A review by patrick6367
Good Dogs by Brian Asman

2.0

I loved the review by Scott Sigler, super loved the concept/plot, and was excited to read this. Loved the first dozen pages, and managed to get another 100 pages into this before I had to DNF. Unlike Scott Sigler I did not feel like there was deep characterization here. I felt very much the opposite; I never felt like I connected with any of the characters at all. They were all idiots who couldn't even focus for a few hours to get to their safe zone in a life-or-death situation because they had to keep stopping multiple times to eat, bicker, whine, use the bathroom, pick fights with strangers, etc. I disliked them, didn't want to spend time with them, and wasn't cheering them on. I also had real suspension-of-disbelief trouble with the concept of Lycanthropy being a recessive gene and somehow everyone who gets it manages to get to adulthood without society catching on. Particularly with this group of chuckleheads. The writing was fine though, in the sense it was readable and carried me along. I really wanted to continue the book because the plot and writing were good, but I just really didn't want to spend any more time with Joey, Delia, Baby Doll, or Linnae. Resourceful, cunning, tough, adaptable, smart or very sympathetic these characters were not. They were cringey, whiny, twenty something anti-heroes who frankly deserved to be eaten by tougher monsters and after 100 pages with them couldn't imagine any scenario where they came out on top against what they were going up against. I really liked Esther from the prologue though. She was tough, smart, resourceful and admirable. If the whole book had just continued directly from the prologue this could have been a heck of a ride.