Fiction Addict

Genre: Horror

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publication date: June 2010

Reviewed by Jeremy Taylor

Dog Blood, the highly anticipated sequel to Hater (first self-published in 2006), continues the fast-paced, thrilling story of the mysterious and violent condition affecting a third of the world’s population. In Hater, Danny McCoyne was bewildered and overwhelmed by the horrific changes “the Hate” brought to his city and his home. In Dog Blood, reality sets in deeper as Danny must battle not only those around him but his own impulses as well.

Danny McCoyne is a Hater. He has come to understand that anyone who is not like him, who is Unchanged, must be killed. The urge to kill is a physical need, and it can’t be controlled. But as time passes, Danny and others like him realize that if they are to be successful, they have to reign in their bloodlust, at least to some extent. The Unchanged have superior weapons and greater numbers and have sealed themselves inside well-defended cities. The Haters are left to roam the countryside in search of whatever food they can find. The situation is unsustainable, and for Danny, it’s even worse, because he knows that his daughter, who is like him, is out there somewhere. And he’s determined to find her.

Meanwhile, Mark Tillotsen, one of the Unchanged, lives in a city high-rise apartment, crammed in with his pregnant girlfriend, her parents, and another family. He’s a member of a search crew that forages outside the city, looking for food, supplies, and survivors in exchange for slightly higher rations. After a particularly close call with a band of Haters, Mark realizes something has to change. But what?

The story of the hero’s journey is nothing new. From John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, literature is filled with stories of a lone journeyman making his way through a world of obstacles and disappointments. Dog Blood, narrated in first-person present tense, is a new twist on an old genre, as the “hero” is a maniacal killer who manages to restrain his instinct for causing violent death only with a tremendous act of will-power. The reader is torn between wanting to root for Danny’s success while simultaneously identifying with Mark’s plight. In the end, only one of them can triumph.

Like Hater, this book is filled with gruesome descriptions of gory apocalyptic violence, but it has many tender moments as well, particularly as both main characters struggle with their family relationships. Not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, Dog Blood is a fast, interesting read and will appeal to zombie lovers and those who just like a good adventure story with a novel approach built on a tried-and-true formula.

Review copy provided by St. Martin’s Press.