The Wall Street Journal
        "[D]azzling... readers will be gratified by the ambition and raw energy on display in this particular promising debut."

The Boston Globe
        "[A] debut novel that combines magical realism, geopolitics, and comic book-style superheroics with shoot-’em-up action, domestic drama, and daddy issues... fizzy, funny, and tone-perfect... Yates achieves an extraordinary synthesis of tenderness and brutality, making us question our own sympathies."

The Pittsburgh Tribune
        "Part fable, part thriller, part adventure yarn, "Moondogs" could easily have been a jumbled, confused story. But, Alexander Yates conducts the plot elements of his first novel with virtuosity and aplomb."

Entertainment Weekly
        "[A] weird and weirdly affecting Philippines-set novel... Yates, who spent part of his youth on the archipelago, caulks the cracks with local detail, but leaves enough room for Moondogs' narrative to breathe. B+"

Philippine Daily Inquirer
        Listed as one of the five best debut novels of the year.

Portland Book Review
        "[A] well-written, cocksure thriller, that remembers to bring the funny. In 20 years you’ll look back and remember the first time you picked up a Yates novel. I guarantee that it won’t be your last."

The Barnes and Noble Review
        "[A] compelling, unpredictable, fast-paced magical-realist narrative."

Kirkus--Starred Review!
        "Yates' accomplished debut is an unlikely mix of folktale, Tarantino-esque pulp fiction, island adventure and geopolitical novel... [he] handles the multiple points of view and fragmented narrative flawlessly... masterfully modulating the comic and violent effects... An unusual and unusually involving first novel with strong characters and nifty supernatural effects."

The Agony Column
        "'Moondogs' is certainly the kind of novel we're not supposed to find these days; a hardcover debut that kicks all kinds of ass, the sort of book that makes readers realize just why reading is so important, so irreplaceable."

Shelf Awareness
        "Yates nimbly keeps all the narrative balls aloft while creating a consistent tone between the realistic emotional crises, the screwed-up kidnapping, and the fantasy elements that allow for non-disruptive shifts from humor to tragedy."

Publishers Weekly:
        "Yates's flamboyantly overstuffed debut brings a colorful panoply of characters to the Philippines, where corruption, hedonism, culture clashes, and a touch of magic lead to massive misadventure."

The Book Lady's Blog
        "I can’t remember the last time I had quite this much fun reading a book. And that whole “smells like first novel” problem that haunts so many debuts? Moondogs is totally, blissfully, beautifully free of it."

Books are my Boyfriends
        "I just have to say that one more time because it’s basically the coolest plot device since basically ever. FILIPINO WIZARD SOLDIERS."

Library Journal:
        "[G]ritty, ambitious... Yates develops considerable narrative momentum....[a] vibrant and convincing setting coupled with the well-drawn major characters..."

Knitting and Sundries
        "I'll bet you haven't read anything quite like this before. This is a wonderful debut novel, and I'll be looking forward to much more from Mr. Yates."

No Cupcakes For You
        "...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."

Book Gateway:
        "Recommend it to all readers who are looking for some laughs, some thrills and some mystery. You won’t believe Kelog – the rooster – he is more human than fowl."

Ingram Adult Librarian--Hidden Gems
        "It’s a pulp-noir-fantasy mash-up with a vaguely South-American sensibility. Not easy, not standard fantasy, but well-worth the effort."

The Arts Fuse
        "Like an episode of Heroes written by Graham Greene and Elmore Leonard"

The Breakwater Review
        "Yates holds us in a state of suspended dread, without ever sacrificing his breezy, humorous tone. While that sort of balance may be a tall order for a debut novel, Moondogs pulls it off with impressive style."

BroadartVibe
        "From the believable Benicio and Monique to the cartoonish Ignacio and Reynato, Yates’s characters are all (sometimes oddly) alive. Dialogue is strong through the book, and the action is crisp and clear... For the right audience, Alexander Yates has written an excellent first novel."

For those of you who scrolled all the way down, please enjoy these pictures I took back when I lived in Manila (where Moondogs is set). This is like an easter egg on a dvd. People buy dvd's, right? They do! So yes. Moondogs: a thick doublebonus dvd. I can already hear the sound of my massive career approaching.

This is a wild Tokay Gecko, and believe me he wasn't as friendly as he looked. He (at least I think it was a he, but really who is to say? A scientist specializing in geckos--that's who!) inspired the gecko that plays a big role in my novel. Which is a roundabout way of telling you that a gecko plays a big role in my novel.

This is a shot from tiny Tingloy Island, about 3 hours south of Manila. I took this while living in a subsistence fishing community, assisting my wife with her Master's thesis in the summer of 2004. A few weeks after returing to Manila, I started to write Moondogs. This incredible location appears a few times in the book.

A (hazy!) shot of Taal Volcano, taken from Josephine's restaurant in Tagaytay. For those of you detecting a pattern here--Taal and Josephine's both play roles in the novel. Is this evedince of some limited creativity on my part? Maybe. But I at least made up the magical policemen and villanious chicken. No such things exist in the Philippines or anywhere else.

Ruins of the old YMCA on Corregidor Island, at the mouth of Manila bay. Corregidor was first fortified by the Spanish, defended by Americans and Filipinos in WWII before finally falling to the Japanese. Later defended by the Japanese, to the death. Much of it looks like this today, still shocked and silent. This island makes frequent appearances in contemporary literature. Hopefully Moondogs will be a strong contribution to this trend.

And finally that's me, fresh out of the water on a dive in Batangas. I learned to dive as a highschool student in Manila and have been doing it ever since.