David Moody's Blog, page 92

Autumn: Disintegration now available (again!)

Apologies to those of you in the UK who've been waiting to get your hands on AUTUMN: DISINTEGRATION after the book initially sold out. I'm pleased to advise that it's back in stock at Amazon and other retailers. I also have a small supply of signed copies available from www.infectedbooks.co.uk.

By the way, if you're interested in signed foreign editions of the AUTUMN and HATER books, you can find some of those listed over at www.infectedbooks.co.uk too.

Finally for today, thanks to my good friend and web guru Rich Grundy, I have a new tool for those trying to locate specific eBook editions of my books. Check it out below:

 

Pick the book you're after, chose your country and the eBook platform you use, then press 'Go'. Simple! You can find this widget at www.infectedbooks.co.uk.

Autumn: Disintegration now available (again!) is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Recommended reading – Vacation

I have a feeling you might have missed this one…

Matthew J. Costello's VACATION is an interesting spin on the traditional zombie story. In the aftermath of devastating food shortages around the world, groups of humans become predatory, cannibalistic creatures. Elsewhere, life goes on after a fashion. After a near-death experience, an NYPD cop takes his family on a much needed vacation to an idyllic compound paradise where they're free to roam in the open air and swim and play and live life like they used to. Of course, things don't go according to plan…

"In the near future after a global crisis causes crops to fail and species to disappear…  something even more deadly happens. Groups of humans around the world suddenly become predators, feeding off their own kind. These "Can Heads" grow to such a threat that fences, gated compounds, and SWAT-style police protection become absolutely necessary in order to live.

After one Can Head attack leaves NYPD cop Jack Murphy wounded, Jack takes his wife and kids on a much-needed vacation. Far up north, to a camp where families can still swim and take boats out on a lake, and pretend that the world isn't going to hell. 

But the Can Heads are never far away, and nothing is quite what it seems in Paterville…"

I had a lot of fun reading VACATION. A fairly standard zombie set-up is given a new lease of life in unusual settings.

I said: "Costello takes a typical family and throws them headfirst into a situation that's anything but. What would you do to protect those you love at the end of the world? A thrilling, fast-paced story of priorities, secrets, and survival." And I'd be interested to hear your thoughts…

Recommended reading – Vacation is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

The Human Condition – new free fiction now available

It's been a while, but I've finally added some new free fiction to www.lastoftheliving.net. It's part one of THE HUMAN CONDITION – the novella from which this book originally took its name.

Later this month I'll start telling you more about AUTUMN: AFTERMATH, the final book in the AUTUMN series. In the run up to the novel's US release in March, there will also be more free fiction appearing. For those of you who read AUTUMN: THE HUMAN CONDITION first time around, you might have noticed that a couple of stories are still missing from www.lastoftheliving.net. You'll find out why when you learn more about AFTERMATH…

Until then, come back next week for the concluding part of THE HUMAN CONDITION, and check back again later this week for more ISOLATION news.

The Human Condition – new free fiction now available is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

So you want to write about zombies?

ZOMBIE WRITING is the title of an interesting new eBook, to which myself, Joe McKinney, Craig DiLouie, Jasper Bark, and many others each contributed a few words. The Kindle edition is free for the next three days, so click here for a risk-free read!

So you want to write about zombies? is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Recommended reading – Remains of the Dead

Here's another book recommendation which I intended to make when it was released last year: Iain McKinnon's REMAINS OF THE DEAD.

I love the concept of parallel sequels, and on this occasion McKinnon tells a story which starts at the same point as his previous novel DOMAIN OF THE DEAD, then shoots off in a completely different direction. And it's all the better for it.

"The world is dead, devoured by a plague of reanimated corpses.

Cahz and his squad of veteran soldiers are tasked with flying into abandoned cities and retrieving zombies for scientific study. Deep in infected territory, hundreds of miles from their support vessel, the ever present dangers weigh heavily on Cahz's mind as he shepherds his team to make quick, clean extractions.

Then the unbelievable happens. After years of encountering nothing but the undead, the team discovers a handful of disheveled survivors in a fortified warehouse with dwindling supplies.

Surrounded by hordes of ravenous corpses, Cahz is faced with the terrible responsibility of determining the five passengers who will escape in the helicopter. While those left stranded must continue to fight off the infected and starvation long enough to be rescued."

Some astonishing cover art there too from the ever reliable Craig Paton. Click here for a reminder of Craig's brilliant work from the AUTUMN website www.lastoftheliving.net.

I enjoyed this book a huge amount, and relished the glee with which McKinnon leads us and his survivors through the dead world. As I said at the time: "Believable characters trapped in a nightmare scenario—REMAINS OF THE DEAD is a breathless, high-octane zombie thriller. [McKinnon has] written another great book here…"

Recommended reading – Remains of the Dead is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Special Bulletin

This week at the Post-Apocalyptic Movie Club, a little known gem from the 1980's: SPECIAL BULLETIN.

You might not have heard of this movie, but it's certainly worth checking out. It's a well done (for the time) faux news broadcast covering a breaking story. A group of terrorists have docked a boat in the port of Charleston, USA. It's soon established that they're a group of nuclear scientists and peace campaigners, and their demands are simple: the government has 24 hours to disarm the stockpile of 600+ nuclear missiles at a nearby military base and deliver the triggers to the dock, or they'll detonate the nuclear bomb they have on the boat.

At the time of writing the whole film is available on Google Video and I've embedded it below. So why not watch it first, then come back and read my thoughts. In fact, for reasons which will quickly become apparent, I'd definitely recommend doing it that way. Okay, video first, my comments after the break.

It's dated and it creaks and groans in places, but goodness me, Special Bulletin still packs a punch. In some ways its relevance has diminished (it's a very definite product of the Cold War), but other aspects are still surprisingly relevant today.

Filmed in the style of a live news broadcast, the movie opens with news of a gun fight at the docks. A TV reporter – there to cover another story entirely – is taken hostage, and a live feed is established between the terrorists on the boat and the fictitious RBS news station in New York. Anchors Susan Myles (Katherine Walker) and John Woodley (Ed Flanders) cover the story as it unfolds. Direct footage of the protestors is interspersed with talking heads – scientists, politicians, local reporters and the like – as the twenty-four hour deadline approaches.

SPOILERS AHEAD! The US Government, refuses to accede to the terrorists' demands, and when it's established that the bomb on the boat is real, Charleston is evacuated. With the clock ticking, the authorities appear to have a change of heart, and abruptly agree to disarm their missiles and deliver the triggers as per the terrorists' demands. However, the trucks which arrive on the dock carry a military strike force. The ship is stormed and all but one of the protestors killed.

The timer on the bomb has less than two hours left to run. A specialist team arrive at the dock to decommission the device but fail, triggering an anti-tamper device, and it explodes. A mushroom cloud rises over Charleston.

Special Bulletin succeeds largely because it's an accurate approximation of a news broadcast (of the time). Shot on video tape and complete with all the TV logos, jingles and idents you'd expect, on the whole it feels surprisingly realistic. The story is relatively plausible, and even when it edges towards being far-fetched, the cast handle events with the required level of gravitas to keep the viewer onside.

As a kid watching this back in the 1980s, I'd not come across too many movies before with endings like Special Bulletin. I can still remember sitting in front of the TV, watching the footage of government scientists desperately trying to escape from the boat having tripped the device. Then the disbelief as the screen turned brilliant white for the briefest of moments before cutting back to the RBS news desk, the two anchors lost for words and overwhelmed with emotion. The explosion itself is handled well with the director wisely showing little of the devastation. In fact, the post-detonation scenes with the biggest impact are arguably the unsteady, out of focus shots of reporter Megan Barclay (Roxanne Hart), several miles from the epicentre of the blast. She stumbles around in shock with her cameraman, the rest of her crew lying dead around her…

Special Bulletin deservedly won a lot of praise when it was first shown. The original broadcast ran with frequent disclaimers ('The following program is a realistic depiction of fictional events. None of what you are seeing is actually happening…' etc.) in order to avoid panicking the viewing public. It has inevitably aged in many respects, and there are a few gaffes. The bomb itself, for example, looks like something out of Dr Who complete with standard glowing red LED countdown timers. One of the terrorists is played by Rosalind Cash who appeared in The Omega Man with Chuck Heston. Her TV news 'mug shot' when her character is first identified, actually appears to be a still from that movie! Several other actors also went on to become well known, and their familiar faces also spoil the faux broadcast illusion somewhat.

But if you can look past all of that, Special Bulletin is still a strong piece of drama. The world's a very different place now, of course, and most people's understanding of terrorism is a million miles removed from a handful of middle-class scientists on a boat with a bomb and a ransom note, but there are still parallels with how things are today. The governmental response (or lack thereof) to the unfolding situation, is plausible and chilling, and the film makes some really interesting points about how the media shapes and changes the news it reports with direct, twenty-four hour coverage and information overload. And in an entirely unintentional twist which really makes you think, in the background of the New York news studio throughout the broadcast, are the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

If you've got ninety minutes to spare, I'd definitely recommend clicking the link above and watching Special Bulletin while it's still there.

Next time… mainstream cinema screws up another movie about a pandemic.

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

AUTUMN: THE CITY – UK mass market paperback out today

2012 is certainly shaping up to be a busy year. Less than two weeks in and here's another new book! Continuing their publication of the AUTUMN series in the UK, Gollancz are today releasing the mass market paperback edition of AUTUMN: THE CITY. It's available from Amazon, Waterstones, The Book Depository, and all the other usual places.

By the way, apologies to those of you in the UK who've had trouble getting hold of AUTUMN: DISINTEGRATION since its release at the end of last month. I can't help feeling a little smug about this – the book sold out! A new printing is underway, and I'll post here again when it becomes available again. Sincere thanks to everyone who picked it up.

As always, you can find out more about the AUTUMN series over at www.lastoftheliving.net. There'll be some new free fiction appearing there next week.

AUTUMN: THE CITY – UK mass market paperback out today is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Isolation – The Rules of the Dead

Will Wright and I will soon be able to share much more information about ISOLATION, our forthcoming film project.

Is this an AUTUMN movie? The Rules of the Dead - a new blog post which answers this question – has just been added over at the ISOLATION website.

Isolation – The Rules of the Dead is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Zona Zombie – Spanish edition of Autumn: Purification out today

My first release for 2012! I'm very pleased to announce that the Spanish edition of AUTUMN: PURIFICATION – ZONA ZOMBIE – is out today from Minotauro.

Zona Zombie – Spanish edition of Autumn: Purification out today is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Recommended reading – Maberry's Dead of Night

Something else I'm planning to do with increased regularity throughout 2012 is recommend more books. I have a massive 'to read' pile which I'm steadily working my way through (actually, make that a 'to blurb' pile*), and I thought it would be good feature here some of the books I've recently blurbed and genuinely enjoyed. No reviews as such, just the publisher's blurb, my blurb and, occasionally, a few words from the author.

Okay, I'm several months late with this one, and most self-respecting zombie fans will already know about it or own it, but I'd like to recommend Jonathan Maberry's DEAD OF NIGHT.

"A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a formula designed to keep his consciousness awake while his body rots in the grave.  But all drugs have unforeseen side-effects.  Before he could be buried, the killer wakes up.  Hungry.  Infected.  Contagious.  This is the way the world ends.  Not with a bang… but a bite."

Great stuff as usual from Maberry. This is a fast-paced, by the numbers zombie story, written with confidence and style by a man who knows a thing or two about the living dead. I have a fascination with what goes on inside a zombie's brain: do they remember anything? Are they trapped and helpless? Are they as evil as we frequently assume them to be, or are they victims too? One of the highlights of Dead of Night for me was the way Maberry handles this question, presenting a terrifying disconnection between the reanimated corpses and the conscience which once controlled them.

I said: "Dead of Night stands drooped head and lurching shoulders above most zombie novels. The nightmare increases exponentially – from minor outbreak to major crisis with unstoppable speed, building to a heart-stopping climax you won't be able to put down."

Highly recommended reading!

* On the subject of blurbs – I've committed to enough to last me about six months, and I'm steadily working my way through them. Please don't send any more my way, because there's just no way I'll be able to read them for the foreseeable future. Sorry to be a pain. Thanks for understanding!

 

Recommended reading – Maberry's Dead of Night is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series