Hunter's Moon is a fantasy novel written by Brielle Bishop and Charlie Nelson for NaNoWriMo 2016, and is currently being published on Archive of Our Own, while simultaneously going through revisions. (Some spoilers might be accidentally unmarked due to authorial forgetfulness... This page will also include tropes and spoilers for later books, until book one is finished.)
A brief summary:
Elise Dubois just wanted to graduate.
The final internship sounded simple enough: go out into the wilderness, kill an eldritch creature that considers two football teams a nice little snack, and come back with untold riches and lifetime bragging rights.
The problem isn't that no one has ever returned. It's that she's not supposed to exist in the first place, let alone embark on a high-profile quest.
As she joins three others for her career-defining moment, she will learn much more than she ever needed - or wanted - to know about her world.
Not to be confused with the Garry Kilworth book Hunter's Moon (1989).
This book contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Characters with a decent home life are incredibly rare in this 'verse, apparently.
- Averted by Francis and Angelika Gerth, Rudolf's parents. Sofia, his grandmother, is an Abusive Parental Figure, but was stopped quickly by Francis when he found out his son has developed an eating disorder.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Lise (Elise).
- Peep (Philip). Or Peepikins, if you're Rowan. (Or Charlie...)
- Ro (Rowan).
- Bo (Connor), and later on, Hartley gave him Conker, which stuck better. Conkadonk hasn't stuck yet, but the author is really, really determined.
- Rudy and the occasional reindeer (Rudolf).
- Out of universe, there's Charlie the Formatting Fairy. And, not-so-affectionately, Bee or Evil Kinktress.
- Anti-Hero: Philip sees himself this way, constantly justifying decisions that may have been made out of kindness into practical choices for the greater good.
- Bury Your Gays: He gets better, but the first character to die onscreen is bisexual.
- Book Ends: Book one both begins and ends with Elise talking to a dead man who she loved: Michel and Connor.
- Cast Full of Pretty Boys: The two male characters who get prominent screentime are Philip and Connor, both described as slim and svelte.
- Casting Gag: As much as it can apply to the fancast of a novel, anyway...
- Andy Mientus (Connor) is a natural brunet, has played Hanschen Rilow in Spring Awakening twice, and specifically dyed his hair blond for the role of a manipulative, sexually and romantically forward, teenager, who might be bisexual. His brunet bisexual character winds up used as a vessel for a demon, which magic bleaches hair blond, and manifests as a
Magnificent Bastard Depraved Bisexual. Or just an "equal-opportunity bastard".- His gay brunet character in Smash ends up dead. So did Connor.
- Black-haired, bespectacled, Deadpan Snarker? Connor Lane or Hartley Rathaway, the Pied Piper?
- Opposite Mientus for the revival of Spring Awakening is Josh Castille and Daniel David Stewart, who plays the innocent Deaf boy Ernst Robel and his voice, respectively. The amount of material with Mientus and Castille kissing led the authors to facecast Josh as Hartley, an innocent Deaf boy manipulated by blond!Connor. Or, to be technical, Robert.
- Anton Zetterholm as Rudolf Gerth, the delicate Austrian exchange student. Anton played Rudolf in Elisabeth das Musical, and was the author's first Enjolras.
- Andy Mientus (Connor) is a natural brunet, has played Hanschen Rilow in Spring Awakening twice, and specifically dyed his hair blond for the role of a manipulative, sexually and romantically forward, teenager, who might be bisexual. His brunet bisexual character winds up used as a vessel for a demon, which magic bleaches hair blond, and manifests as a
- Chew Toy: Per
Word of God, Brie really likes picking on the Lane brothers: Philip because he's the character most similar to her, and Connor because she just enjoys breaking pretty things. It's a constant, neverending war for Charlie to try and snatch the chew toys away.
- Downer Ending: The heroes have slain the monster, got the loot, and returned home safely, had a Heartwarming meeting with little Dakota, and even a celebratory snowball fight! It's all fun and games now, right? Nope. Overlaps with Shoot the Shaggy Dog for poor Philip, as the little brother he risked his life to protect got brutally murdered a few meters away from him. In Elise's arms. And there's not even a body to bury.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Philip is described as having an unsettling, emotionless stare most of the time. Partly due to his blunted affect thanks to having Asperger's Syndrome, partly from the emotional and physical trauma Henry inflicted.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Elise is first seen alone, curled up, and talking to her father's grave about her mission.
- Philip strides into the room, ignores everyone else, and starts arguing with Connor in a conversation filled with Anger Born of Worry. Also, he flinches when Connor's temper tantrum inadvertently reminded him of his abusive childhood.
- Famous-Named Foreigner: The Austrian exchange student Rudolf, his father Francis, and his grandmother Sofia were named after Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, his father Emperor Franz Joseph I, and his grandmother Archduchess Sophie. His mother's name, however, isn't any variation of Elisabeth, but Angelika.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: "CONNOR ARDEN LANE." is used with worrying frequency.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Philip and Connor are introduced arguing, and simply cannot resist throwing barbs. But deep down... waaaaaay deep down... they love each other. Really.
- Gratuitous French:
- Philip is fond of occasional, pithy French quotations.
- Rowan's pet name for Philip: mon phare.
- Gratuitous German: Rudolf uses it a lot. When he's not calling sugar sweeties anyway.
- Interspecies Romance: Half-fae Elise falls in love with, and bonds with, werewolf Connor, and later witch Hartley.
- Maternal Death? Blame the Child!: In a subversion, it's not the child whose birth killed the mother that "earns" the father's anger. It's the older sibling that got the brunt of the blame.
- Running Gag:
- Connor's nearly constant snacking. Becomes Foreshadowing for book two, when his unusual metabolism is revealed to be the result of his status as a demon vessel.
- Sharp-Dressed Man:
- Philip, befitting his role as the alpha of a strong pack and heir to the Lanes, is rarely seen without a suit on. Or at least a formal shirt and slacks.
- Shout-Out:
- The second paragraph of the prologue is stuffed with veiled and edited references to Sailor Moon, The Little Prince, and His Dark Materials.
- The very first line is a shoutout to To the Moon, which has a protagonist with Asperger's married to a neurotypical.
- Tolkien nerd Perpetual Frowner Philip "has Andúril stuck up his ass."
- Jo's full name is Johanna Stephanie Caspar, a reference to the women who outlived the aforementioned Crown Prince Rudolf: his wife, Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, and his other mistress, Mitzi (or Mizzi) Caspar. Otherwise, Johanna bears a resemblance to Baroness Mary Vetsera, a vivacious, dark-eyed young lady, but seemingly "without serious thought" who had a whirlwind, Love at First Sight romance with the prince that ended in Together in Death.
- The second paragraph of the prologue is stuffed with veiled and edited references to Sailor Moon, The Little Prince, and His Dark Materials.
- Spock Speak: Philip, per his Asperger's, constantly delivers this."He's basically a walking, talking, incredibly posh APA-formatted essay."
