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Dead Dogs
There are bodies to be disposed of and all the local dumpsters are full. There are armed terrorists in the backseat ... and they're all smoking sherm. Yuppies have taken over East Atlanta, and the drug dealers are at war...
Read the misadventures of two Atlanta misfits involved with a circus of outlaws and revolutionaries, coerced into various criminal activities.
Dead Dogs is charged with scenes and conversations about drugs, homelessness, gentrification, garbage trucks, dogs, yoga studios,gravedigging, hit men, machine guns, Stalin, and Koi Ponds.
From the back cover:
Two Atlanta misfits in debt to notorious dog fighter and drug dealer Boots Tumbler are coerced into handling his dirty work. Phobos and Chuck, desperate to pay him back, go elbow deep in blood, dirt, and gristle, cleaning up dog fights, delivering drugs, and disposing of dead bodies. Regardless of the haul, they shovel it, bag it up, stuff it in the trunk of their 1982 Cadillac Deville and drive it off for disposal. The misfit pair fumble their way through dangerous circumstances and criminal adventures. Desperation eventually drives them out of the city, across lost highways, encountering a circus of outlaws and revolutionaries living on the margins of morality.
Read the misadventures of two Atlanta misfits involved with a circus of outlaws and revolutionaries, coerced into various criminal activities.
Dead Dogs is charged with scenes and conversations about drugs, homelessness, gentrification, garbage trucks, dogs, yoga studios,gravedigging, hit men, machine guns, Stalin, and Koi Ponds.
From the back cover:
Two Atlanta misfits in debt to notorious dog fighter and drug dealer Boots Tumbler are coerced into handling his dirty work. Phobos and Chuck, desperate to pay him back, go elbow deep in blood, dirt, and gristle, cleaning up dog fights, delivering drugs, and disposing of dead bodies. Regardless of the haul, they shovel it, bag it up, stuff it in the trunk of their 1982 Cadillac Deville and drive it off for disposal. The misfit pair fumble their way through dangerous circumstances and criminal adventures. Desperation eventually drives them out of the city, across lost highways, encountering a circus of outlaws and revolutionaries living on the margins of morality.
200 pages, Paperback
Published August 14, 2020
3 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Manny Torres
6 books33 followersOriginally from Brooklyn, NY, Manny Torres resides in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a photographer and painter. In addition to writing Dead Dogs, he's written articles for My Darling Atlanta, and written and directed several documentaries and music videos, including "Change Your Mind" by Sara Rachelle, The Trespasser, Unendangered Species, and The Abby Go Go Christmas Special. For 15 years he was a music programmer and co-conspirator on Step Outside: The Strange and Beautiful Music program on WMNF 88.5FM in Florida. He's worked as a photographer, graphic designer, sold insurance, written training manuals for a large corporation, and managed a touring rock band. He occasionally curates film and art shows around Atlanta. He is currently editing a series of crime novels, as well as a supernatural western.
Dead Dogs is his debut novel, part of the Dog Trilogy. The novella Father Was a Rat King and the novel Perras Malas were released in 2022. The final book in the trilogy, Cabrones Perros, was released in 2023.
Dead Dogs is his debut novel, part of the Dog Trilogy. The novella Father Was a Rat King and the novel Perras Malas were released in 2022. The final book in the trilogy, Cabrones Perros, was released in 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 27, 2022
DEAD DOGS TELL NO TALES
This book needs 2 B made into a Movie TODAY. Not 2moro!!
MANNY TORRES' narrative voice is so strong it lifts the words right off the paper and sears them into yo consciousness. And I challenge anybody to write better scenes.
Then: there is the DIALOGUE which is straight innercity/lowlife/slangy/pummeling patois that will bust yo head wide open to the white meat. Its VISCERAL BRUTALITY mixed wit slacker philosophizing yields one of the BEST books I have read in YEARS. Hands down.
Brotha TORRES is an unrecognized/ Huge TALENT deserving of a COME UP and possessor of a crucial/uncanny/unique VOICE that MUST BE heard in THIS (or probably any) genre.
This novel brings U Black Pulp Fiction/Urban Noir & Scalding Savagery in 150 pages of Uberiffic writing. Plain n simple THE MAN can flat-out WRITE.
Yes, the story was heavy on multiple characters that sometimes took a little work 2 keep up with BUTT Manny made them so interesting U could forgive that. Especially EL ALACRAN would be an interesting story by himself. The book was also a skosh DENSE wit DESCRIPTIVE goings-on. Again a minor complaint. Because the story kept moving/never stagnating.
Some of the ABSURDITY of the situations reminded me of CHESTER HIMES while the ANIMAL-MINDED attitudes recalled pieces of DONALD GOINES oeuvre and even CHARLES AVERY HARRIS.
If MANNY doesn't break-thru to the BIG TIME it will be a conspiracy. That's how good he is.
Meanwhile, I'm a fan waiting to read the next joint this man drops.
This book needs 2 B made into a Movie TODAY. Not 2moro!!
MANNY TORRES' narrative voice is so strong it lifts the words right off the paper and sears them into yo consciousness. And I challenge anybody to write better scenes.
Then: there is the DIALOGUE which is straight innercity/lowlife/slangy/pummeling patois that will bust yo head wide open to the white meat. Its VISCERAL BRUTALITY mixed wit slacker philosophizing yields one of the BEST books I have read in YEARS. Hands down.
Brotha TORRES is an unrecognized/ Huge TALENT deserving of a COME UP and possessor of a crucial/uncanny/unique VOICE that MUST BE heard in THIS (or probably any) genre.
This novel brings U Black Pulp Fiction/Urban Noir & Scalding Savagery in 150 pages of Uberiffic writing. Plain n simple THE MAN can flat-out WRITE.
Yes, the story was heavy on multiple characters that sometimes took a little work 2 keep up with BUTT Manny made them so interesting U could forgive that. Especially EL ALACRAN would be an interesting story by himself. The book was also a skosh DENSE wit DESCRIPTIVE goings-on. Again a minor complaint. Because the story kept moving/never stagnating.
Some of the ABSURDITY of the situations reminded me of CHESTER HIMES while the ANIMAL-MINDED attitudes recalled pieces of DONALD GOINES oeuvre and even CHARLES AVERY HARRIS.
If MANNY doesn't break-thru to the BIG TIME it will be a conspiracy. That's how good he is.
Meanwhile, I'm a fan waiting to read the next joint this man drops.
August 28, 2021
Gritty, Gripping, and Cinematic!
DEAD DOGS is a bloody stew of conflict and violence simmered in a cauldron of streetwise crime fiction. All the characters kick ass, and their dialogue drives the novel, but the author's narrative voice is equally compelling. Five out of five stars, and I'm eager to read anything Torres drops in the future. Highly recommended!
DEAD DOGS is a bloody stew of conflict and violence simmered in a cauldron of streetwise crime fiction. All the characters kick ass, and their dialogue drives the novel, but the author's narrative voice is equally compelling. Five out of five stars, and I'm eager to read anything Torres drops in the future. Highly recommended!
October 19, 2024
I liked Dead Dogs by Manny Torres (2020, Kindle, $5.99, 151 pgs)...it's a quick slam-bang Road-Noir novel...it's follows two mis-fits, Phobos and Chuck (they kinda reminded me of the John Mellencamp song Theo & Weird Henry only dipped in a stenching, caustic, bubbling, poisonous brew of Road-Noir), who are in debt to wheel-chaired bound local kingpin Boots, who has a side endeavor of running nightly dog fights...To work off their debt to Boots, Phobos and Chuck must dispose of the Dead Dogs, and the occasional human! From this point on you delve into the carrying on of these two, and the mostly mean people they get entangled with, and the violence they encounter around every corner...Did I say Violence! Yes sir! If you like slam-bang violence this one's for you! But I wanted to point out the well crafted writing of Manny Torres...I wouldn't say he has prose, wording is pretty straight forward, but the way he pieced the novel together makes for interesting reading...He starts with Phobos and Chuck, who they are and their predicament/conflict...then he cuts to a whole, seemingly unrelated group and what they are doing...and then he jumps again...etc...makes for interesting reading, keeps you on your mental toes. In fact, I wish I had taken some simple notes of characters names etc while reading...But
never fear, all comes together quite satisfactorily at the end with a strong ending...-I plan on re-reading Dead Dogs a second time this summer and have a pencil & paper handy to jot down some simple notes and character names along the way...yeah, I liked Dead Dogs plus it's an interesting read...4.0 outta 5.0!
never fear, all comes together quite satisfactorily at the end with a strong ending...-I plan on re-reading Dead Dogs a second time this summer and have a pencil & paper handy to jot down some simple notes and character names along the way...yeah, I liked Dead Dogs plus it's an interesting read...4.0 outta 5.0!
September 1, 2022
From memorable characters to certain dialogue that had me laughing out loud, Dead Dogs by Manny Torres is well worth your time. Phobos and Chuck and a slew of down and dirty characters bringing a story and road trip to life. Lone wolves among dead dogs indeed. Go forth, seek out, purchase and enjoy. Tell ‘em another lover of great storytelling sent you.
August 20, 2021
So, I want to acknowledge something. One day, while I was reading this, Manny just so happened to tweet that English wasn't his first language - that he had to learn it as he grew up. That bit of intel forced me to sit back in my chair and blink rapidly. English is hard enough to learn how to speak, but to write it (and write it well) --- the odds are against you.
This dude wrote an entire damn novel in a language that he had to learn -- and wrote it well enough for me to not even question whether or not he was a native speaker. DAMN! Manny, you got the biggest set of brass balls I've ever encountered -- and I mean that in the best possible of ways.
Moving on to the story --
Dead Dogs is a WILD ride! My head was spinning throughout the entire book, the most common questions being: What the f*ck is going on?! Who the f*ck is this?! What the f*ck just happened?! Where the f*ck are we?! What.... the... F*CK?!!! To say this book is dizzying is the understatement of the century. It's fast-paced, it's gritty, it's GOOD. If you dig pulp, grit lit, transgressive fiction -- you'll love the hell out of this.
I do, however, want to point out a MAJOR miss for me -- the editing.
This book jumps backwards and forwards in time - think of a Guy Richie movie - and while there are three parts to the book it NEEDS to have individual chapters to help that transition between time and space be more definitive and obvious to the reader. There were many times I had to flip backward to figure out the timeline of events - which was frustrating because it slowed the pace of the book.
Like I said, this is not a writing problem - the writing is solid - this is an editing problem, and that falls at the feet of Moonshine Cove. The editing just f*cked this book for me -- and I'm pretty pissed about that because it's a damn good story.
I really look forward to the sequel to this book, which will be published by Outcast Press next year (I believe). I trust their editors, and know that what comes next in the Dead Dogs series will be amazing!
This dude wrote an entire damn novel in a language that he had to learn -- and wrote it well enough for me to not even question whether or not he was a native speaker. DAMN! Manny, you got the biggest set of brass balls I've ever encountered -- and I mean that in the best possible of ways.
Moving on to the story --
Dead Dogs is a WILD ride! My head was spinning throughout the entire book, the most common questions being: What the f*ck is going on?! Who the f*ck is this?! What the f*ck just happened?! Where the f*ck are we?! What.... the... F*CK?!!! To say this book is dizzying is the understatement of the century. It's fast-paced, it's gritty, it's GOOD. If you dig pulp, grit lit, transgressive fiction -- you'll love the hell out of this.
I do, however, want to point out a MAJOR miss for me -- the editing.
This book jumps backwards and forwards in time - think of a Guy Richie movie - and while there are three parts to the book it NEEDS to have individual chapters to help that transition between time and space be more definitive and obvious to the reader. There were many times I had to flip backward to figure out the timeline of events - which was frustrating because it slowed the pace of the book.
Like I said, this is not a writing problem - the writing is solid - this is an editing problem, and that falls at the feet of Moonshine Cove. The editing just f*cked this book for me -- and I'm pretty pissed about that because it's a damn good story.
I really look forward to the sequel to this book, which will be published by Outcast Press next year (I believe). I trust their editors, and know that what comes next in the Dead Dogs series will be amazing!
March 24, 2021
Exquisite. Simply exquisite. Torres says he's inspired by the great dialogue writer George V. Higgins. And Dead Dogs is dialogue-driven, so it's going to read either like Higgins or wannabe Higgins, right? No. Manny Torres is a unique and talented writer with his own voice. I loved Dead Dogs. It's dark, brutal, and funny.
The characters and situations in this book are grungy, filthy, sometimes grotesque, but all of them are unique and fresh. I can't recommend this book enough. Fantastic! Just fantastic.
The characters and situations in this book are grungy, filthy, sometimes grotesque, but all of them are unique and fresh. I can't recommend this book enough. Fantastic! Just fantastic.
August 30, 2021
Join Chuck and Phobos as they ferry corpses and outlaws in their Cadillac, The Great White, in order to pay debts to brutal gangsters. Throughout this literary marvel you meet a wide cast of lowlifes and wannabe mobsters, along with people just trying to live their own life on their own terms. By the last third, all these stories converge in a fantastically bloody conclusion. A grisly tale you won't be able to put down!
March 20, 2022
There's nothing I like more than a good cast of colorful characters. Dead Dogs excels in this particular trait. The protagonists, Chuck and Phobos are the tip of the iceberg. Every character in the book is just as likely to have had a song written about them by Tom Waits. I love a hard crime novel, but I love it even more if it makes me laugh. I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Dogs by Manny Torres.
August 16, 2023
the book jumped around a LOT. i really, really enjoyed nola though. i wish we got to see more of her. in general, i wish there was a little bit more.. substance? it felt like the book was missing something the whole read. i did enjoy it though!
August 29, 2021
It's grimy, bloody and violent in these streets. Colorful characters spewing foul language and doing things that will give most nightmares. A fun fast read.
November 6, 2023
Typical criminals out of the life getting into the life and wondering why life treats them like shit. Good pace.
November 6, 2021
GREAT neo-noir! Brutal in spots, gritty throughout. Wonderful characters—the irrepressible losers Chuck and Phobos are priceless! Living in the streets, doing the dirty jobs no one else will do, just to make it to another day. At one point Phobos observes that he might have died and he might be in hell. Soon after, when he’s watching a trio of drug-crazed machine gun totin’ self-styled revolutionaries in clown makeup cavorting through a cemetery in the dead of night, you can’t help but think he might be right. Terrific prose, spare and pure. Lines like: "The few women there gawked at her. The look Nola returned pierced them deep in their souls, and the souls of their unborn children." Torres writes the hell out of this story!
February 22, 2022
DNF 21%
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews