Bent Red Moon
There’s a reason why the boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-finds-girl formula has lasted so long. It’s a story that readers continually find interesting. If you are one of these readers, you’ll like Bent Red Moon. The Texas Hill Country of the 1870s provides the background for a new version of this classic plot. The boy is Mick Dixon, an orphan in search of his uncle. The girl is Syd, a young Mexican woman in search of revenge. Outlaws, buffalo hunters, buffalo soldiers and Indians of half a dozen tribes fill out the plot. While Mick looks for his uncle and Syd looks for revenge, their paths cross and they find a silver mine. This knowledge brings them to the attention of the bad guys, and springs the plot into action.
Hall draws his heroes and villains in broad strokes. The hero is not only good—he’s virginal and self-sacrificing. The villains are not simply bad—they’re cruel to the core. The writing is dramatic: “Mick woke and felt like a dried old board that had been secured in place with rusty nails.”
Bent Red Moon is an exciting novel, but the excitement doesn’t come from sudden plot twists. If you like a familiar tale retold, you will like this novel. You’ll be less satisfied if you thrive on unexpected storylines and characters.
