Interested in Moondogs? Moondogs is a terrific novel. It's the kind of book that brings desperate elements together in an unusual location (for me) in a surprisingly off kilter way. There's a grieving son, an estranged Father, soldiers with wizard-y superpowers, a local celebrity hero cop who has inspired a series of over the top action movies, adulterous embassy employees, a meth-addicted cab driver, a smoking rooster, a prostitute and a actor with political ambitions. All these characters come together in the Philippines when the estranged Father is kidnapped by wannabe terrorists before he can reunite with the grieving son.
A little interruption in the regularly scheduled book review if I may. Kelog the smoking rooster? A riot. As the sister of the winner of the Best Rooster Trainer at the 1978 Ross Park Pet Show---second only to Westminster in pet show prestige in the U.S.--- I can be looked to as an authority on roosters. Kelog is one of the best villains ever.
Too many years of retail and visits from sales reps have me aching to tell you that Moondogs is blank meets blank. Not because this novel is a mish-mash of the creativity of others but because it is so original that referencing Moondogs to even the smallest similarities in other works would give you a better idea of what to expect when you read it than my tiny mind can produce. This is a twenty first century screwball comedy. The situations are realistic enough to make you appreciate the humanity in the story but at the same time so broad that the humor and almost Tall Tale qualities carry you along on a very enjoyable ride.
Moondogs author Alexander Yates gets a big round of applause for this his first novel. He has balanced the unsavory with the farcical in this novel like a pro. His writing is crisp and colorful and his story is inventive and well paced. Adventure and comedy may jump off the page in Moondogs but not at the expense of a heartfelt Father Son story.
Happy
P.S. That cover? Hideous. It's too busy, too dark and completely unappealing.
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