Have been meaning to read this one for quite a while, so I'm glad I finally got to it. I also plan to read the other xenofictions by this author as I already own them, just gotta find the time to actually read them. Spoilers ahead.
O-ha is a vixen used to living in the woods, whereas Camio is a tod who escaped from the zoo and used to scrape by in the city. The duo seem destined to meet and eventually become mates. But things aren't always easy for the fox family, with humans and vicious dogs encroaching on their territory.
I am not always the most praiseworthy when it comes to older xenofiction books and I acknowledge that. I often find them to be a bit dully written and a lot of them suffer from issues or tropes I personally don't like seeing (sexism, fatphobia, too much lore-dumping, a painfully slow pace, etc.). Thankfully Hunter's Moon pretty much completely avoids these issues. I think I spotted a few minor things I didn't like here or there, but overall I had a great time reading this book.
What I really liked about this book is the characters. O-ha and Camio and their cubs feel like actual people (well, foxes, I mean) with flaws, quirks and beliefs. They're not perfect, but they're realistic and I really found myself getting attached to this little family throughout the story, especially to O-ha and her albino kit A-sac. The relationships between the characters also were very well-written.
I also really like how this book avoids the trope common for older xenofiction where the female characters are relegated to mostly one-note side characters who exist mostly for the male characters. O-ha and her kit Mitz are our primary female leads, and they, just like the others, are genuinely well-written characters. I also like how they don't just straight fall into the trope of "gentle and caring" female character. Sure, some aspects of their characters are like that, but they have a whole personality and beliefs outside of that, making them feel just as well-thought-out as the male characters.
The story also has a decent amount of world-building, but I like how it doesn't become overkill. We don't get big loredumps, it's all delivered to the reader more subtly and not in huge paragraphs. The lore is there, but it's a bit more subtle and I really appreciate it for that. While some xenofiction with its own belief system and lore can be great, to me it quickly falls in the overkill category if too much time is spent on it. Even Duncton Chronicles, a xenofiction series I really like, falls into this trap. But Hunter's Moon struck that perfect balance and I'm thankful for it.
I do have to mention that if the reader goes into this looking for a big and epic story they might be disappointed, but to me this smaller-scale story worked perfectly. The book really is just about the struggle this family of foxes has to survive, and I'm 100% okay with that. At first I thought we might be getting a slightly larger-scale story, but honestly this smaller scope works just as well.
Overall this is a satisfying read, a xenofiction with imaginative world-building that doesn't overstay its welcome and very well-written characters. It can be intense, it can be emotional, and it can be thought-provoking. It does most things right.
Rating: 4/5
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