By David Moody
The buzz around David Moody’s ‘Hater’ is big and with good cause. Having successfully self-published the ‘Autumn’ series of post-apocalyptic zombie novels he then launched ‘Hater’, the film rights to which were picked up by Guillermo Del Toro and, at time of writing, it is in pre-production with Juan Antonio Bayona of ‘The Orphanage’ fame set to direct. The rights to the ‘Autumn’ series have subsequently been picked up as well and that movie is set for release later this year.
So what of ‘Hater’ the book?
Danny McCoyne just wants a quiet life. He lives with his wife Lizzie and three kids that they had far too young, in a tiny rented flat, with permanent money worries. His father-in-law doesn’t like him. Bereft of ambition he treads water in a soul-destroying job at the local council parking fines office. His boss doesn’t like him. It’s not that he’s an idiot, he’s not, but he’s reached that stage where, in his own words, “…..I sometimes find it difficult to give a shit.”
One morning on the way to work, Danny witnesses a brutal attack, by a young man, on an old woman, right in the middle of the street. He’s shocked by what he sees but it’s nothing to do with him. These seemingly random acts of violence begin to increase though. Across the country friends turn on friends and family members destroy each other as the wave of violence spins out of control and pretty soon the media has a nickname for the attackers; ‘Haters’. As the routine of daily life is gradually destroyed Danny and his family lock themselves in their flat, away from the chaos and danger of the streets, to wait out the pandemic, but are they safe? Have they just locked themselves away with the one person who will eventually kill them?
It’s difficult to review this book without giving some of the ending away, but I’m going to, so for anyone who cares…
>>>>!!!! MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!! <<<< This is definitely a book of two halves. In part one we meet Danny, living his life and trying to make sense of the chaos around him, a weird mix of the minutiae of someone else’s humdrum existence filtered through the partisan lens of their own self-righteous indignation and pretty thin justification for their actions – or inaction in Danny’s case. Ultimately it’s pretty dull because Danny’s life is pretty dull but, like the best reality TV, it is utterly compelling. At one time or another, everyone gets in that situation, trying to keep your head down, do your job, take your pay, avoid confrontation and it’s always at those times when it’s hardest to do. For Danny, if he’s not arguing with his boss, it’s the customers, his wife, his father-in-law, even his kids and the utter pointlessness of it all weighs heavily on him. Interspersed into this narrative are the stories of several ‘Hater’ attacks, and these are interesting in the way they open up the reason for them, from the point of view of the attacker. Far from being a ‘Hater’ each one is suddenly struck with an absolutely mortal terror of the person they are with. Unexplained and without warning, each individual is filled with a gut-wrenching fear for their life, and they see the attack as the only way to defend themselves. Once the fear has come over them, the paranoia grows and they see the world in stark ‘them’ and ‘us’ terms and fighting for survival is the only way out. These short passages instil in the reader an empathy for the attackers; knowing their motives are not driven by hate lets us care about them. What really lifts it up however, is the way Danny tries to avoid the growing nightmare around him. As the world breaks down he tries to carry on, going to work because he needs the job, even though hardly anyone else has bothered, shopping, visiting his father-in-law, playing with the kids while his wife keeps the TV constantly tuned to the endlessly repetitive news channels, churning out government assurances that everything is under control when it clearly isn’t. This continues until the eventual breakdown forces them to hole-up in the flat and wait and see what happens. Part two arrives in quite a small way but is nevertheless shocking in its mundanity. Danny turns into a Hater. While this isn’t entirely unexpected, the circumstances under which he succumbs to the outbreak come out of the blue and to be honest, this is where the story really begins. Separated from his family, Danny has to survive on the streets while soldiers are going door-to-door looking for the infected. Realising that he and others like him recognise each other, they begin to group together, safety in numbers. But he is eventually picked up by a military patrol and taken to a government containment facility where they can be treated and it’s here that Danny’s tale of survival really begins and where the ‘Hater’ story really takes off. I really enjoyed ‘Hater’ way more than I thought I would. It would be easy to dismiss it as another book about an epidemic, but the simple twist of looking at things through the point of view of the afflicted turns this into something much more. Yes the first half is a little ordinary but the eventual breakdown of society has been covered so much in films and books over recent years that it would be hard to do it any differently. Why I can sit through this scenario again is that, without it, it would be hard to care about the characters and, in any story, caring about the characters is what makes you read on. Additionally, Moody’s writing style is sparse with hardly a wasted syllable and as the plot progresses the clipped sentences and disjointed thinking really help the pacing, ramping things up until, as you get nearer the end, you’re barrelling along, right in the thick of it, unable to put it down until you reach the conclusion. Despite his basking in the warm glow of film deals and celebrity endorsements, you can’t help but feel glad for David Moody. Underneath all the hype, he undoubtedly has the talent to back it up. ‘Hater’ is a cracking read, a little short, and I would have liked more of the second half and less of the first but I understand that it is the beginning of a trilogy although the second book, Dog Blood, isn’t due till 2010. My guess is that this has something to do with the film’s release date being lined up to coincide with the launch of the second book. That’s a shame because as soon I finished this one I wanted to know what happened next but at least I know I’ll be reunited with Danny McCoyne soon enough. Nice. Hater is published by Gollancz and is available from Play.com, Blackwell and all good book stores.
David Moody maintains a blog here.