Rice, Christopher. The Moonlit Earth. New York: Scribner, 2010. hardcover. 362p. $25.00. ISBN 9780743294072.

The latest novel from Christopher Rice, The Moonlit Earth, is a mixture of contemporary thriller and family drama. The book begins at a party for the central character, Megan, who has returned home after failing in a nonprofit organization. At the party, we meet Megan’s brother, Cameron, who has recently reconnected with their estranged father. Cameron, a flight attendant, is on his way to his flight to Hong Kong and there is little time for brother and sister to discuss family matters.

In Hong Kong, the plot switches to one of international intrigue, including bombings, kidnapping, terrorism, and corrupt multinational corporations. Megan is led on a long and unconvincing chase to learn what has happened to her brother. During this sequence we are given some background to the characters, which slows the pace of the action, but is also the only place that we see any gay content.

In this instance, the mix of family drama and thriller did not work. I would have preferred Mr. Rice to stick to one or the other. The constant switching of the novel made it very hard to get to know the characters, and therefore, to care about what happens to them. The gay characters are primary to the plot, but are secondary in the telling of the story. They seemed very two dimensional. I found Rice’s previous novel, Blind Fall, to be much more interesting with more fully developed characters.

This is an average book that will not offend many sensibilities. It is appropriate for 13+ readers. There is some violence and some sexual situations discussed, but no actual sex scenes, straight or gay. I would not recommend this book for its gay content, but more as a straight-forward thriller with some gay characters.

Reviewed by, Scott Clonan
Adult Services Librarian
Rainbow Library
Las Vegas Clark County Library District