a_sporking_rat | My Problem With Moon Called

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My Problem With Moon Called

As promised, here is a post on Moon Called, the first installment of the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. The protagonist, Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson, is a coyote shifter who was raised in a werewolf pack. Besides werewolves and other types of shifters, her world contains vampires, witches, and various types of fae. Only the fae, however, have been publicly revealed. The worldbuilding and plot is decent to good, and while her versions of supernatural beings are not, just from what I can tell from the first book, the most original takes on them, there are still some unique enough aspects to them. There was sufficient action, the villain did terrible things but for a very understandable reason (both of which I count as good things for a bad guy), and Mercy’s involvement was a choice, she didn’t just get thrown/forced into it, which is also something I always prefer (I mean, she was sort of thrown into it with the body being tossed on her doorstep, but she still chose to get involved in finding the culprit). As far as the romance goes…well, romance is always the part of books I enjoy least just because it interests me the least, but I feel like it’s not just that putting me off the love interests in this novel. I really think they both do suck, both for her and in general. Overall though, it was alright and I found it worth my time to read. There's only one big thing I had a problem with, and, this LJ being the type it is, I am going to wax on that one problem extensively. This is a snark LJ, folks, not a praise LJ. Good things may get mentioned, but only bad things warrant their own posts.

The one thing I really have a problem is the women. It’s not Anita Blake levels of bad, but it’s enough that I noticed and got tired of it. Probably the best part to start is that female werewolves are really rare because far fewer females than males survive the Change and become “moon called”. No reason is ever given for this, and it’s something that I think really needs a reason that isn’t It Just Is. If a reason is given later in the series, I really hope that it isn’t because men are generally physically stronger, as that actually wouldn’t make sense for a lot of reason, both in-universe and in-general. Women who are werewolves cannot have babies; they miscarry due to shape shifting, and human women who are pregnant by a werewolf will miscarry half the time as well because their baby is either a human like them or a werewolf like the father and they can only carry the former. This is why all the women in the pack that Mercy was raised in, both the ones who are werewolves themselves and the ones who are married to the male werewolves, hate Mercy. Yes, all of them, according to her. Every single one. And we don’t meet one who proves her wrong in this. Because Mercy isn’t a werewolf, she’s a walker, so she could successfully carry a baby, even one fathered by a werewolf.

The pack she was raised in is a huge community. There’s SEVENTY werewolves plus their families. Are you seriously telling me that every single woman decided to despise Mercy since childhood because she can have babies and they can’t. I could buy that from one. Maybe even a few. But all of them? ALL OF THEM? Including the human wives, who make up the bulk of the women in the pack, who can have kids they just miscarry half the time? Well, not “just” miscarriage, there’s nothing “just” about a miscarriage, but you know what I mean. They’re hostile to the point that one of them tries to physically hurt her in wolf form just because there’s an opportunity to do so, and it’s implied she’d kill Mercy if she could get away with it. All over her reproductive ability being better than theirs. Do I really need to spell out what’s offensive about that?

No werewolf and/or pack women are important in any way either. None add anything to the story, and none get much more than a moment onscreen, usually in the context of being hostile to Mercy. This holds true for women in general in the book; they’re not all hostile, but they’re all only onscreen once each (except for one, Jesse, and I’ll get to her shortly) and most are either forgettable and inconsequential, or, if important and powerful like the vampire leader or Eliveta the witch, don’t ever actually do anything important or powerful on-screen, we’re just TOLD that they’re big cheeses with major magical mojo, but we never see them in action, and the vampire lady actually ends up being entirely ineffective and is driven off by Mercy’s holy item easily enough.

While she has female enemies, Mercy doesn’t seem to have female friends, unless you count Jesse, but she’s a teenager, not a peer. We get to meet FIVE male friends of Mercy (Stefan, Zee, Warren, Kyle, Tony) as well as her father figure (Bran) and two love interests (Adam and Samuel). After the plot gets rolling, at least one of four men (Adam, Samuel, Stefan, Zee) are always onscreen alongside Mercy and in important roles. The only other female who appears more than once and could truly be called important to the plot is Jesse, Adam’s human fifteen year old daughter from his previous marriage, and that’s because she gets kidnapped. Yup, Jesse shows up long enough for her to have a face and personality for the reader, then spends the rest of the book kidnapped until at the end when Mercy rescues her. There’s even a bunch of creepy sexual vibes towards the helpless tied-up Jesse from the men guarding her that Mercy observes while spying on her captors, because no UF novel is complete without at least the threat of rape.

And I just downright sighed and rolled my eyes when we find out in the wrap-up that apparently Adam’s ex-wife is this terrible woman who hurts him on purpose and tries to make him feel like an animal and guilts him with her miscarriages that she suffered from carrying werewolf babies, and also she’s an awful mother to Jesse because she left her all alone at home one time to go to Vegas without telling her where she was going and one of her boyfriends tried to climb into Jesse’s bed with her when she was twelve…which is somehow the ex-wife’s fault, because, as we know, child molesters always announce to a woman on the first date what they are and that their motive for going out with her is to get at her kid. I really, really hate the ‘ex of the love interest is a horrible harpy’ trope, okay?

This, however, is really the only big flaw of the novel for me and is the only thing that really bothered me that wasn’t some small nitpicky thing that was isolated to one page. If you can enjoy the book in spite of this and you liked the basic concept of the Anita Blake books (supernaturals are real, protagonist with supernatural abilities that is still low on the food chain in the supernatural world, mystery and action) I would definitely recommend picking it up. I admittedly don’t plan to read the rest of the series, not because of the gender issues but because Mercy and her world just didn’t engage me enough (I really like what we saw of the vampires, though, they were creepy). However, if you give them a try, you may well find a chord struck with you that didn’t hit for me.

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LMAO... at *both* of you.

....And I take it back. I'd read that book at least three times and recommend it to friends.

There are elements of awesome in that explanation... but the fail just out weights it. It would've been just as thoughtful to make Mercy a coyote-changing-person with no explanation and far less irritating.

...And Mercy/her mom still could've gone back to the tribe for help. Presumably that man had parents/siblings/cousins/whatever. And she would be close enough, blood-wise, to count on their rosters. There's still no reason for her to have gone to the werewolves.

That sounds & smells like a ret-con to me. Like someone told the author "Hey, this ALL women hate Marcy thing is Just Not On. Also, it's offensive. Also, you'll lose readers if you keep it up. So mitigate it, somehow."

We'll never know for sure if it is or not, I suppose. But at least Briggs is an author that will acknowledge her writing mistakes and correct them, unlike other authors who just blatantly ignore constructive criticism and carry on with the ALL WOMEN ARE JEALOUS HATERZ thing.

...Yeah, that's not an evil stepmother stereotype, at all. *is studiously not looking at the Wicked Witch in every fairytale ever or Adam's ex*

Actually, it's not. Leah pretty much hates every female she can't use her Alpha Female role to command submission on them. And since Mercy wasn't pack, that was mostly Mercy. (And I suppose, to an extent, the human females in the pack were just afraid of Leah that they submitted because they didn't want to risk her losing control and fursploding. Leah isn't really the focus on the books so they don't focus on her as much.)

How does this possibly work with your who wolf & human soul must come together and be one thing later on?

They aren't one. They're always separate, but they have to understand each other and work together. It's complicated, and better described in the books, but there's always the "wolf" looking out through the human's eyes when there's a power/emotional play, and then sometimes the human can look out through the wolf's eyes when the wolf is out. However, in extreme cases, in the beginning, the human can't get the upper hand and the wolf rules over the human. (Granted it's been a while since I read the explanations of what happens for the first changes. It's a power-play thing. The souls have to form a sort of harmony, without it they're a danger to themselves and everyone else.)

It could be. I actually really enjoy listening to people's ideas...

And did Leah get a say in this mating crap? I mean, is this dub-con like Dragon Riders of Pern series or non-con as in, what Leah wants doesn't matter because the Wolves Made Them Do It. Can she even say no? And how does forcing a woman to marry you, have sex with you, raise your adoptive kid (and maybe your real one?) somehow equate to 'respecting her'?

1. Yeah, it was her decision. Keep in mind that Bran probably tried in the beginning to love her. This didn't end up like this right away. The wolves were like "mate" and Leah was probably like "um, alright" and Bran would court her a little. I'm not sure, they don't really go into it. But Bran does say (when his sons or Mercy point out how horrible his relationship with Leah is) that he tried everything he could to give her what she wants.
2. He didn't force her to marry him, or have sex with him. Stop assuming Leah is all in this innocently. In werewolf-terms, Bran as the Marrock gives Leah as his mate pretty much the Queen Bitch in Charge powers over all other werewolves. The wolf-aspect of them is still very much animalistic and used to fighting for dominance, so that was a huge bonus for her, even before she knew about the fact he wouldn't ever love her. On top of that, Bran is ancient. (It comes out in later books he's Grendel, yeah, that Grendel.) He has a lot of money, so in that way so does she. Leah is not the innocent woman in this.
3. Samuel and Charles were full-grown adults when Leah came into the picture. There was no raising of kids (or having real ones).
4. He respects her, in that he respects her way of running things in the pack. He doesn't question what she does with the females, and definitely doesn't allow his sons to talk negatively about her (there's an almost-fight in one of the books about this).

And if Leah DID give some form of consent to the 'marriage' did she know going in that Bran subscribed to the One True Love model of relationships? Did he tell her up front that his dick needs a hole and his kids need a maternal figure and that's all she'll ever be to him?

Um, no? Because werewolf mates have nothing to do with sex. It's a soul-companionship. If Bran just wanted sex, he could've just slept with a hooker or something. There was probably decades, if not a good century, between the death of his Salish mate and the wolf focusing on Leah as the new mate. So Bran didn't really "subscribe" to that either. His kids didn't need a maternal figure, either. Now, I'm not saying that sex has nothing to do with it. Part of the bonding process involves sex, but it wasn't at all that he needed a hole for his dick.

I'd read this.

That seems to imply that women lack the mental/spiritual/emotional fortitude to deal with being a werewolf and thus go crazy and have to be killed. Like if ten men and ten women are infected and four of each gender survive, the narrative's rules postulate that the four men are more likely to survive the, uh, meshing period because women generally don't have the capacity. I could be misunderstanding the rules you've posted but, if I'm correct in my understanding, it's offensive.

The Change takes place first when a werewolf attack almost kills the person. Then the person has to survive that (and the body's adaptation to being a werewolf) and heal enough after to deal with the two-souls-at-war-for-one-body thing. But werewolves are so old, that it became practice back in the days when medicine couldn't help, to not change women at all. They just didn't want to risk losing their mate, because werewolves mourn really hard (decades long) over their loved ones. (There's a werewolf in the books who is still mourning after centuries over the loss of his mate.) It has nothing to do with the mental/spiritual/emotional fortitude. The men just didn't want to change women and risk it.

...werewolf females having children...

Okay. The whole reason werewolf women can't carry a baby to term is because they lose the fetus after the first full moon when it forces the Change. Their changes aren't smooth and easy, they're violent and painful. The trauma forces a miscarriage.

A human woman can't carry a werewolf fetus because they're not human. Much like when a woman of type A blood tries to carry a baby of type B blood, and the body tries to attack the foreign blood source because it's "wrong" and needs to be gotten rid of. Only, unlike with human babies and normal blood types, werewolves don't have blood types, so they can't just get injections. Therefore, the human woman's body miscarries. No more werewolf baby.

Werewolf immortality.

Yes, werewolves in this series are essentially immortal (except for severe trauma (beheading, disembowling), silver, fire, and drowning). However, the longer a werewolf lives, the more at odds the two souls become. It's like the two souls being in one body wears on the harmony they build together in the beginning, and eventually the oldest werewolves go "rogue"/insane and end up needing to be put down. Bran is basically a ticking time bomb, so Samuel and Charles are always nearby watching him.

Some women do willingly give up their fertility (or after a child or two, or a miscarriage or two) to attempt the Change. It's usually up to the pack leader and her mate whether it happens. Again, the toll on the werewolf if she dies has to be taken into account as well, because that can very easily drive the werewolf left behind into a kind of fugue-state of grief, or worse, drive him into that "rogue" insanity. It's all a gamble and some men would rather not risk it.

(There is a mated couple in the book where a werewolf watches his wife age and grow elderly, and it does deal with the heartbreak of them adjusting to the world seeing him as her son and not her husband anymore.)

Edited 2013-02-07 00:44 (UTC)

I remember having similar problems with moon called when I read it. I kept reading the series though and I actually enjoyed them, especially after the third one (the first two were a bit ordinary). Its been a few years now, but I do remember several really terrible things being depicted as actually terrible, and they had long lasting consequences for Mercy which I felt was realistic and well handled (I don't want to add spoilers in case you continue on with the series).
I think its really hard to write about werewolves (especially those with a dominance hierarchy) and not tread all over sexual stereotypes. I'd like to see it done right though :)

but I do remember several really terrible things being depicted as actually terrible, and they had long lasting consequences for Mercy which I felt was realistic

That is good to hear, thank you! I love terrible things and consequences very much.

I too would like to see werewolves with a dominance hierarchy done...I don't know if right is the word, more like 'the way I would enjoy it' perhaps. Which I guess leaves it to me to write it one day since only I know what that is really XD

I feel like 95% of the issues had with these books would've been cleared up if more than one of the books had been read. I think it's a little overwhelming to be the only source of knowledge.

My advice for someone reading these after going through this, is to go in as open minded as possible. Keep in mind that Briggs tried to incorporate as much wolf behavior into her werewolves as possible, too. She spent a while on a wolf reservation getting pack dynamics right before writing them. The power-plays and dominant/submissive issues are majorly taken from the wild. As is the fact that wolves are a predator of coyotes. (Which is why Mercy is looked down on.)

If you really don't like them, you could try to Greywalker series by Kat Richardson.

I was actually going to ask you about that--you said that the werewolves are actually wolfish, so I was wondering just what you knew about wolves and what parts of these werewolves were specifically wolfish since I know...pretty much nothing about wolves at all beyond some very basic stuff.

...now I want to put my knowledge about rats to use and write all about wererats. Which will all behave absurdly like my fat, spoiled, domestic rats from living too much too long in human society.

Edited 2013-02-07 01:59 (UTC)

It's really not uncommon for people to read one of an author's books and then decide whether or not to read more of them. Readers shouldn't have to buckle down and force themselves to slog through X numbers of books to reach enjoyment or the good stuff or whatever. And, honestly, most readers won't.

While I admire her dedication to research (and I definitely didn't know that!), it's not enough to persuade me to read another book in the series. Because, for me, the proof wasn't in the pudding.

But I'm glad that you really seem to enjoy her writing!

Edited 2013-02-07 01:53 (UTC)

I would read the hell out of a world with were-rats. Just saying.

THE FACT THEY EXISTED IN THE FIRST ANITA BOOK MADE ME SQUEE SO MUCH

I HAD NEVER RUN ACROSS THE CONCEPT BEFORE AND I LOVED IT SO

I totally saw a cartoon of torture for rapists in hell on Facebook the other day where men are chained down and rats eat their genitals...

Were-rat punishments? o.O

I digress.

DAMMIT, LKH. WHY THINK UP COOL THINGS AND ABANDON THEM. A WERE-RAT OWNING A BUNCH OF RATS AS PETS WOULD BE ADORABLE THEY WOULD FOLLOW HER LIKE ~~PUPPIES~~ RATTIES.

Thanks for making it clear that all your raging wasn't directed at me! I wouldn't have thought it was, but it's sweet that you made sure that I wouldn't be hurt.

I actually did know about the exceptions to the rules regarding the treatment of females in ancient history (I'm a bit of a history buff, particularly in terms of women's issues), but I didn't want to make too many addendums to my point since I have a tendency to trail off and explain everything.

BUT how cool would it be to have a Spartan female werewolf who is so confused about today's gender and sex roles? You can add some fluff about the founders of Rome not being raised by wolves, but werewolves themselves, and have a historical rivalry.

If my UF wasn't strictly "No Vampires, No Werewolves, No exceptions", I'd do this.

And, uh, my female protagonist is super feminine, but is a bit of a bitch (which is actually very important to the plot and she gets better! (a bit))

LKH pretty much lifted wererats almost completely from D&D (which in interviews she's admitted to being familiar with) and then added some window dressing on top later. At least in the older D&D Monster Manuals were rats hung out in groups always appeared with regular rats who followed them around and would listen to them.

Just came up with a concept today so I'll be doing a little more research and then working on the short story. :)

Well, it sounds like I would either like the book for its world, which I have heard great things about, or like it for HULK SMASH! A main issue I come across is a lot of UF books simply bore me, which I think is due to having very similar patterns.

The hiding the person's gender because you'll get fired thing just makes sense. Funnily enough, I did something similar in high school so that my girlfriend's mum didn't realise I was female bodied. What was hilarious was the mother told her daughter to break up with her current boyfriend and date me instead. XD

I more than understand, and these issues with UF is one of the many reasons I am taking my time with this series. I also have a lot of issues with Judeo-Christian angel/demons books out there, because they get so much wrong. I realise it doesn't have to be exact, but it's still a sore spot with me. Granted, if the story is interesting enough, I can let things slide. I have a guilty pleasure of reading the Blue Bloods series, and yes, there is plenty in the series that bugs me, but overall, I have found the books to be quite enjoyable.

That's true. But I also realize that a lot of the readers here seem to have had their female-MC urban fantasy goggles clouded over a lot by garbage like characters like Anita, and writers like LKH. As well as romances like Twilight and Meyer's inability to write herself out of a paper bag. I go in for the pure entertainment value, and most of the issues raised on here by those of you who didn't like the Mercy books I hadn't even noticed. Granted, some of those issues are either misplaced due to misunderstanding the world canon, or explained later in the series.

That's alright, to each their own. :) My love for wolves and her wolfish!werewolves kept me enthralled, as well as other aspects.

I do. I really like that she's got graphic novels out now, too, so I can see her wolves in color.

It's really not uncommon for people to read one of an author's books and then decide whether or not to read more of them.
Personally, unless I absolutely HATED the first book, I will always give the second book a chance, especially since the first book is mostly world building. Most of the time I find the first book in a series merely to be okay. I think a two book reading before giving up is usually a good policy, with exceptions, of course.

I usually read a book from the middle of a series, rather than the first one. If the series is long enough, it'll be about the third book. I feel that's given the author long enough to get the hang of their series/world/character but is close enough to the beginning that I'll have a chance to enjoy the rest of the series if I decide to read more. Although friends, who are aware of this tendency in me, tend to give me the *first* of a book when they want me to read them in order.

But, perhaps to make up for my (general) One Strike and You're Out Policy, I'll try other stories in other media by the same author. So, even if I disliked your novel, I'll try out your graphic novel/movies/whatever else. And yeah, I may not have liked the novel but I could very well love your work in other media. ^_^

I would so read that. 0_0

(I've actually toyed with the idea of writing a high fantasy story where the heroine is a badass tax collector. It seems only fair. Everyone is all for castles and armies, but what of the unsung heroes who make sure that there's money to pay for those things? ;) )

I think that it's not needed to eat whole loaf of bread to tell that it's badly baked.

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My Problem With Moon Called

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