First published back in June of 2010, British author David Moody’s ‘Everything And Nothing’ was a short prequel to ‘Dog Blood’ (2010) - the second installation in the ‘Hater’ trilogy. This short addition to the trilogy was released for a limited period of time as a free ebook download on the author’s website, designed to whet readers’ appetites before the long-awaited release of ‘Dog Blood’ (2010).
DLS Synopsis:
Danny McCoyne is a new man now. Around him, the world is a very different place. The Unchanged are being hunted down and killed. And Danny feels happier than he ever has in his life. All he has left is the clothes he’s wearing and the weapons he’s carrying. That’s it. Everything and nothing.
Danny and his like, all of whom were once dubbed ‘Haters’ by the scared media, make their way from house to house, killing all the Unchanged that they come across as they go. As they days, weeks and months pass by, the numbers of Unchanged are steadily and very noticeably declining. Danny has no idea how many he has killed. Alone, the number of kills to his name must run into the hundreds. But the number isn’t important. What’s important is that the Unchanged are now being eradicated.
And, as he makes his way through a small out-and-back community, he notices one particular house that stands out from all the others. It’s the small details that give them away. And of course, they’ll die for their stupidity. And so, armed with his small hatchet, he makes his way into the house. His kills bring him the usual euphoric joy. But it’s the discovery of the young boy, Adam, that makes this particular slaughter so different. Chained up and locked away in their garage, Adam was drugged on a daily basis, but kept alive by his frightened family. And now Danny can release him. Let him out into the wide world to help with their mission. Their goal to kill and kill and kill, until there’s no more of them left…
DLS Review:
For a freebie to set his readers up for in the next instalment into the ‘Hater’ series, this really is an absolute monster of a read. It’s a high impact, adrenaline-pumping addition that offers the reader a good solid glimpse of the mass slaughter that took place in the months following on from the end of ‘Hater’ (2006). It bridges the gap between the Danny McCoyne that we knew at the end of ‘Hater’ (2006) and the one we meet at the beginning of ‘Dog Blood’ (2010). And for that alone it is an important (but certainly not essential) addition into the ‘Hater’ trilogy.
The violence is harsh and intense, without going overboard with any graphic splatter. It’s shocking and emotive in its portrayal of Danny’s need to wipe out every last person who is fundamentally not like them. Those dubbed the Unchanged.
From when Danny meets the young lad Adam, the short gets cracking with a furious rush of violent mayhem against a whole host of the Unchanged that they manage to unearth. And, as the short careers towards its blood-soaked end, the action just keeps on escalating until the mass slaughter is all over.
All in all this is an excellent, high-impact read, bursting with energy and violence. It forms a fantastic addition to the ‘Hater’ series, giving the reader a better understanding of Danny’s departure from his old life into that of the whole new Danny McCoyne.
The short runs for a total of 25 pages.
© DLS Reviews
Other ‘Hater’ instalments:
- ‘Hater’ (2006)
- ‘Everything And Nothing’ (2010)
- ‘Dog Blood’ (2010)
- ‘Them Or Us’ (2011)
- ‘One Of Us Will Be Dead By Morning’ (2017)
- ‘All Roads End Here’ (2019)
- ‘Chokehold’ (2019)
