DOG BLOOD. Great title, isn’t it? David Moody. What a
fabulous (understated) last name for the author of a dystopian
novel that is practically a nonstop bloodbath from beginning to
end. If you thought that his novel HATER could induce nightmares
just by sitting on your nightstand, this evil little sequel will do
the same thing just by being in the same house with you.
HATER chronicled what takes place when a homicidal madness of
unknown etiology suddenly transforms a portion of the population
into the civilian equivalent of European soccer fans. Imagine
random members of your circle of acquaintances, friends, neighbors
and family suddenly and unpredictably becoming homicidal, resulting
in two groups of people: Haters and the Unchanged. You can probably
guess which ones are homicidal. If you are a Hater, you can spot
your own; if you are Unchanged, you can’t --- until
it’s too late, or almost so, such as within a split second of
your spouse plunging a knife into you during a particular tender
moment, or your six-year-old chomping her teeth into your throat as
you bend down to kiss her goodnight.
Do I have your attention? HATER got mine. It was told through
the voice of Danny McCoyne, a low-level government bureaucrat
living in London, handling traffic fine complaints (which
concentric ring of Hell is headquarters for that job?)
when the outbreak takes place. We first see the chaos through
McCoyne’s Unchanged self. Then he becomes one of the Haters,
and everything becomes crystal clear to him. And liberating. I
haven’t spoiled a thing for you, trust me. It will still
chill your blood to sub-zero temperatures. And, as the newly
published book demonstrates, Moody was just getting warmed up. If
HATER gives you nightmares, DOG BLOOD will rewire your brain.
DOG BLOOD is told primarily from McCoyne’s point of view,
an