olivialluciam's review against another edition
5.0
5✰
naur cause this book guys. literally hooked me from the start. i read this book like three times while on a 13hr plane ride, whenever i finished it i could not bear to part with it. soo well written and wow
naur cause this book guys. literally hooked me from the start. i read this book like three times while on a 13hr plane ride, whenever i finished it i could not bear to part with it. soo well written and wow
miss_s3lfd3strukt90's review against another edition
3.0
“Until now we’ve discriminated against each other according to race, religion, age, gender and just about every other differentiation imaginable. Look around you tonight and you’ll see that those differences are gone. Now, to put things as simplistically as possible, there is just “us and “them”, and it is impossible for us to coexist. We have no alternative but to fight, and we must keep fighting until we have wiped them out.”
brisingr's review against another edition
4.0
I had three reasons why I bought this book. 1) the cover is fantastic. 2) Guilermo del Toro is recommending this. 3) it was very cheap. And I have to thank my classmates for telling me to read this book.
Humanity has in front of it a new threat: the human itself. But not usual humans, but humans that has changed from the nice and familiar people we know into "haters" that kill with cold blood the person next to them. While the crimes are becoming more and more frequent, Danny McCoyne tries his best to keep his family alive.
Hater is the kind of fast-paced book, made to be devoured by a relatively large public, in spite of the cruel subjects you find in it. And the book was a real surprise for me and I liked it quite a lot. Because it was not predictable (at least not for me) and because it shows society in it's absolute crisis, where even the sole survival of the human race is at stake. I think it is even terrifying (and I am not the kind of person who gets easily impressed) exactly because of how real it feels, I can see everything happening exactly how it was described in this book.
It's not the kind of book that will change your life and maybe any other time I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much. I read books that were much better than this one, but also books that were much worse. What makes Hater special though, it is the fact that as a final product, this book is satisfying. It gives the reader a little bit of everything. You have different types of love, action and moments that will catch your breath and you also have peaceful, familiar scenes of a normal life. I, especially, needed this kind of book: that doesn't ask too much of you, that presents in it's own rhythm how things are going; you don't need to always be thinking a step ahead, maybe-maybe you'll guess what's happening. I needed a relaxing and refreshing book, in simply the way it is written. And if anyone feels like reading something out of what they're usually reading, something new to break the chain of similar books, I totally recommend this one.
Danny is such a nice character! He's human, so so human, and as a reader, you fully emphasize with what he's feeling and living. You would also swear, be terified or sick to your stomach, you would also want more and you would also feel the same type of despair. He's charming thanks to his normality, thanks to the fact that each of us has a little bit of Dannny and Danny has a little bit of each of us. And I'm talking so much about this particular character because he's also the narrator of the most part of the story, so you're following all his actions. But the other characters were just as charming and normal, just as any of us or the people around us.
But, the bad part of this book: it didn't manage to make me feel everything as vividly as I was expecting from this kind of reading experience. I would have liked the despair and the horror to be better described, to feel the fear and the panic in my own bones.
But it's intense and I appreciate the crimes and how they were done. I like murders with style, and this book has a lot of this. It also ends in a very interesting cliffhanger and I am so curious to see what's happening from now onwards! This book was really such a pleasent surprise!
Humanity has in front of it a new threat: the human itself. But not usual humans, but humans that has changed from the nice and familiar people we know into "haters" that kill with cold blood the person next to them. While the crimes are becoming more and more frequent, Danny McCoyne tries his best to keep his family alive.
Hater is the kind of fast-paced book, made to be devoured by a relatively large public, in spite of the cruel subjects you find in it. And the book was a real surprise for me and I liked it quite a lot. Because it was not predictable (at least not for me) and because it shows society in it's absolute crisis, where even the sole survival of the human race is at stake. I think it is even terrifying (and I am not the kind of person who gets easily impressed) exactly because of how real it feels, I can see everything happening exactly how it was described in this book.
It's not the kind of book that will change your life and maybe any other time I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much. I read books that were much better than this one, but also books that were much worse. What makes Hater special though, it is the fact that as a final product, this book is satisfying. It gives the reader a little bit of everything. You have different types of love, action and moments that will catch your breath and you also have peaceful, familiar scenes of a normal life. I, especially, needed this kind of book: that doesn't ask too much of you, that presents in it's own rhythm how things are going; you don't need to always be thinking a step ahead, maybe-maybe you'll guess what's happening. I needed a relaxing and refreshing book, in simply the way it is written. And if anyone feels like reading something out of what they're usually reading, something new to break the chain of similar books, I totally recommend this one.
Danny is such a nice character! He's human, so so human, and as a reader, you fully emphasize with what he's feeling and living. You would also swear, be terified or sick to your stomach, you would also want more and you would also feel the same type of despair. He's charming thanks to his normality, thanks to the fact that each of us has a little bit of Dannny and Danny has a little bit of each of us. And I'm talking so much about this particular character because he's also the narrator of the most part of the story, so you're following all his actions. But the other characters were just as charming and normal, just as any of us or the people around us.
But, the bad part of this book: it didn't manage to make me feel everything as vividly as I was expecting from this kind of reading experience. I would have liked the despair and the horror to be better described, to feel the fear and the panic in my own bones.
But it's intense and I appreciate the crimes and how they were done. I like murders with style, and this book has a lot of this. It also ends in a very interesting cliffhanger and I am so curious to see what's happening from now onwards! This book was really such a pleasent surprise!
beledit's review against another edition
5.0
When I was 95% through reading this, I got out of bed late at night to download the next book in the series so I could start it immediately. It's a total pageturner, which I read in a day.
The main character is thoroughly unlikeable, but I'm not sure if that's part of the story or just a personal dislike. However, the story is intriguing. I read a lot of zombie novels, but these are not zombies. Over a period of just days, ordinary people are transformed into raging, incredibly violent murderers who attack anyone close to them. Those attacked, however, are not "infected" (actually, they usually die because the attack is so violent). Gradually the whole population is separated into "them and us". Families are torn apart, and we witness the usual post-apocalyptic mayhem.
I'm now well into book two, Dogs Blood.
Like this review? Why not check out my book review site: BelEdit Book Reviews?
The main character is thoroughly unlikeable, but I'm not sure if that's part of the story or just a personal dislike. However, the story is intriguing. I read a lot of zombie novels, but these are not zombies. Over a period of just days, ordinary people are transformed into raging, incredibly violent murderers who attack anyone close to them. Those attacked, however, are not "infected" (actually, they usually die because the attack is so violent). Gradually the whole population is separated into "them and us". Families are torn apart, and we witness the usual post-apocalyptic mayhem.
I'm now well into book two, Dogs Blood.
Like this review? Why not check out my book review site: BelEdit Book Reviews?
stephwithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
hunterb89's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
canderson's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book. The cool cover, the awesome build into chaos—and then it fell flat. It felt like a slow build, simmering before that boil started and then all of sudden we were in a rolling boil and then someone dumped a bunch of ice cubes into the pot and ruined dinner.
I'm not sure whether I was supposed to like our main character or not. I sympathized with him in the beginning. I was on his side, moving through the plot, seeing the stress of worrying about a family when the entire world was going to hell in a hand basket. I was with the narrator: until he kills the grandpa. The story went downhill. For me, there was no reason to continue on with the storyline. It would have worked as a single, standalone novel. I have no real desire to read the next book, except for maybe wondering if that a**hat gets killed, but for me it went way off the rails. I felt like the author was getting bored with his own story so he just threw some weird, anti-hero twist in and said, "eh, book two will be better" and typed "the end".
Super frustrated with this novel—what a great build for potential (which is why it got two stars rather than one). Such a shame. Someone said it was supposed to be a movie, but I don't think it ever happened. Wouldn't be surprised if they bailed on that deal. Bummer.
I'm not sure whether I was supposed to like our main character or not. I sympathized with him in the beginning. I was on his side, moving through the plot, seeing the stress of worrying about a family when the entire world was going to hell in a hand basket. I was with the narrator: until he kills the grandpa. The story went downhill. For me, there was no reason to continue on with the storyline. It would have worked as a single, standalone novel. I have no real desire to read the next book, except for maybe wondering if that a**hat gets killed, but for me it went way off the rails. I felt like the author was getting bored with his own story so he just threw some weird, anti-hero twist in and said, "eh, book two will be better" and typed "the end".
Super frustrated with this novel—what a great build for potential (which is why it got two stars rather than one). Such a shame. Someone said it was supposed to be a movie, but I don't think it ever happened. Wouldn't be surprised if they bailed on that deal. Bummer.
roksanalyasin'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.
vondav's review against another edition
4.0
As people get angrier and road rage happens daily, this book tells the story of people living in fear. Its live or die, the Haters v the others.
Working for local government, he had a mundane job, working 9-5 to support his wife and 3 kids. Danny hated confrontation and as the trouble started he tried to keep himself and his family safe. Written in 3rd person POV, it was easy to follow Danny’s story. There were times when you realised just how despondent Danny was, a family that didn’t appreciate him, a boring job with a boss who was on a constant power trip and cracks begin to show in his life.
The book starts off with an unexplained attack, violent and unprovoked. As the story continues you get introduced to the Haters. A group of people that just snap, attacking anyone they feel a threat. No explanation why, their attitude “Kill them before they get killed”. As more people turn the violence escalates and some of the deaths are quite ingenious. This was a quick read as I wanted to find out what caused the change. As the army began to move in the story became more urgent and it was a story of survival. The story keeps building to the end and slowly things are started to be explained. Ending on a cliff hanger, I will have to buy book 2 to find out what happened.
As I was reading this I did start to think of what I would do if this really happened and possible it will be a form of discussion with the children instead of what if there was a zombie outbreak.
Working for local government, he had a mundane job, working 9-5 to support his wife and 3 kids. Danny hated confrontation and as the trouble started he tried to keep himself and his family safe. Written in 3rd person POV, it was easy to follow Danny’s story. There were times when you realised just how despondent Danny was, a family that didn’t appreciate him, a boring job with a boss who was on a constant power trip and cracks begin to show in his life.
The book starts off with an unexplained attack, violent and unprovoked. As the story continues you get introduced to the Haters. A group of people that just snap, attacking anyone they feel a threat. No explanation why, their attitude “Kill them before they get killed”. As more people turn the violence escalates and some of the deaths are quite ingenious. This was a quick read as I wanted to find out what caused the change. As the army began to move in the story became more urgent and it was a story of survival. The story keeps building to the end and slowly things are started to be explained. Ending on a cliff hanger, I will have to buy book 2 to find out what happened.
As I was reading this I did start to think of what I would do if this really happened and possible it will be a form of discussion with the children instead of what if there was a zombie outbreak.
midlifehedgewitch's review against another edition
2.0
If you like pointless violence and zombie flicks, you'll like this book.
If you're not into mindless violence and zombies, give this book a miss. The main character is a whiny prat. He hates his crap life before he turns into a zombie and then gets joy out of killing.
This book is the first in a series. I won't be reading the next one.
About the only good thing I can say about this book is that it only took me a couple of hours to read.
If you're not into mindless violence and zombies, give this book a miss. The main character is a whiny prat. He hates his crap life before he turns into a zombie and then gets joy out of killing.
This book is the first in a series. I won't be reading the next one.
About the only good thing I can say about this book is that it only took me a couple of hours to read.