Dog Blood
Written by David Moody
Published by Thomas Dunne Books
Reviewer: Brandon Ennals

Dog Blood is the second book of the Hater trilogy, and is a very effective bridge for the first and last books. The first book introduced us to the concept of the “Hater”, which is a person that becomes filled with rage, so much so that they cannot control their unexplained hatred for those not filled with rage, called the “Unchanged”. The first book also introduces us to the character of Danny McCoyne, and we follow him as he goes through the process of becoming a Hater. The author, David Moody, puts you into the mind of the Hater. You understood what the Haters went through during this transformation process. You read how the hatred ripped apart families and society as a whole. By the end of Hater, you see these events have led to an all out war. A war of the Haters versus the Unchanged.

Dog Blood picks up where Hater left off, except now things seem as dire as ever for both the Haters and the Unchanged. The Unchanged have fortified themselves in cities which has given them better security, but living conditions are deplorable and supplies are at less than desirable levels. The Haters have improved their position in the war by improving their organization and coordinating their attacks on the Unchanged. However, these attacks are often met with militaristic opposition which results in the death of many Haters since rational thought is overpowered by their rage.

We learn all of these things as we follow Danny McCoyne once again. While most Haters only have one objective in mind, killing, Danny is focused on another mission. Danny’s main objective is to find his daughter named Ellis, who is also a Hater but has been taken away from Danny by his Unchanged wife. Danny will stop at nothing to find his daughter, and bring her back with him to live amongst the other Haters. Danny has no idea where Ellis is, or how to find her, but he is dedicated to find her nonetheless.

Danny does not realize that his journey to find Ellis will be full of many twists and turns. He will have to change his entire Hater mentality. He will need to change things about himself that he didn’t think was possible since becoming a Hater. He will need the assistance of people he would love to rip apart. His role as a Hater will dramatically transform by the end of the book, and it is this transformation that has me eager to read the third installment in the Hater trilogy called Them or Us. I cannot wait to see how Danny will proceed with his new skills, and what the future holds for Danny and Ellis. If Dog Blood is any indication of what we will get in Them or Us, then I need to grab a copy sooner than later.

All of the Hater books can be found on www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com in paperback and e-book formats, and are all very reasonably priced. To find out more information on these books, and other books written by David Moody, visit his website which is http://www.djmoody.co.uk/ .