David Moody's Blog, page 61
December 18, 2014
Recommended Reading – The Last Plague
Today I want to recommend THE LAST PLAGUE to you – the debut novel from Rich Hawkins. I’ve known Rich for a number of years now, and it’s been great to see him fulfil his writing ambitions. When we first met, I signed a book for him in Lowestoft (I think). This year, he signed a book for me!
THE LAST PLAGUE (available now from Crowded Quarantine) is a nasty, blood-soaked door-stop of a book which features more grotesques and mutilations than I ever thought possible to fit into five hundred pages. It’s relentlessly bleak and vicious, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Here’s the synopsis. Click the link below for a few thoughts from Rich.
A pestilence has fallen across the land. Run and hide. Seek shelter. Do not panic. The infected WILL find you.
When Great Britain is hit by a devastating epidemic, four old friends must cross a chaotic, war-torn England to reach their families. But between them and home, the country is teeming with those afflicted by the virus – cannibalistic, mutated monsters whose only desires are to infect and feed.
THE LAST PLAGUE is here.
I asked Rich about his literary influences, and he told me they included “HP Lovecraft, Gary McMahon, Wayne Simmons, yourself, Tim Curran, Adam Nevill and Conrad Williams. I first became interested in horror after watching John Carpenter’s THE THING when I was a kid. I’m a big fan of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.”
So what’s on the horizon for Mr H? “My future plans involve the release of my novella BLACK STAR, BLACK SUN to be published by April Moon Books early next year. Voodoo Press have picked up THE LAST PLAGUE to be translated into German. And I’m currently writing the sequel, which is set in Britain a few months after the initial outbreak.”
Once again, I’m very pleased to recommend Rich Hawkins’ THE LAST PLAGUE. Written in a sparse, staccato style, and with a cast of strong characters and an unending torrent of body horror, it’s one of the most intriguing post-apocalyptic novels I’ve read in a long time.
Find out more about Rich and his work here.
Recommended Reading – The Last Plague is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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December 13, 2014
Interstellar
Real life has been a bit of a pain in the backside recently, preventing me from updating this site as much as I’d have liked. The film recommendations I’d been posting with uncharacteristic regularity at the beginning of the year have all but dried up. I’m hoping to put that right, and I wanted to start today by recommending that rarest of things: a film with apocalyptic overtones which manages the delicate balancing act of being positive without resorting to cliché.
Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR reminded me of Kubrick’s 2001 for all the right reasons. I’m sure many of you have seen it by now. If not, here’s a quick synopsis followed by a trailer. Click the link below for my thoughts on the movie.
With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history: traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.
Like many others, I’m a huge admirer of Christopher Nolan’s films. MEMENTO, THE PRESTIGE, THE DARK KNIGHT, INCEPTION… he has an incredible body of work which is consistently intelligent and thought-provoking. INTERSTELLAR is no different.
The film has a beautifully hopeless apocalyptic feel to it. Without sensationalism, Nolan creates a vision of a world slowly starving to death. It reminded me of John Christopher’s classic novel THE DEATH OF GRASS, in which a virus wipes out grass and crops and, by default, the human race too. INTERSTELLAR portrays a world which is gradually becoming a lifeless dustbowl: everything is covered with a layer of grit, massive sandstorms are commonplace, food stocks are becoming more and more sparse, and population numbers have dwindled massively. Nolan focuses on retired astronaut (now farmer) Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his family, and the relationships between the man and his children further emphasise the hopelessness of the human race’s predicament. Cooper’s son, Tom, will never experience the kind of life his father knew… ambition and choice are forgotten and ignored. There are no more engineers or scientists, just farmers, doing everything they can to grow enough food to go around.
Cooper finds himself dealing with what’s left of NASA (little more than Michael Caine and a handful of other folks working on their final project in hiding) and is convinced to lend his expertise to a desperate last mission to find a new home for mankind. It’s likely to be a one way trip. Can Cooper bring himself to leave his children behind in the hope of saving the rest of the world?
Of course he can.
INTERSTELLAR does exactly what I love to do in my books – it puts ordinary people front and centre when the most important decisions in history need to be made. It’s fascinating watching how Cooper is forced to balance his own feelings and wishes against the needs of everyone else. It’s an impossible choice to make, and he knows that whatever he decides, he’ll inevitably lose.
Like 2001, the film questions mankind’s place in the universe. And also like Kubrick’s masterpiece, you’re left wondering if you’re watching a film about the end of man, or the beginning.
Enough pretentious rambling from me. INTERSTELLAR is an excellent film which is impeccably put together (there’s some incredible model work in there – have a look at this link). I definitely recommend checking it out.
Interstellar is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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December 10, 2014
Complementary ebooks
I’ve been saying for a long time how I believe ebooks should be free with the print edition of books. After all, if you’re anything like me, when you buy a CD the first thing you do is rip it to iTunes or similar. Since the relaunch of Infected Books in 2012, you’ve been able to download complementary ebook versions via Smashwords after completing a short form online. After a successful trial run with STRANGERS, I’m pleased to be taking this experiment one step further. From today, when you purchase a signed copy of one of the books shown below direct from www.infectedbooks.co.uk, you’ll automatically receive a download link and you’ll be able to immediately download the Kindle and ePub versions of the book.
I hope you like this. Please let me have your thoughts or feedback if you have chance. By the way, we won’t be getting any more stock in before the end of the year, so there are just 6 paperback copies of STRANGERS, 10 copies of LAST OF THE LIVING, and 6 copies of TRUST left!
Complementary ebooks is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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December 1, 2014
Get to know the new arrivals – STRANGERS – released today
Today’s the day! STRANGERS is now available everywhere. All pre-orders have been shipped and/ or downloaded, and thanks to everyone who has already picked up the book. You’ll find some handy links at the end of this post if you haven’t yet had chance.
Fancy winning a signed copy? You can do so courtesy of THIS IS HORROR, who are running a STRANGERS competition. Click here to visit the site and enter.
Hope you enjoy meeting the STRANGERS (and some of them really are pretty strange!).
PRINT:
AMAZON.COM / AMAZON.CO.UK / BARNES & NOBLE / WATERSTONES / BOOK DEPOSITORY
EBOOK:
AMAZON.COM / UK / CA / DE / ES / IT / AU
IBOOKS US / UK / CA / DE / ES / IT / AU
NOOK
KOBO US / UK / CANADA
SMASHWORDS
Get to know the new arrivals – STRANGERS – released today is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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November 25, 2014
Feed the Zombies 2
The FEED THE ZOMBIES 2 promotion is now in full swing and runs until midnight. You can download zombie books from a whole host of great authors, all at 99c/99p a shot. There are loads of great authors involved, see the image below for full details.
For my part, until midnight tonight you can download ISOLATION at a bargain price. And if that wasn’t enough, for the same limited period, THE COST OF LIVING is available FREE!
Feed the Zombies 2 is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2014 – Bobby Adair
I’m always keen to help promote fellow zombie authors, so I’m happy to present a teaser from BOBBY ADAIR as part of the WINTER OF ZOMBIE BLOG TOUR 2014, organised by Armand Rosamilia.
Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, living in the ruins of the ancient cities in nearly-medieval conditions. Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. But that is just the beginning…
The wind-borne spores are spreading, disfiguring men and twisting their minds, turning them into creatures that threaten to destroy the townships. Among the townsfolk, political and the religious, dissension is spreading. Through it all, a mother must protect her son…
The stench of frozen rotted meat is in the air! Welcome to the Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2014, with 10 of the best zombie authors spreading the disease in the month of November.
AND so you don’t miss any of the posts in November, here’s the complete list, updated daily.
Winter of Zombie Blog Tour 2014 – Bobby Adair is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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November 24, 2014
They’re here, they’re beautiful, and they’re shipping this week
I’ve just taken delivery of a huge consignment of copies of STRANGERS. Pre-orders will be dispatched over the course of the next few days (bear with me… that’s a lot of signing and sending – pre-order volumes have taken me by surprise and I’m very grateful to all those who placed orders).
They’re here, they’re beautiful, and they’re shipping this week is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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November 20, 2014
STRANGERS featured on Litro Magazine today
It’s an honour to have STRANGERS featured by LITRO MAGAZINE today. Head over to www.litro.co.uk to read the opening of the book and a specially written introduction from myself.
STRANGERS featured on Litro Magazine today is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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November 19, 2014
STRANGERS – ebook now available to pre-order
The ebook version of STRANGERS is now available to pre-order. Order it now, and download it on December 1. Here’s a handy list of links:
AMAZON.COM / UK / CA / DE / ES / IT / AU
IBOOKS US / UK / CA / DE / ES / IT / AU
Of course, you could start reading STRANGERS today if you really wanted to… Order a copy of the signed paperback direct from Infected Books (shipping next week – click here), and you’ll receive a complementary copy with immediate download instructions. Hope you enjoy it!
STRANGERS – ebook now available to pre-order is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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November 18, 2014
Wayne Simmons and Infected Books
I’m really pleased to announce that my good friend and long-time co=conspirator WAYNE SIMMONS has officially joined Infected Books with responsibility for promotion and marketing of the growing IB catalogue. Read the full story on the Infected Books site.
Wayne Simmons and Infected Books is a post from: David Moody - author of AUTUMN and HATER
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