Review: Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun

Read: Feb. 3, 2014-Oct. 18, 2015
Rating: 2 of 5 stars
Pages: 277
Genres: Science Fiction, fantasy, apocalyptic, dystopia                  

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"Insomnia has claimed everyone Biggs knows.  Even his beloved wife, Carolyn, has succumbed to the telltale red-rimmed eyes, slurred speech and cloudy mind before disappearing into the quickly collapsing world.  Yet Biggs can still sleep, and dream, so he sets out to find her.

He ventures out into a world ransacked by mass confusion and desperation, where he meets others struggling against the tide of sleeplessness.  Chase and his buddy Jordan are devising a scheme to live off their drug-store lootings; Lila is a high school student wandering the streets in an owl mask, no longer safe with her insomniac parents; Felicia abandons the sanctuary of a sleep research center to try to protect her family and perhaps reunite with Chase, an ex-boyfriend.  All around, sleep has become an infinitely precious commodity. Money can’t buy it, no drug can touch it, and there are those who would kill to have it. However, Biggs persists in his quest for Carolyn, finding a resolve and inner strength that he never knew he had."     

Review

I won this book through a giveaway on Read it Forward, a year ago, I think. I was so excited when I knew I won, because the synopsis sounded so interesting. When the book came, I tried reading it, and it didn't work out. A year later, I decided it was way past time I read it.

This is one of those books that I was not glad I finally read, unfortunately. Actually, I think it could be one of the few books I actually gave less than 3 stars for...

Anyhoo, allow me to explain why I disliked it as much as I did...

I was disappointed. When I place high expectations on a book, only to find it mediocre, I guess I would give it a low rating, wouldn't you?

The story was a bit of a bore. And to be honest, I skimmed through most of the descriptions, and only stopped to read when I saw conversation, or something else that caught my eye. I felt that there was too much description and background (idk, a rough guess would be 90%)for my liking.

The story also confused me slightly. Now you're probably all going to look at me and say, "duh. you skimmed." But...but, I'm a good skimmer, okay? I got what the story is about, but there were times when my little brain was confused, okay?

The ending was also left a bit open ended, to me at least. I felt that there wasn't a satisfying conclusion. Usually by the end of the story, I'd close the book, thinking: well, that was interesting... But to be frank, I closed this book, thinking: well, on to the next book...

The story itself wasn't bad, it was just lacking in some much needed excitement. I suppose it could have been a fantastic book, the potential was definitely there.   

QUESTION TIME:
Have you ever chosen a book to read, only to find it horrible?  Do you ever DNF (did not finish) books?