{"id":5688,"date":"2026-02-26T10:36:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5688"},"modified":"2026-02-26T10:36:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:36:06","slug":"land-of-two-moons-by-d-l-gardner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5688","title":{"rendered":"Land of Two Moons by D.L. Gardner"},"content":{"rendered":"

An intricately plotted political fantasy brimming with family tension as a father\u2019s greed starts a war which the son wants to end<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With a rare eclipse of twin moons approaching, political unrest bubbles to the surface and a mythical dragon prepares to return to its home world amid pleas for help.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The book opens in the war-plagued Red Sands desert with Pattin, a conscripted soldier who has no intention of fighting in a war whose cause he isn\u2019t even privy to. Fortunately for him, help arrives in the form of Kezia, the rebellious daughter of Duke Sebal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the opposing side is Duke Balmier of Lodesmoor (a realm on the planet Unnilles), who\u2019s on the verge of financial ruin and losing the war with Sebal over northern iron mines. And his heavy taxes and conscriptions haven\u2019t done him any good among the people. A rebellion among the serfs is brewing.<\/p>\n

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Fueling his unease and usurping suspicions is how increasingly popular his twin children, Arthur and Hallie, are becoming with the commoners. Their sympathies spur them to defy their father, releasing arrested villagers and earning his wrath. As tensions rise and talks of treason begin, they\u2019re unable to remain in what was once their home, so they both flee. Nell, their mother who\u2019s growing weaker by the day, has a secret weapon that might be able to solve all their problems. If she can get it to help her, that is.<\/p>\n

Defined by its twin moons and their gravitational influence on events, the planet Unnilles is atmosphere with celestial bodies shaping the psychology of the characters. The class divide is loud with Arthur expressing concern over his sister\u2019s growing fondness for Paolo, a baker\u2019s son, who he knows his father will never approve of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the dust-choked terror of his trench, Pattin is \u201csick to his stomach\u2026and with little to eat or drink.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> The ills of conscription are felt\u2014a mere conscript with no stake in the duke\u2019s war. Risking his life hasn\u2019t even earned him the right to know what he\u2019s fighting for. And when soldiers eventually show up at Paolo\u2019s family\u2019s bakery to collect him, the fear is undeniable.<\/p>\n

Arthur\u2019s loyalty to his family can\u2019t blind him to the moral failure his father\u2019s rule has become, and this disillusionment is heartbreakingly clear as he sheds the cloak of the dutiful son for that of a fugitive. While in his friend\u2019s workshop, he can\u2019t help but wonder about its warmth which is missing from what he once called home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gritty reality of trench warfare and the smoky chaos of riots is striking in D. L. Gardner\u2019s Land of Two Moons<\/em>: \u201cWhen he tripped over a body, his heart leapt into his throat. It was a Wayman under his feet, a bolt in his side\u2026 Another boom sounded, and fire flashed from the hands of one of the robed men. Arthur watched a soldier fall.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While the use of multiple perspectives enriches the story, there are also moments that interrupt emotional connection. For instance, for a large bit of the book, Pattin\u2019s initial rescue by Kezia feels disconnected and dangles while readers wonder how it fits in the story until much later. Also, conversations\u2014particularly between Enzo the mystic and Nell or Arthur and Gregorio the shepherd\u2014are sometimes overly explanatory.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding, D.L. Gardner\u2019s Land of Two Moons<\/em> is a rich and ambitious fantasy novel that successfully builds a world trembling on the brink of magical and political upheaval. This is a delicate, intricate novel that rewards patient reading.<\/p>\n

The post Land of Two Moons by D.L. Gardner<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An intricately plotted political fantasy brimming with family tension as a father\u2019s greed starts a war which the son wants to end With a rare eclipse of twin moons approaching, political unrest bubbles to the surface and a mythical dragon prepares to return to its home world amid pleas for help.\u00a0 The book opens in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5688"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5688\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}