Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #662232 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 244 pages

Synopsis
Society is rocked by a sudden increase in the number of violent assaults on individuals. Christened 'Haters' by the media, the attackers strike without warning. Their attacks are brutal, remorseless and extreme. There are no apparent links between the Haters or their victims and no obvious reason for their violence. In seconds rational, controlled people become vicious killers. Everyone - irrespective of race, gender, age, sexuality or any other imaginable difference - has the potential to become either a Hater or a victim. This is a terror which knows no boundaries. You can no longer trust anyone, no matter how well you think you know them. You can no longer trust yourself. By the end of today you could be a killer. By the end of today you could be dead. HATER - a new nightmare from the author of the AUTUMN series.

Customer Reviews

Let the war begin...
From the author of the classic post-apocalyptic zombie series 'Autumn', David Moody's new ultra-violent novel 'Hater' is a masterpiece of dark and bloodthirsty fiction. From the very first page the reader is thrown into a downward spiral of seemingly unprovoked and extreme violence. As civilisation is slowly torn apart from the inside, fear and confusion take over.

David throws up a cloud of unnerving mystery as the reader is taken along by this unrelenting wave of violence. The novel homes in on the emotional strain and fear of everyone in the book, drawing you deep into the gripping text. With each chapter, tension builds towards a massive climax that will leave you gasping.

Possibly the most original and thought provoking take on this type of genre, David will keep you guessing throughout.

`Hater' is in my opinion David's most shocking and powerful novel to date. The novel ends ready to be taken up by the sequel `Dog Blood' which I am already eagerly anticipating.

With a general premise to the storyline that's not too dissimilar to James Herbert's novel 'The Fog', Jim Stalin & Daina Graziunas's novel 'Among Madmen' or indeed Danny Boyle's film '28 Days Later...', if you're a fan of any post-apocalyptic fiction, then this uber-violent yet thought provoking approach to the genre will satisfy the morbid thirst of any follower of similar fiction. Be warned, this book is an aggressive piece of fiction!

Let the war begin...

Interesting Story
I think David Moody is a talented author, but I don't think this was his best work.

First of all, do not expect another zombie story -- don't even expect a twist on a zombie story (ex: 28 Days)...in fact, I wouldn't call this a horror story in any sense.

It was an original thriller, with an unexpected twist. Usually, it's easy to describe the characters as good guys vs. bad guys, but Moody will have you second-guessing the whole time. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for Danny, or "hate" him. I like that the ending wasn't some neat & tidy happy-ending, but I feel like there could have been more -- the book was only 281 pages.

Most of the book is told from Danny's POV, with the few exceptions in italics (giving us background information on what is happening to the people in Danny's area). After a while, I was kind of sick of Danny complaining about his job and his family life, and I began to dislike the character just because I thought he was a crappy parent. It was difficult to muster any sympathy for him.

When the action did finally get under way, it didn't seem to last long. I'm wondering how the movie will turn out because most of the book seemed to be Danny's thoughts, and Danny was kind of boring for a central character.

If you want an excellent horror story, read Patient Zero.

Pretty good, except the slightly misleading title
The description on the back of the book led me to expect some sort of '28 Days Later' style story (although possibly with a slower acting disease) with society gradually disintergrating as random outbreaks of violence occur. That's more or less what I got, but I think the title is a bit misleading. More than the first half of the book follows a faily average British man as he goes about his business while a series of spontaneous violent attacks occur around him. It appears that people somehow instantaneously change into murderous maniacs, attacking anyone in the vicinity. However, it is clear from very early on (to the reader although not the characters it seems) that these people aren't fueled by hate, like the title suggests, but rather by fear in some sense. I guess 'People who are quite afraid of other people for no apparent reason' isn't such a catchy title and no way to market a book.

Anyway, the story itself is pretty decent, and in my opinion way better than the author's famous 'Autumn' series of zombie novels. According to the author's website, it's the first in a series of three novels, with the next one coming out in 2010. I wish I had realised that before I read it as I hate waiting for the next book in a series to be released, and it becomes fairly clear from the ending that a sequel is certainly possible, if not likely. The escalation of the attacks is dealt with in a way that builds tension quite well, but just as things are about as bad as they can be, they get a lot worse very quickly. I can't decide if the semi-expected twist in the story is brilliant or not, but it did at least add a new element to the story just as it was running out of places to go.

Overall, a pretty good story. Not excellent, but definitely worth the attention of most horror fans.