David Moody's Blog, page 88

TRUST cover art

I wanted to give you a glimpse of the fantastic TRUST cover art which has been created by Craig Paton, one of my favourite artists and someone I go back to time and again. I think Craig’s done a great job with this cover, and his illustration has captured the look of the aliens (if that is an alien…) perfectly. There’s also a lot of background detail which you’ll get to see more of in due course. Click on the cover to see a bigger version of the image.

More information on the release of the book will follow in the next few weeks, including pre-orders for the extremely limited hardcover edition which will include exclusive additional material. In the meantime, please keep an eye on www.trustdavidmoody.com and use the buttons at the bottom of the page to share with your friends. After all, who doesn’t like a free book? Remember I’ll be serialising the entire novel online between 23rd July and mid-December.

TRUST cover art is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Shock and Gore Festival

I’m really excited to confirm that I’ll be at the SHOCK AND GORE horror festival at the Electric Cinema in Birmingham next month. Running from 6th to 8th July, a host of great films will be screened from classics such as VIDEODROME and MARTIN, through to new movies such as RED LIGHTS and DETENTION. I’ll be taking part in a literary session at 6pm on Sunday with Conrad Williams, Sam Stone and Jasper Bark, after which I have the privilege of introducing a screening of Tod Browning’s still powerful 1932 film, FREAKS.

For more information, click here to visit the festival site.

Shock and Gore Festival is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Virus aka Fukkatsu no hi aka Day of Resurrection

It’s a long weekend here – an extended holiday which the country probably can’t afford, in honour of something many people seem to be quite indifferent about. I thought now would be a good opportunity to recommend another film for my Post-Apocalyptic Movie Club.

Steven Soderburgh’s CONTAGION was released last year, and I was hopeful we’d finally see a decent big-budget pandemic movie. Though it was critically well received, I didn’t like the film at all. To my mind it was as unsatisfying as 1995’s OUTBREAK, but this time with Gwyneth Paltrow as the Aids Monkey (with thanks for that quote to whoever designed the ‘honest’ Contagion movie poster I’ve used here).

My problem, I think, is that I don’t like any disaster/pandemic movie with a well known cast, and Contagion had a stack of them. If I’m watching a film about the end of civilization, then the end of civilization is what I want to see. I want unknowns and people who look like you and me, not a host of overpaid, airbrushed celebrities. Witness (only if you absolutely have to) 2007’s I am Legend with Will Smith to show how even the most beautiful of post-apocalyptic scenarios can be fucked up by such casting decisions.

So my recommended movie today is definitely not Contagion. Instead, it’s a little-known Japanese-American film: VIRUS (Fukkatsu no hi). It does have a number of well known faces in it, but it was made in 1980, when the term ‘celebrity’ didn’t seem to have quite the same connotations it does today. It’s a crazy film, and here’s a trailer. Click the link below to learn more.

The plot of VIRUS (also known as Day of Resurrection) seems to vary depending on which cut you watch. The film was envisioned as an epic and was notable at the time for being the most expensive Japanese movie ever made. The two and a half hour version I watched is the version I’ll talk about here. You can see it for yourself: it’s available to download at the Internet Archive.

It’s February 1982, and a deadly virus called MM88 has been accidentally created by an American scientist. A sample of the virus has been stolen and as the result of an attack by East German guards on American secret agents, the virus is released and a pandemic sweeps the world.

People die in their millions. Believing that the chaos of the infection will allow the Soviets to attack North America, as he waits to die in the Oval Office, the president is persuaded to activate the Automated Reaction System (ARS) which will automatically launch a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union should any such attack aimed towards the US be detected. The Soviets also prime their own version of the ARS.

Fast forward seven months or so, and the entire population of the planet is dead, save for just under 900 people based in Antarctica, spared because the virus only becomes active in conditions warmer than -10 degrees Celsius. The people there are joined by the crew of HMS Nereid – a British nuclear submarine (captained by, incredibly, Chuck Connors with a bizarre Dick Van Dyke-esque accent). The Federal Council of Antarctica is formed.

Most movies would probably stop there. Not this one.

It is discovered that an impending earthquake will trigger the ARS and cause an arsenal of American nuclear weapons to be launched towards the Soviet Union. This, in turn, will result in the Soviet ARS launching in return. The people of the Antarctic are terrified to learn that because the Soviets believed their research site to be cover for a secret missile base, one of the Soviet missiles will be aimed directly at them! There then follows a hectic dash to the White House to try and deactivate the ARS before it’s triggered.

Do they make it? Not quite. Is a nuclear Armageddon triggered? Oh yes.

I’ve probably told you too much already, so I’ll stop now. Click the link, download the movie, switch off your brains for a couple of hours and enjoy it. I genuinely preferred it to both Outbreak and Contagion. Some of the Tokyo-based scenes of the pandemic are particularly well done and surprisingly gruesome and honest.

Virus is a wild ride. Overly ambitious, bizarre, outrageously far-fetched but a huge amount of fun if you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic movies. It’s a great way to fill a couple of hours if you’re not out flag waving or having a street party this weekend.

Virus aka Fukkatsu no hi aka Day of Resurrection is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Trust – new website and blurb

Less than two months to go now before TRUST is re-released. Over the coming weeks I’ll be drip-feeding information about the book. A new website is now live: www.trustdavidmoody.com – please head on over and, if you don’t mind, start spreading the word.

For those of you who weren’t around when TRUST was originally released and don’t know anything about the book, here’s a brief blurb. More details to come very soon.

“Stephen Hawking said “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

A world brought up on stories of alien invasions and wars with other planets is asked to open its arms to three hundred aliens who are stranded in their crippled mining ship. The eyes of the entire world are focused on the village of Thatcham: the site of the first confirmed contact with an alien species.

Their arrival affects everyone. Barriers are broken down, perspectives are altered, and the life of every single person on the planet is changed forever as science-fiction becomes science-fact.

But not everyone is convinced. Some people are more cautious. Tom Winter knows that if he’s right about the aliens, more than seven billion others are wrong.”

With huge thanks to Dan Boucher (www.wicked-concept.com) and Craig Paton (www.craigpaton.com).

Trust – new website and blurb is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

The Killing Floor by Craig DiLouie

A belated plug for Craig’s latest book, THE KILLING FLOOR, sequel to last year’s THE INFECTION.

“The mystery virus struck down millions. Three days later, its victims awoke with a single violent purpose: spread the Infection. As the world lurched toward the apocalypse, some of the Infected continued to change, transforming into horrific monsters. 

America’s far-flung military has returned home to war against its own country, engaged in a fierce battle to retake Washington, DC. Two hundred miles away, Ray Young, survivor of a fight to save a refugee camp from hordes of Infected fleeing the burning ruins of Pittsburgh, awakes from a coma to learn he has also survived Infection. 

But this is no miracle. Ray is not immune. Instead, he has been transformed into a superweapon that could end the world … or save it.”

I enjoyed Craig’s monster-filled spin on the zombie apocalypse very much. Here’s my take: “a unique and startling vision of Armageddon … DiLouie takes the nightmare of THE INFECTION and ratchets up the horror to another level … It’s an excellent post-apocalyptic tale filled with horrific creatures and desperate people. He weaves the threads of his story expertly, managing to show the devastating cost of the crisis on both a human level and a global scale. Recommended!”

THE KILLING FLOOR is available now from Permuted Press. Visit Craig’s site at www.craigdilouie.com

The Killing Floor by Craig DiLouie is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Iain McKinnon’s Hair

I’ve met Iain McKinnon (author of Domain and Remains of the Dead) on numerous occasions over the years. Invariably when I’m pointing him out to people, I say something along the lines of “that’s him over there… the one with the dreads”. Not any more.

Iain has announced that he, like me, is going to become a member of the ‘final haircut’ club – i.e. he’s going bald. Unlike me, however, he does have some choice in the matter, and he’s made the excellent decision to have his dreadlocks shaved off for charity on 16th June, in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support.

Please click this link to support Iain. If that’s not enough for you, why not click here and bid for one of his amputated dreads on eBay!

Iain McKinnon’s Hair is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

This is Horror chapbook launch event – 22nd June

Really pleased to announce that I’ll be appearing at a This is Horror event at Warwick University on 22nd June to launch their chapbook series. I’ll be there alongside Simon Bestwick and Joseph D’Lacy, and the evening will be hosted by the great Jasper Bark. The event is free, but spaces are limited. Email michael@thisishorror.co.uk for tickets.

I look forward to seeing you there. If Simon, Joseph, Jasper and I are even half as good as the poster, then we’re all in for a good night!

And don’t forget… JOE AND ME – my story and the first chapbook in the series – is released on 15 June. Click here to pre-order.

This is Horror chapbook launch event – 22nd June is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Clearing out

There have been several reasons for the lack of activity on this site recently. Some of them you already know about, namely JOE AND ME and TRUST (more information about TRUST coming next week, by the way). Some reasons I haven’t shared yet, though, and they include finishing the first 100,000 word draft of a brand new novel, preparatory work on a new five book horror/science-fiction series, planning the rewrite of STRAIGHT TO YOU, outlining another new novel (as close as I’ll ever get to a vampire story), and finishing up work on the script for ISOLATION (yes, it is still happening and yes, I’ll tell you more about it very soon).

There’s something else that’s been eating up my time recently – moving house. Barring any last-minute hitches, my family and I should be relocating in the next month or so. That might not be particularly interesting to anyone but us, but there are a couple of implications you might want to know about.

Firstly, I’ve got an enormous number of books in my loft, and I want to get rid of most of them. So I’m having a clearance sale. Head over to www.infectedbooks.co.uk now to pick up a few bargains. There are a handful of Infected Books paperback editions of AUTUMN as well as the last box of copies of the original 1996 release of STRAIGHT TO YOU, all going at reasonable prices. All the books are in mint condition and will be signed.

Second… does anyone still use VHS? I ask because I’ve got a couple of hundred assorted movies on tape which are of no use to me whatsoever. They’re going free to anyone who wants them, but there are a couple of conditions: 1. that whoever has them takes the lot (because I don’t have time to split them up) and, 2. you need to be in the UK and able to collect (because I’m not paying the postage on four huge boxes of tapes!). If you’re interested (serious enquiries only, please), then get in touch and we’ll talk. Bear in mind that these are mostly horror and science-fiction movies collected by yours truly between 1989 and 1997 (I think) and there are more than a few howlers in there. I’ll happily send a list of titles to those who are genuinely interested.

Have a good weekend (and don’t forget to visit www.infectedbooks.co.uk)!

Clearing out is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

The Last Survivors

Do you remember my trip to the secret nuclear bunker a couple of years back? The time I tricked my family into helping me out with a little book research in the middle of an otherwise normal family holiday? If you don’t remember, click here to read about our Cold War day trip.

Now, do you remember Antony White? Antony’s one of the brilliant artists who contributed to www.lastoftheliving.net – I featured him and his work on this site last year (click here).

Antony got in touch again recently to tell me about a new project he has created with his partner Carly: The Last Survivors (www.thelastsurvivors.co.uk). It’s proudly described as ‘the UK’s most realistic zombie experience’ and it takes place in, you guessed it, the secret nuclear bunker I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I was invited along to a press run through but, unfortunately, I couldn’t make it. So I sent along a deputy – Ryan Fleming (star of page 351 of AUTUMN: AFTERMATH, no less!) – in my place.

Watch the trailer, read Ryan’s report by clicking the link below, then book your tickets!

“Nobody knows what happened or how it started. At first, it was news flashes on the TV and radio. Rioting in Kent and Sussex. The reports were sketchy and footage was rare. Then the radio went out. The Internet stopped working. Television ceased broadcasting. In our media-soaked world, the sudden lack of information caused mass panic.

The last few reports that made it out told of a parasite, a mutated form of toxoplasma gondii, controlling the brains of those infected, turning them into mindless creatures. These creatures had only one goal, to spread the infection further. These ‘infected’ would attack with horrific violence and aggression, clawing and spitting and bleeding over their victims. People were soon seeing it closer and closer to home, attacks spreading further out to London and the suburbs. The millions of infected in London now bolstered the wave of horror that swept through the Essex countryside. Whole towns fell in minutes as stunned residents saw their loved ones horrifically mauled and infected by blood-soaked, feral, snarling creatures.

Some people made their escape in cars and trucks, desperately trying to find a safe haven or the assistance of the police or military, but there was nothing. Only more death and devastation.

Within days, England was dead.

Then came a garbled radio transmission piggybacking across the FM band. We heard it as we sat in our car, parked up behind a hay bale in an isolated and overgrown farmer’s field near the town of Brentwood in Essex. We were only twenty-five miles away from the glowing ruins of London but, because of the sparse population here, we felt safe enough to evaluate our situation and decide what to do next.

The radio transmission told of a group of soldiers and scientists that had holed-up in an underground nuclear bunker complex. It was less than five miles from where we were parked, so Carrie and I decided to check it out. We were running low on petrol anyway, so it seemed our only shot. We found the entrance road to the bunker complex and turned in. We’d not seen any infected on the drive here but then, back before everything fell apart, we’d have been lucky to see anyone on these leafy lanes anyway.

As we neared the end of the entrance road, a barricade blocked our path. An armed soldier motioned for us to halt. He asked us for a report on the surrounding areas. We told him we’d seen nothing and we were ushered through. We were soon told to abandon our car and were transported to a more secure area. We were then sent in to meet one of the scientific team. He performed some quick tests on us to see if we were infected and, satisfied, went on to explain what they were doing and their theories on the cause of the outbreaks.

Then it all went wrong.

Multiple breaches were reported on the outer defenses and we were evacuated into the bunker for safety. We were hurried into the entrance tunnel, some 100 meters long, as the soldier escorting us barked orders and radioed for information. We were deep underground by now. Believing we were safe, nothing could prepare us for what happened next.

Somehow the bunker was compromised. We were then running for our lives, our footsteps drowned out by the sound of gunfire echoing off the walls. Our escort instructed us to stay close as we would need to use another exit to get topside to be picked up by the extraction team. Terrified, we did as we were told and followed the thin beam of light from the soldier’s torch, the only thing penetrating the pitch black of the now silent bunker. We passed through the blast doors and into the bunker complex. Then the screaming started. From somewhere above us, on another floor, gunfire, commotion and bloodcurdling screams could be heard. The bunker had fallen to those creatures. Our soldier, now clearly panicked but professional throughout, fell back on his training and commanded us to follow him. He led us through the echoing, ghostly bunker as the sounds of carnage grew ever closer.

We reached the emergency exit stairwell and climbed to safety, the soldier opened the blast door, affording us a glimpse of precious and much needed daylight. But the exit was blocked. We were trapped. Hurrying us down the flights of stairs and back into the bunker, our means of escape was cut off. Fear began to set in. My heart was thumping so loudly I was sure it could be heard throughout the bunker. Our soldier revealed a wound on his arm. Was it a bite? He said it hurt like hell but otherwise he didn’t seem to be affected too much. My fears were now doubled. How long does it take to turn into one of those things?? Were we in more danger now than before?

The soldier told us of a final evacuation route that would take us through the overrun bunker and out through the canteen. It wasn’t going to be easy, he was low on ammo but we had no choice. He led on and we nervously followed, back into the dark and foreboding bunker…

What happened above isn’t the plot of a new zombie novel or film but an account of the events when you visit The Last Survivors Zombie Experience at The Secret Nuclear Bunker in Kelvedon Hatch, Essex.

After booking online at www.thelastsurvivors.co.uk you turn up at the allotted time and are thrown right into the apocalypse before you even get out of your car. If you don’t scare easily, you will need to re-evaluate that after doing this! Being trapped in a dark and gloomy disused nuclear bunker complex with a panicking soldier and the sounds of death and chaos all around you, echoing off the walls and growing ever louder as the undead get closer and closer will trigger all manner of primal responses and fears in your head. It doesn’t matter that you know it’s not real, your base instincts that take over the moment the lights go out down. You have no choice but to go with it.

You can’t just turn around and walk out either. The place is a maze of blackened rooms, stairwells and dormitories, all fully decorated with ghostly remnants of the Cold War military that used the place right up until the early 1990s.

If you like zombies, horror or just something fun and truly unique, then this an experience you’ll not forget for a very long time.”

Thanks to Antony and the team behind The Last Survivors, and to Ryan for volunteering his services. Believe me, if Ryan was scared, you will be too! For more information and to book tickets, visit www.thelastsurvivors.co.uk.

The Last Survivors is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Pre-orders now open for Joe and Me

The team at This is Horror have announced that pre-orders for Joe and Me are now open. The (very reasonably priced) chapbook is strictly limited to 500 signed copies, so get in quick if you want to secure one. You can also subscribe to the chapbook series and enjoy several exclusive subscriber benefits – click here for more details. Here’s a little more about Joe and Me:

“Joe is anything but an ordinary eight year old. His father’s a stay-at-home dad and his mom’s going to save the world.

Forced to live in cramped quarters after the military pull funding on his mother’s research, Joe is thrown into the midst of a race against the clock to save mankind. As tensions rise and the family disintegrates, they must face an uncomfortable ultimatum. Do they save each other or humanity?”

I think it’s a lovely little story, which is linked (though I’m not yet saying how) to the AUTUMN series. Fellow author Jasper Bark (who once had the honour of eating my brains) said: “This is compulsive reading, a story you can’t put down unless someone hacks both your arms off!” and Starburst magazine said: “Satisfyingly morose. Takes a lo-fi route to an unavoidable apocalypse.”

Joe and Me is officially released on 18th June. Click here to pre-order.

Pre-orders now open for Joe and Me is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series