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The Plague Dogs: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 3,026 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Richard Adams, the author of Watership Down, creates a lyrical and engrossing tale, a remarkable journey into the hearts and minds of two canine heroes, Snitter and Rowf.
After being horribly mistreated at a government animal-research facility, Snitter and Rowf escape into the isolation—and terror—of the wilderness. Aided only by a fox they call “the tod,” the two dogs must struggle to survive in their new environment. When the starving dogs attack some sheep, they are labeled ferocious man-eating monsters, setting off a great dog hunt that is later intensified by the fear that the dogs could be carriers of the bubonic plague.
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"I devoured this book while in my freshman year in college - probably should have been studying something! I remember enjoying it. The story is about a pair of dogs who escape from a horrid vivesection lab, and forage in the countryside to survive. Of course, the farmers whose hen houses the dogs are raiding are not pleased with the new neighbors, and when the lab leaks that the dogs may have the plague, it becomes even harder for the poor dogs to survive."
— Cindy (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Thousands and thousands of people will love this book!”
— Boston Globe -
“Gripping…A compelling tale of emotional force and high suspense.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Adams takes us to places where no author has taken us.”
— Washington Post -
“Part marvelous adventure story, part diatribe against those who needlessly torture animals…an excellent drama.”
— Newsweek -
“Engrossing…It bears [the] abundant mark of sheer genius.”
— Plain Dealer (Cleveland) -
“More powerful than Watership Down.”
— Providence Journal -
“The work is excellently read by Ralph Cosham, who adds several British local dialects.”
— Library Journal
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
The Plague Dogs Listener Reviews
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" Happy ending felt like a bit of a cop out, but still a quality read. Not as deep or absorbing as Watership Down, but still powerful and interesting. "
— Chris, 2/3/2014 -
" Strange, funny, weird, not as easy to read as Watership Down, but an interesting work. "
— Alioh, 2/2/2014 -
" I absolutely loved this book. It was wonderful and it made me cry a lot. "
— Eleanor, 1/27/2014 -
" This broke my heart. For anyone who still thinks vivisection is ethical, you'll change your mind after reading this book. "
— Jessica, 1/25/2014 -
" Why? Why do I pick up a book when I know it's going to break my tender puppy-loving heart in spots? This is my first foray into Richard Adams' work, having somehow avoided the alleged-tearjerker "Watership Down," and, while I'm usually not a fan of talking animals (especially ones with linguistically-complex dialects), it helped that the main protagonists were my favorite species. The book was a weird mix of pacing, and it took me a very long while to get through, but it wasn't a bad read and I don't feel like I wasted precious hours that I will never get back. However, I feel that this book would have made more of an impression on me, had I been in fifth- or sixth-grade. "
— Melle, 1/25/2014 -
" The most depressing book I have ever read. It made me want to shot myself in the head. Watership Down, Shardik and Maia on the other hand, I loved. "
— Victoria, 1/15/2014 -
" Other than just the well written work of Adams, part of the discussion material which comes out of this story and book is how 'fear' of the weak or helpless or powerless is used as tool to get people to act and interpret to the ends of those that try and 'create' the fear. "
— Nathan, 1/15/2014 -
" A worthy follow-up to "Watership Down", another moving tale about animals. Adams makes several humorous references to his earlier book. "
— Rob, 1/11/2014 -
" Didn't win my heart like Watership Down but still a great read! "
— Lela, 12/20/2013 -
" This one literally moved me to tears. The struggles of the poor dogs..so sad. But a great read, just remember to have some Kleenex handy. "
— Leigh, 12/18/2013 -
" An involving tale, but a mere shadow of Watership Down. "
— Dev, 8/19/2013 -
" Wonderful! Just as good as the movie. "
— Vixenfur, 8/14/2013 -
" Read this one years ago and loved it. Its one of the books that should be a classic for kids to read. "
— Patricia, 7/8/2013 -
" You will want to jump on the, outlaw animal testing, bandwagon after reading this book! "
— Taya, 5/28/2013 -
" I guess I'd never really thought about animal experimentation until I read this book. So there's that. "
— Robin, 10/23/2012 -
" very sad but very powerful "
— Jan, 9/28/2012 -
" Great story but be sure you have a box of tissues near you. "
— Michael, 6/19/2012 -
" I love Richard Adams writing. In this book, like Watership Down, he writes from the perspective of the animals. Enjoyed the book, but it didn't have the same power as Watership. "
— Elise, 3/28/2012 -
" The story of Rowf and Snitter, who escape from a laboratory in the Lake District. Moving, but not as good as Watership Down. "
— Isabel, 1/29/2012 -
" Be nice to your critters! "
— Mikey, 12/17/2011 -
" Wow, I read this ages ago; but I still remembered the title! Must have been a good read! "
— Charlene, 7/8/2011 -
" I loved this book; I thought it was better than Watership Down. "
— Pandora, 3/16/2011 -
" It has been a very long time since I read this book, and I don't think I finished it. I thought it was goofy. "
— Sherry, 3/11/2011 -
" Great, a real tear-jerker. If you wonder about animals being used for experiments read this book. It was sad and happy at the same time. I love dogs and these two were great characters. "
— Loni, 2/8/2011 -
" I read this before I started my goodreads account. Review forthcoming in the future. "
— Fiction, 2/3/2011 -
" An engaging book. I liked it. "
— Jessica, 1/28/2011 -
" I loved his other books so much but just couldn't even finish this one. "
— Sam, 1/13/2011 -
" This is a great story, told from the dogs point of view, some parts are very funny, some are sad. I'd love to find a copy of it, mine fell apart. "
— Eleanor, 10/29/2010
About Richard Adams
Richard Adams (1920–2016) wrote many novels and short stories, including Watership Down and Shardik. Watership Down hit the top of the New York Times bestseller list, where it stayed for eight months, eventually becoming Penguin Books’ all-time bestseller. He grew up in Berkshire, England, the son of a country doctor. After an education at Oxford, he spent six years in the army and then went into the civil service. The success of Watership Down allowed him to leave that work and write full time.
About Geoffrey Howard
Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) was a stage actor and an award-winning narrator. He recorded more than 100 audiobooks in his lifetime and won the prestigious Audio Award for Best Narration and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.