Scan barcode
roksyreads's review against another edition
2.0
I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book - 'enjoyed' isn't the right word - but it certainly was interesting. It's a different take on the viral apocalypse story which has become a favourite in recent years. Rather than people being infected, a percentage of the population is genetically predisposed to becoming a 'Hater'. Haters are paranoid, violent, and virtually remorseless - they recognise others like them and kill those who are 'unchanged', feeling like they have no other option.
Through Danny, the narrator, Moody gives us a unique insight into the mind of a Hater following his change in the latter half of the book. This is a particularly frightening scenario because, unlike with zombies, Danny and the other Haters retain their faculties - they think and feel and react accordingly, making them very dangerous. The violence in the story reflects this; interspersed throughout are short third person POV narratives documenting the sudden change of a person to a Hater and the attacks and deaths that follow. Some of these effectively generated suspense, others merely demonstrated what I found to be an odd obsession with the mutilation of male genitalia - I suspect some of these were meant to add a shock factor, and that they're designed particularly to unsettle a primarily male target audience.
I'm not sure if I'll read the other two books in the trilogy at this stage. When it comes to apocalyptic stories, I'm most interested in the discovery and explanation of the trigger and the survival stories that follow, and I don't think following Danny as a Hater is going to give me satisfactory versions of those.
Through Danny, the narrator, Moody gives us a unique insight into the mind of a Hater following his change in the latter half of the book. This is a particularly frightening scenario because, unlike with zombies, Danny and the other Haters retain their faculties - they think and feel and react accordingly, making them very dangerous. The violence in the story reflects this; interspersed throughout are short third person POV narratives documenting the sudden change of a person to a Hater and the attacks and deaths that follow. Some of these effectively generated suspense, others merely demonstrated what I found to be an odd obsession with the mutilation of male genitalia - I suspect some of these were meant to add a shock factor, and that they're designed particularly to unsettle a primarily male target audience.
I'm not sure if I'll read the other two books in the trilogy at this stage. When it comes to apocalyptic stories, I'm most interested in the discovery and explanation of the trigger and the survival stories that follow, and I don't think following Danny as a Hater is going to give me satisfactory versions of those.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Torture
niksket's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Death, Murder, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, and Death of parent
triptych_turning's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a good read. The book takes a long time to get going, but once it's built up, everything is very fast-paced. The characters were nothing to write home about- most of them are plain and bland, which is likely intentional, but also doesn't particularly affect the book. The worldbuilding was minimal, but well done. This is definitely a good read if you're looking for something with a lot of action.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Genocide, Mass/school shootings, and Medical content
More...