Moonbound
Year: 2024
Author: Robin Sloan
Length: 415 pages
I’ve always enjoyed Robin Sloan’s ability to fuse analog and digital in a way that’s entertaining and new. His latest book, Moonbound, takes this even further by merging fantasy and sci-fi in a post-apocalyptic way that’s somewhat akin to Adventure Time. This coming-of-age story for a pre-teen boy scratches an itch that isn’t bogged down in all the Young Adult tropes common for this plotline. Providing the point of view from an entirely unique standpoint was just the icing on the cake for me. I almost want more from this book, but appreciate the brevity of its solo outing.
What strikes me about Moonbound is the utter balance between science fiction and fantasy that doesn’t feel the need to over-explain itself (a fault of many books in both these genres). There are plenty of interesting ideas from both genres here, but there’s not a terribly strong motivation for the main character other than to get away from the wizard—which he does in the first act. Even so, this book really works on the strength of its vibes. The exploration of this bizarre world feels poetic as the strange creatures and customs come to light.
While it’s not perfect, I still recommend this book (and the others Sloan has written) because it’s at least unique in its execution. Books are as much art as they are words on a page, and this one is perhaps the most artistic of Sloan’s works. Admittedly, this leads the book to an area of “style over substance” but with some really exceptional style. I can imagine if they ever make a film or television adaptation of this, it’d be something to watch while on mind-altering substances.
A great fusion of fantasy and sci-fi that would benefit from a stronger plotline, I give Moonbound 4.0 stars out of 5.
