Review: The Stolen Moon of Londor, by A.P. Stephens

This is one example how I get book for reviews beside the normal way of buying books and I still buy 95% of my books.

I received a copy of The Stolen Moon of Londor (2009) [US] [UK] , by A.P. Stephens from the author himself. A. P. Stephens asked me whether I would like to review The Stolen Moon of Londor or not. He asked me because Cindy Hannikman from Fantasy Book Critic told him to ask me if I would like to review a small press fantasy book. And I finally agreed to review because I liked Cindy Hannikman's review.

The Stolen Moon of Londor is the first book in The White Shadow Saga trilogy.

I was surprised when I had a first look at my copy of . It is thin compared to the other books I read so far in 2010 - just 283 pages. I was curious what to expect. And here we go.....


The Setup

The land of Londor is populated by dwarfs, elves and humans. There are wizards and mercenaries. The magic is directly related to the two moons of Londor called Cadmor and Beldas. One night Beldas disappears and cause a lot of problems. Magic starts to fail and the kingdoms get belligerent. There is no way out. The disappearance of Beldas must be reversed. A small group is hired to solve the riddle.
The group consist of a mysterious masked man named Malander, the human Seth and his friend the dwarf Lorn, the famous elf-mercenary Gildan and three northern help. The group is supported by the wizard Randor. Later on another person joins the group. The Stolen Moon of Londor is the first part of their quest......


My Take in Brief

Now you may say just one more fantasy quest novel. My answer is yes and no. Yes, it is one more quest novel but it differs from other quest novels. I never read about a stolen moon before.
Each member of the party has own secrets and they do not really like each other. But they are united in their quest. I thought that it would be easy to connect with minimum one of the nine characters but that was a fallacy. I felt like an observer. But for me it is important to have a connection to minimum one character. It doesn't matter whether with the good or the bad guys. I think I needs more time to build up nine different characters including background stories.

The story contains enough twists and turns to keep you interested. And yes, there are enough obstacles including werewolves and mysterious monks during this first part of the quest. Unfortunately I felt sometimes lost. And I'm not sure I put together all the pieces of the history of Londor..

The Stolen Moon of Londor is the debut novel and the first book in The White Shadow Saga trilogy. There are two things why I want to read the sequel: I really want to know who stole the moon and how it was done. And will there be a development of the characters.

If you like travel quests with original ideas and manageable length you should give The Stolen Moon of Londor a try.
I really hesitated to compare the book with a famous trilogy but there are so many similarities. Fortunately Randor is totally different compared to Gandalf and Lorn has nothing in common with Gimli and and and and........
This may show you that The Stolen Moon of Londor is a familiar but unique work.


Bona Fide's Book Oracle

What is Bona Fide's Book Oracle? To keep it short. It is a palaver about the reviewed book held by ediFanoB and his alter ego Bona Fide. And I am the keeper of the minutes. Now read my minutes..

Bona: "Did you like Prince Arnanor? I couldn't cope with that haughty asshole!" Fide: "Bona, please try to use a civilized language. Even I must agree. He is a pain in the ass." Bona: "That was neither civilized language." Fide: "I thought we could speak frankly about books, stories, worlds and characters. And as long as the keeper of the minutes doesn't censor us it should be OK." Bona: " Let's return to The Stolen Moon of Londor. There are many things which sound familiar." Fide: "Again I must agree. But familiar things must not be bad. When you rearrange them and add some new." Bona: "Now I must agree." Fide: "That is eerie." Bona: "What I liked most is the idea to steal a whole moon." Fide: "I think it should be possible with magic in a world of magic." Bona: "And what is your opinion about the book?" Fide: "It is no new Lord of the Rings. But to be fair. It is a solid debut. It was interesting enough that I want to read the next book in The White Shadow Saga trilogy." Bona: "Yes, a solid debut with a remix of familiar things enriched with some new ideas." Fide: "Hey keeper of the minutes I don't have something to add. See you next time." Bona: "Bye for now."

I'm the keeper of the minutes and I must say I'm suprised. I'm not used to get clear statements by Bona and Fide.

The Stolen Moon of Londor is a solid debut with a remix of familiar things enriched with some new ideas.


More A.P. Stephens

For more information about the author you can use following links: The official A.P. Stephens

If you like audio books then you have the opportunity to listen to The Stolen Moon of Londor then click here.

Origin of the copy

I received a copy of The Stolen Moon of Londor from author A. P. Stephens.