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Mad Dog
“You don’t need my expert opinion of the esoteric to know there was something very, very wrong with him.” - Father Matthews
Mad Dog Mooney was a ghost story. A legend that spooked even the most hardened of criminals. But when he came to Darkdale prison he proved all too real.
The inmates are shell shocked by his arrival and rumours persist of his strange behaviour, whilst accusations of cannibalism from the media are not forgotten.
As tensions grow amongst the prison population, a jail break is planned to take place under the ethereal glow of a full moon.
Mad Dog is an oral history, a compilation of testimonies from witnesses to the atrocity that befell Darkdale prison.
Mad Dog Mooney was a ghost story. A legend that spooked even the most hardened of criminals. But when he came to Darkdale prison he proved all too real.
The inmates are shell shocked by his arrival and rumours persist of his strange behaviour, whilst accusations of cannibalism from the media are not forgotten.
As tensions grow amongst the prison population, a jail break is planned to take place under the ethereal glow of a full moon.
Mad Dog is an oral history, a compilation of testimonies from witnesses to the atrocity that befell Darkdale prison.
- GenresWerewolves
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 19, 2017
6 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
J.R. Park
24 books22 followersJ. R. Park is a writer of Horror Fiction based in Bristol, UK.
Regularly citing Guy N Smith as an influence and inspiration, it was an interview with the said author in Darkside Magazine that was the catalyst for Park to begin his career in literature.
He writes his books as if they were video nasties beamed straight from the golden era of exploitation cinema.
Regularly citing Guy N Smith as an influence and inspiration, it was an interview with the said author in Darkside Magazine that was the catalyst for Park to begin his career in literature.
He writes his books as if they were video nasties beamed straight from the golden era of exploitation cinema.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 30, 2017
A wonderfully unique and gripping werewolf story with a twist. Awesome!
I have been most impressed with the books that I've read from The Sinister Horror Company, and this winning streak continues with Park's latest book. From the synopsis and the (excellent) cover, it is clear that the story involves a werewolf. But this is not your usual tortured soul, trapped in a vicious cycle fare. The title character is a violent criminal, a monstrous madman who, after a particularly nasty attack, is captured by the police and imprisoned in the overcrowded and falling-to-pieces Darkdale prison. The "main" character, if there is one, is Jimmy Eades, a prisoner with a personal connection to Mad Dog's latest victim. But this is no story of revenge. Some other prisoners don't take kindly to Mad Dog's arrival and events take a turn for the worst.
Park doesn't use a standard style to tell the story. Rather, he opts for using excerpts from interviews given after the inciting incident hinted at throughout. This unique style is a stroke of genius on his part, as it works really well with giving the reader just enough information to keep them intrigued without giving too much away at once. As the tension builds towards the incident, involving prisoners, guards, police and the Mad Dog, it is difficult to put the book down. Indeed, I read it in one sitting.
Without giving anything away, there is a twist that I didn't see coming. And it has clearly been meticulously planned by Park. I found myself scanning back through the previous chapters trying to find clues and there were none. It was executed perfectly.
Overall, it is a well-crafted story told in a unique way, with compelling characters and a brilliant twist. And there are a couple of violent scenes that had me squirming in my seat!
I have been most impressed with the books that I've read from The Sinister Horror Company, and this winning streak continues with Park's latest book. From the synopsis and the (excellent) cover, it is clear that the story involves a werewolf. But this is not your usual tortured soul, trapped in a vicious cycle fare. The title character is a violent criminal, a monstrous madman who, after a particularly nasty attack, is captured by the police and imprisoned in the overcrowded and falling-to-pieces Darkdale prison. The "main" character, if there is one, is Jimmy Eades, a prisoner with a personal connection to Mad Dog's latest victim. But this is no story of revenge. Some other prisoners don't take kindly to Mad Dog's arrival and events take a turn for the worst.
Park doesn't use a standard style to tell the story. Rather, he opts for using excerpts from interviews given after the inciting incident hinted at throughout. This unique style is a stroke of genius on his part, as it works really well with giving the reader just enough information to keep them intrigued without giving too much away at once. As the tension builds towards the incident, involving prisoners, guards, police and the Mad Dog, it is difficult to put the book down. Indeed, I read it in one sitting.
Without giving anything away, there is a twist that I didn't see coming. And it has clearly been meticulously planned by Park. I found myself scanning back through the previous chapters trying to find clues and there were none. It was executed perfectly.
Overall, it is a well-crafted story told in a unique way, with compelling characters and a brilliant twist. And there are a couple of violent scenes that had me squirming in my seat!
November 19, 2018
I was gripped from start to finish! The interview style the book is written in works really well for this story and still provides plenty of gruesome description and a sense of the action, just as you'd expect from a more conventional style narrative. J.R. Park also gives us a great twist at the end which I didn't see coming at all. Loved it! Would highly recommend to other werewolf horror fans.
December 13, 2018
Mad Dog is the 2017 release from JR Park. I went into this unprepared and blind, save for the knowledge of the general quality of work put out by the Sinister Horror Company as being top shelf.
To start off with, I'll be honest and admit that I was generally skeptical of the style of delivery of the narrative. Mad Dog details the events surrounding a prison riot. And the book is a direct recalling of events from the characters involved, in the form of snippets from interviews, intercut with each other. I often listen to books at work in the morning, using the text-to-speech feature on my phone. But I quickly realized this would not be a good idea with this book as the voices of the characters transition very quickly.
Despite my misgivings, the voice of the story ended up working quite well. Where I thought it was going to be messy it ended up being a perfect way to really build the tension in the pacing and made me want to read on to find out what had ultimately happened that these people are talking about retrospectively. It reminded me quite a bit of the foreshadowing that Stephen King layered into his novel, Carrie.
The physicality of the text moves quickly, jumping from person to person and it really augments the flow of the book, lending momentum to what could have been a dry recitation of historical events. Were I to have read all these interviews separately, I don't think the book would have had the same impact.
It's a tough decision to make and even harder to execute. When I see stories that are structurally designed in such a unique way, you can get something that's really cool or a narrative that feels overly gimmicky. In this case I felt like this was a fantastic way to present the plot. It takes a lot of game to deliver a story of this length in expository fashion and Park pulls it off brilliantly.
This is an appropriately brutal story but there was no point where I felt it was crossing a line or was just going for shock value. This is a quality story, told with care. The plot and twists are such that aren't completely new, but the way the story is told and the depth of the characters make it feel fresh and unique.
Mad Dog himself is enigmatic as a character. His presence is felt all over the story and the mystery of what he is or could be provides a ton of emotional drive to the plot. The viciousness of his crimes are disturbing and the air of possibility of something paranormal makes him highly effective as a character.
And in the end, we build up to a twist that is satisfying to the overall story. And again, as with the mechanics of the plot, Park takes an oft overused device and makes it work. It's one thing to throw in a twist for the sake of it. Park does as it should be done. The turn taken by the narrative is a surprise but as it is laid out before you, and after looking back over the story, you can see how you could have come to this conclusion if you had properly put the pieces together.
Mostly what I can say is that I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to this one. I have also read Park's book, Punch, and enjoyed that as well. And taking the two books together I can see what we have here is a fresh author who lends a unique voice to his projects. I'll be curious to see what other offerings we get from him, either in his existing catalogue or from titles yet to come.
To start off with, I'll be honest and admit that I was generally skeptical of the style of delivery of the narrative. Mad Dog details the events surrounding a prison riot. And the book is a direct recalling of events from the characters involved, in the form of snippets from interviews, intercut with each other. I often listen to books at work in the morning, using the text-to-speech feature on my phone. But I quickly realized this would not be a good idea with this book as the voices of the characters transition very quickly.
Despite my misgivings, the voice of the story ended up working quite well. Where I thought it was going to be messy it ended up being a perfect way to really build the tension in the pacing and made me want to read on to find out what had ultimately happened that these people are talking about retrospectively. It reminded me quite a bit of the foreshadowing that Stephen King layered into his novel, Carrie.
The physicality of the text moves quickly, jumping from person to person and it really augments the flow of the book, lending momentum to what could have been a dry recitation of historical events. Were I to have read all these interviews separately, I don't think the book would have had the same impact.
It's a tough decision to make and even harder to execute. When I see stories that are structurally designed in such a unique way, you can get something that's really cool or a narrative that feels overly gimmicky. In this case I felt like this was a fantastic way to present the plot. It takes a lot of game to deliver a story of this length in expository fashion and Park pulls it off brilliantly.
This is an appropriately brutal story but there was no point where I felt it was crossing a line or was just going for shock value. This is a quality story, told with care. The plot and twists are such that aren't completely new, but the way the story is told and the depth of the characters make it feel fresh and unique.
Mad Dog himself is enigmatic as a character. His presence is felt all over the story and the mystery of what he is or could be provides a ton of emotional drive to the plot. The viciousness of his crimes are disturbing and the air of possibility of something paranormal makes him highly effective as a character.
And in the end, we build up to a twist that is satisfying to the overall story. And again, as with the mechanics of the plot, Park takes an oft overused device and makes it work. It's one thing to throw in a twist for the sake of it. Park does as it should be done. The turn taken by the narrative is a surprise but as it is laid out before you, and after looking back over the story, you can see how you could have come to this conclusion if you had properly put the pieces together.
Mostly what I can say is that I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to this one. I have also read Park's book, Punch, and enjoyed that as well. And taking the two books together I can see what we have here is a fresh author who lends a unique voice to his projects. I'll be curious to see what other offerings we get from him, either in his existing catalogue or from titles yet to come.
May 3, 2018
Superb novella - a really smart presentation (both visually and conceptually), brilliant pacing, and some very effective twists. Highly recommended.
October 29, 2020
No matter how good, or short a novel is, I rarely steam through them as fast as I did this exceptionally gruesome werewolf tale. Told through retrospective interviews (and some existing tape recordings made by a character who doesn't make it to the end), it rattles along at a tremendous pace, telling an unashamedly violent horror/action story from multiple, not always reliable, viewpoints.
This is not a subtle book. But it IS a hugely entertaining one.
If I had to criticise 'Mad Dog', some of the interview transcripts sometimes feel too formal, too stilted, like someone giving testimony in court. And while that fits when the story is being told by Police officers (speaking like that becomes an occupational hazard after a while), for the other characters, their words just felt a little false.
But really, that's a very specific, minor, personalised criticism (I used to work on an oral history archive, interviewing and transcribing peoples' stories) of what is, in every other sense, a brilliant, blood-red werewolf tale that's exceptionally well-structured and recounted.
Someone recommended this to me, telling me I'd love it. They weren't wrong.
This is not a subtle book. But it IS a hugely entertaining one.
If I had to criticise 'Mad Dog', some of the interview transcripts sometimes feel too formal, too stilted, like someone giving testimony in court. And while that fits when the story is being told by Police officers (speaking like that becomes an occupational hazard after a while), for the other characters, their words just felt a little false.
But really, that's a very specific, minor, personalised criticism (I used to work on an oral history archive, interviewing and transcribing peoples' stories) of what is, in every other sense, a brilliant, blood-red werewolf tale that's exceptionally well-structured and recounted.
Someone recommended this to me, telling me I'd love it. They weren't wrong.
July 20, 2020
Told as an oral history, Mad Dog is the story of Mad Dog Mooney, a man incarcerated at Darkdale Prison for terrible crimes. It reads as a series of witness testimonies from a number of recurring characters, in particular, Jimmy Eades whose girlfriend had a horrific encounter with Mooney, leaving him eager for revenge.
It's a great concept, the brutality of a prison with the raw animal violence of a werewolf. As the full moon nears, tensions in the prison are at their maximum, leading to horrific and gruesome events.
The characters all feel 'real as they try to put their spin on events. There's certainly bias there, and differing opinions of the events.
It moves at a quick pace, and the ending surprised me.
It's a great concept, the brutality of a prison with the raw animal violence of a werewolf. As the full moon nears, tensions in the prison are at their maximum, leading to horrific and gruesome events.
The characters all feel 'real as they try to put their spin on events. There's certainly bias there, and differing opinions of the events.
It moves at a quick pace, and the ending surprised me.
September 23, 2018
Superb
This is a fantastically dark tale of a prison that just happens to have a werewolf as an inmate. Similarly to The Themis Files (but very, very different), the story unfolds through interviews. In lesser hands, this wouldn't work,but Park knows what he's doing and you can't turn the pages quickly enough. This is a superb book, one of the best I've read this year, and is highly recommended.
This is a fantastically dark tale of a prison that just happens to have a werewolf as an inmate. Similarly to The Themis Files (but very, very different), the story unfolds through interviews. In lesser hands, this wouldn't work,but Park knows what he's doing and you can't turn the pages quickly enough. This is a superb book, one of the best I've read this year, and is highly recommended.
March 7, 2022
Really haven't been one for novels that have different points of view. But this one was an except. The plot twist at the end was well worth it. I'd love to see this as a live adaptation, tv series or movie.
February 22, 2020
Fantastic book. Love the story and the way it progresses.
I also loved the narrative style and all the different characters. It just pulls you along and was really enjoyable.
I also loved the narrative style and all the different characters. It just pulls you along and was really enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews