cover image A Hunter's Moon: The Moondust Sonatas, Movement No. 1

A Hunter's Moon: The Moondust Sonatas, Movement No. 1

Alan Osi. Smoke & Shadow, $19.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-943052-02-8

Osi's debut is a fanciful, scattered novel about a drug that might have emerged from Pandora's box. Moondust is a substance unlike any other: a transformative drug that changes lives, particularly the lives of a handful of New Yorkers who become aware of its strange properties, potent effects, and potential for profit or disaster. Harold Westgate, a man calling himself a messenger, randomly distributes small bags of the powder, which lets users experience God. A trio of young users, Percival, Mark, and Hailey, control the making and distribution of the drug; another trio, Clyde, William, and Rob, want to wrest it from them; and reporter Maxwell Smith wants to break the story that will make his reputation. Osi adds too many voices to this chorus%E2%80%94a priest, a cop, a chemist, and a variety of users%E2%80%94as he details moondust's effects and builds to a cliffhanger conclusion. (Dec.)