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)

What a fun listen this was!

I only listen to books while I drive. Once a month or so I drive to Laughlin and once or twice a year I drive from California to Florida. I am always looking for good audio books to listen to on those drives. I just finished Hater on my last trip to Laughlin and I loved it!

Gerard Doyle's voice I thought was perfect for this character. I could feel his frustrations and fears in the way he spoke. He had this everyman quality but an everyman that is really tired of and beaten down by life that I could totally understand.

The book kept my interest non-stop. I wanted to know what was happening. I cared what happened to the main character and the twist towards the end was well done because even as it was happening you're not really sure if what's happening is what you think is happening. Well done!

I look forward to the sequel out in June 2010.

Excellent

Yes, the story did take a while to get moving, but that remains true with the first story of any "Trilogy". You have to develop your characters properly and David Moody did an excellent job.

The right combination of the decline of society, tension, suspense, not to mention blood and gore made this book an awesome "read".

I love apocalyptic novels and this is definately in that category. Can't wait to hear "Dog Blood".

Started off promising...

What did you like best about Hater? What did you like least?

I liked the beginning... I wasn't real into the narrators voice... then I was disappointed in the end....

What three words best describe Gerard Doyle’s voice?

Like Michael Caine... I felt like the story portrayed a younger couple but the narrators voice made me feel like I was listening to a grandfather type figure.

Did Hater inspire you to do anything?

NOT listen to the sequel...

Any additional comments?

I went off of reviews on this one and I think it started off good... maybe if someone wanted to power on to the next book they'd find their questions answered but... I'm good :(

HATER!!! ARE YOU A HATER!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Hater to be better than the print version?

Well the book leaves a lot for your mind to play with. I like the audio book more just because it saves me time that i dont always have when it comes to sitting down and reading.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Obviously it was the main character. I wont say why because i will be giving away to much.

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

At first it threw me off, but i had no info on the book and had no idea it took place in Great Britain. Once i realized that it was fine. He did a very very good job.

If you could take any character from Hater out to dinner, who would it be and why?

It would also be the main character. I would have a lot of ?'s for him.

Terrifying! In the spirit of King or Koontz

There aren't so many good horror books around these days--I look at the horror section and see the Southern Vampire Mysteries or Twilight. Those aren't too bad, but they are NOT scary. I want scary.

Hater gave me enough scary to last for a couple of weeks. It has the classic structure of early Stephen King, where we meet the main character and The Bad Situation slowly spreads, giving the book momentum. By the end you're completely unable to stop listening.

The Bad Situation, in this case, is that normal people are suddenly going plain bonkers and killing family members, coworkers, even random bystanders. These once-normal people are the Haters of the title, and from the first description you're wondering how long society will last before the breakdown.

Danny McCoyne hates his life as a minor civil servant, but the Haters eventually get past even his rock-solid insulation. He comes off as a bit of a whiner for about the first quarter of the book (not helped by the slightly-whiney narrator), but later on he loses the tone and you start hoping nothing bad's going to happen to him.

Like all good speculative fiction, Hater draws parallels to our own society. It points out how sharply divided we are over things that seem pretty small in the long view. It doesn't offer incisive commentary or anything, but the metaphor gives Hater a good hook.

I give the book four stars because some parts could have been edited out without changing much about the story. Also, one caution--some scenes are extremely violent, and I hope the upcoming movie goes a little easy on those. But overall, at 7+ hours, Hater is a good time investment that will return a LOT of scary for your credits!

Nice

This book could have taken placany where in the world. I enjoyed it. I can actually see something along these lines happening

No Heros

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes but only a friend with a tast for lengthy backstory and non-traditional narrative

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

Mr. Doyle's performance is simple, direct, and solid. He portrayal of the protagonist is pitch perfect. He renders a vivid portrayal of each character in the same fashion. Male, female, child, adult, working class British or politician, each character is spacific and fully realized.

Any additional comments?

This is not a book with Heros. There is no ex cop who holds a ragtag band of survivors together. No military man with quiet strength and combat expertise. No beautiful woman fighting Her way through a post Apocalyptic landscape. In fact the protagonist is not somone you like very much. You do however understand him. You empathize with him. That is the authors great accomplishment. The central crisis of this story unfolds in a believable fashion. The horrifying events of this story happen to ordinary people. this is a story about what happens to a society when we view our neighbors as

Too Successful for Its Own Good

This book is read and written perfectly for what its intent is. However, as its intent is to set up character(s) in a world where society is consently pounding them into submission, hearing the setup is as painful to me as to the narrator as it really is successful at setting up the tension (I'll use that word for lack of better one as I don't want to spoil the plot).

I did have trouble early on listening to the book because of that, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The book could not have been better sped up. It needs to build up the background properly, and it did it.

Shockingly great

I am speechless at how brilliant this book was. Immediately had to purchase the next in the series and am now very eagerly and impatiently awaiting the third.

detail is refreshing

the narrator reads it like a campfire story, David puts just enough detail that it isn't overbearing like a George R.R Martin or Tom Clancy book, it's just enough that feeds your imagination. The only thing I didn't like is there was hardly any fluctuation with the narrator, like he didn't really want to read it, he was only doing it for the money.