My review of ‘Hater’ by David Moody Browsing the new book selection at my local library I came across David Moody’s ‘Hater’. The book stands out with its striking blood-soaked cover, something that seems like the jacket art for the newest ‘Dexter’ novel. I was pleased to discover that Moody’s ‘Hater’ was a unexpectedly compelling, horrific and taught modern-day paranoid horror story. ‘Hater’ follows Danny McCoyne, an employee of the Parking Fine Processing office in an unnamed British city. He’s someone that is slowly becoming an office drone, and barley making ends meet to support his wife and children. It’s clear that Danny is unhappy in life, noting that having kids has severely hampered his sex life with his wife, and that it has also made his social life with friends almost nonexistent. As the book progresses random acts of violence start occurring all over the city that Danny and his family live in. People start going insane without any notice and brutally attacking and even murdering those around them in a fear-drive paranoid rage. It soon becomes apparent that these events are not localized occurrences, but that this is something happening all across the countryside. These random acts of violence become frequent in occurrence, and it’s unclear what causes people to snap and go mad. What is clear is that the change in people is spontaneous and seemingly random, making it all the more dangerous to everyone. Those who are affected with the sickness are called “Haters” by the media, which has no explanation for what is causing this event.  The government is at a loss for what is causing these events, and all they can do is instruct people to take shelter in their own homes. This leaves Danny and his family prisoners of their own home as they watch society crumble from their window and leave them wondering when the madness coming knocking on their door. This book feels much like a zombie tale in the way society quickly crumbles and the way your friends and neighbors quickly can pose a potential threat to your safety. Danny tries to keep up his typical habits of going to work, but as the outbreaks of violence start rising, it quickly becomes harder for him to keep any sort of everyday routine. David Moody builds the atmosphere and tension of this story in a skillful way. Seeing this world through the eyes of Danny (someone who represents the Joe-everyman) really illustrates how a normal person wouldn’t know what to do in such a terrifying situation. Even such a simple thing as taking the family out to dinner on a Saturday night can be immediately interrupted by a Hater killing someone at the table next to you. Moody breaks up Danny’s story with interspersed chapters from the viewpoints of Haters that are changed without warning. We the reader get a glimpse into someone going about their day and without warning, this new character becomes a unstoppable monster that tears through their loved ones and friends in order to protect their own survival. Once the switch is flipped they are no longer who they used to be, but something new and something very dangerous. These chapters are not for those who are at the least bit squeamish since this becomes Moody’s outlet to describe the horrific things Haters will do to their victims in great detail. ‘Hater’ features a quote on the cover from horror and science fiction director Guillermo del Toro, which certainly caught my eye. I was surprised to also learn that del Toro had also obtained the rights to turn ‘Hater’ into a movie.  I would love to see what Guillermo del Toro could do with this source material and adapting it into a feature film. There is a substantial payoff in the end of ‘Hater’ which means I can’t talk too much about the last act of the book in detail without spoiling plot details. It might be a bit obvious to some, but it is certainly a game-changing twist.  I’m not big on stories that advertise the twist on the book jacket, because it informs you of the impending surprise, thus spoiling said twist. However, it does work within the context of the book and without giving too much away, it’s dark and grimacing. I had to look back and make sure I didn’t skip a chapter because when it hits the fan, it hits in a way that you don’t suspect at all.  ‘Hater’ is a quick read, but it’s a very enjoyable horror novel with that will keep you guessing until the very end.  

My review of ‘Hater’ by David Moody

Browsing the new book selection at my local library I came across David Moody’s ‘Hater’. The book stands out with its striking blood-soaked cover, something that seems like the jacket art for the newest ‘Dexter’ novel. I was pleased to discover that Moody’s ‘Hater’ was a unexpectedly compelling, horrific and taught modern-day paranoid horror story.

‘Hater’ follows Danny McCoyne, an employee of the Parking Fine Processing office in an unnamed British city. He’s someone that is slowly becoming an office drone, and barley making ends meet to support his wife and children. It’s clear that Danny is unhappy in life, noting that having kids has severely hampered his sex life with his wife, and that it has also made his social life with friends almost nonexistent. As the book progresses random acts of violence start occurring all over the city that Danny and his family live in. People start going insane without any notice and brutally attacking and even murdering those around them in a fear-drive paranoid rage. It soon becomes apparent that these events are not localized occurrences, but that this is something happening all across the countryside. These random acts of violence become frequent in occurrence, and it’s unclear what causes people to snap and go mad. What is clear is that the change in people is spontaneous and seemingly random, making it all the more dangerous to everyone. Those who are affected with the sickness are called “Haters” by the media, which has no explanation for what is causing this event.  The government is at a loss for what is causing these events, and all they can do is instruct people to take shelter in their own homes. This leaves Danny and his family prisoners of their own home as they watch society crumble from their window and leave them wondering when the madness coming knocking on their door.

This book feels much like a zombie tale in the way society quickly crumbles and the way your friends and neighbors quickly can pose a potential threat to your safety. Danny tries to keep up his typical habits of going to work, but as the outbreaks of violence start rising, it quickly becomes harder for him to keep any sort of everyday routine. David Moody builds the atmosphere and tension of this story in a skillful way. Seeing this world through the eyes of Danny (someone who represents the Joe-everyman) really illustrates how a normal person wouldn’t know what to do in such a terrifying situation. Even such a simple thing as taking the family out to dinner on a Saturday night can be immediately interrupted by a Hater killing someone at the table next to you.

Moody breaks up Danny’s story with interspersed chapters from the viewpoints of Haters that are changed without warning. We the reader get a glimpse into someone going about their day and without warning, this new character becomes a unstoppable monster that tears through their loved ones and friends in order to protect their own survival. Once the switch is flipped they are no longer who they used to be, but something new and something very dangerous. These chapters are not for those who are at the least bit squeamish since this becomes Moody’s outlet to describe the horrific things Haters will do to their victims in great detail.

‘Hater’ features a quote on the cover from horror and science fiction director Guillermo del Toro, which certainly caught my eye. I was surprised to also learn that del Toro had also obtained the rights to turn ‘Hater’ into a movie.  I would love to see what Guillermo del Toro could do with this source material and adapting it into a feature film.

There is a substantial payoff in the end of ‘Hater’ which means I can’t talk too much about the last act of the book in detail without spoiling plot details. It might be a bit obvious to some, but it is certainly a game-changing twist.  I’m not big on stories that advertise the twist on the book jacket, because it informs you of the impending surprise, thus spoiling said twist. However, it does work within the context of the book and without giving too much away, it’s dark and grimacing. I had to look back and make sure I didn’t skip a chapter because when it hits the fan, it hits in a way that you don’t suspect at all.  ‘Hater’ is a quick read, but it’s a very enjoyable horror novel with that will keep you guessing until the very end.