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archaicrobin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Michael McDowell has a way of writing slow-burn horror that is always worth it in the end if you can just hang in there. This is the second novel I’ve read by McDowell and just like the Elementals, the reader spends a majority of the book learning the characters and the dynamics before the true horror sets in. This is not for everyone, if you’re looking for a fast paced horror I would not recommend McDowell, but if you’re looking for a gothic slow burn horror that had some truly terrifying scenes then I definitely would suggest you at least check him out.
Cold Moon Over Babylon takes place in a small Florida town where a young local girl is viciously murdered for no apparent reason one stormy night. From there the girl begins to reach from beyond the grace to seek vengeances. The synopsis is simple, because this novel is simple in its premise and yet so haunting, making it a great ghost story. While this was slow paced most of the time, when the horror did appear it was riveting! I would suggest this to anyone that doesn’t mind older horror (this was written in the 70s so has some issues) and is looking for good ghost story.
Cold Moon Over Babylon takes place in a small Florida town where a young local girl is viciously murdered for no apparent reason one stormy night. From there the girl begins to reach from beyond the grace to seek vengeances. The synopsis is simple, because this novel is simple in its premise and yet so haunting, making it a great ghost story. While this was slow paced most of the time, when the horror did appear it was riveting! I would suggest this to anyone that doesn’t mind older horror (this was written in the 70s so has some issues) and is looking for good ghost story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Racial slurs
jasonpellegrinibooks's review against another edition
4.0
This one started off a bit slow, I must admit. After seeing such high praise for it on bookstagram, I thought I was going to be taken for a wild ride from page one. Instead, I got a lot of set up, which isn’t bad, but just dragged, it felt.
Once the story gets going, though, it got really good and was hard to put down!
There is a gruesomeness to this story that makes you cringe, yet isn’t overdone. That’s a fine line that is so hard to hit for a lot of authors, causing them to go too far, but McDowell hits it. I felt uneasy reading parts, but never thought about putting the book down for gratuitous violence.
There was a twist in this story that I did not see coming, at all, about halfway through. The kind that resets the entire story and leaves you needing to know where the heck this was going to go now. I could see how some might see this as a negative, wondering why they invested so much in the first half for it to take such a wild turn, but I didn’t mind it, ultimately, and it didn’t derail the overall story.
There could have been a little more character development. This book was mostly plot driven, which wasn’t bad, because the plot was a good one. But I can’t help but wonder what level this one might have gone to had there been a real dedication from the author to the more detailed development of characters. Some characters I felt were or were going to be more major players, kind of disappeared and were briefly mentioned during the book’s wrap up. I wonder now if this focus on plot has anything to do with McDowell being a screenplay writer(he wrote the screenplays for Beetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas, if you weren’t aware)
Over all, this one was very enjoyable and I certainly recommend it highly!
Once the story gets going, though, it got really good and was hard to put down!
There is a gruesomeness to this story that makes you cringe, yet isn’t overdone. That’s a fine line that is so hard to hit for a lot of authors, causing them to go too far, but McDowell hits it. I felt uneasy reading parts, but never thought about putting the book down for gratuitous violence.
There was a twist in this story that I did not see coming, at all, about halfway through. The kind that resets the entire story and leaves you needing to know where the heck this was going to go now. I could see how some might see this as a negative, wondering why they invested so much in the first half for it to take such a wild turn, but I didn’t mind it, ultimately, and it didn’t derail the overall story.
There could have been a little more character development. This book was mostly plot driven, which wasn’t bad, because the plot was a good one. But I can’t help but wonder what level this one might have gone to had there been a real dedication from the author to the more detailed development of characters. Some characters I felt were or were going to be more major players, kind of disappeared and were briefly mentioned during the book’s wrap up. I wonder now if this focus on plot has anything to do with McDowell being a screenplay writer(he wrote the screenplays for Beetlejuice and Nightmare Before Christmas, if you weren’t aware)
Over all, this one was very enjoyable and I certainly recommend it highly!
mawdge's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ponyonmyboat15's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
madelynnsprouse's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aerolich's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Body horror
looneysoysauce's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nathanrester's review against another edition
3.0
In what may be the definitive Florida Man story, Cold Moon Over Babylon traces the aftermath of a brutal murder in the sleepy Floridian town of Babylon – a prodigiously well-drawn setting defined by throbbing heat, fog-shrouded swamps, and the standard assortment of quirky small-town characters. But Babylon itself is the best character in the novel, for better and for worse. McDowell refuses to give you any sympathetic individual to latch onto, and the book feels almost cruel and cold as a result.
Don’t get me wrong – Cold Moon Over Babylon is a solid horror novel fused with the trappings of the southern gothic genre, pulpy and atmospheric almost to a fault. You’ll guess every plot twist about twenty pages in, and the resulting story is more about the inevitability of cosmic comeuppance than nail-biting uncertainty. It’s a hell of a porch read, though, and it made me want to read more of McDowell’s stuff to see if that clicks with me more. Soft recommend.
Don’t get me wrong – Cold Moon Over Babylon is a solid horror novel fused with the trappings of the southern gothic genre, pulpy and atmospheric almost to a fault. You’ll guess every plot twist about twenty pages in, and the resulting story is more about the inevitability of cosmic comeuppance than nail-biting uncertainty. It’s a hell of a porch read, though, and it made me want to read more of McDowell’s stuff to see if that clicks with me more. Soft recommend.
hollydeitz's review against another edition
3.0
Probably my least favorite so far. Still worth a read!