Dogs

by Nancy Kress

In this original bio-thriller from the author of Beggars in Spain , the threat of terrorism and biological warfare is all too real when the danger comes from a family’s most cherished pets.

Tessa Sanderson, ex-FBI agent, has moved to a sleepy Maryland town to escape her tragic past. When the town’s beloved dogs begin viciously attacking pet owners and their children, federal CDC agents determine that the dogs are carrying a mutated flu affecting the aggression center of their brains, for which there is no known cure. Tessa offers her unofficial assistance to Animal Control Officer Jess Langstrom, who has been ordered to round up all the dogs and quarantine them. Meanwhile, some of the locals, unconvinced of the threat, are preparing to protect their pets by any means necessary. But Tessa, the widow of an Arab who roused the suspicions of her FBI colleagues, has another secret: Someone is sending her threatening e-mails in Arabic that claim responsibility for the virus, and she resolves to go deep undercover to expose a deadly conspiracy.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller, Science Fiction Fantasy, Dogs, Mystery

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Nancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella Beggars in Spain which was later expanded into a novel with the same title. In addition to her novels, Kress has written numerous short stories and is a regular columnist for Writer's Digest. She is a regular at Clarion writing workshops and at The Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland. During the Winter of 2008/09, Nancy Kress is the Picador Guest Professor for Literature at the University of Leipzig's Institute for American Studies in Leipzig, Germany.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Lioness7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading horror books that deal with your everyday animals going insane for some reason and attacking. I especially love them if there is a storyline that makes sense and explains why they did what they did. This book had all of that.

I have read quite a few books about dogs attacking. Most of them I would rate as average. I enjoyed them, but they weren't something I would remember for any special reason. I will remember this book. It had intrigue with the threat of terrorism. It took something special and part of a family and turned it evil. It did both of these things without there being so much gore that it turns your stomach.

I have to say that this book also hits home for me because dog attacks could happen. They do happen. It has happened close to where I live with dogs that I used to see regularly. The realism is what makes this book really make you think. Deep down, it makes me wonder if something like this is possible while at the same time thinking it isn't in such a large scale. What if it did happen though? How would I feel about my own dog? I've got to say that I thought about the book when I fed him right after finishing it. He's still my darling boy though. Thank goodness.

Finally, I will say that this book has made me want to check out more from Nancy Kress. Up to this point, I really hadn't heard of her. I am glad that I did now.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a real disappointment. I have really liked some of Nancy Kress's other books, but Dogs feels like a paint-by-numbers thriller instead of the interesting and thought-provoking SF I'm accustomed to from her.

It didn't totally suck, but I did find myself rolling my eyes at the ending.

[Sara]

This sounds terrifying, but I'll probably read it because Nancy Kress does such interesting things with her ideas. I'm a big fan of her book, Beggars in Spain.

Some early discussion here: http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=962

[Tasula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small town (Tyler) is suddenly under attack and quarantine because of a dog plague that causes pets to attack and try to kill anyone who comes near. An ex-FBI agent still mourning the accident that killed her husband lives in Tyler with her toy poodle Minette. She learns that her name and her husband's have appeared in possible terrorist chatter, and sets out to investigate. Meanwhile, local animal control officers contend with influx of CDC staff, militia and federal agents as they try to round up infected and uninfected dogs, much to the dismay of their owners. Some of the owners who want their pets back become violent, as do some citizens who want every dog to die in revenge for attacks on loved ones. Overall, interesting, sad and heartfelt.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read another book by Nancy I'm reminded how brilliant they are. Her undstanding of people and how they react and behave is unparalleled. This is a book about people in a plague written before the plague. Masterful story-telling.

[john · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't my kind of book. If I hadn't paid $7.99 for it, I would've shelved it. It's well written, but the conflict smothers the story and characters. Love Nancy's work otherwise.

[Catherine Collingwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was able to read this in an afternoon. That’s a bit unusual for me; while I’m a fast reader, I often take at least three or four days to get through one of Kress’ novels. They’re usually quite dense in terms of plot and I have to stop and “take a break” in order to keep the novel straight in my mind.

Not so this novel, even though there were points where I wasn’t certain. Although the narrative stays in the third person this time (one of my past complaints about Kress has been overuse/misuse of the first-person viewpoint), the focus still jumps back and forth. I don’t recall a single point in the book where the focus stayed on the same character in two consecutive chapters.

While the narrative is well-structured and tight, the frequent focus shifts meant I wasn’t able to drum up any empathy or emotional response as a reader. Just as I would get comfortable with Tessa, the focus would shift to Cami or Ed and their particular take on the events as they unfolded. Kress never stayed long enough with a single character to allow for the in-depth development she has shown herself capable of in other books such as those in the Beggars series.

This detracted from the book, because it meant that Tessa’s misadventures in London were, frankly, uninteresting; and the relationship with her sister is so poorly explored that it leaves me wondering why Kress even put the sister in there if not for the oh-so-convenient way it allowed for a passport substitute. It also meant that the developing relationship between Tessa and Jess came across as utterly false. Never once did we see any anger, caring or worry on either of their parts except for two scenes where it felt very artificial.

Had Kress made more room in her books for the main characters by spending less time with the secondary characters, it might have been easier to “get lost in” the plot. As it was, the setup felt more like a collection of news articles than a true novel. I’m not convinced this wasn’t intentional, as Kress clearly is trying to make a comment about modern society’s relationship with national and international events.

As a concept, the plot and setup are well-executed; and the subject matter is certainly very timely. But as a novel, just like some of Kress’ other work, the structure is so weak that it becomes an actual detractor. I’d love to see this revised to be a little more like a novel and less like a loose collection of anecdotes or news articles. In this format, though, it’s best for an afternoon of quick reading without much digestion or reflection.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kress doesn’t disappoint with Dogs. I’ve been a fan of Kress since reading the Sleepless Trilogy (Beggars in Spain was recently spotlighted in Treasured Thursdays.) I was excited to see she had a newer release out, although it did take me 2 years to get it in my hands to read.

The story is well developed and tells the story of a mutated flu which causes man’s best friend to suddenly revert to killing those that love them and care for them. Some owners relinquish their beloved pets to the CDC while others fight with guns and bombs and anything else at their disposal to keep their pets and free those that have been taken.

Being a dog owner myself, I can see just how well thought out the responses to the quarantine were developed by Kress. Would you give up your pet willingly? Set it free? Defend your pet with your life even as it tries to kill you when you step outside?

The somewhat tragic reality of this story is just how this fictional situation could become a real event. Linked to a crazed terrorist, this virus is developed and released into the population and has a high communicability rate. Given the times we live in, with biological warfare happening the world over, it really is only a matter of time before this could play itself out right in front of our eyes.

This is what makes Kress a truly remarkable writer. She delves deeply into the psyche of society and the various groups that form a society to relay to her readers very real responses to potential scientific changes that were only a dream not too long ago, but today come closer and closer to becoming a reality.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about small town Tyler, Maryland and their sudden resurgence of dog attacks. Eventually, the entire town is quarantined due to a dog plague that is rapidly spreading. In the center of our story is former FBI agent, Tessa. Tessa just moved to Tyler from Washington, DC after her husband died in a car crash.

I'm not a dog person. So, a mass canine plague resulting in having to kill all the local dogs probably wouldn't really bother me as much as most people. I was also bitten by a dog once, so I sympathize more with the mauled humans than what's going to happen to the dogs.

The story starts out pretty strong. We have some decent characters and a town thrown into hysteria by some pretty brutal dog attacks. Then everything just kind of goes downhill. Kress throws in a bunch of unnecessary characters who all just sort of get jumbled up along with bunch of unnecessary subplots.

I wish they'd kept the focus more on Tessa and the two animal control guys, but they kind of get lost when they bring in all of the secondary characters (doctor who is studying the dog disease, random people in the hospital, etc.). Not to mention the totally random plots that come out of nowhere such as Tessa running off to Europe for about 30 pages.

I can imagine this getting made into a really tacky Scifi (or Syfy or whatever they're calling themselves now) Channel movie. It's not going to win any awards, but I can think of worse ways to spend a rainy afternoon.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Kress writes tense novels about the wide-ranging societal consequences of a small technological or biological development. In this short (>300pgs), contemporary thriller, a sudden outbreak infects dogs and drives them into a vicious frenzy. The small American town of Taylor is ground zero, and the novel follows several very different characters living there, including a young boy who hides his dog, a redneck who joins the anti-animal-control underground, and a young nurse. The two main characters are Jess, an animal control officer, and Tessa, an FBI agent who left the agency after her Arabic husband's death.

This felt a bit like two novels. One half was about the outbreak: how do people react when animals they trust jump for their throats? Several of the small-town folk seem more like caricatures than human; the two anti-animal-control militia members are stupid and narrow-minded in ways I have trouble accepting. The other half was written better, but less interesting: just a basic spy thriller. All in all, an enjoyable, exciting book--I read it in a single sitting.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have any fear of dogs, whether it is a mere residual uneasiness or a deep residing phobia, Dogs by Nancy Kress is probably not the book for you. In fact, this book just might send you over the edge from phobia into needing sedation. From the opening scene, Kress launches the reader into a town terrorized by a plague that has turned your fun loving Fido into Cujo on steroids. With each and every page, a new adorable household pet turns on its owner, ripping the throats out of small children and elderly alike. Honestly, I have never had a fear of dogs, but more of a mere annoyance at the ones that insist on licking me like a Tootsie Pop or jumping on me repeatedly. However, after reading Dogs, I can’t help but look at these animals sideways with a new caution. It’s an unnerving sensation not at all unlike the experience I had when first reading Stephen King’s Cujo many years ago. It took me several years to get over that experience and I have a feeling I will not feel completely at ease with Dogs for a while to come… Click here to read the rest of my review on Fatally Yours!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The style of this book seems a bit of a departure from what I usually expect from Kress, but it's still very good. Mixed with the science fiction set-up (all the dogs in a particular town begin biting, and the bitten humans come down with an inexplicable illness) is a solid mystery of the "whodunnit" type. There's a sympathetic female protagonist who muddles her way through the situation, desperately trying to figure out what is going on while she herself is suspected of being part of it.

I was very disappointed about one thing, though, and that is what caused me to lower my rating from a possible 4 to only a 3. I thought Kress took the cheap way out in the resolution in choosing to have Islamic terrorists be the group that plotted to unleash the virus. Early on, when we learned that Sanderson's husband had been an Arab, I thought Kress was going to take the high ground and point out that things are not always as they seem, that Muslims are not always the ones plotting terror. Tying all the threads of the plot together that way might have been more difficult, but it would've been worth it .

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nancy Kress is a superb writer, which is why this book survives its highly improbable plot. (I pause here to wonder if techno-thrillers have any other kind of plot, but I don't read enough of them to be sure.) In brief, the town of Tyler, MD is where a terrifying new disease appears - one that makes dogs become wildly aggressive. As a result, terrible things happen to small children (I was surprised that I could read through those parts) and the town gets locked down by FEMA and investigated by the CDC. The book is at its strongest when following retired FBI agent Tessa Sanderson and local animal control officer Jess Langstrom; a couple of subplots involving a young boy and a nurse are also well done. The other points of view are either overkill or barely credible, and the cut scenes in the White House could have been dispensed with even more easily. But seriously, most of it's Tessa or Jess, and while the plot doesn't hold up well to close examination, it's a pretty good read all the same.

[Eric Bagai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to watch Kress develop.

Her first novel/series was Beggars in Spain, an SF fantasy about very bright people and their relationship to the not-so-bright rest of humanity. Like SLAN, Stranger in a Strange Land, and similar coming-of-age novels, it works for everyone who has any reason to believe that they too are exceptional and only have problems with people not like them, which is pretty much everyone.

What keeps Beggars from being another in the series of "Me vs The Muggles," is that it's more nuanced than most such books. That and the plot line makes it worthwhile, despite the wooden characters.

In her next few novels/series, Kress becomes more adept (and works out her ex-husband issues). Now, in her 2008 "Dogs," she takes one of her own earlier efforts, changes the McGuffin to better reflect her disgust with post-Katrina FEMA and bureaucracy in general, and (with only a few lapses), creates real people as well as a well-carved action thriller. Congratulations, Nancy!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thriller from page one. The small town of Tyler near Washington D.C. is ground zero for a canine virus that is driving the family pet into a killing frenzy. Tessa is an ex-FBI agent who is a recent widow. Her late husband was an Arab from Tunisia which was a big problem with the bureau. Mix in small town politics and fervor, FEMA ineptitude and a terrorism connection and you have a page turner that you will not want to put down.

Kress develops the characters just enough to make them interesting but not so much as to bog down the story. At times some things are a little hard to piece together but in the end she wraps it up neatly and the twist at the very end caught me by surprise.
Once you read this you will look at fido in a different light I'll wager. A solid effort from a great writer.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting, which is okay, since I'm not sure what I got. I can articulate a bit but won't share too much. In a sentence, the tale read like a thinking person's thriller. That said, I generally feel connected to characters in the books I read, with Dogs that connection was there but I might have preferred it not to have been. You see, as I was re-shelving the slim volume, I found myself weighed down and a bit sad. That is to say, Kress' tale didn't have a Hollywood ending, but rather an ending that fit the whole of the narrative that had come before the closing chapters. The author is talented but I prefer my stories with a touch more of the old "happily ever after." (Call be sentimental.) This was very much a "life is tough" tale. Enjoyable, but biting.

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters in this book are interesting but could use development.
Some of the them are just dropped, because these thing happen.
I enjoyed the book often wondering where it was reading and in hind sight realized that it was obvious if one was a reader spy novels or conspiracy theories. Boils down to is individual and agencies of the US gov't will do what they wants to get what they thinks is best for the Gov't, and expand their power, or their objective.

Hits on the 'intelligence' of our leaders and the intelligence community.

Over all I think the book is worth reading, even if there are parts that for me do not work.

[Kelly Roll · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, one quibble This book is being marketed as sci fi but only in the very loosest of terms could it be considered speculative fiction. They would be doing the author a favor to put it into thrillers.

Liked the story of a small town impacted by a dog plague and what happens to the people within that town. The story would have been enough with just that plot. I found the side tracking into the terrorist aspects of the novel to be annoying. It took our heroine away form the town and I would have liked to see her interact more with the animal control officer, CDC etc.

[Elizabeth Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite different from anything else I've read from Kress, a contemporary thriller at the intersection of biological warfare, espionage and fanaticism. The characters are nicely drawn and the differing psychological reactions of the victims creates an interesting Rashomon effect. At times the main characters seem almost too capable and perfect to the point of admitting their imperfections. But it's a fun ride and does nothing to lower my opinion of the author's skill.

[Baglady · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting premise that tried to be accurate scientifically but falls apart in the details, trying to merge terrorist intrigue without really providing satisfying background until a lame "the government set up an experiment that went wrong" intrigue is suggested but not explored. Love stories added which are weak and don't make me feel like the characters had full emotional lives. But the premise is intersting.

[Jeannette Mazur · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I do enjoy Nancy Kress's writing style, this book was more for people who like dogs (or hate them?) It wasn't a horrible read, but it wasn't great. One of my favorite things about this book was the fact that it didn't end in rainbows and sunshine. I mean, I was heartbroken, but still a surprising ending. Not the best Nancy Kress book I've ever read. Solid 6/10, yet I wouldn't recommend it.

[Kip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't read a lot of Nancy Kress, but this was a fun book. Read pretty much in two sittings, a page turner. Don't read it if you're afraid of dogs!

* Couldn't finish
** I had nothing else to do
*** Passed the time, would be **** for genre / author fans
**** Everyone could enjoy this book
***** Everyone should read this book, I'll read it again

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a veterinarian, I was quite intriqued by a book with this title by Nancy Kress, whose series on the Sleepless I've read several times. This was a wonderful fast paced epidemiological thriller, but keep those tissues handy, you will need them by the end. Well written, excellent pacing and good characterizations. But don't read it on a plane!

[Randy Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrorism in the form of biological warfare hits a small Maryland town when dogs infected with a virus turn on their families. Soon most of the town dogs are rounded up and the CDC is ordered to put them all down both the infected and those that are not. The town is torn apart when half want to kill all the dogs in town the other half wanting to save the ones not infected.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the worst books I have ever read. The plot was unrealistic, the characters and their motives were unrealistic, and it had lots of nasty, gory, pointless violence. I have enjoyed some of Nancy Kress' previous books but really hated this one.

[Slynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept that really got me hooked. I would give this 4 stars except that there are some things that were left hanging and some things that felt rushed through. I would give this 3.5 stars. There were some bits that felt very unrealistic, which was a bit jarring.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so all of the dogs in this small town are infected by rabies-like disease which causes normally friendly and mild mannered dogs to flip out and attack-their owners, other dogs, etc. Unfortunately most of those attacked are children-which is heartbreaking.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Nancy Kress and I have to say that I like her writing style -- she moves the story along at a quick place and it does not drag in the middle. It was a good mystery book about an unusual subject.

[Jeremy Bagai · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read an uncorrected proof, which was interesting for all the grammatical and typographical errors.
There was basic momentum carried by canine horror scenes, but the book never gelled and the sum was much less her best (Beggars In Spain).

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if every dog in town went Cujo on their owners? A great Stephen King-like techno thriller that is brutal and unrelenting. It may not reinvent the wheel, but it manages to hone the good-dog-gone-bad trope to a razor's edge.