David Moody's Blog, page 31
November 5, 2019
Share your LOVE of the HATE!
Remember these little beauties? If you’ve been following my work since the early days, you might remember these bloody HATER t-shirts which were popular when the novel was originally released in 2009. Now, because lots of you have been asking, they’re back. Click here or on the image below for more details.
By the way, today marks two weeks until the release of CHOKEHOLD – the absolute final HATER novel. It’ll be published on 19 November by Thomas Dunne Books and will be available from all the usual bookstores and online outlets. You can also pre-order signed copies here.
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October 31, 2019
RIP Kindle Matchbook
I was sorry to hear about the death of Amazon’s Matchbook today. Matchbook allowed readers to get heavily discounted or free versions of the print books they bought from the site.
As a writer and a publisher, I believe in fairness and in not ripping off my readers. I think if you buy a print version of an Infected Books title, you should automatically get an eBook version too. Matchbook helped me to do that. But there is an alternative solution. Buy a signed copy of one of my Infected Books releases and you’ll be able to download an eBook version immediately. Conversely, if you’ve bought a digital version and you’d like a signed print version as well, you can let me know and I’ll discount the print book by the cost of the eBook you’ve already bought*.
To mark the death of Matchbook, and to make space for the delivery of CHOKEHOLD I’m expecting shortly, I’ve reduced the price of the beautiful hardcover edition of my most recent Infected Books release – THE LAST BIG THING – to under £10 for a limited time.
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October 30, 2019
Little Monster
A quick post to let you know that James Plumb’s terrific movie LITTLE MONSTER is now available on Amazon in the UK. Download it, stream it, enjoy it.
Your six-year-old daughter has been bitten by a zombie and now hungers for human flesh. What do you do? Do you double tap her in the brain? Or do you become the ultimate enabler and feed her human flesh? And where do you get human flesh from? This is the dilemma that Gareth and Jen face with their beautiful daughter Ana. What will they do? And how far will it go?
As you may remember, this is James’s adaptation of his novella from the YEAR OF THE ZOMBIE series. You can read the original story here. Why not pick up the complete YEAR OF THE ZOMBIE collection? It’s a very weighty, very bloody book which I’m supremely proud of.
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October 27, 2019
The Wave (Bølgen)
I do love a good disaster movie. Trouble is, they don’t make them like they used to. These days they tend to be bombastic and CGI-heavy and usually a). don’t make a lot of sense, and b). star ex-wrestlers.
My wife and I went on holiday to Norway last month, and while we were away I was reminded of a fairly recent disaster movie that I actually enjoyed. I thought it would be a good recommendation for this site. And why was I reminded of this particular film? Because our cruise ship docked in Geiranger, the beautiful and idyllic little village which is wiped out by THE WAVE (Bølgen). Here’s a photo of Lisa soaking up the sun and looking down on the village, just after telling me she hadn’t enjoyed the bus ride up the mountain, so we were going to have to walk back down…
Although anticipated, no one is really ready when the mountain pass above the scenic, narrow Norwegian fjord Geiranger collapses and creates an 85-meter high violent tsunami. A geologist is one of those caught in the middle of it.
I don’t think I’ve ever visited a country that’s as effortlessly beautiful as Norway. While we were there it seemed that every time we looked up there was a waterfall or a fjord or a snow-capped mountain in view. It’s also very different to where I live smack-bang in the middle of the UK, in that towns and villages in Norway are often separated from each other by huge distances with tunnels, bridges and ferries being an integral part of everyday life. It was a quiet, tranquil and relaxing place to be, but it’s no great stretch to imagine those same towns and villages being isolated and exposed in the event of a disaster such as the tsunami which destroys Geiranger in THE WAVE.
The reality of the story is stark: in 1905 and 1934, rockslides triggered tsunamis which killed more than 130 people. Scientists know the same thing is likely to happen again, but they’re unable to predict when. The mountain of Åkerneset, a few miles north of Geirangerfjord, is unstable.
So there we have the set up for this movie; a terrifying, plausible, unstoppable disaster which could (genuinely) strike at any moment. And perhaps that’s one of the main reasons why I found THE WAVE to be such a satisfying movie. There’s no need for over-sensationalism. There’s no need for a A-list Hollywood celebrity to come in and save the day. Ultimately, there’s nothing the people of Geiranger can do to prevent what’s coming, it’s just a question of getting away from the danger when the alarm bells sound.
At its heart, THE WAVE is about a small community dealing with an event of enormous magnitude. The story focuses on Kristian Eikjord and his family. He’s a geologist monitoring the mountain, and they’re about to pack up and leave the village as he’s taken a new job in the city of Stavanger. His partner Idun has another couple of shifts left to work at the hotel, and the family is split. As Kristian and the kids are about to board the ferry to leave, unusual readings are detected in the mountain…
Okay, so you get all the usual disaster movie clichés with THE WAVE, but they’re handled in a (largely) logical way. People do all the stupid things you’d expect, and there’s the occasional stroke of luck and almost super-human feats, but that doesn’t matter so much because the small scale of the movie and the plausible set-up and execution allow you to suspend your disbelief. Other than the family themselves, the remaining characters are often thinly developed, but again, your focus is on the four people who matter. Actors Kristoffer Joner and Ane Dahl Torp are particularly good, and director Roar Uthaug (what a brilliant name) keeps the action moving along at a great pace.
Many people watch disaster movies for the devastation and special effects, and despite the beautiful and limited location, you certainly get your money’s worth in THE WAVE. The wave itself is well rendered, and you can almost taste the water as you follow Kristian through the ruins of Geiranger.
THE WAVE is definitely worth a couple of hours of your time. It’s available on bluray now if you’d like to take a look (and I’ve just discovered there’s a sequel – THE QUAKE). If you enjoy it, can I make a further recommendation? If you ever get the chance to visit Norway, please do. It’s a remarkable place.
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October 24, 2019
Our War by Craig DiLouie
As regular readers will know, author CRAIG DILOUIE and I go back a long way. A glance through the archives of this site will show that I’m not just a friend of his I’m also a fan, and I was thrilled when he sent me a copy of his latest novel, OUR WAR.
Since finding huge success with zombie and apocalyptic novels like TOOTH AND NAIL and THE INFECTION, DiLouie’s also found an audience for his meticulously researched war novels, the CRASH DIVE series. In case you’d forgotten, DiLouie, Tim Long and I also co-wrote THE FRONT series, a World War II zombie mash-up which a lot of folks seemed to enjoy.
But DiLouie also writes books with far more personal themes. Of particular note is SUFFER THE CHILDREN, which looks at the lengths parents will go to in order to protect a child. His latest novel, OUR WAR, is set in the near future and, for me, it’s the most successful collision yet of the two strands of his fiction. OUR WAR is a prescient book, and a hard one to read, but it’s one I’d very much like to recommend you pick up.
When the president of the United States is impeached, but refuses to leave office, the country erupts into civil war.
10-year-old Hannah Miller, an orphan living in besieged Indianapolis, has joined a citizen’s militia. She had nowhere else to go. And after seeing the firsthand horrors of war, she’s determined to fight with the Free Women militia.
Hannah’s older brother, Alex, is a soldier too. But he’s loyal to the other side. After being separated from Hannah, he finds a home in a group calling themselves The Liberty Tree militia.
When a UNICEF worker and a reporter discover that both sides are using child soldiers, they set out to shine a light on something they thought could never happen in the United States. But it may be too late because even the most gentle children can find that they’re capable of horrific acts.
In many ways we live in an increasingly polarised society, with what can feel like irreparable divisions springing up between friends, families and communities. As you know, that’s a central theme of my HATER series, and having spent more than a decade studying and writing about intolerance, I’m worried that more than ever we’re spiralling towards the point of no return. You’ve only to look at the first line of the OUR WAR blurb to see how close to reality this piece of speculative fiction really is.
Regardless of which side you support – whether you’re a Trump supporter or not in the US, or a Brexiteer or Remainer over here – since 2016 it’s become increasingly easy to see the effect that wildly differing viewpoints and an inability to compromise can have on society as a whole. Speaking personally, the longer the Brexit saga has continued in the UK, the more bitter I think it has become. Damaging rifts have opened up between people, with actions having been taken which threaten the democratic foundations of our society. And as these rifts deepen, it’s not difficult to imagine an even darker future where arguments become conflicts. DiLouie taps into this fear by telling his story from the perspectives of, amongst others, the members of a fractured family. By focusing on 10-year-old Hannah, and without resorting to over-sentimentality, he demonstrates the devastating impact of war on innocence. Forget about the made-up politics and near-future setting: this is a harsh reality which is being played out today in many parts of the world. Reading OUR WAR, you wonder what it would take for DiLouie’s fiction to become fact in the US and parts of Europe. The more we splinter and divide, and the harder we find it to negotiate and compromise, the greater the propensity for conflict.
OUR WAR is a stark reminder of the high costs of war, and also of the fact that it’s often those least equipped who are forced to pay the highest price. Highly recommended.
The book is available now in print, eBook and audiobook.
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October 21, 2019
Pre-order CHOKEHOLD
CHOKEHOLD – the final HATER novel – is released on 19 November. Print, eBook and audiobook versions will be available. As is customary, you can pre-order a signed copy directly from me. Click here or on the image below to find out more.
Pre-orders will be shipped as soon as possible (normally a few days before the official release date). The book is also available from all the usual outlets.
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October 3, 2019
End of the world preparations
Huge thanks to everyone who has been helping spread the word about CHOKEHOLD. As promised in my last post, I’ll be sending out advance copies to a few randomly picked folks. I’m actually going to send more copies than I originally planned, so well done and thank you to Kerry, Bernie, Jess, Susan, Éric, Erika, Amanda and Suzanne – your books will be on the way shortly.
This is a very weird novel to promote, because although it’s the final book in THE FINAL WAR series, it also serves as a sequel to both DOG BLOOD and ALL ROADS END HERE, as well as a prequel to THEM OR US. For maximum effect, I recommend re-reading DOG BLOOD and ALL ROADS, then immediately re-reading THEM OR US when you’ve finished CHOKEHOLD.
Confused? I’m not surprised. Here’s a handy infographic I produced to show how all the HATER books fit together chronologically.
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September 17, 2019
Giveaway – it’s two months ’til I put you in a CHOKEHOLD!
The release of CHOKEHOLD is just two months away. I have a few spare advance copies of the book that I’d like to do something useful with, so I thought a quick giveaway would be in order. The rules of entry are simple: make some noise online about the new book or the earlier novels in the series (ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING and ALL ROADS END HERE) and I’ll put your name in the hat for an advance copy of CHOKEHOLD. You can post a review, tweet something, post to Facebook or Instagram – anything that helps me get the word out.
Let me know what you’ve done by filling in the form below.
[contact-form-7]
A few quick ground rules:
my decision is final
the giveaway will remain open until 30 September
you can enter as many times as you like
any spam or junk postings will render your entries null and void.
Best of luck!
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August 27, 2019
Immortalised in Lego
August is always a quiet time around here. For no other reason, I guess, than the fact I’m usually neck-deep in writing. This year has been no exception (hence no posts for three weeks…). I thought it was time to reappear and give you an update. But first, thanks to my friend RICHARD BANNISTER of RICHBRIX for immortalising me in Lego. I was genuinely thrilled when he sent me to me. Isn’t he (aren’t I) cool?! More about that in a moment.
So what have I been up to? I’ve been working on a new novel called WAS SHE EVER THERE? since March, and I’m about to head into what I think will be the final draft. This one is something of a departure for me, and I’ll tell you more when the next pass is complete. There’s also been a lot of planning going on, mainly getting ready for my part of THE BLEED which I’m writing alongside CHRIS PHILBROOK and MARK TUFO. I can’t wait to get going on my section of the book. Set in both the UK and Australia, it’ll include a visit from God and several ocean’s worth of gore.
Much work is also being done in preparation for my expansion of the AUTUMN series in 2020. The German reissues of the original series have gone down a storm (Vielen Dank an alle, die eine Kopie abgeholt haben), and the AUTUMN website at www.lastoftheliving.net will be getting a fresh coat of paint in the coming weeks. I think I can say that it’ll now be a trilogy of new novels which will be more broader in scale than the original books. Put it this way – if you set an AUTUMN novel in the centre of London you’re going to have many more survivors who’ll have to contend with many, many, many, many more undead.
So back to RICHBRIX. I used to work with Richard and even back in 2006/7 I knew he had a fascination for turning famous film scenes into bespoke Lego kits. Fast-forward a decade, and his passion has given birth to an incredible business. If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a Lego Snake Plissken from ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (I genuinely have), or V from V FOR VENDETTA, then Rich is your man. Head over to www.richbrix.co.uk and get ready to part with your well-earned cash!
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August 7, 2019
The Bleed
Introducing THE BLEED – a brand new apocalypse coming later this year from myself, MARK TUFO and CHRIS PHILBROOK. Follow THE BLEED on Facebook for updates.
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