Low Red Moon

Low Red Moon is a novel by Caitlin R. Kiernan, published in 2003. Part of their Deep Time sequence of novels, it centers on characters that earlier appeared in Kiernan's Threshold (2001) and reoccur in their Daughter of Hounds (2007). Part of the background of these novels is a secret subterranean world of ghouls, inspired by the H. P. Lovecraft story "Pickman's Model."
In addition to Lovecraft, Kiernan names William Blake, Charles Fort, Tennyson, John Keats, W. B. Yeats, Angela Carter, Joseph Campbell, and Carl G. Jung among the writers who influenced the story. They credit the title to song of the same name on Belly's 1993 album Star.
== Characters ==
* Charles L. Patrick Akeley, Birmingham steel heir who donated his occult books to the library; "the wealthy grandson of a Birmingham steel baron who never married and spent most of his time traveling in Europe and Asia, chasing ghosts and collecting odd books on the occult."
* Elise Alden, a friend of Chance Matthews. She was with Chance when they met Dean Silvey. (She features prominently in Threshold.)
* Barnaby, a nervous, low-ranking ghoul of Providence. (He appears in Daughter of Hounds and other stories by Kiernan.)
* Agent Broom, FBI.
* François Honore-Balfour, Comte d'Erlette, author of Cultes des Goules.
* Detective Downs, Birmingham PD.
* Charles "Soda" Ellis, a friend of Chance Matthews, killed by Narcissa Snow. (He is mentioned in passing in Threshold.)
* Mary English, Atlanta woman who procured infants for the ghoul warrens; stopped by Dean Silvey.
* Agent Gorman, FBI.
* Detective Vincent Hammond, Atlanta PD; worked with Deacon Silvey to solve cases.
* Sadie Jasper, an aspiring author; a friend and possible love interest of Dean Silvey. She is distinguished by her "cultivated pallor and hair like a fire engine, black lips and her blue eyes paler than the October sky and ringed by so much mascara and eyeliner they look bruised." Deacon Silvey observes, "Always something a little too spooky about this girl, like maybe the death-rocker affectations are only a mask to hide a more genuine darkness." (She is a major character in both Threshold and Daughter of Hounds.)
* Miss Josephine, vampire who lives in the yellow house on Benefit Street in Providence. (She appears frequently in stories by Kiernan.)
* Larry, fundamentalist student who harasses Chance Matthews in class. 
* Chance Matthews, paleontologist and expectant mother; married to Deacon Silvey. She is organizing an exhibit at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta. (She is a major character in Threshold and features prominently in Daughter of Hounds.)
* Esther Matthews, Chance's grandmother and an invertebrate paleontologist; she hanged herself in a tree behind her house. (She is a character in Threshold.)
* Joe Matthews, Chance's grandfather, also a paleontologist, who was proud of Chance following in his and his wife's footsteps. (He is a character in Threshold.)
* Scarborough Pentecost, a changeling, partnered with Starling Jane.
* Deacon Silvey, Chance Matthews' husband; a psychic who has worked with the Atlanta PD and is asked to help the Birmingham PD. A recovering alcoholic, he "looks a lot more like the hard end of fifty than thirty-nine." He studied philosophy for two years at Emory. (He is a major character in both Threshold and Daughter of Hounds.)
* Aldous Snow, Narcissa's grandfather (and father, apparently). Called a "cheap magician" by Narcissa.
* Caroline Snow, Aldous' daughter and Narcissa's mother.
* Iscariot Howard Q. Snow, Aldous' father and Caroline's grandfather. Narcissa calls him a "wizard." (He is mentioned in Kiernan's short story "Pickman's Other Model.")
* Narcissa Snow, daughter of Caroline (and Aldous, apparently); a serial killer and magic-user with a plan involving Deacon Silvey's child. Said to be a werewolf, though whether that involves physical transformation is unclear. She is born December 31, 1975.
* Alice Sprinkle, Chance Matthews' colleague and friend. (She is a character in Threshold.)
* Starling Jane, a changeling, partnered with Scarborough Pentecost. Described as a "pretty black-haired girl." (She is the main character of Kiernan's short story "The Dead and the Moonstruck.")
* Madam Terpsichore, leader of the ghouls of Providence. (She appears frequently in stories by Kiernan.)
== Publication History ==
After its initial hardcover publication by Roc / New American Library in November 2003, a special edition was released by Subterranean Press in June 2004. Roc put out a paperback version in August 2007.Internet Speculative Fiction Database, "Title: Low Red Moon". 
== References ==
Category:Expanded Mythos Works
Category:Caitlin R. Kiernan works
Category:Novels