Dog Blood

I should make it clear that I have not read much of Mr. David Moody's work (http://www.djmoody.co.uk/), only a few excerpts from the 'Autumn' stories a few years back (which I recall enjoying, but did not manage to pursue further). More importantly, I have not read 'Hater', which made me a little apprehensive about reading and putting down my thoughts on its sequel.

That said, 'Dog Blood' was pretty fantastic. Like my thoughts on much of 'The New Dead', this story's deviation from a more traditional zombie formula pushes it close to the outskirts of what I tend to favor, however the picture it painted was pretty wonderfully frightening.

*Warning* Spoilers

Imagine the '28 Days Later' scenario, with its infected being mindlessly overcome with homicidal rage towards all uninfected. Now imagine that this rage isn't entirely mindless, but can be controlled and channelled in a calculating, intelligent, manner. This is who the uninfected face in 'Dog Blood'.

It's interesting because this is a story of the infected developing into an organized force, and waging formal (if asymmetrical) war on the uninfected. The infected are compelled to kill, but have the capacity to weigh the odds of a situation and act accordingly. Through this, 'Dog Blood' paints scenes of both mass mob assault, and coordinated guerilla-like operations.

An aspect of this story that struck me more than I would have anticipated was the description of the killing, as told from the perspective of the protagonist (an infected). The kills were certainly brutal, but it felt like there was an artful fluidity to the act. Many (or most) of the infected seemed to exhibit a more typical, chaotic, beserker-like behavior, but our protagonist seemed to cut through his prey like a precision instrument.

What made this a little disturbing to me was the pleasure that seemed to be conveyed. The compounding of seemingly joyful bloodlust and masterful execution of craft suggested the achievement of a remarkably zen-like state of fulfillment. Then the recognition of the brutality of the act kicks back in, and I am left with a somewhat conflicted, uncomfortable feeling. I think it's the character's sense of satisfaction that left me unsettled as I read. It's not a feeling I regularly encounter in my media consumption, and it was memorable.

This particular element of my reading experience stood out, but there were plenty of other topics that folks will find interesting. Even though though story centers around an infected lead, the depiction of the quarantined uninfected, their fear, destituteness, military governance, and explosive volatility is a pretty fascinating, and, in my opinion, a plausible scenario.

'Dog Blood' was an enjoyable read, and I believe that those who share my fascination with apocalyptic scenarios will enjoy it as well. I think 'Dog Blood' may only be available via pre-order now (4/2010), but I highly recommend checking it out when you can. In the meantime, I (and everyone else who has not read it) need to find a copy of 'Hater'.