Book Review: The Moon Dwellers

The Moon Dwellers

Author: David Estes

Publish Date: June 2012

Publisher: Self Published

In a desperate attempt to escape destruction decades earlier, humankind was forced underground, into the depths of the earth, creating a new society called the Tri-Realms.

After her parents and sister are abducted by the Enforcers, seventeen-year-old Adele, a member of the middle-class moon dwellers, is unjustly sentenced to life in prison for her parents' crimes of treason.

Against all odds, Adele must escape from the Pen and find her family, while being hunted by a deranged, killing machine named Rivet, who works for the President. She is helped by two other inmates, Tawni and Cole, each of whom have dark secrets that are better left undiscovered. Other than her friends, the only thing she has going for her is a wicked roundhouse kick and two fists that have been well-trained for combat by her father.

At the other end of the social spectrum is Tristan, the son of the President and a sun dweller. His mother is gone. He hates his father. Backed by only his servant and best friend, Roc, he leaves his lavish lifestyle in the Sun Realm, seeking to make something good out of his troubled life.

When a war breaks out within the Tri-Realms, Tristan is thrust into the middle of a conflict that seems to mysteriously follow Adele as she seeks to find her family and uncover her parents true past.

In their world, someone must die.

Before anyone has a chance to point it out, I will. This book is outside my norm of reading. There. It’s been said. Now that it’s been clarified without a doubt this isn’t usually in my line of books I will say, I’ve happy to have read it. 

It’s different. From the environment to the characters it portrays a different kaleidoscope of imagination that is normally seen in YA books. There’s nothing about this book that is standard or normal. And it takes some getting used to.

The environment is creative and definitely part of the minority of landscapes. The book’s title says it all though, maybe not ALL of it. The tri-realms are definitely different from each other and easily discernible form one to the next. The same can be said of the Pen.

Adele is an interesting character. She’s not a quitter. No matter the obstacle, no matter what she’s condemned to, there’s no backing down for her. It’s just not in her nature. Which of course, to keep charging forward leads to its own set of problems. 

Tristan has morals. In the Tri-realm that’s not always a good thing. He’s the opposite of Adele in some ways. He still makes waves, in the beginning they were subtle and almost missed but the impression Tristan leaves is that he just wants equality for everyone. 

The story is neatly executed.  It flips perspective back and forth form Tristan to Adele. It’s muddling at first until the rhythm is found but for the most part done cleanly enough no severe confusion is caused. The plot moves at a decent pace from the first page until the end. It’s not heart pounding fast paced, but a steady even flow that still commands attention until the end. 

I would recommend this for fantasy lovers and Dystopia readers. While not catered to a specific genre in my thinking, I believe those two groups would be the most entertained by it.

My Rating: