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Hater #3
Them or Us
Them or UsMoody, David
361 pages
First published January 1, 2011
55 people are currently reading
1827 people want to read
About the author
David Moody
77 books1,257 followersDavid Moody first released Hater in 2006, and without an agent, succeeded in selling the film rights for the novel to Mark Johnson (producer, Breaking Bad) and Guillermo Del Toro (director, The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth). Moody's seminal zombie novel Autumn was made into a movie starring Dexter Fletcher and David Carradine. He has an unhealthy fascination with the end of the world and likes to write books about ordinary folks going through absolute hell. With the publication of continuing Hater and Autumn stories, Moody has cemented his reputation as a writer of suspense-laced SF/horror, and "farther out" genre books of all description.
Find out more about his work at www.davidmoody.net and www.infectedbooks.co.uk, and join Moody's mailing list to keep up with new releases.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 202 reviews
April 13, 2020
hmm, so as far as the "look at me, i am taking the 'zombie' novel to new and interesting places" angle goes, i think this book delivers. but it is definitely a more subdued and reflective novel than the two that came before it. and that's fine, but it is not helping out my "spooky spook month" very much.
because, hey, i am all about the maturation of the zombie novel: Zone One, Raising Stony Mayhall, and The Reapers Are the Angels are all fine examples of novels that are and are not books about zombies, and which elevate the genre into more sophisticated terrain.and this is, technically, not a zombie novel because it is not about the undead, but about a plague whose symptoms are divisive; that pits the infected against the unchanged, so it boils down to the same line-drawing between what is "human" and what just used to be human. but the first two books in this trilogy, from what i remember, were more action-based, and i was hoping for a conclusion that was in keeping with the tone of those, rather than a self-searching novel about humanity and power struggles and social morality and justice etc.
as a stand-alone novel, i think i would have liked this more: a bleaker-than-bleak picture of humanity whittled down to its breaking point after a game-changing event, where individuals must re-establish social codes and re-evaluate just how important the social element of society is, and if there is any place for it under the new reality, or if the needs of the individual supersede whatever ingrained community-feeling keeps trying to re-assert itself.
it is interesting, but only occasionally bloody, and parts one and two made me anticipate more "bloody rarrrr",less "thinky hmmmmm".
i think if one were to read just this book, without any expectations, most would love it. i just don't think it was a "fair" way to end the trilogy.
bloody raaarrr pleez!!
come to my blog!
May 6, 2012
This was a fabulous conclusion to the Hater series. It was as depressing as they come, but it was true to how it things would be which is classic Moody style. You really felt for Danny in this one. Wow, was he put through enough or what? I was annoyed with him in the second book because all he wanted to do was find his daughter Ellis, even though he never really cared for his kids to begin with. But in this one, you felt so sorry for how much he was suffering and how everybody used him for their benefit because of his abilities.
This book had some awesome bad guys in it. That Hinchcliffe was such a mean bastard. What a leader he made, scaring everybody into submission to him. He only cared about himself that no one messed with him or else they knew he would kill them. Food and fear was all he needed to rule the Haters and it worked well for him. Poor Danny was his bitch the whole time infiltrating areas as a spy to find more Unchanged for Hinchcliffe to kill. Because as Danny said, "That was all we still have in common: We just keep going. Them or us, even when common sense says it's time to stop struggling and roll over and play dead, we all still keep fighting to survive, whatever the cost. "
Moody did such a great job portraying how dire everything became. The world was ruined and no one was rebuilding it. The leaders, no matter who they were, only cared about them being the only one in control of everyone. The Hater mentality to hate sure left no room for trusting anyone or being able to relax and let your guard down. Instead, everyone had to suspect everyone and watch their back. That was how it was between the Haters and the Unchanged, but that still persisted between Haters too. It was how they thought and Danny knew it would never change. They would keep killing each other til they wiped out the human race.
But Danny did his part to offer some glimmer of hope because he could hold the hate and he knew the future of humans could only be with the Unchanged. When he saw innocent Unchanged children playing. Playing for pete's sake, not fighting, he knew what he had to do. I couldn't believe all that Danny went through in this book and how long he held on. But he had a pretty good reason to. What a hero he ended up being. That poor sap from the first book that was afraid of his boss Tina and the people who yelled at him who didn't want to pay their parking tickets. Our Danny sure did come a long way in this series. I won't soon forget our most unlikely of heroes who never knew he was one.
This book had some awesome bad guys in it. That Hinchcliffe was such a mean bastard. What a leader he made, scaring everybody into submission to him. He only cared about himself that no one messed with him or else they knew he would kill them. Food and fear was all he needed to rule the Haters and it worked well for him. Poor Danny was his bitch the whole time infiltrating areas as a spy to find more Unchanged for Hinchcliffe to kill. Because as Danny said, "That was all we still have in common: We just keep going. Them or us, even when common sense says it's time to stop struggling and roll over and play dead, we all still keep fighting to survive, whatever the cost. "
Moody did such a great job portraying how dire everything became. The world was ruined and no one was rebuilding it. The leaders, no matter who they were, only cared about them being the only one in control of everyone. The Hater mentality to hate sure left no room for trusting anyone or being able to relax and let your guard down. Instead, everyone had to suspect everyone and watch their back. That was how it was between the Haters and the Unchanged, but that still persisted between Haters too. It was how they thought and Danny knew it would never change. They would keep killing each other til they wiped out the human race.
But Danny did his part to offer some glimmer of hope because he could hold the hate and he knew the future of humans could only be with the Unchanged. When he saw innocent Unchanged children playing. Playing for pete's sake, not fighting, he knew what he had to do. I couldn't believe all that Danny went through in this book and how long he held on. But he had a pretty good reason to. What a hero he ended up being. That poor sap from the first book that was afraid of his boss Tina and the people who yelled at him who didn't want to pay their parking tickets. Our Danny sure did come a long way in this series. I won't soon forget our most unlikely of heroes who never knew he was one.
May 4, 2012
4.5 Stars
The final book in the Hater trilogy by David Moody did not disappoint. The series which started out with a large scope devolves down to Danny as the only real point of view. By this point of the series, those whom have read these books know what the shape of the world is for Danny. This post-apocalyptic thriller does not let down it its morose and bleak take on humanity.
I am a huge Moody fan and love his writing style, his raw take on the fall of our world, and his ability to make us feel the overwhelming sense of loss and of hopelessness that our protagonist faces. Danny has grown on me as a lead character. He starts out the series a whiny, pomp-ass, pathetic, and truly unhappy man, who is simply going through the motions of life with no real goal in mind, and no sense of purpose. Three books later and Danny has had his personality chipped away to its raw center. At his core it turns out that Danny is a survivor. He is also a person of great resourcefulness, mostly of the mind, but at times he can achieve physical greatness as well. Danny never is able to accept anything good about himself; he simply views his continuing breath on luck, on circumstance, and on being in the right place at the right time. Moody made me want to see if there was any hope left at all for our world and for our hero.
This book is simply the continuation of the first two books. Like book two, the plot has been whittled down to the survival of Danny, and in some aspects the fate of the world. This novel is a good conclusion to the series. I enjoyed the following passage:
"“The first person I killed,” I tell all of them, shouting to make myself heard over their nervous voices and the sound of the wind battering this exposed shack, “was my father-in-law. And do you know why I did it? You want to know what made me kill Harry and the hundreds of other people I went on to kill after him? I killed them all because I thought that if I didn’t, they’d kill me. Do you understand that? People like me killed people like you because we thought we had to do it before you killed us. Does that make any sense? It doesn’t to me. Almost a year further on and I still don’t understand why. But does it sound familiar? It should, because you’re saying exactly the same thing now. Kill him before he kills us. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can put an end to it today.”"
The Hater series is Moody’s unique take on the familiar post-apocalyptic thriller that are so common today. It is not a zombie series, and that is alright by me as this series has a real feel to it, and one that is very easy for me to wrap my head around. Moody is an author that all fans of this genre should read. The Hater series and The Autumn series are fantastic…
The final book in the Hater trilogy by David Moody did not disappoint. The series which started out with a large scope devolves down to Danny as the only real point of view. By this point of the series, those whom have read these books know what the shape of the world is for Danny. This post-apocalyptic thriller does not let down it its morose and bleak take on humanity.
I am a huge Moody fan and love his writing style, his raw take on the fall of our world, and his ability to make us feel the overwhelming sense of loss and of hopelessness that our protagonist faces. Danny has grown on me as a lead character. He starts out the series a whiny, pomp-ass, pathetic, and truly unhappy man, who is simply going through the motions of life with no real goal in mind, and no sense of purpose. Three books later and Danny has had his personality chipped away to its raw center. At his core it turns out that Danny is a survivor. He is also a person of great resourcefulness, mostly of the mind, but at times he can achieve physical greatness as well. Danny never is able to accept anything good about himself; he simply views his continuing breath on luck, on circumstance, and on being in the right place at the right time. Moody made me want to see if there was any hope left at all for our world and for our hero.
This book is simply the continuation of the first two books. Like book two, the plot has been whittled down to the survival of Danny, and in some aspects the fate of the world. This novel is a good conclusion to the series. I enjoyed the following passage:
"“The first person I killed,” I tell all of them, shouting to make myself heard over their nervous voices and the sound of the wind battering this exposed shack, “was my father-in-law. And do you know why I did it? You want to know what made me kill Harry and the hundreds of other people I went on to kill after him? I killed them all because I thought that if I didn’t, they’d kill me. Do you understand that? People like me killed people like you because we thought we had to do it before you killed us. Does that make any sense? It doesn’t to me. Almost a year further on and I still don’t understand why. But does it sound familiar? It should, because you’re saying exactly the same thing now. Kill him before he kills us. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can put an end to it today.”"
The Hater series is Moody’s unique take on the familiar post-apocalyptic thriller that are so common today. It is not a zombie series, and that is alright by me as this series has a real feel to it, and one that is very easy for me to wrap my head around. Moody is an author that all fans of this genre should read. The Hater series and The Autumn series are fantastic…
May 29, 2017
Felt longer, slower and more boring than the other two in the series, pretty predictable, making me wonder numerous times if there's any solid plot, with an indecisive and whining and obnoxious main character.
Also, the causes of the transformation are never expalined..
Also, the causes of the transformation are never expalined..
March 30, 2012
This is exactly what good postapocalyptic fiction should be like. Actually, this is what a book should be like in general. It should make you think, feel and not be able to put it down. In this powerhouse of a conclusion to Hater trilogy, Moody shows us a horrifying new world and the staggering ramifications of hate. What makes these books unique is the combination of great storytelling, incredible action, phenomenal pacing and at the same time very interesting, almost philosophical, observations on human nature. Danny McCoyne has got to be one of the best fictional characters in recent history. The whole "everyday man struggling to survive in a changing world" thing done perfectly here. I highly recommend this trilogy.
June 15, 2012
Kind of awful. This third volume of the Hater trilogy is so miserable, so hopeless, and so thoroughly depressing that it seems like it just must be leading up to some kind of profound ending. Nothing could be further from the truth. Danny is back in full whining and worrying mode making this novel an exercise in frustration. Even when he finally makes a good decision, it takes him so long to get there, agonizing and whining endlessly, that you just don't care any more. I kept wanting Danny to become likable and he just never does. It's not badly written, it has a few interesting scenes, but all in all this is one of the most disappointing books I've ever read.
November 3, 2011
In THEM OR US by David Moody, the final book in the HATER trilogy, the war between the Haters and the Unchanged is almost over. As the Unchanged near extinction after a nuclear exchange, the Haters begin to turn on each other. This review includes some reflections on the complete trilogy, already a classic in the genre, and may include spoilers or hints of spoilers, so read at your risk.
HATER tells the story of an office worker crushed by a mind-numbing civil service job, nagging wife and children, judgmental father in law–a life filled with debt and demands and worry. Then people mysteriously go berserk for no apparent reason and begin killing everyone around them. The media dubs these people Haters. Soon, so many fall for the Hate that the government is forced to take drastic action to exterminate the menace.
In HATER, our sympathies are jarred as we enter the mind of a Hater, and begin to root for them as the Unchanged choose a Final Solution–wholesale extermination. After seeing Haters brutally murder people for so long in the book, this switch is done so skillfully, the twist itself so surprising and strangely cathartic for the reader, that Moody has permanently earned himself status as a master of the genre. The final vision is one of civil war, a military firing missiles at itself, a horde of Haters descending on a town and slaughtering the Other in their beds, and, in a strange moment of catharsis, we actually cheer them on. The ending EXPLODES.
Moody’s second book in the trilogy is DOG BLOOD. Sequels are tough, especially for a novel like HATER, which packed so much punch, but he aced it. It’s got all the elements of an exciting apocalyptic horror novel while adding Moody’s trademark ability to make you care about the very real, flesh-and-blood people in his story. While the experience of reading the book would probably be richer if you read HATER first, it’s not necessary, and I would suggest this as an opportunity (to read another great book), not a detractor. The story is incredibly sad as we realize that the Hate has made the concept of family obsolete; the Hater children are all feral monsters, and an Unchanged mother hugs her little girl and tells her she loves her even as her girl kills her. The story ends with a massive bang–a mushroom cloud over a major city, the ultimate symbol of the Hate, and we’re not even sure who dropped it. In the rubble of what was once England, both sides have reached a point where they are willing to kill themselves if only they kill the enemy as well.
I did have a criticism of DOG BLOOD, however. In this book, the story is as personal as HATER, focusing on a Hater father trying to find his Hater daughter among the Unchanged, but my sympathies ended up being torn. The Haters are so brutal and murderous in this book I found them hard to sympathize with; in HATER, Moody masterfully made you sympathize with them nonetheless because the Hate makes them believe they are not the Haters, but everybody else; in other words, the Haters are terrified of the Unchanged, and try to kill them out of self defense–the Hate being based on fear, not real hate. This important element was missing in the second book, and in my view it was a missed opportunity–for the Haters to say THEY are the Unchanged and the true Haters are actually everybody else–for both sides of the human race to believe the other is the Hater, not them.
In THEM OR US, the spectacular finish to the trilogy, Danny McCoyne finds himself at the center of a pivotal confrontation between the urge to hate and the need to try to rebuild. Much of the conflict is internal among the surviving Haters, reviving the reader’s sympathy. The world is dying and the Haters are still fighting, this time each other in a final contest of survival over meager food and water supplies. Danny McCoyne, scarred and tired, is stuck squarely in this contest, and we care about what happens to him.
THEM OR US is classic David Moody, whose nightmarish apocalyptic visions are always dark and violent, but offer a ray of hope. In Moody’s stories, the people we come to care about are often brutalized, and yet the human race itself has a chance to go on. But which side of the human race? That is the essential question in THEM OR US. The Haters may be better equipped to fight, but not necessarily survive. Their obsession with the Hate, and fighting, may disqualify them from the right to continue to the human race.
HATER tells the story of an office worker crushed by a mind-numbing civil service job, nagging wife and children, judgmental father in law–a life filled with debt and demands and worry. Then people mysteriously go berserk for no apparent reason and begin killing everyone around them. The media dubs these people Haters. Soon, so many fall for the Hate that the government is forced to take drastic action to exterminate the menace.
In HATER, our sympathies are jarred as we enter the mind of a Hater, and begin to root for them as the Unchanged choose a Final Solution–wholesale extermination. After seeing Haters brutally murder people for so long in the book, this switch is done so skillfully, the twist itself so surprising and strangely cathartic for the reader, that Moody has permanently earned himself status as a master of the genre. The final vision is one of civil war, a military firing missiles at itself, a horde of Haters descending on a town and slaughtering the Other in their beds, and, in a strange moment of catharsis, we actually cheer them on. The ending EXPLODES.
Moody’s second book in the trilogy is DOG BLOOD. Sequels are tough, especially for a novel like HATER, which packed so much punch, but he aced it. It’s got all the elements of an exciting apocalyptic horror novel while adding Moody’s trademark ability to make you care about the very real, flesh-and-blood people in his story. While the experience of reading the book would probably be richer if you read HATER first, it’s not necessary, and I would suggest this as an opportunity (to read another great book), not a detractor. The story is incredibly sad as we realize that the Hate has made the concept of family obsolete; the Hater children are all feral monsters, and an Unchanged mother hugs her little girl and tells her she loves her even as her girl kills her. The story ends with a massive bang–a mushroom cloud over a major city, the ultimate symbol of the Hate, and we’re not even sure who dropped it. In the rubble of what was once England, both sides have reached a point where they are willing to kill themselves if only they kill the enemy as well.
I did have a criticism of DOG BLOOD, however. In this book, the story is as personal as HATER, focusing on a Hater father trying to find his Hater daughter among the Unchanged, but my sympathies ended up being torn. The Haters are so brutal and murderous in this book I found them hard to sympathize with; in HATER, Moody masterfully made you sympathize with them nonetheless because the Hate makes them believe they are not the Haters, but everybody else; in other words, the Haters are terrified of the Unchanged, and try to kill them out of self defense–the Hate being based on fear, not real hate. This important element was missing in the second book, and in my view it was a missed opportunity–for the Haters to say THEY are the Unchanged and the true Haters are actually everybody else–for both sides of the human race to believe the other is the Hater, not them.
In THEM OR US, the spectacular finish to the trilogy, Danny McCoyne finds himself at the center of a pivotal confrontation between the urge to hate and the need to try to rebuild. Much of the conflict is internal among the surviving Haters, reviving the reader’s sympathy. The world is dying and the Haters are still fighting, this time each other in a final contest of survival over meager food and water supplies. Danny McCoyne, scarred and tired, is stuck squarely in this contest, and we care about what happens to him.
THEM OR US is classic David Moody, whose nightmarish apocalyptic visions are always dark and violent, but offer a ray of hope. In Moody’s stories, the people we come to care about are often brutalized, and yet the human race itself has a chance to go on. But which side of the human race? That is the essential question in THEM OR US. The Haters may be better equipped to fight, but not necessarily survive. Their obsession with the Hate, and fighting, may disqualify them from the right to continue to the human race.
February 9, 2015
This was an interesting conclusion to the trilogy. At first, I wasn't sure there was any plot, but as it got going, I found that I became engrossed in the author's depiction of how the society developed when it was torn down and had to rebuild. The emergence of various classes and the overthrow of those in powerful was well portrayed. I also liked the development of Danny McCoyne. I became a fan of the trilogy based on the first book, where you didn't know who was a Hater and who was an Unchanged; unfortunately, that theme did not continue. Although I enjoyed the series overall, I miss the mystery of the first book.
December 26, 2020
The last in the series and also the least entertaining. I should have ended reading after book two. The unchanged are almost all extinct when this story starts. Danny is on his own again but stuck working for a ruthless leader in a small town while most of British Isle is a nuclear wasteland. He is constantly trying to find a way out and a way to be on his own.
What I enjoyed about the other two books was simply not here. I liked the hiding and violence between the two sides and seeing how the story arc escalated. This simply had a bunch of one sided, horrible characters that were to hard to like.
What I enjoyed about the other two books was simply not here. I liked the hiding and violence between the two sides and seeing how the story arc escalated. This simply had a bunch of one sided, horrible characters that were to hard to like.
November 7, 2011
The final novel in the Hater series finds Danny McCoyne locked in a passive-aggressive rivalry with Hinchcliffe, the sadistic leader of a sizeable community of Haters. Strong, angry dialogue drives the plot forward, and some thoughtful, yet sparse, social subtext from Moody transforms Them or Us into more than just a basic holocaust survival novel. A contemplative, highly satisfying conclusion to his apocalyptic trilogy.
January 22, 2012
Disappointing. Its just dragged along with little of the suspense seen in the previous books.
February 1, 2012
This was a serious letdown after the first two.
August 2, 2016
Dark, dark ending, but with just the faintest gleam of hope.
February 21, 2025
This was so absolutely boring. I guess maybe, it's me, who really only wants to hear about the beginning of the end of the world aka, book one, Hater... which I enjoyed.
The rest of the series was kind of a boring mix of everything with your typical run of the mill post apocalyptic storyline. Search for someone, stay away from bad people, find your place in this new world... etc etc. It's a bit of an overdone, saturated world and if you don't do anything to make it memorable, it doesn't stand out. Sad. Book one gave me hopes.
The rest of the series was kind of a boring mix of everything with your typical run of the mill post apocalyptic storyline. Search for someone, stay away from bad people, find your place in this new world... etc etc. It's a bit of an overdone, saturated world and if you don't do anything to make it memorable, it doesn't stand out. Sad. Book one gave me hopes.
April 3, 2019
Salgın serisinin ilk iki kitabına bayılmıştım, ama bu son kitap biraz zorlama olmuş sanki. Büyük hayal kırıklığı yaşadım okurken, hatta zor bitirdim. Keşke ikinci kitabı biraz daha kalın yapıp, son eklemeleri oraya yazıp bitirseydi yazar. İşte o zaman süper bir seri olurdu. Bence gereksiz uzatılmış. Okumak zorundaydım çünkü sonunda ne olacağını bilmem gerekiyordu. O konuda da pek tatmin olduğum söylenemez. Serinin sonuna yakışır bir kitap değildi. Öfkeliler ve Değişmemişler bu sefer beni ne merak ettirdi ne de gerdi.
December 28, 2017
Poor Danny McCoyne. This bastard has been through it all and then still gets put through more. I thought this was the most interesting and best of the 3 books so far in that you got to see more of the strategy/thinking behind all the factions, action was interspersed with thinking/planning and lots of last second twists.
January 25, 2022
Great ending to a terrific Trilogy. Loved how unpredictable these novels were.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2021
2.5 stars
September 21, 2017
TLDR:
An unforgettable journey that has stayed with me for 6 years. Worth reading and worth reading again.
My rating: 4 forgotten memories out of 5
The Review is hidden somewhere in here :
I have a huge pack of ebooks my partner gave me as a present about 5-6 years back. I think there are at least 250 authors, and almost every book by each author. A lot of the books appear to be little known works or cult gems by not very well known authors, take Mira Grants Newsflesh #1-3 (which is actually highly popular now), Scott Smiths Contagious, Nate Kenyons Sparrow Rock, and Walter Greatshells fantastic Xombies Trilogy. I was exposed to and, therefore, reading popular books jammed firmly in the limelight because they rated well with the critics or the author had been around the block countless times.
I was never going to find Ellis Reid, Daniel H. Wilson or Jason Gurley anywhere on a Top Sellers or Popular Reads list, maybe on a user-made list of Best Books, or on a genre specific list, but they'd have to pick up some kind of momentum before they could get on a list.
Honestly, these days it's difficult to find work by some of the better known authors, like Neal Stephenson and the absolute genius Hugh Howey, simply because there is so much stuff out there to read. Everything drowns under the weight of what's popular - the Maze Runners, the Divergents, the Hungry Gamers, The Girl Who Kicked, Played, and Tattooed; Else, it suffocates under the weight of that which has always been, Stephen King, J.K.Rowling, even my beloved Atwood, Pratchett, and Gaiman, I'm looking at you - you are all guilty.
This pack of 1000+ eBooks had a few authors I'd not heard of. I had a look at and passed judgments based on the covers (cardinal sin, I know), whacked a few (200 or so) into my ereader (my phone, Amazon, and it works just swell) and decided I would read one of these little known beauties between each popular/well known book I consume. Sometimes I forget these marvelous creations are there because they invariably drown under the weight of 'last read' and 'last opened'.
Them or Us by David Moody is one of the many books I threw into my ereader and thought, 'I'll get around to that one at some point'. Then things came up, bigger, better, cooler looking books bullied Them or Us down to the bottom of my 'up next' list. Then, as so often happens in our modern age, my phone died, taking all its contents to Phone Hell with it. Reinstalling my life onto the fragile little plastic and mineral, constructed-by-slave-labor-but-still-not-an-apple device, I thought, 'it's been so long since I put Them or Us on here, I'm not going to put it back on. I haven't read it yet, so I probably never will'.
About three years ago I remembered a wonderful little book I'd read in 2011#, wherein the protagonist likes to read. There had been some kind of epic world-ending event, and things had turned to cow patties. People were divided, the idea of civilisation - people living together in a civil manner - was nout but an upsetting distant memory best left in the wind with the dust. Strong people (men with guns) were in charge, weak people were treated the way you'd expect them to be treated by strong people (men with guns) when a cataclysmic world-ending event had happened not too long before. And, as I previously mentioned, there were books. Now, what was the name of that book.......
Let's just quickly go through my ebook collection and find it. Won't take long.
I recall sitting in a house, a safe and quiet space away from all the noise and anger and pushing and starvation and dirt, away from the end of the world, away from the ceaseless nagging of the ever-present need to survive. I recall sitting on a blue sleeping-bag, reading and feeling almost free. I recall looking at the dirty floorboards, and hoping no one ever finds my stash hidden beneath. I recall thinking about feeling sick after eating that dog meat. I recall someone knocking on the door while I was trying to read. I recall a few other bits and bobs but not much. Just that wonderful feeling of being alone reading, not having to worry about anything but the next sentence, all the while the world turns to crap outside.
Hmm... I can't find that book yet. Perhaps it was a paper book. I'll have another look for it in my ebooks and my proper books.
I went through my extensive collection of books and eBooks trying to figure out which book my recollection was from. I didn't bother looking in books I categorically knew I had not read. I searched WorldCat, LoC, etc, etc, ad infinitum. I scoured tags for salient terms. I asked on various fora and threads around the interwebs. I searched my personal library time and time again and again, and again. I included books I'd not read but had skimmed or had a quick flick through.
Maybe I'll just read lots of other books so I can forget about the stupid thing. This is like trying to forget a bad breakup with someone you still love.
As my searches continued to prove fruitless, I started including ridiculous stuff like my uni text books, just in case it was a weird case study or some strange lecture note. I searched through my relatives books thinking perhaps I'd borrowed a book, I don't ever borrow from anyone but Larry though. Each time I searched and failed, I widened my terms a little more.
I think I need to see a doctor. I can't stop thinking about this book. Or was it a dream. Maybe it's from the book I'm writing. Or the one I'm not writing. Am I even real anymore. Help me. Please.
I read The Maze Runner in 2014 so I knew it couldn't be that, it was far to recent. Yet this morning I again had such strong feeling that my recollection may have been just a snippet from the third or fourth Maze Runner installment. And again, it wasn't the third or fourth Maze Runner title. Not even close. Going down my list of ebooks in my Calibre library I saw Them or Us and decided to put it on my ereader again, for when I finish my current 'little known' read The Brain Eaters by Gary Brandner. I had a quick flick through Them or Us to see what genre it was and ....
... Holy mother of Glorbus! its my hecking book. Turns out the Them or Us file was last opened December 2011. So I guess I did read it, as one of the first from the ebook pack my partner gave me. Now I can begin the long road to putting my sanity back together. Piece by fragile piece.
A message for my partner:
These past years have been so wonderful. With you by my side everything is possible. You are my rock. You are my oxygen. But, mate, I'm onto you. You tried to send me insane and you failed. Gifts of 1000s of ebooks will forthwith be rejected. You monster.*winks*
#(I knew the year because I recalled where I read it and I only lived in that place for a year)
My rating: 4 forgotten memories out of 5
The Review is hidden somewhere in here :
I have a huge pack of ebooks my partner gave me as a present about 5-6 years back. I think there are at least 250 authors, and almost every book by each author. A lot of the books appear to be little known works or cult gems by not very well known authors, take Mira Grants Newsflesh #1-3 (which is actually highly popular now), Scott Smiths Contagious, Nate Kenyons Sparrow Rock, and Walter Greatshells fantastic Xombies Trilogy. I was exposed to and, therefore, reading popular books jammed firmly in the limelight because they rated well with the critics or the author had been around the block countless times.
I was never going to find Ellis Reid, Daniel H. Wilson or Jason Gurley anywhere on a Top Sellers or Popular Reads list, maybe on a user-made list of Best Books, or on a genre specific list, but they'd have to pick up some kind of momentum before they could get on a list.
Honestly, these days it's difficult to find work by some of the better known authors, like Neal Stephenson and the absolute genius Hugh Howey, simply because there is so much stuff out there to read. Everything drowns under the weight of what's popular - the Maze Runners, the Divergents, the Hungry Gamers, The Girl Who Kicked, Played, and Tattooed; Else, it suffocates under the weight of that which has always been, Stephen King, J.K.Rowling, even my beloved Atwood, Pratchett, and Gaiman, I'm looking at you - you are all guilty.
This pack of 1000+ eBooks had a few authors I'd not heard of. I had a look at and passed judgments based on the covers (cardinal sin, I know), whacked a few (200 or so) into my ereader (my phone, Amazon, and it works just swell) and decided I would read one of these little known beauties between each popular/well known book I consume. Sometimes I forget these marvelous creations are there because they invariably drown under the weight of 'last read' and 'last opened'.
Them or Us by David Moody is one of the many books I threw into my ereader and thought, 'I'll get around to that one at some point'. Then things came up, bigger, better, cooler looking books bullied Them or Us down to the bottom of my 'up next' list. Then, as so often happens in our modern age, my phone died, taking all its contents to Phone Hell with it. Reinstalling my life onto the fragile little plastic and mineral, constructed-by-slave-labor-but-still-not-an-apple device, I thought, 'it's been so long since I put Them or Us on here, I'm not going to put it back on. I haven't read it yet, so I probably never will'.
About three years ago I remembered a wonderful little book I'd read in 2011#, wherein the protagonist likes to read. There had been some kind of epic world-ending event, and things had turned to cow patties. People were divided, the idea of civilisation - people living together in a civil manner - was nout but an upsetting distant memory best left in the wind with the dust. Strong people (men with guns) were in charge, weak people were treated the way you'd expect them to be treated by strong people (men with guns) when a cataclysmic world-ending event had happened not too long before. And, as I previously mentioned, there were books. Now, what was the name of that book.......
Let's just quickly go through my ebook collection and find it. Won't take long.
I recall sitting in a house, a safe and quiet space away from all the noise and anger and pushing and starvation and dirt, away from the end of the world, away from the ceaseless nagging of the ever-present need to survive. I recall sitting on a blue sleeping-bag, reading and feeling almost free. I recall looking at the dirty floorboards, and hoping no one ever finds my stash hidden beneath. I recall thinking about feeling sick after eating that dog meat. I recall someone knocking on the door while I was trying to read. I recall a few other bits and bobs but not much. Just that wonderful feeling of being alone reading, not having to worry about anything but the next sentence, all the while the world turns to crap outside.
Hmm... I can't find that book yet. Perhaps it was a paper book. I'll have another look for it in my ebooks and my proper books.
I went through my extensive collection of books and eBooks trying to figure out which book my recollection was from. I didn't bother looking in books I categorically knew I had not read. I searched WorldCat, LoC, etc, etc, ad infinitum. I scoured tags for salient terms. I asked on various fora and threads around the interwebs. I searched my personal library time and time again and again, and again. I included books I'd not read but had skimmed or had a quick flick through.
Maybe I'll just read lots of other books so I can forget about the stupid thing. This is like trying to forget a bad breakup with someone you still love.
As my searches continued to prove fruitless, I started including ridiculous stuff like my uni text books, just in case it was a weird case study or some strange lecture note. I searched through my relatives books thinking perhaps I'd borrowed a book, I don't ever borrow from anyone but Larry though. Each time I searched and failed, I widened my terms a little more.
I think I need to see a doctor. I can't stop thinking about this book. Or was it a dream. Maybe it's from the book I'm writing. Or the one I'm not writing. Am I even real anymore. Help me. Please.
I read The Maze Runner in 2014 so I knew it couldn't be that, it was far to recent. Yet this morning I again had such strong feeling that my recollection may have been just a snippet from the third or fourth Maze Runner installment. And again, it wasn't the third or fourth Maze Runner title. Not even close. Going down my list of ebooks in my Calibre library I saw Them or Us and decided to put it on my ereader again, for when I finish my current 'little known' read The Brain Eaters by Gary Brandner. I had a quick flick through Them or Us to see what genre it was and ....
... Holy mother of Glorbus! its my hecking book. Turns out the Them or Us file was last opened December 2011. So I guess I did read it, as one of the first from the ebook pack my partner gave me. Now I can begin the long road to putting my sanity back together. Piece by fragile piece.
A message for my partner:
These past years have been so wonderful. With you by my side everything is possible. You are my rock. You are my oxygen. But, mate, I'm onto you. You tried to send me insane and you failed. Gifts of 1000s of ebooks will forthwith be rejected. You monster.*winks*
#(I knew the year because I recalled where I read it and I only lived in that place for a year)
December 5, 2011
You know, David Moody’s “Them or Us” is sort of how I see the world eventually going to Hell — like, maybe we won’t succumb to some weird glitch in our DNA that suddenly makes us turn on each other, but whether it’s a virus or a war or something else that decimates most of the population, I just get the sense that we’ll be woefully unprepared for it and that we won’t have the foresight to set our priorities straight to survive in the long term.
“Them or Us” is the final installment to Moody’s “Hater” trilogy, which has followed our anti-hero, Danny McCoyne from the very start of the pandemic that turned a large chunk of the population into “haters” — people consumed with the notion that they must kill the “unchanged” or risk being killed themselves.
With most of the “unchanged” wiped out courtesy of a nuclear bomb, hundreds of haters have settled on the east coast on the remains of a town under the thumb of a sadistic leader named Hinchcliffe.
Life in the new world order is shit, to put it bluntly.
There’s very little food and supplies while survival depends on how well you’re able to cope in this new lawless world.
Danny seems to be the only one who questions, “Now what?” — especially after most of the “unchanged” have been hunted down and brutally murdered for sport by the “haters.”
Seriously — what now?
The world hardly seems worth living in anymore — each day is worse than one before it.
Because of his ability to hold the hate, Danny has a special role in the new society — first, he acts as a hunter, tracking down the few “unchanged” who have managed to survive, ferreting them out and allowing the other haters to give chase and kill them; later, Danny plays an even more pivotal role as Hinchcliffe locks horns with a separate faction of haters who have set up an outpost in a neighboring village.
Slowly, the haters seem to turn against each other as they fight for control — and in the midst of it all, Danny is caught in the middle at every turn.
Weakened and sick with cancer in the aftermath of the nuclear holocaust, Danny increasingly questions what the point is to everything. He’s a beaten man who’s ready to die and give up on life. But when he stumbles across a large group of unchanged determined to survive, he finds himself in the odd position as the answer to their freedom.
I really loved this series — I’m not even sure why.
I thought the first book was slow to get into, but then, once you waded into a few chapters, it was hard to put down.
I’m a little disappointed that I’ve reached the end and even hold out hope that maybe there’ll be a fourth book (though that seems unlikely) to answer, “And then what happens?”
I guess that’s a testament to how good I found the book.
“Them or Us” is the final installment to Moody’s “Hater” trilogy, which has followed our anti-hero, Danny McCoyne from the very start of the pandemic that turned a large chunk of the population into “haters” — people consumed with the notion that they must kill the “unchanged” or risk being killed themselves.
With most of the “unchanged” wiped out courtesy of a nuclear bomb, hundreds of haters have settled on the east coast on the remains of a town under the thumb of a sadistic leader named Hinchcliffe.
Life in the new world order is shit, to put it bluntly.
There’s very little food and supplies while survival depends on how well you’re able to cope in this new lawless world.
Danny seems to be the only one who questions, “Now what?” — especially after most of the “unchanged” have been hunted down and brutally murdered for sport by the “haters.”
Seriously — what now?
The world hardly seems worth living in anymore — each day is worse than one before it.
Because of his ability to hold the hate, Danny has a special role in the new society — first, he acts as a hunter, tracking down the few “unchanged” who have managed to survive, ferreting them out and allowing the other haters to give chase and kill them; later, Danny plays an even more pivotal role as Hinchcliffe locks horns with a separate faction of haters who have set up an outpost in a neighboring village.
Slowly, the haters seem to turn against each other as they fight for control — and in the midst of it all, Danny is caught in the middle at every turn.
Weakened and sick with cancer in the aftermath of the nuclear holocaust, Danny increasingly questions what the point is to everything. He’s a beaten man who’s ready to die and give up on life. But when he stumbles across a large group of unchanged determined to survive, he finds himself in the odd position as the answer to their freedom.
I really loved this series — I’m not even sure why.
I thought the first book was slow to get into, but then, once you waded into a few chapters, it was hard to put down.
I’m a little disappointed that I’ve reached the end and even hold out hope that maybe there’ll be a fourth book (though that seems unlikely) to answer, “And then what happens?”
I guess that’s a testament to how good I found the book.
February 14, 2012
Danny McCoyne is a Hater. Or at least, that's what he became when the Change hit his world. There were Haters, changed people who could detect Unchanged and, unable to contain their hatred, would brutally kill the Unchanged. Before the Change, Danny was a fairly basic man, willfully ignorant, struggling with his family, his job, his life. He was a man who didn't try very hard at anything and as such, was pretty much a failure at everything. With the Hate, he suddenly felt free and powerful, things he never felt before.
Using any means possible, including nuclear, the fighting escalates to critical mass. Society unravels and the Haters, being more violent in nature and preternaturally strong, have hunted the Unchanged to near extinction. In the center of this, Danny McCoyne undergoes a second change. He learns how to control his Hate in the face of the Unchanged. Using this skill, he finds, and then loses for a second time, all that is left of his family. Having nothing left to hold on to, Danny drifts to the edges of what is left of society.
Danny finds himself living in a town run by a series of increasingly violent and dangerous Haters and being used for various tasks because of his ability to hold his Hate. Danny spends so much time on the periphery, he starts to ponder the nature of us or them. He starts to wonder, now that the Unchanged are effectively gone, where will the Hate redirect itself. He wonders if the human race is doomed to self-destruct and he wonders what his role in that destruction will be.
When Danny discovers he is sick from the radiation exposure, he starts to wonder what meaning his life had at all. A twist of fate provides him with a choice, with an opportunity to regain a stitch of his soul by saving the last population of Unchanged and with them, what is left of humanity.
David Moody creates a compelling character and a frightening future. Danny McCoyne is at first, not at all likable in the unchanged society. As the Hater society rises, he becomes despicable. As the Hater's society falls, he becomes a reluctant hero, not entirely likable, but someone I found myself urging on to make the right choices.
This is a very violent series, so if you are squeemish, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you can handle some blood, it is a compelling view of what can happen when two sides become so polarized they can no longer exist together.
Using any means possible, including nuclear, the fighting escalates to critical mass. Society unravels and the Haters, being more violent in nature and preternaturally strong, have hunted the Unchanged to near extinction. In the center of this, Danny McCoyne undergoes a second change. He learns how to control his Hate in the face of the Unchanged. Using this skill, he finds, and then loses for a second time, all that is left of his family. Having nothing left to hold on to, Danny drifts to the edges of what is left of society.
Danny finds himself living in a town run by a series of increasingly violent and dangerous Haters and being used for various tasks because of his ability to hold his Hate. Danny spends so much time on the periphery, he starts to ponder the nature of us or them. He starts to wonder, now that the Unchanged are effectively gone, where will the Hate redirect itself. He wonders if the human race is doomed to self-destruct and he wonders what his role in that destruction will be.
When Danny discovers he is sick from the radiation exposure, he starts to wonder what meaning his life had at all. A twist of fate provides him with a choice, with an opportunity to regain a stitch of his soul by saving the last population of Unchanged and with them, what is left of humanity.
David Moody creates a compelling character and a frightening future. Danny McCoyne is at first, not at all likable in the unchanged society. As the Hater society rises, he becomes despicable. As the Hater's society falls, he becomes a reluctant hero, not entirely likable, but someone I found myself urging on to make the right choices.
This is a very violent series, so if you are squeemish, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you can handle some blood, it is a compelling view of what can happen when two sides become so polarized they can no longer exist together.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2014
Their lives were empty, but for the hunt and the kill. It was an inescapable paradox: by destroying their enemy they were also removing their own reason to live.
The Beginning: At the height of the last English summer, the skies turned black as coal and never cleared.
I was a bit disappointed by this one, the third and final instalment of the Hater-series. I loved the first novel so much. It was unlike anything I’d read before and it got a well-deserved spot on my top 5 reads of 2013. The second instalment, Dog Blood, was also quite good, but noting like the first one. Them or Us seemed like an anti-climax to the story. Instead of going out with a bang, it slowly drifted away.
And the sad thing is that the plot had such potential. The world as we know it has come to an end, and Danny, our “hero”, is left with the scraps. Brilliant novels have been written about this, e.g. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (it’s amazing, read it!). The twist and what makes Them or Us unique is that it’s told from the bad guys’ perspective. I’ve been really excited about this, but was left utterly disappointed. I wish Moody had played more with this concept. Instead Danny has second thoughts about the dark side, and longs for the humanity the world has lost. This wasn’t the way I’d hoped the Hater-series would go, even though I enjoyed some of the descriptions. For example, our psycho-killer protagonist got a new habit of curling up in his sleeping bag to read romance novels:
It’s a trashy thriller-cum-romance novel, and as clichéd as it sounds, this sort of book has become something of a release. They help me to forget where I am and who I am, and what I have to deal with each day. They almost make me feel human again.
Details like that made it all worth while. And don’t get me wrong, the novel is entertaining and a very enjoyable read. But it’s not brilliant like Hater. Now I need to get my hands on the first instalment of Moody’s other series, Autumn.
For more reviews and book talk, please visit my blog The Bookworm's Closet
The Beginning: At the height of the last English summer, the skies turned black as coal and never cleared.
I was a bit disappointed by this one, the third and final instalment of the Hater-series. I loved the first novel so much. It was unlike anything I’d read before and it got a well-deserved spot on my top 5 reads of 2013. The second instalment, Dog Blood, was also quite good, but noting like the first one. Them or Us seemed like an anti-climax to the story. Instead of going out with a bang, it slowly drifted away.
And the sad thing is that the plot had such potential. The world as we know it has come to an end, and Danny, our “hero”, is left with the scraps. Brilliant novels have been written about this, e.g. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (it’s amazing, read it!). The twist and what makes Them or Us unique is that it’s told from the bad guys’ perspective. I’ve been really excited about this, but was left utterly disappointed. I wish Moody had played more with this concept. Instead Danny has second thoughts about the dark side, and longs for the humanity the world has lost. This wasn’t the way I’d hoped the Hater-series would go, even though I enjoyed some of the descriptions. For example, our psycho-killer protagonist got a new habit of curling up in his sleeping bag to read romance novels:
It’s a trashy thriller-cum-romance novel, and as clichéd as it sounds, this sort of book has become something of a release. They help me to forget where I am and who I am, and what I have to deal with each day. They almost make me feel human again.
Details like that made it all worth while. And don’t get me wrong, the novel is entertaining and a very enjoyable read. But it’s not brilliant like Hater. Now I need to get my hands on the first instalment of Moody’s other series, Autumn.
For more reviews and book talk, please visit my blog The Bookworm's Closet
June 16, 2012
...or no-one at all.
It was always going to be hard to live up to the fantastically taut and frightening opener to this series, as demonstrated by the middle entry, Dog Blood and this finale, but nonetheless this was a fitting end to the trilogy - it's hard to see where else this could have gone.
The nuclear blasts that decimated the centres of population have left the country either dead or dying, with those not killed outright now suffering from the radiation. What was left of the Unchanged population has been hunted down, leaving them virtually extinct, and the remaining Haters are either fighting amongst themselves, dying of sickness and starvation, or being brutally ruled by the most ruthless in petty dictatorships.
We find Danny in Lowestoft, now ruled by the bastardly Hinchcliffe, and only staying alive (albeit in a state of near total apathy) due to his usefulness in rooting out the last few remaining Unchanged. The world's gone to hell, and is going to stay that way. With nothing left to lose, or gain, Danny's merely surviving as an animal would although it looks as though he won't be doing that for much longer thanks to the sickness that's breaking his body down. It's now just a matter of counting the days.
Moody has had a lot to say about society in these books and mostly does it well. Some minor nit picks - a slight flabbiness in the story telling this time around and I'd have liked to have had some sort of idea as to what caused the Hate in the first place, but I guess it didn't really matter. It happened and there's no going back, so why worry about explanations?
Not for the faint of heart or those who find themselves depressed by bleak reading material, but if you're feeling nihilistic or just looking for an interesting new voice in this genre then you'd do well to pick this series up.
It was always going to be hard to live up to the fantastically taut and frightening opener to this series, as demonstrated by the middle entry, Dog Blood and this finale, but nonetheless this was a fitting end to the trilogy - it's hard to see where else this could have gone.
The nuclear blasts that decimated the centres of population have left the country either dead or dying, with those not killed outright now suffering from the radiation. What was left of the Unchanged population has been hunted down, leaving them virtually extinct, and the remaining Haters are either fighting amongst themselves, dying of sickness and starvation, or being brutally ruled by the most ruthless in petty dictatorships.
We find Danny in Lowestoft, now ruled by the bastardly Hinchcliffe, and only staying alive (albeit in a state of near total apathy) due to his usefulness in rooting out the last few remaining Unchanged. The world's gone to hell, and is going to stay that way. With nothing left to lose, or gain, Danny's merely surviving as an animal would although it looks as though he won't be doing that for much longer thanks to the sickness that's breaking his body down. It's now just a matter of counting the days.
Moody has had a lot to say about society in these books and mostly does it well. Some minor nit picks - a slight flabbiness in the story telling this time around and I'd have liked to have had some sort of idea as to what caused the Hate in the first place, but I guess it didn't really matter. It happened and there's no going back, so why worry about explanations?
Not for the faint of heart or those who find themselves depressed by bleak reading material, but if you're feeling nihilistic or just looking for an interesting new voice in this genre then you'd do well to pick this series up.
July 23, 2019
1 star owing to:
- 2 stars for a dull and completely repetitive story that offered nothing new or even vaguely interesting compared to the first two books. Even any sense of horror and shock is missing in this book, factors that for some odd reason (like the impulse to look at a car wreck?) kept me reading before. This time I just read to finish the book, nothing more. Tired zombie/apocalypse tropes and clichés are abundant, often with little to no value to the overall scenario (no one gets erections anymore and there's a whorehouse scene? Please...);
MINUS
- 1 star for the absolutely WORST edited book I've ever downloaded. Get this: there was no punctuation AT ALL with the exception of periods and even then some were missing. No apostropes (every 'we'll' appears as 'well'), no semi-/colons, NO COMMAS. In addition, a dreadful amount of spelling errors as well (an automobile does not CAREER out of control, it CAREENS out of control!). If I knew how to get my money back from google-play for such an insulting poor quality product I would.
There's nothing really to add at this point. There's no drive, no push forward for the main protagonist who spends most of this book just slowly dying or being the luckiest Hater alive (+/-). Even in his most 'redemptive' moment, it just plays out like umpteen other books have done and Moody offers little to no convincing original content.
After wavering following the first 2 books, I can say with conviction that I will NOT continue with any new books in this series and will probably avoid David Moody books moving forward as well.
- 2 stars for a dull and completely repetitive story that offered nothing new or even vaguely interesting compared to the first two books. Even any sense of horror and shock is missing in this book, factors that for some odd reason (like the impulse to look at a car wreck?) kept me reading before. This time I just read to finish the book, nothing more. Tired zombie/apocalypse tropes and clichés are abundant, often with little to no value to the overall scenario (no one gets erections anymore and there's a whorehouse scene? Please...);
MINUS
- 1 star for the absolutely WORST edited book I've ever downloaded. Get this: there was no punctuation AT ALL with the exception of periods and even then some were missing. No apostropes (every 'we'll' appears as 'well'), no semi-/colons, NO COMMAS. In addition, a dreadful amount of spelling errors as well (an automobile does not CAREER out of control, it CAREENS out of control!). If I knew how to get my money back from google-play for such an insulting poor quality product I would.
There's nothing really to add at this point. There's no drive, no push forward for the main protagonist who spends most of this book just slowly dying or being the luckiest Hater alive (+/-). Even in his most 'redemptive' moment, it just plays out like umpteen other books have done and Moody offers little to no convincing original content.
After wavering following the first 2 books, I can say with conviction that I will NOT continue with any new books in this series and will probably avoid David Moody books moving forward as well.
May 12, 2012
I'm assuming this is the end of the series. If so, it was an AMAZING end. Like the previous two books, the last third of the book was incredibly hard to "put down" (stop listening in my case, audio book). I was on the edge of my seat till the very last line of the book, and it was an AMAZING and chilling last line.
Danny McCoin was so different from who he started out as in the first volume, yet in many ways still the same person. In the beginning of book one the only thing that stands out about him is how painfully average he was, how much of a fuck up he was. But the war brought something out in him, and he nor the reader sees it very clearly til the end of this book. He was an extraordinary character. And the social commentary he gives to our society via this last book hit me hard, especially as a parent. In many ways we DO have it all and take it for granted. He gave a few speeches/inner monologues that had me in tears towards the end here.
Finally, KC was one of the greatest antagonists I've ever read. He managed to be both a true one dimensional bastard yet a multidimensional character at the same time. Well done David Moody.
And once again, the closing lines were amazing and chilling.
Danny McCoin was so different from who he started out as in the first volume, yet in many ways still the same person. In the beginning of book one the only thing that stands out about him is how painfully average he was, how much of a fuck up he was. But the war brought something out in him, and he nor the reader sees it very clearly til the end of this book. He was an extraordinary character. And the social commentary he gives to our society via this last book hit me hard, especially as a parent. In many ways we DO have it all and take it for granted. He gave a few speeches/inner monologues that had me in tears towards the end here.
Finally, KC was one of the greatest antagonists I've ever read. He managed to be both a true one dimensional bastard yet a multidimensional character at the same time. Well done David Moody.
And once again, the closing lines were amazing and chilling.
December 5, 2018
Honestly I am glad to have gotten through this trilogy, although I believe there is a fourth book. I am surprised to say that I have strongly considered not even bothering to look into it.
This series was good at the start, with a rabid disease and world-ending carnage, high stakes, the survival of family and complete strangers you cared about, to nothing but the single account of a ravaged Hater, his struggle, his complaints, and his annoying repetitive and overstated thoughts.
I really lost interest in this book and finished it out of my need to see the antagonist done in, from there I just finished the story because it was almost over.
Mayhaps I will give this a second chance in the future, for now there are far more books to read.
This series was good at the start, with a rabid disease and world-ending carnage, high stakes, the survival of family and complete strangers you cared about, to nothing but the single account of a ravaged Hater, his struggle, his complaints, and his annoying repetitive and overstated thoughts.
I really lost interest in this book and finished it out of my need to see the antagonist done in, from there I just finished the story because it was almost over.
Mayhaps I will give this a second chance in the future, for now there are far more books to read.
September 24, 2014
There should be a gave up button. I don't like to do that and I will usually try and muddle through even though I don't like a book but I just couldn't do that with this book. Try as I might I just could not get into the story or find the appeal of any of the characters. I read the first book and I guess it was the shock of the situation and curiosity that kept me with it but with each subsequent book I just lost more interest. I hate that I couldn't finish the series and perhaps another time I will try again but probably not.
April 15, 2012
Fantastic finish to the Hater trilogy. The terrific writing continues as the story of Danny McCoyne and his struggles to come to grips with a changing and dying world of Haters and Unchanged builds to a gripping and ultimately satisfying conclusion. Violent and unflinching, the story makes you care about what happens to those that are left to find some place in the world, even the bad guys. If you haven't started this series, do so now. Well worth the effort.
September 13, 2014
What an outstanding read. A true thrilling rollercoaster ride of emotions. Moody is elegant with his cruel prose, painting pictures of a dying world and the remnants of humanity with sweet precision. And that finish to the title was particularly sweet and cruel, yet a pointed comment on the truth of our delicate human frailties. Absolutely loved the title. Read it today.
March 6, 2016
3 Stars
This was okay. Basically a commentary on a life filled with hate. At some point, all of that hate just eats you up.
When you kill off millions of people because they are different; what do you do then?? Who's next?? Society that is left, starts to implode.
Kill or be killed.
This was okay. Basically a commentary on a life filled with hate. At some point, all of that hate just eats you up.
When you kill off millions of people because they are different; what do you do then?? Who's next?? Society that is left, starts to implode.
Kill or be killed.
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