Hey Jared,
This was not what I was expecting at all, and I basically had zero expectations. The second book is coming out in a few days, but I have no intention of reading it after this.
Title: New Moon
Series: Luna; Book 1
Author: Ian McDonald
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: Near-Future, Colonization, Moon
Synopsis: The Moon wants to kill you. Whether it’s being unable to pay your per diem for your allotted food, water, and air, or you just get caught up in a fight between the Moon’s ruling corporations, the Five Dragons. You must fight for every inch you want to gain in the Moon’s near feudal society. And that is just what Adriana Corta did. As the leader of the Moon’s newest “dragon,” Adriana has wrested control of the Moon’s Helium-3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal corporation and fought to earn her family’s new status. Now, at the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation, Corta Helio, surrounded by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana’s five children must defend their mother’s empire from her many enemies… and each other.
Recommendation: Not recommended. Superfluous, explicit sex scenes.
This book confused me and, honestly, I was bored. Nothing hooked me and I probably would have taken anything by the end. The first half of the blurb is glossed over in a handful of paragraphs and it’s an integral part of the story while the latter half dominated and lacked suspense.
At first I thought it was YA, but then most of the perspective turned toward adult intrigue. POV changed every few paragraphs between a disturbingly large number of characters. Figuring out how to relate to the book was far too tedious and distracting. The plot was OK, but the characters felt flat because it was almost all tell and no show. They were obnoxious and only a couple had redeeming qualities. Setting was probably the strongest element of the book but it was under utilized.
In summary, I’ve read far worse. But that bar is very low. The biggest reason for not recommending it is because I didn’t enjoy it. Too much work and not enough meat. So I won’t be reading more in this series.
Robert
Reading Over The Shoulder 
I’m sorry this book turned out to be such a disappointment for you! When I read it last year I fell head over heels for it – although I agree with you about the first part being somewhat confusing, but I guess my “training” with GRR Martin was what enabled me to soldier on and get caught in the story. And to wait for the issue of book 2 that I started reading yesterday.
Could it be that the reason for your lack of enjoyment came from the political maneuvering of the various families? Again, for a Martin fan that might sound perfect, but not everyone enjoys that kind of storyline…
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The political aspect was too dry for me and I like political intrigue. It lacked a sense of dire consequences for their actions. It felt like schoolyard drama compared to GoT. I hope that makes sense.
And reading through my review again, I realize how pissed I was because it’s almost incomprehensible.
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