2014 at 6:18 pmI absolutely loved Kipling’s Puck of Pook’s Hill as a child – though I’ve no idea if it actually stands up now.
HilLesha
January 20, 2014 at 11:55 amMy favorite book is Good Faeries/Bad Faeries by Brian Froud.
Serena
January 22, 2014 at 12:32 pmHmm…I think this question applied to the other giveaway…but my answer is the same: Robin McKinley’s Beauty.
Justine
January 22, 2014 at 1:14 pmI think the prompt is for the Catherynne Valente giveaway.
Are werewolves popular in literary fiction? I feel like I’ve mostly been seeing vampires and zombies. Especially zombies.
superbwg
January 22, 2014 at 1:45 pmI love pretty much any decently written fantasy book, especially about fairies, werewolves, and various mythological creatures
Lauren
January 24, 2014 at 11:50 amI really love Freda Warrington’s Aetherial Tales books – they grabbed me right away.