Trust [Kindle Edition]

In my experience, people are creatures of habit and generally stick to what they know; and I'm no exception. I love horror and reading fiction from outwith the genre is really a rarity for me. There is quite often a degree of cross-over with the science-fiction and horror genres which led me to reading Trust by David Moody: the British writer behind the massively popular Autumn series and Hater, the film rights to which were snapped up by Guillermo del Toro.

With Trust, there is little in the way of preamble, with the book effectively opening minutes before the alien vessel enters the Earth's atmosphere. From this powerful opening, Moody then turns his focus around on to the human characters of Trust and embarks on an exploration of the human condition relating to paranoia, racism, and of course, trust. While reading Trust, the reader cannot help but empathise with Moody's protagonist and be drawn into the story, questioning whether Tom Winter's suspicions are based on xenophobia or actually have some foundation.

It's now been two weeks since I finished reading Trust and I still can't quite put my finger on what makes it, in my humble opinion, an instant classic. Moody has, as with the Autumn series, taken a group of very ordinary people and thrust them into a very extraordinary set of circumstances, yet makes it all so believable. The characters going about their daily business, jobs, relationships, dealing with financial woes contrasts sharply with and enhances the closing chapters of the book.

Trust has been described as "anti sci-fi" by some critics and perhaps rightly so. Trust is an atypical sci-fi story, setting aside many genre cliches while directly referencing the film and TV shows that have shaped contemporary audiences notions of alien lifeforms coming to earth such as V, Alien Nation, War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Independence Day. However, I can guarantee that you will never have read anything like Trust before...

Being objective, Trust will not be for everyone. Moody has a talent for taking his time with telling a story, developing it fully, before building to climactic and even shocking finales in his work and Trust continues this form. Those who don't have the patience for such efforts and are seeking a less cerebral, more action-driven plot would do well to look elsewhere. For those looking for something a little different, infinitely more satisfying and thought-provoking, get yourself a copy of Trust at your earliest convenience.

Back around 2005, when I first discovered David Moody's work, he was a self-published writer, releasing the UK zombie series AUTUMN through his own Infected Books press. Then along came HATER, a book so awesome that people like Guillermo Del Toro took notice; movie rights were optioned, publishers started circling like hawks, and the rest, as they say, is history. Infected Books stopped publishing, the entire back catalogue of both AUTUMN and HATER series passed over to publishing giants St Martins Press (US) and Gollancz (UK).

But there were a few disgruntled murmurings amongst Moody fans. Not all of his back catalogue was to see re-release through St Martin's and Gollancz. Two books in particular remained in limbo: Moody's debut apoc horror, STRAIGHT TO YOU, and his only sci-fi work to date, an alien invasion novel entitled TRUST.

And now, after years of waiting and being badgered by fans, Moody has finally re-released TRUST. And it's an Infected Books release, the book now available worldwide in limited edition hardback, trade paperback and e-book formats. In addition, Moody is also posting the book online, chapter by chapter, for free, from now through to December 2012.

And here's the headline: TRUST is Moody's best work yet.

Don't get me wrong, I love the HATER series. And the AUTUMN books were the very thing that reawakened my love of zombies, inspiring me to write my own zombie fiction. To be clear: AUTUMN and HATER are two groundbreaking series that you really need to check out, if you haven't done so already.

But TRUST is even better.

There's something about this book. When I first read it, back in 2006, under the first incarnation of Infected Books, the story felt epic. The re-released version feels even more epic, to be honest. Which is odd. Because everything about TRUST is understated.

The setting for the book is Thatcham, a small coastal village in England which suddenly finds itself host to a stranded alien vessel. The first part of the novel plays out a little like the excellent TV mini series V. Slowly, the establishment starts to trust these new visitors, welcoming them into society, glamoured by their obvious sophistication and seemingly noble intentions. But, just like in V, there are doubters, people who don't believe the hype. The book's main protagonist, Thatcham blow-in Tom Winter, is one such doubter.

TRUST is not a slow burn by any stretch of the imagination. I was hooked by page one. It is fair to say, however, that there's less gore-stained action than you'd expect from Moody, the book going more for suspense and mystery than full-blown horror. Are the aliens who they say they are? Why are they really here? Our protagonist Tom, a disenfranchised and paranoid individual to begin with, grows progressively more so, isolating himself from just about everyone, as he tries to dig deeoer into the aliens' background. And as readers, we're right there with him, asking the same questions, turning page after page seeking the same resolution Tom seeks. And that's the strength of this book: it puts you right in the man's shoes, in the place where he lives, with the people he shares his life with. You'll know these people already. Single mother Clare, someone who hasn't time to think about aliens, struggling just to make ends meet. Tom's slacker brother, Rob, as gullible as he is likeable. Pub landlord John Tipper and his alcoholic fishwife. Even the village drunk, Ken Tratham will ring a bell. Like all Moody's work, this is a book about extraordinary things happening to ordinary people. And its more powerful for that.

Moody is selling TRUST as an anti-scifi book, and that's pretty much what you've got here. Unlike a lot of contemporary scifi, this story is defiantly character-focused, and heartbreakingly accessible with it. It's not Hollywood fodder. Think DISTRICT 9 as opposed to INDEPENDENCE DAY. I'll stand by the word 'epic' to best describe this book. Because from gripping start to heart-pounding finish, this is a story that will shake you to the very core, resonating long after you've turned the final page. And there's nothing more epic than that.

Try it for yourself at (...)

And then buy.

This story is a much different beast compared to the Hater trilogy and the Autumn series, but 'Trust' is still imbued with David Moody's trademark style of apocalypse. It begins slowly, but gradually builds into a claustrophobic, paranoid nightmare that stayed with me for days after I'd read the final chilling sentence.
Don't expect any Independence Day-style heroics and bravado. Just expect to be haunted by TRUST's melancholy beauty.