Hater

By: David Moody

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people become frenzied killers. Christened "Haters" by the media, the attackers strike without warning, killing all who cross their path. People are afraid to go to work, afraid to leave their homes, afraid that at any moment their friends or family could turn on them. In the face of this mindless terror, Danny McCoyne must secure his family, seek shelter, and watch as the world falls apart. "Attack first, ask questions later" becomes the order of the day.

Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by J. A. Bayona.

©2006 David Moody (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The novel moves at a deliberate, relentless pace, feeding readers just enough information to keep them perplexed and paranoid....Moody creates some truly chilling scenes, but there are also flashes of black comedy." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Originally self-published, Moody's nail-biter of a debut plausibly creates a nightmare world....this intelligent, well-written chiller heralds a significant new talent." ( Publishers Weekly)
"It's a risky undertaking, giving literary form to a type of story that is traditionally told in pictures, but Moody completely pulls it off." ( Booklist)

not bad..

I enjoy good apocalyptic/plague books but have been pulled in by bad novels one too many times. I was pleasantly surprised with Hater. It delivers on all levels and the true to life pessimistic attitude the narrator brings just makes the listen that much better. Great job by David Moody!!

Listened...but only just

Love Zombies, love Armageddon, post apocalyptic stuff. And therefore also love Sean of the Dead for it's comic twist on the genre. Problem is author couldn't get humor into his incredibly long set up, and without Simon Pegg, the lead character is tedious for too long. That part of it dragged badly. I was just about to give it up - and give it 2 stars - when it finally twisted. The story revealed an innovative concept, just long enough for me to sit up and defer judgment. Course, now I have to buy the second friggin' book to find out if it works...

Just ok

Same kind of story as similar stories of humans turn zombie ish only not quite as entertaining. Story was ok the narrator was ok nut much as a performance. If you like grade B zombie like stories then you will like this one it's not for me.

Give it a chance, hang with it.

Well damn, that was different! I am looking forward the next book. The only thing I’ll say if you don’t like whiny children, then this maybe a tough listen.

the worst ever - and my standards a low

Read this if you ever want to know what Milton Waddams (the guy with the stapler in "Office Space") would do if put into a life or death, end of the world situation. Nothing, lock himself in a house and pray noone look him in the eye, and wait for the mob to kill him and his family. I haven't finished the book, don't know if I will.

Don't waste your time...

I started to hate myself for buying this book after the first 15 minutes into it. This book is so boring, and the lead character was so annoying. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!

Not that good

It was a little laboring in parts and not as good as the reviews said.

A bit annoying

An indication of just how little this audiobook held my interest is that I had 15 minutes of the book remaining at one point, but it was a week before it occurred to me to finish it.

I spent the first 3/4 of the book mostly annoyed by the main character, who is what an anti-hero would be if you subtracted the "hero." He spends most of his time complaining ad nauseum how terrible his life is - work, family, the world in general. I mean, this goes on and on and on, paragraph after paragraph, to the point that you wish they guy would just walk off a cliff somewhere. And yet he admits to being lazy, unable to control his actions, bad with money, etc. It's really hard to like this guy.

Also, the author took the unusual approach of alternating between first person present tense and third person past tense. That didn't work for me.

I don't mind a slow build-up so long as there is some kind of identifiable progression of the plot, but in this book you realize early on that there are "haters" and that their numbers are rising, and you just end up in a holding pattern for most of the rest of the book, until at last something happens toward the last act or two. I can safely advise that if at any point you get bored in his story, just skip ahead to the next section, and you won't have missed any critical plot points. It's just more of the same.

The end was okay. No spoilers here, except to say I'd have liked more resolution after all that tedious, annoying build-up. I think the author was attempting some kind of philosophical argument about hate, but it's not clear what he was going for. Presumably the person who spontaneously kills people is on equal moral footing with those who try to kill him as a consequence, or something like that? Very murky.

Story is set in England so the reader is English. The accent was more Ricky Gervais than Hugh Grant, though. Suited the character.

Wished someone would murder the protagonist.

The only thing that kept me going through to the end was the forlorn hope that the main character, Danny, would get killed by the "haters." Sadly, it was not to be. Like many other reviewers noted, Danny and his wife are adult children, no more responsible than their three real children. Danny whines and complains about EVERYTHING. He says he loves his wife and kids - then launches into a diatribe about them "pissing me off" and "I'm losing my patience." The book is constant repetition of this "woe is me" theme until the end, when Danny changes. Then it's constant repetition on why what he's doing is so right and natural.

********SPOILER, SORT OF************


Most novels revolve the main character recognizing a flaw in their character and the situation of the story forcing them to confront that flaw and change for the better. "Haters" does the opposite. Danny is eventually given free reign to his displeasure with society and his family. Problem is the rationale is so weak that there is no explanation as to what the "haters" are or why they feel threatened by the "others." They kill because "it's kill or be killed" but Moody gives no example where one of the "others" attempts to kill a "hater" first. The Haters are the instigators. True, the government begins rounding up haters for extermination, but since Haters kill non-haters on sight what choice is there? Moody, I think, attempts, I think, to make Danny a sympathetic character, but fails by not explaining the unreasonable fear Haters have of the "others." I made it to the end and was presented by a "to be continued," no thanks.

To be continued!!??

Are you kidding??? What a ripoff! The final sentence: "To be continued,' says it all.

I want my credit back!