If you're looking for a sci-fi fantasy novel that combines the wit of Douglas Adams, the surreal and eco-conscious themes of Jeff VanderMeer, and the satire of Terry Pratchett, Moonbound by Robin Sloan might be a perfect fit.

Robin Sloan’s Moonbound reimagines the King Arthur legend through a sci-fi lens, blending humor with deeper explorations of storytelling’s sustainability and the ethical quandaries surrounding artificial intelligence. The novel follows Ariel, a young boy living in a post-apocalyptic, medieval-esque world, as he unwittingly reshapes his destiny by pulling the "wrong" sword. This act launches a quest filled with humanoid beavers, ancient AI, and cosmic mysteries.

I enjoyed the story and characters but ultimately gave 3 stars as some of the higher-level cerebral parts took me out the story and made me push myself to finish.

Points for being one of the more creative Arthurian offshoots, at least in premise.

The beginning of this is really very good, sort of a bonkers, futuristic Arthurian legend reimagining. It’s unfortunate that the story collapses under the weight of all the sci-fi elements about halfway through, and it never really finds its footing again.

If you’re huge into sci-fi you’ll probably like this one anyway. It’s not a favorite genre of mine, though I do enjoy it occasionally, and this seemed like the type of premise I could get on board with. The Arthurian elements in the early parts of the book are excellent. The writing itself is good, particularly the descriptive content, and at least in terms of creating a visible, evocative setting, the world building is quite excellent.

The book drags in the second half, beset by too much time spent by the characters floundering around in a plot that seems to have forgotten most of its own rules by this point in the story. In all, this isn’t a bad read at all, through more likely to appeal to sci-fi enthusiasts than those who are into Arthurian Legend.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I feel like I ended this not really sure what I had listened to- in both a good way and bad! It was definitely interesting but very convoluted and while I enjoyed the narrator I believe I would have followed it more as a physical copy.

Moonbound is a fascinating blend of sci-fi and fantasy set thousands of years in the future. The story follows Ariel de la Sovage, a 12-year-old boy who embarks on an epic journey after failing a wizard's test. With the help of a sentient AI recorder, who also serves as the unique narrator, Ariel navigates a world filled with talking animals, master artists, and mysterious enemies.

The audiobook, narrated by Gabra Zackman, brings the story to life with engaging performances. Ariel's honesty and the quirky, lovable characters add charm to the tale. While the plot has a few slow moments, the vivid world-building and whimsical adventure make Moonbound a delightful listen for fans of speculative fiction.

Audiobook Edit: The book was great; but the audiobook is AMAZING!! It’s blowing my mind. I read the electronic version a month ago, but I can’t believe how much better the audio is … even though I had a feeling it would be well done.

I read Moonbound, but the audio takes Moonbound to a whole new level. In some ways it felt like another book, but then I couldn't wait to hear how the narrator would provide the voice for an upcoming character.

And ... OMG ... the singing! Absolutely killed it!

For anyone recommending a book that might capture the attention of young readers ... this is it!

In my opinion, this should be an Audie Award finalist.

Absolutely fantastic job by narrator Gabra Zackman. Loved Moonbound enough to read and listen to the book. Kudos to author Robin Sloan. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for approving my request to listen to the advance listen of Moonbound. Publication date is June 11, 2024. 10hr 40min.

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Fantasy and science fiction aren't my preferred genres. But I enjoyed Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore as well as Sourdough by Robin Sloan, so I decided to try Moonbound. So imaginative.

I reviewed the advance review copy of the ebook (thanks to NetGalley and publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux for approving my request to read in exchange for an honest review), maps were TBD. NetGalley ebooks rarely correlate to the physical book length; I was really surprised to see the book is 432 pages.

There are definitely ties to the tale of King Arthur.

I loved this ride into the world Robin Sloan created.

Publication date is June 11, 2024.

Bonus points to Robin Sloan for mentioning the Great Lakes and recognizing his Michigan roots.

DNF at 28%

I read and loved Sloan's Sourdough but have not yet tried Mr. Penumbra. Moonbound had promise but I struggled with the slower pace and epic nature of this sci-fantasy story. I think it's my personal lack of bandwidth for world-building right now. I am not feeling drawn to the story or characters and am not inspired to listen to it. When listening to an audiobook begins to feel like a chore, I know it's time to set it aside. I never want to push through I book that I'm not connecting with and end up giving it a poor rating because of personal reasons. I may come back to this story eventually but now is not the right time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced listening copy.

This book is so not for me. I immediately requested because I love Robin Sloane’s other books but I hate this kind of high fantasy/sci fi thing. I was hoping to be drawn in but I wasn’t. The cover also did not indicate the book’s difference enough.

"Moonbound" by Robin Sloan is speculative fiction set thousands of years in the future in 13777. The story begins confusingly from the point of view of an artificial intelligent recorder device inside the boy. Actually, they are are the narrator of the whole story.

The main character of the book, though, is Ariel de la Sovage (sp.?). He's a boy about 12 years old. He has a feeling he is destined to do something big in his life, but no idea what.

There are wizards, archetypal heroes, quests, talking bees and beavers, spaceships, and even dragons (kind of).

If you like sci-fi/ speculative fiction and light fantasy, check this one out!

Characters - 4/5
Writing - 5/5
Plot - 4/5
Pacing - 4/5
Unputdownability - 3/5
Enjoyment - 3/5
Narration - 4/5 by Gabra Zackman
Cover - 5/5
Overall - 32/8 = 4

Thank you to Netgalley, Brilliance Publishing, and Jo Leevers for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Actual Rating 1.5

This work is certainly creative. It's told from the POV of a somewhat non-invasive being who infiltrates another being and observes their life. In this case, the being was watching a young boy who was supposed to follow in King Arthur's footsteps thousands of years in the future. There are talking beavers, sentient swamps, and more. But the creativity wasn't enough to make this story work for me.

I'm part of the problem with this one. I find King Arthur stories and lore to be quite boring in all honesty (for many reasons), and I'd requested this because I saw sci-fi and the author's name and was curious to see what he would do with this legend. But the way the story is told is convoluted and full of so many random things that I never really became immersed. A similar thing happened with the characters, though there weren't really many characters given much page time.

Another part of what didn't work for me is that there isn't really any logic to this book, which made it hard to find anything to grasp on to. The worldbuilding? Makes no sense and seems to just be random things that the author needed to make the plot work. The characters' motives were all so quirky, whimsical, and illogical that there was nothing relatable or reasonable to hold onto there, either.

If you're looking for a weird, convoluted fusion of sci-fi and fantasy loosely based on the legend of King Arthur with esoteric moments, then you've found your book. At least the audiobook narrator did a great job. My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This was my first Robin Sloan title and a tough read. It took a while for me to get my bearings and figure out just what was going on. I enjoyed it and the world-building it contained. I enjoyed it enough to read another Sloan title!

Read 7.4 - 7.6.2024
DNF@30%
*NO RATING*

I love Robin Sloan and have adored his previous books, so I was pretty excited to see he had a new book coming out and requested it [before really looking to see what it was about - this is totally on me].

Yeah. No. Thank you anyway.

This, unfortunately, just didn't work for me. At all. I didn't enjoy it, didn't remotely understand what was going on, didn't even want to pick it up when it was time to read it *AND* was so relieved when it was time to put it down [for the day]. I cannot even tell you what the book is about [at THIRTY PERCENT] because nothing stuck [AT ALL] and I realized that life is too short to read confusing and unlikable [for me; I cheer for all those who loved this and *got it*] and therefore I am afraid I have to DNF.

I have had Gabra Zackman as a narrator previously and have thoroughly enjoyed her narration. Unfortunately, this was not the case here and the narration also didn't work for me. I didn't enjoy the delievry, or the voices she created for the characters [again, this is just me and I would recommend this audiobook to people who are looking to read this book - what doesn't work for one may be the thing that makes the book come alive for others and I totally get that] and it just wasn't great listening experience for me.

I am disappointed; it is always difficult when an author you love writes a book that just doesn't work for you. I am so glad that others love it and I look forward to his next offering, as one disappointing read does not take away my love for this author and his work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Robin Sloan, Gabra Zackman - Narrator, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/MCD, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

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This was fun on multiple levels. I love authors who fall into their worlds so much that they go on to create the stories, songs, art, etc. that populate their stories - and this is a wonderful instance of that. But even better, it’s so well done that it completely stands on its own - if you’ve never read or even heard of Mr. Penumbra, this is still a delightful story that you can fully enjoy without feeling like there’s something you’re missing. In fact, in the future I hope that readers will find this one first (and the rest of the series? Please?), and then continue on to the original book that started it all.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Another great adventure from Robin Sloan! The audiobook narration of all the characters was well done and it was nice to hear the pronunciation of some of the unusual words. The world building of the future setting was fantastic. The physical and mental journey of the main character is engaging, humorous, and touching. Fans of Sloan's previous titles will enjoy. Good adult book for Teens as well.

Not exactly sure what I read or if I liked it. I certainly liked many of the more imaginative aspects of the story, but felt this quest story (without quests) was a bit slow and didn't engage this reader. Some might be put off by the lack of well-developed ending. I just couldn't figure out where the author was going with this one.

Such a fun read. Moonbound is hard to categorized because it spans a variety of genres and tones. It's a tiny but arthurian legend, a little sci-fi dystopian, all with a sprinkling of Adventure Time vibes. The narration is really well done with a lot of variety of tone and accents for the far flung cast of characters. I really enjoyed this story and found it to be a really enjoyable escape, a great summer vacation read.

Again the narration was great and really added to my enjoyment, I'll be looking up more of their work.

This was such a great listen! The narrator was fantastic, the characters were interesting, and the story kept a great pace. It starts out as one type of story and totally flips it. I really liked all the twists.

A sci-fi fantasy set 13,000 years into the future and the same universe as Robin Sloan's previous novels Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Sourdough. When 12-year-old Ariel de la Sauvage rejects his destiny by not pulling a very important sword from a stone and thereby angering the town's ruler, the wizard Malory, Ariel barely escapes with his life. Setting upon an epic hero's quest, Ariel will encounter ancient humans of a lost civilization, spaceships, talking animals, genial robots, dragons, and our narrator: a sentient yeast-AI hybrid.

To be honest I've been sitting on this review for days because I'm finding it incredibly hard to put my Moonbound experience into words. There's just so much going on and it's weird and unlike anything I've ever read, but somehow also incredibly familiar and recognizable at the same time, and most importantly: SO FUN!

Moonbound is an immersive journey, a weird, wild, and wonderful adventure seeking an answer to the evergreen question: what happens next?

The audio listening experience is exceptional, the narrator really brings the story to life.

DNF @ 14%

This is a DNF for now. It was too weird for my brain at the moment, and audio wasn't the way to go for me, even though I really like Gabra Zackman as a narrator. I need a hard copy and a fresh brain to get down with this one. Not sure when I'll get to it again, and this is totally a me thing. I hope this finds its audience. Not rating.

This far-future fantasy sci-fi adventure is narrated by a Chronicler -- a fungal/AI passenger hitching a ride in young Ariel. The Chronicler is surprised to discover that they have awoken in 13777 -- in a town with a wizard's tower that feels like 1377. There's a sword in a stone, and a lady in the lake, and dragons, but also game consoles, and robots, and sentient marsh reeds. Earth has become something foreign to the Chronicler, and it seems that Ariel might need to save it.

My thoughts? Wow. Just...wow. I loved this book. If you are looking for a smart, funny, stand-alone sci-fi/fantasy read, this is my recommendation for you.

Gabra Zackman was an excellent narrator for the novel and brought the characters to life so well. And I loved the musical stings at the beginning of each part of the book.

I can't wait to tell more readers about this book. Reviews to be posted to Goodreads and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on June 14, 2024.

Disclaimer #1: Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy of this audiobook, provided in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I'm going to have to be brutally honest in said review.

Disclaimer #2: I loved Mr. Penumbra, like many many others, and I liked Sourdough an Annabel Scheme, a lot. I cannot fathom how this book was written by the same writer. With seven years having passed since his last full length novel, I can only wonder how Mr. Sloan ended up going down this path. There are probably interviews where he explains it, but honestly, I don't even want to know.

So we go 11,000 years into the future where the world looks like a whole lot like medieval Europe, already a suspect choice in my book (can you say cliche?). Plus, we have talking animals, talking swords, sentient fungi, sentient swamps, space travelers called dragons who live on the moon, and a whole bunch of others who may or may not be human, and if they are human may or may not be Anth, humans like us (we're Middle Anth) who were wiped out (almost) by the aforementioned dragons.

A boy named Ariel, who lives in a medieval castle that may or may not be a simulation of Arthurian legend, replete with a wizard named Mallory (natch!) and a sword in a stone, onboards a fungus that via AI has been transformed into a chronicler who also creates a dreamlike world made of memory. He then goes on a quest to save the world from the dragons.

Don't try to make any sense out of that. It makes no sense. The whole thing was completely opaque to me until I read a review full of spoilers -- I didn't mean to, I was just looking for a reason to not give up on the book after the first couple of hours. The spoilers, which explained a lot of why the dragons killed off the Anth, why animals talk, and a few other things, actually helped me stick with it, although not in the end to my liking.

You see, the world building here is, uh, not good (trying to keep the review family friendly). I'm OK with the idea of slowly building a fantasy world, revealing elements bit by bit. But that doesn't work here, mainly because the world that is being built is incomplete, inconsistent, illogical, impenetrable, and ultimately in service of nothing other than the author's purposes. Even the characters are confused as the rules of their world keep changing to meet the author's needs.

The characters: a boy on a quest, a girl with a mission, a fungus content with taking notes, a wizard without discernible motive (apparently all he wants is to go to another planet), villains who just need some ambien to cure their insanity (long after their insanity caused genocide on a worldwide scale), beavers who are smarter than anyone else (and swamps that are even smarter than beavers). Nowhere on that list is there a regular person struggling with internal and/or external conflicts that we can relate with.

I don't expect the conventional from Robin Sloan. He is an excellent writer with an enviable imagination capable of bringing together disparate elements in a contemporary world driven by technology. There's a glimmer that he has tried to do that in Moonbound. It's a glimmer that fades like a lone spark in the cold night.

I want to say that I await a return to form in his next endeavor, and I genuinely do, but I expect a sequel first, and I expect to have grown much older than I already am before that happens, judging by Mr. Sloan's publishing chronology. Sorry, but I promised to be honest.