Monday, October 26, 2009

Book Review: Dogs by Nancy Kress

We do a lot of reading around here. Typically, I've got five books going at a time. There's the book I read to myself, the book I listen to myself, the book I listen to in the car with Davan, the book I read aloud to Davan and the family book that we all read aloud together, in turns. My reading interests span from childrens' books to Science Fiction to nutrition and lots in between. Just last night, I finished Dogs by Nancy Kress.

I've read quite a lot of Nancy's work, which is mostly Science Fiction. She's also written a fair number of how to write books, but I can't say I've read any of those. I've enjoyed everything I've read by her.

Dogs, which I still liked, was one of my least favorites. The story is about a town where dogs start attacking people. These dogs are people's beloved pets and most were very tame before suddenly turning on their owners and any other people they might come across. This is why it's not a favorite of mine. The dog attacks are not fun to read and I'm not really into gruesome. It has a real Cujo feel in parts. While I did have a bought of interest in Stephen King as a preteen, I'm no longer into horror.

That said, the book kept my interest enough so that I stayed up a little late reading over a couple of night's. The main characters, Tessa, an ex FBI agent new to the town, and Jess, the dog handler for the town, are engaging. The story is told from several points of view, which I don't always like, but was well done here.

Through the story, we track not only what's happening with the dog attacks, but also what's being done to try to find a cure, to contain the threat and to find out where it came from. Is it a terrorist threat?

Dogs is a fairly quick read with 280 pages. If you're a Nancy Kress fan, but haven't found her non Science Fiction books or if you are into suspense with a little mild horror, I'd recommend Dogs.

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