David Moody's Blog, page 39

Scream Magazine reaches its landmark 50th issue

Regular readers will know how much I love SCREAM MAGAZINE. I’m thrilled they’ve made it to issue 50. Congratulations to the team for reaching this landmark, and here’s to many more issues to come. For more info and to get hold of a copy, visit www.screamhorrormag.com.

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The Front: Berlin or Bust

I’ve not been around here for some time. I have been working hard though. I have lots to tell you about (just not quite yet… not long). One thing I can talk about is the latest release from CRAIG DILOUIE. THE FRONT: BERLIN OR BUST is the third part in the World War II zombie series written by Timothy W. Long, Craig and myself. It’s available now from Amazon, and I thoroughly recommend it.

An airborne operation of German, American, and British paratroopers drop on Berlin in this exciting new episode in the WW2 zombie series, THE FRONT!

While the Battle of the Bulge turns into a bloodbath due to the introduction of a serum designed to create super soldiers but creating flesh-eating zombies, a German paratrooper unit rests in Genoa, Italy after years of hard warfare. They celebrate an announced armistice hours before flying to England to learn the truth: Germany has collapsed due to the spread of these monsters, and they must work with their former enemies to drop on Berlin and recover a pure sample of the Overman serum.

What follows is an inside look at how the elite German paratroopers fought and their bloody homeward mission to recover the Overman serum before all Europe falls.

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All Roads End Here

The advance copies of ALL ROADS END HERE are in, and will be winging their way to reviewers shortly. Looking forward to hearing what people think of this book which picks up shortly after the events of ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING. It’s a parallel sequel, which takes place in the same place and at the same time as DOG BLOOD.

The book is published in February next year by Thomas Dunne Books and is available to pre-order today. Not yet caught up with the FINAL WAR series? Pick up a copy of ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING and experience the other half of the HATER story.

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Mutant kids and Nazi zombies

My friend CRAIG DILOUIE released a new book earlier this month. Craig and I go a long way back and I consider him one of the most interesting voices in genre fiction. You can read my thoughts on his earlier releases TOOTH AND NAIL and SUFFER THE CHILDREN in the archives of this site. What I love about his work is the way he’ll take an extraordinary premise and write about it in a detached yet personal way which pulls no punches. He takes world-changing events like the military response to a fast moving zombie infection or a virulent strain of vampirism which affects only children, and looks at them in a whole new light, often making them feel uncomfortably plausible. His latest release ONE OF US (out now from Orbit) is no exception. It takes the well-used set-up of mutant kids born with special powers, but instead of going down the tired and cliched X-Men superhero route, he instead tells a much darker and altogether more disturbing story of neglect, distrust and hatred.

THEY CALL IT THE PLAGUE –  A generation of children born with extreme genetic mutations

THEY CALL IT A HOME –  But it’s a place of neglect and forced labour

THEY CALL HIM A FREAK –  But Dog is just a boy who wants to be treated as normal

THEY CALL THEM DANGEROUS –  They might be right

The story of a lost generation, and a boy who just wants to be one of us.

I thoroughly enjoyed ONE OF US. Set in Georgia in an alternate 1984, it’s a fascinating read. As you’d expect, the grotesques aren’t the real monsters here, rather it’s DiLouie’s cast of prejudiced, cruel, moralistic non-mutants. For me, what sets this story apart is the masterstroke of having the deformed and mutated kids being born as the result of a new strain of sexually transmitted disease. Because this is a generational shift, it allows DiLouie to present us with a cast of ‘special’ kids who grow up together and who therefore both lose their innocence and mature/gain their powers at the same time. This effectively amplifies the problem facing the backward facing society from which the children have been ostracised, and you get the sense from the very beginning of the book that once these kids are fully in control of their destinies, things will never be the same again. Highly recommended.

But ONE OF US isn’t the only Craig DiLouie release I want to tell you about. I’m also very excited to announce that his entry in THE FRONT series – following SCREAMING EAGLES by Tim Long and my novel RED DEVILS – will be released on 31 August. I’ve had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of the book and it definitely doesn’t disappoint. BERLIN OR BUST is a cracking tale which takes us right into the rotting black heart of the undead Nazi war machine. You can pre-order it now.

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Hot and getting hotter…

The weather’s been unprecedented here in the UK recently, with temperatures in the high to mid-twenties every day now for a number of weeks. Apparently we have a couple more weeks of it to look forward to. I’m not complaining – apart from the fact it’s bloody lovely to have a decent summer for the first time in years, it’s also fun to see the effect that a heatwave has on book sales. Whenever the sun appears, STRAIGHT TO YOU has a sales spike.

For those who’ve not read the book, it’s a simple story of a man trying to get to his wife before the sun dies and burns the planet to a crisp. The novel has quite a history to it: it was my first novel but I grew to hate it so rewrote it 20 years later, and it almost kind of nearly reached the big screen. It’s also one of the novels I’m proudest of having written (the 2014 version, anyway).

The novel is currently free to read on WATTPAD, and they recently made it a featured story. If you’ve not yet read it, head on over and give it a go. For maximum impact though, grab a paperback version, lie on your back in the middle of one of the UK’s many parched public parks, and read it before the weather breaks!

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Xinners

I’m back from the wilderness temporarily to tell you about the latest Infected Books release. It’s a hugely enjoyable, balls-to-the-wall, gore-filled tale of dodgy dealings and reanimated corpses in the outer rim. As it says in the blurb: it’s Dawn of the Dead meets Battle Beyond the Stars: Romero meets Corman. XINNERS, by my good friend and co-conspirator Wayne Simmons, is a cracking read and it’s available right now from Amazon. It’s zombies in space, man! Need I say more?

A proportion of the profits from every copy of XINNERS sold will be donated to MIND, the mental health charity.

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Fresh blood required

I’ve had a few quiet years but I’m hopeful that you’ll be seeing a lot more of me in the near future. There are a number of very exciting projects in the pipeline. A great way of keeping up to date with my news would be to sign up for my newsletter, and you can find all the necessary details over here. And yes, before you ask, I’m GDPR compliant. Here’s a link to the privacy policy.

For a long time I gave away a short story to new mailing list subscribers, but now I’ve upped the ante and produced HOW IT WORKS – a tongue in cheek guide to the inner workings of a typical horror author (me!). The book is available in Kindle and ePub formats, and also as a pdf. As well as a biography, frequently asked questions, and a guide to all my current novels, it also contains SCRATCH – the dystopian zombie novella I wrote for Infected Books’ YEAR OF THE ZOMBIE series.

The ebook is designed as a primer for people who are new to my work, so feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. Chances are if you’re reading this you’re already well versed in my work, but as the title of this post implies, I’m on the lookout for fresh blood…!

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Welcome to Essex

Here’s a film recommendation I’ve waited a long time to share. Before I tell you why you should see WELCOME TO ESSEX, let’s wind the clock back a few years…

I’ve mentioned Ryan J. Fleming on this site several times previously. As well as being a connoisseur of all things post-apocalyptic (a number of the film releases I’ve written about here have been direct recommendations from Ryan), he’s also a roving reporter, a long-time member of MOODY’S SURVIVORS, and he even had a starring role as a featured zombie in AUTUMN: AFTERMATH. We can now add film director to that list.

It feels like decades, but it can only have been a few years ago when Ryan told me he was making a film. In this business it’s often hard to have a conversation with anyone who isn’t desperate to tell you they’re writing a book, editing an anthology, working on a screenplay, or directing their first movie. Much of the time these comments are just pipe-dreams or wishful thinking. In Ryan’s case, however, it happened to be true.

Over the following years, he told me about assembling a crowd of more than a thousand zombie extras for a scene in Brentwood High Street, about naming a character (actually a character’s husband) after me (no doubt as payback for AFTERMATH), and about Russell Brand appearing in the film. In 2013 (I think), attendees at the HORROR IN THE EAST convention in Lowestoft actually saw some footage, and we realised he wasn’t just making it all up.

Fast-forward five years, and Ryan’s debut feature – WELCOME TO ESSEX – is finally out on DVD. I’ve had the pleasure of watching it, and I can tell you it was definitely worth the wait. I’m not going to review it here, I’m just going to ask you to support Ryan and his team and pick up a copy. Here’s the customary synopsis and trailer:

Overnight, the United Kingdom was consumed by an epidemic of terrifying proportions. The majority of the population were killed in a matter of hours as millions of recently-dead people returned to life and began to attack and kill the living. The disaster spread so rapidly that the government had no time to control the situation. The order to evacuate England was given. But it was too late. Now, the following day, a small group of mismatched survivors find themselves trapped in the famous town of Brentwood, hunted by large hordes of fast-moving corpses. They must learn to work together and reach the last-known point of rescue, Southend-on-Sea, or face certain death. Or worse.

What I love most about WELCOME TO ESSEX is the fact that it exists. The fact that a gent who passionately loves the post-apocalyptic genre can have the desire to make a movie, and the determination and conviction to make it happen. And on such a scale… this film looks the business and everything Ryan promised eventually appeared on screen, including a thousand zombie extras and Russell Brand. Okay, so it’s not the most original horror movie you’ll see this year, but it’s funny (often very, very funny), technically impressive, and filled with more passion and heart than a hundred Hollywood blockbusters combined. Congratulations to Ryan, the team at Smoking Monkey Productions, and anyone involved in the film in any way, shape or form.

WELCOME TO ESSEX. Buy it. Watch it.

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Cargo

I feel duty bound to draw your attention to CARGO, a top-notch zombie movie which premiered on Netflix this last week. I’ve had my eye on this one for a long time, primarily because of its source material. The film’s based on a stunning short movie which took the zombie-loving world by storm back in 2013. You can watch it here, and I recommend you do. No worries about spoiling the feature length version, because they’re two very different beasts as I’ll explain.

Here’s a synopsis, courtesy of IMDB:

In a desperate bid to outrun a violent pandemic, Andy and Kay have holed up on a houseboat with their one-year-old daughter, Rosie. Their protected river existence is shattered by a violent attack, which sees Kay tragically die and Andy infected. Left with only 48 hours before he transforms into one of the creatures they have fought so long to evade, Andy sets out on a precarious journey to find a new guardian for his child. A flourishing Aboriginal tribe are Rosie’s best chance of survival – but with their merciless attitude toward the afflicted, they also pose a grave threat. A young Indigenous girl becomes Andy’s only chance of safe passage into this sacred community. But unfortunately the girl has no desire to return to her people – she is on a quest to cure her own infected father by returning his stolen soul. Each in their own way is seeking salvation… but they will need to work together if they hope to achieve it.

I absolutely loved the original CARGO short. It spoke volumes telling a relatively wordless story. It was smart, very well made, original and heartfelt. When I heard it was going to be expanded to feature length, I had reservations. My concerns were calmed when I heard that the original writing and directing team of BEN HOWLING and YOLANDA RAMKE were helming the new version, and also when MARTIN FREEMAN was cast. I still hold THE OFFICE as the best of Freeman’s performances to date, and I thought if he could bring the same laid back vulnerability to the role here, we could be onto a winner. In my opinion, he nails it.

I mentioned earlier that the CARGO short and feature are very different. Whilst the central concept is largely the same, the variations are inevitable. You can’t extend a 7 minute story to 104 minutes without adding a lot of content. I really started to consider the effects of story length when I wrote THE COST OF LIVING (several times). It started off as a 5k word short, then morphed into a piece of flash fiction, but it only really came into its own when I wrote it as a 40k word novella. You can judge for yourself which version you prefer because they’re all available to read here, but to my mind the story only really hit its stride with the novella version. I think CARGO suits the short film format best, but there’s a huge amount to admire in the longer film.

At times the extended story threatens to veer towards a reliance on various overused zombie tropes to keep itself going (in fact, the attack which sets the plot in motion is driven by a particularly dumb character decision), however the originality of the central conceit, the performances, and the sure-handed direction keep the movie moving well. The cinematography makes the most of Australia’s vast beauty and remoteness, with the glorious scenery almost becoming a character in its own right. It reminded me a little of THE ROVER, another post-apocalyptic film you should check out. A special mention must also be made of the infected. We’ve seen endless variations of the living dead and we’re becoming hardened to blood and guts and dismembered body parts. The creatures here, though, are something else. Their physicality is unsettling, bordering on surreal, and because they’re not given too much screen time, their impact when they do appear is increased.

This is a smart and very well made movie, which stands alongside – not in place of – its source material. As it appears to be on NETFLIX in most territories around the world, I’d like to propose you get off this website and go watch it. Then watch the short. Both are highly recommended.

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ALL ROADS END HERE – important update

Hello. Long time no speak. I’ve had my head down writing the final HATER book  – CHOKEHOLD – but I’m briefly coming up for air to bring you an important update about ALL ROADS END HERE.

On the whole, I’m pleased with how ONE OF US WILL BE DEAD BY MORNING has been received since its release last December. It’s still getting plenty of good press. Just this month, STARBURST magazine called it “a gripping, visceral read, glistening with gore and studded with extreme brutality and with a relentlessly downbeat tone which will please lovers of hard-edged apocalyptic fiction”, whilst SFBOOK REVIEW said it was “clever, convincing, claustrophobic fiction”. Just yesterday, GEEK SYNDICATE published their verdict, with Ian Simpson noting that by the end of the book “you’re likely to be standing in a pile of gore, or not standing at all.”

My publisher has been looking again at how we publish and market the second HATER trilogy, and we’ve decided that these are books which better suit a paperback release. ONE OF US… was hardcover only and is likely to stay that way until we’ve shifted more copies, but ALL ROADS END HERE and CHOKEHOLD will be released as paperbacks from the get-go.

In the case of ALL ROADS END HERE, this means that publication is going to be delayed, unfortunately. The book will now be released on February 12, 2019.

If you’ve pre-ordered the hardcover, please cancel your order. The paperback edition is already available for pre-order here.

Apologies for any inconvenience or disappointment. This is definitely the right approach for the series as a whole and I cannot wait for you to read the remaining books. In the meantime, can I suggest you re-read DOG BLOOD? You’ll be catching up with a few familiar faces in some unexpected places in ALL ROADS END HERE…

And again, I’m sorry you’ll have to wait to read the new book. Rest assured I’m working on something to cushion the blow, and I hope to announce an upcoming release for 2018 very soon.

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