A. A. Attanasio

Stand-alone novels:  


Wyvern — (1988) Publisher: "A sweeping, swashbuckling epic of the imagination."

Hunting the Ghost Dancer — (1991) Publisher: This is the story of the gripping epic of the murderous clash between the last of the Neanderthals and the new, emerging race of Homo Sapiens. The primal force of the narrative drives the reader into a world of terrifying savagery and great tenderness. Attanasio's imagination and descriptive powers truly know no bounds. Whe a deadly plague devastates the Blue Shell tribe, three young friends band together for the perilous journey to the territory of the Tree People. Duru, the girl, is eagerly accepted for her magical powers. But the two young men must prove themselves worthy by hunting down and destroying the giant Naenderthal — the last of his line — who has been terrorizing the tribe.

Kingdom of the Grail — (1992) Young Adult. Publisher: Ten years after the aged Baroness Ailena Valaise was turned out of her castle by her son, Guy, Ailena returns, restored to her youth by a drink from the Holy Grail, and announces her plans to end Guy's reign.

The Moon's Wife: A Hystery — (1993) Publisher: Siggy Lindo, a young bookkeeper living a rather mundane life, suddenly finds herself possessed by the power of the moon, symptoms that lead her to a psychiatric clinic, where she meets Daniel. An astonishing contemporary adventure and spellbinding love story.

The Perilous Order: Warriors of the Round Table — (1998) Publisher: Arthor has achieved the impossible — pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone. He is now king of all Britain. But the tribal chieftains are not willing to accept a beardless 15-year-old lad as their ruler. Arthor must take his frail power and win the pledges of loyalty from his subjects.

Killing with the Edge of the Moon — (2006) Publisher: "Blud-eye-eth is a fabled woman of Celtic myth." The witch's eyes shone in the dark like tiny silver mirrors. "The name means 'Flower Face,' which is the owl's poetic nickname, the bird who steals souls — for Blud-eye-eth was a woman made from magic and flowers and, like the owl, she had no soul of her own." The speaker is a hickory-faced crone trying to explain to Chet, a shy kid with eyeglasses and pocket protector, why he can't take her granddaughter to the high school dance. For quiet, elfin Flannery is not like other kids. A living Blud-eye-eth, she has caught the attention of the faerie, beautiful evil creatures from a mysterious Otherworld, who seduce their victims with moonlight raves before feeding them to a dragon and hunting souls with a supernatural black dog of prodigious evil. And they have taken Flannery for one of their own. And she won't be going to the school dance-not unless Chet rescues her. This modern, demonic fairy tale weaves together themes of passion and self-discovery into an intricate Celtic knot of myth, moon magic, and teen romance. Thrust together in a dark, erotic Otherworld, Flannery and Chet discover they know each other better than they know their own hearts... but can they sort things out before the black dog finds them? And what was that about a dragon?

Killing with the Edge of the Moon

At 151 pages, Killing with the Edge of the Moon is an evening’s read, but what an enchanted evening it is!

I think A.A. Attanasio intended Killing with the Edge of the Moon as a young adult novel, though I’m not absolutely certain of that. If you’re a parent, though, there’s nothing in here that’s inappropriate for your teen. Despite the cover copy’s mention of the “erotic Otherworld,” all sexual content is of the briefly-implied sort. Attanasio’s Otherworld is seductive, but he makes it so without filling the tale with smut.

The plot draws upon several old myths: Orpheus and Eurydice, Tam Lin, the Wooing of Etain, and a dash of the Mabinogion. I’m always up for a good “rescuing a loved one from the Otherworld” story. Killing has a deeply archetypal feel due to its basis in the myths and, at the same time, the story is made fresh and individual by the delightful protagonists. Chet is my favorite; I love his leap of faith into a world he doesn’t quite believe in, his sense of duty, and little details like the bad poetry he writes for Flannery and his musings about the proper swearwords to use when lost in Elfland. Flannery is also a great character — a defiant girl who cares more for animals than people. And then there's Nedra, Flannery’s Wiccan grandmother, who is more than she seems.

Attanasio is a strongly visual writer. He bills Killing with the Edge of the Moon as “A Graphic Novel (without illustrations).” He’s equally at home describing an idyllic meadow, a hellish volcanic cavern, and a mundane hospital room. Attanasio uses simpler prose for scenes that take place in our world and lush prose for Otherworldly scenes, and it works well. Like the ritual gown that Nedra makes for Flannery, the prose is studded with bits of shining beauty.

Killing with the Edge of the Moon feels more like a fairy tale than a traditional novel, and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes stories of teens confronting the Otherworld. —Kelly Lasiter

The Conjure Book — (2007) Young Adult. Publisher: Life is lonely for 13-year-old Jane Riggs in the historical New England village that is her new home - until she discovers a four-hundred-year-old book of spells that really works. Guided by the ghost of the witch who wrote the conjure book, Jane embarks on a terrifying but glorious quest for magical power. Her ambition is to contact her mother, dead these ten years and remembered only in photographs. For such a great prize, Jane is willing to risk much among the weird creatures she conjures out of the spirit world. But she will need more than courage when her magic follows her to school. After an evil spirit fox steals her classmate's soul, life suddenly gets very complicated. Coming of age among dark, elemental powers while not missing a day of seventh grade is not easy. And the answers Jane needs for growing up don't seem to be in the conjure book.