Moontown
I met Peter Atkins several years ago at the group signing event Del Howison put on in Burbank for the Dark Delicacies charity anthology FRAMED. I ended up seated next to Peter and as a result, spent an afternoon laughing my ass off thanks to his witty sense of humor. I’d never read anything of length by him prior to receiving my reviewer’s copy of MOONTOWN and so I was anxious to see if his writing lived up to his personality.
Happily, I can say without hesitation that MOONTOWN is a chilling little tale and one perfectly suited to be this year’s selection for Earthling Publications’ Halloween series. Even better, it is an excellent introduction to a fabulous writer.
MOONTOWN is the story of Shelley Campbell, a graduate student running a new type of group therapy program to help individuals get over their fears. Shelley also happens to be a pretty powerful empath and as her patients sink into a dream-state to experience and conquer their fears, Shelley’s right there with them; doing what they do, seeing what they see, experiencing it all for herself in an effort to guide them to recovery.
The trouble is, some things should simply stay buried. Exposing them to the light can have terrible consequences, as Shelley soon discovers.
I found the cast of characters that populate the book, particularly the villains, to be both interesting and imaginative. I mean, with names like the Ragman, Jimmy Midnight, King Shadow, and the hilarious duo of Mr. Sponge and Mr. Scrotum, how can you miss, right? Shelley herself is as wounded as her patients and it is her need for redemption that drives her on to help others, which I saw as plausible motivation. Atkins handles the set-up and validation of his characters nicely, especially when dealing with how childhood fears can linger on through the years and cripple us as adults.
There are some absolutely beautiful turns of phrase within MOONTOWN that bear noting, phrases that as a fellow writer I can envy for the success with which they evoke the emotions they are intended to. I found this to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book – Atkins has an excellent command of the language and knows how to use it to good effect. An example I particularly like was this one:
Taylor stood still for a moment, feeling the emptiness, listening to the silence, looking at the darkness. He understood something now.
When grownups talked about midnight, he’d always thought it was a time, a place on the clock like any other. But it wasn’t.
This was what they meant by midnight. This feeling.
There are plenty of others, but I’d rather you discover them yourself rather than having me spoil all the fun.
Now, MOONTOWN did have the occasional hiccup for me, including a minor character I felt to be entirely superfluous and an unnecessary final chapter that didn’t do anything to advance the story for me. However, those are minor quibbles and did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the work.
MOONTOWN was available in two states from Earthling Publications, a limited and a lettered edition, but I believe the slipcased lettered editions have already sold out. You can still get one of the 500 limited edition clothbound hardcovers signed by Peter Atkins by going HERE.
I give MOONTOWN a hearty four out of five stars.
