Lives of the Monster Dogs : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Great premise, very poor execution...
Review: The idea of writing a novel about a race of soldier dogs perfected by a mad scientist should be enough for a decent science-fiction book... But in this title, the story comes together in a very poor manner... It is told from several points of view, and they all do not come together nicely at all... For instance, the man to whom the leader of the rebellion (Mops Hacker) is given a sa puppy, is chosen by Mops previous master because 'she had a strange fondness for Jedediah, whom she had several times caught in secret acts of kindness;' It turns out later that this Jedediah is a brute that is constantly beating Mops... Like these, the book is plagued with inconsistencies in its characters, and this reflects in the overall quality of this novel...

Rating:
Summary: Hope is Motion
Review: It is a tribute to Kirsten Bakis' mythmaking ability that the reviewers find so many different meanings in this book: note the comments about celebrity, AIDs, WW II, science, and so forth. Yet it is perhaps more simply about survival, both physical and intellectual, or just about existence. And who better than a monster dog who shouldn't exist in the first place to advise us? "Hope is motion." writes the Dog's historian, "Curiosity, desire, and hope alone can keep the surface from being drawn back to reveal the terrifying mechanism of the world." In the end, the dogs' disease draws back the surface and we see a distressing doggerdammerung. It's not a happy ending, but Frankenstein's monster didn't have a happy death either. A good book and a good read; literate and thought provoking.

Rating:
Summary: ARF
Review: Just the cover art and GREAT idea gave it 2 stars up front. And anything added to that would have been icing on the doggie biscuit... but the complete lack of doggie/person understanding that anyone who has ever enjoyed the company of ANY animal knows about is simply not there. Not in the least. Humans and animals communicate SO MUCH better than the fake dialogue here. And the sumptuous halls and limos and helicopters and panting (get it?) reporters just added to the lie. Such a fertile idea gone bad. BAD DOG!!

Rating:
Summary: Haunting. Written on Two levels of masterwork.
Review: This novel gave me chills. It was beautifully written. This book is one that must be read more than once. This is because of the minute detail- the symbolisim, the thematic ties. It must be read deeply and read over to see these situations- shadows of Nazi Germany and the AIDS epidemic. It is a meaningful ending, not hallucinatory as one might think at first glance, but symbolic. I found it to be powerful and richly written- this is not really a story about talking dogs. Like Orwell's classic Animal Farm, this book goes beyond its animal qualities. Strip them away, and you are left with a moving fable for our times.

Rating:
Summary: Idea: 5 stars; Implementation: 2 stars
Review: I agree with the many reviewers who were captivated by the author's creative idea. I wish the writing and the plot lived up to it. Perhaps if the basic premise weren't so intriguing, there would be less disappointment. But, I still read the whole thing. Optimism dies hard.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting idea with no support.
Review: This book's premise drew me in. What a wonderful idea! I was expecting to learn about these creatures and what they thought and how they felt in their final hours. The relationships with humans also held promise. What was actually delivered was a watery stroy, false relationships and a lot of blathering on about the narrators hard life with no a/c. I give the author all due credit for coming up with an original idea and some interesting and engaging characters, such as Lydia, but I have to say that the story did not due the idea justice and in the end, I felt no closer to caring about the dogs or the peolple than I did in the first paragraph. Too many unanswered questions and assumptions into the relationships.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book! Very creative!
Review: I seldom read novels anymore, because my time is usually spent reading "serious" subjects, either technical magazines or news. But this book caught my eye after reading a book review, and I had to read it over the Christmas holiday. I predict that this book will be the successor to Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Rating:
Summary: Strong Start, Poor Finish
Review: I really got into this book. It is a strongly conceived story and rolls along like the odd concoction of "writings" that it is. Unfortunately, the sections from Cleo Pira's p.o.v. are weakest and as she has the last fourth of the book all to herself, it really falls apart. I almost got the feeling that Bakis' ran out of ideas, or that she just polished off the end because she'd already sold the book on its first part. Very disappointing. The ending is so stupidly hallucinatory and lacking in finality that I had to come back to it later and reread the ending just to make sure I didn't dream it. However, I was right. It was awful. And yet... I ripped through the beginning. Interesting example of first time novel writing.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful, haunting speculation on what it is to be human.
Review: Kirsten Bakis has done a magnificent job of introducing us to a strange species-- one created from dogs and prostheses. They are incredibly human in the fact that they are unaware of the fragility of their existence, and their burning determination to do what their leader has convinced them is right, but doglike in their loyalty to their creator. Their leader, Klaue Lutz, is perhaps the most human in his suspicion of outsiders and determination to protect the society he has created while serving their dead inventor. They are a pleasant group with the same love of parties, music, and food as humans. Then, when a terrible epidemic begins to sweep through the "monster dogs", they are forced to decide whether they should kill themselves off one by one, or destroy all they have created or come to be.

Rating:
Summary: I can't stop picturing my Husky in a uniform now!
Review: I really enjoyed Monster Dogs and I almost hope that Ms. Bakis gives us another one (perhaps there are some dogs that haven't made it to New York yet?) I do think there were weak points in some of the relationships between Cleo and the dogs, and some things left out (how have they lived so darn long? Does the 7 years/1 ratio change in their case?). I did feel a romantic sense, almost in an Anne Rice way, without the eroticism. I hope to see more from this author.