Review of CHASING THE MOON by A. Lee Martinez

Daw, July 2011

The apartment offer is too good to be true. Cheap rent, a refrigerator that seems to contain anything Diana thinks to ask for, even a cute guy down the hall. There was one small catch--if Diana opened the closet door, Vom the Hungering, a monster from an alternate universe, would emerge, eat her, and eat just about everything else, too. Still, Diana is certain that won't be a problem. What she doesn't realize is that the apartment's front door is going to vanish, leaving her alone with the voice of the monster in the closet.

In the sky, Fenris chases the moon. It's been a long chase. Fenris lacks the intelligence to stop and wait for the moon to orbit to him. Still, Calvin can see that the catch will be made. When that happens, the world gets sucked into a void and humanity vanishes--not a pretty picture, but Calvin has been waiting for a very long time.

Meeting Vom the Hungering opens Diana's eyes to a lot of things... and makes her something of a magnet for lost interdimensional travelers (aka monsters). It's a strange life, and it certainly causes problems for her love life. Still, it is a life, and when Fenris catches the moon, nobody is going to have any life at all. Still, Fenris is a god. While her monsters are powerful, they're nothing compared to Fenris's universe-destroying power.

Author A. Lee Martinez ( see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of fantasy by Martinez) writes a clever and fun monster story. Martinez mixes the monster in the closet with Norse mythology, throws in a dash of new age and a small dose of werewolves and just a hint of chick-lit, to serve up a tasty read. Martinez writes with a light touch, giving us a charming character in Diana, cute and horribly destructive monsters, and enough plot for the whole thing to hang together. All in all, it's a nice story and I'm happy to recommend it.

Four Stars

Reviewed 10/03/11

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