Moondogs: A Novel
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Moondogs: A Novel Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Alexander Yates (Author), Paul Michael (Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
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A singularly effervescent novel pivoting around the disappearance of an American businessman in the Philippines and the long-suffering son, jilted lover, slick police commissioner, misguided villain, and supernatural saviors who all want a piece of him.

Mourning the recent loss of his mother, twentysome-thing Benicio - aka Benny - travels to Manila to reconnect with his estranged father, Howard. But when he arrives, his father is nowhere to be found - leaving an irritated son to conclude that Howard has let him down for the umpteenth time. However, his father has actually been kidnapped by a meth-addled cabdriver, with grand plans to sell him to local terrorists as bait in the country's never-ending power struggle between insurgents, separatists, and democratic muscle.

Benicio's search for Howard reveals more about his father's womanizing ways and suspicious business deals, reopening the old hurts that he'd hoped to mend. Interspersed with the son's inquiry and the father's calamitous life in captivity are the high-octane interconnecting narratives of Reynato Ocampo, the local celebrity-hero policeman charged with rescuing Howard; Ocampo's ragtag team of wizardry-infused soldiers; and Monique, a novice officer at the American embassy whose family still feels feverishly unmoored in the Philippines.

With blistering forward momentum, crackling dialogue, wonderfully bizarre turns, and glimpses into both Filipino and expat culture, the novel marches toward a stunning climax, which ultimately challenges our conventional ideas of family and identity and introduces Yates as a powerful new voice in contemporary literature.

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  1. Listening Length
    12 hours and 28 minutes
  2. Author
    Alexander Yates
  3. Narrator
    Paul Michael
  4. Audible release date
    March 15, 2011
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B004S4ZBOO
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 12 hours and 28 minutes
Author Alexander Yates
Narrator Paul Michael
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date March 15, 2011
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B004S4ZBOO
Best Sellers Rank #581,252 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#8,824 in World Literature (Audible Books & Originals)
#9,791 in Family Life Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)
#14,433 in Cultural Heritage Fiction

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
36 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

westpacjoe
3.0 out of 5 stars Different story
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
Lived in the Philippines for a long time. Spent most of my time in and around Manila.
Still go back from time to time to visit friends. This is one strange book. Know most of
the areas described in the book. I still don't know if I like the book or not?
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Elizabeth White
5.0 out of 5 stars Smart, engrossing, at times wickedly funny
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2011
Verified Purchase
Moondogs is an excellent read. Yates weaves a complex web of a plot lines, and thoughtfully intertwines the individual strands into a cohesive and engaging whole. The book's many themes are big ones - troubled relationships (both romantic and filial, conventional and illicit), cultural identity, politics and bureaucracy, celebrity, forgiveness, death - and Yates demonstrates enviable skill in tackling them in unconventional ways, at times seriously and at others with a ruthless sense of humor. The main characters are well fleshed out and intriguing. Although by the end of the novel everyone has behaved badly, many remain almost perversely sympathetic. The scenery is gorgeous, and the plot's clever twists and turns will keep you on your toes.

Moondogs' only real weakness is that the main character, Benicio, is somewhat upstaged by Task Force Ka-Pow, and in particular the idealistic yet brutal Efrem. While it is Benicio's plot line that shapes the overall narrative, the reader is left wishing for a little more time spent with Ka-Pow, and Efrem in particular. To Yates' credit, he makes great use of Ka-Pow's narrative potential, and keeps them involved through the final pages.

I would highly recommend Moondogs as an engrossing, original, and highly entertaining read. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
5 people found this helpful
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enubrius
4.0 out of 5 stars Cogburn? Puh-leeze! Wait'll you meet Kelog!
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2010
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
To say that "Moondogs" is off-the-wall, would imply that it even recognizes, let alone gets anywhere NEAR, the wall. That would be erroneous. "Moondogs" is a, what, let's say, thriller, set in Manila, that... Hey! A Thrilla in Manila! Wonder if anyone else has ever thought of that... Anyway... It's a thriller about a young man's search for his father who, it seems, has been kidnapped by Ignacio and Kelog. Ignacio might, if he ever drew a non-dug-addled breath, be very dangerous. But it's Kelog who's the REAL villain! Kelog (named after the cereal company... I know, I know! But don't tell Kelog) Kelog was involved in death-match fights which, obviously, he never lost, until blindness made him quit. But he is still one VERY villainous, uh, villain! Forget "Goldfinger"; forget "Blofeld"; forget... well, I forget. But, even if I didn't forget, I'd say "Forget". Because there is NO VILLAIN MORE VILLAINOUS THAN KELOG! Oh, did I mention, Kelog is a rooster (who is the same colour(s) as the cereal box... hence the name.) Add to this, the special department of the Manila PD that indulges in magic; an ongoing play-by-play by a world (o.k. Manila)- renowned Policeman and, most surprising of all, a rather vivid and solid description of the present-day Philippines and a truly in-depth father/son story, and you've only scratched the surface of "Moondogs". Many years ago, when I was a youth living in New York, there was a man who called himself "Moondog". He walked the streets clad in animal skins, carrying a long pike as a walking stick, and, periodically, he released eps (45rpm records) of himself singing folk songs. I thought I'd never see anything as weird and as much fun, as that "Moondog". Boy, was I wrong!
6 people found this helpful
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Nick
3.0 out of 5 stars Average and uninteresting debut novel
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2010
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
I really wanted to like Moondogs. It seemed to have everything: Interesting characters, an exotic locale (not too many books feature the Philippines indepth as Moondogs), mystery, and family drama. But despite all of this, I didn't find the book interesting, nor did I find myself caring about the characters at all.

The positives for the book is that Yates definitely writes what he knows: inside the US embassy and the feel of Manila. I have to give Yates credit that it's indepth and the descriptions that give the book substance. However, I didn't feel that all the various threads came together, nor after 100 pages, did I really care. I didn't find the dialogue really interesting, other than it trying to come across as more clever than it really was. The relationships between Benicio and his girlfriend wasn't well written, and seemed to be rather perfunctory.

Moondogs is an idea that hasn't come to fruition. It has all these interesting ideas, but it's a disorganized mess that leads you feeling ambivalent towards any of the characters. Moondogs is a good little airplane book - it'll pass the time, but after you read it, the memories will fade away.

2.5 stars.
9 people found this helpful
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Hong Xiem
5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
I’m coming to this novel rather late, which is unfortunate in a way because I would have loved to have read it earlier, but it’s good in another way because I see Mr. Yates has another novel coming out soon and now I don’t have to wait as long to read it. Moondogs is a wonderfully unique and entertaining book, one of those gems that you can’t easily put down (and wouldn’t want to, in any case, because it's so engaging). Yates masterfully weaves together several different storylines, and brings together extremely disparate characters – some of the most memorable characters, in fact, that I’ve come across in ages. Also, his evocation of the Philippines, in particular Manila, was as good as any I’ve yet encountered, and it’s a delight to see his handling of language, showing dazzling playfulness while at times also carrying serious and touching drama. He’s a master storyteller in every way.
One person found this helpful
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Blackheart
3.0 out of 5 stars Just okay.
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2012
Interesting book. It was a little bit scattered, but once you got your head around all of the characters and a bit of the backtracking within the story, it was pretty good. I feel a little let down by the ending. I really enjoyed the whole Ka-Pow crew, and wished they would have had a stronger presence in the book and had not turned out the way they did in the end. Benny's character was a bit annoying to me. Be seemed to really not mature in the book the way I think he should have. I feel the same about him at the end as I did at the beginning, confused and wary.Some things were just strange and didn't make sense to me - I didn't really get Monique's character, or Solito. Solito just didn't seem developed enough. Overall a good, quick read.
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