Bird Box by Josh Malerman
Jan. 13th, 2014 10:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Most people ignored the reports on the news.
But they became too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the street.
Then the Internet died.
The television and radio went silent.
The phones stopped ringing.
And we couldn’t look outside anymore.
Malorie raises the children the only way she can: indoors. The house is quiet.
The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows.
They are out there. She might let them in.
The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall.
Soon she will have to wake them.
Soon she will have to blindfold them.
Today they must leave the house.
Today they will chance it.
Malorie didn’t believe the first reports. There were too incredible. But the videos and news reports wouldn’t stop coming. People were seeing something so horrible that it was driving them insane and they’d kill anyone near them before committing suicide. Soon people dare not go outside for fear of seeing the creatures. Then they have to block up their windows. Finally they resort to blindfolds.
Terrified and pregnant, Malorie takes refuge in a house with 6 other people. They have enough food to last for several months and a well for water. Tom – the de factor leader of the house – is keen to try and develop ways to combat the creatures but not all the house is behind him. And then one day, there’s a knock at the door …
Josh Malerman’s debut horror novel is a slick, taut apocalyptic horror with Lovecraftian tones. It’s a short novel but there’s not an ounce of fat in it and Malerman skilfully jumps between his timeline, showing Malorie as she is now (trying to get two four year old children to a safer location) and the events in the house 4 years earlier. The characters are a little stock and I would have liked more of the side characters (particularly Don and Cheryl who are under-utilised). The apocalyptic depiction is well written but doesn’t offer anything different to others of this genre and I would have also liked to have known a little bit more about the creatures. That said, it was an entertaining and creepy read and I would definitely read Malerman’s next book.
The story unfolds through the eyes of Malorie and there is a vast difference between pre and post-apocalyptic versions of the character. I enjoyed seeing the tough coldness of the later version, her training of the children and focus on survival rang true (although maybe not the fact that the children haven’t been given names). There’s a hint of romance with Tom, which is sweet and the ways in which the housemates try to find ways to adapt to their circumstances held my interest. I would also have liked to have seen more of Malorie and the children’s journey to the safe place, which for me didn’t quite have the pay-off that the build up hinted at.
All in all though this is a solid and interesting horror read and I’d definitely read Malerman’s next novel.
The Verdict:
Josh Malerman’s debut horror novel is a slick, taut apocalyptic horror with Lovecraftian tones. It’s a short novel but there’s not an ounce of fat in it and Malerman skilfully jumps between his timeline, showing Malorie as she is now (trying to get two four year old children to a safer location) and the events in the house 4 years earlier. The characters are a little stock and I would have liked more of the side characters (particularly Don and Cheryl who are under-utilised). The apocalyptic depiction is well written but doesn’t offer anything different to others of this genre and I would have also liked to have known a little bit more about the creatures. That said, it was an entertaining and creepy read and I would definitely read Malerman’s next book.
BIRD BOX is released in the United Kingdom on 27th March 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
But they became too frequent, they became too real. And soon, they began happening down the street.
Then the Internet died.
The television and radio went silent.
The phones stopped ringing.
And we couldn’t look outside anymore.
Malorie raises the children the only way she can: indoors. The house is quiet.
The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows.
They are out there. She might let them in.
The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall.
Soon she will have to wake them.
Soon she will have to blindfold them.
Today they must leave the house.
Today they will chance it.
Malorie didn’t believe the first reports. There were too incredible. But the videos and news reports wouldn’t stop coming. People were seeing something so horrible that it was driving them insane and they’d kill anyone near them before committing suicide. Soon people dare not go outside for fear of seeing the creatures. Then they have to block up their windows. Finally they resort to blindfolds.
Terrified and pregnant, Malorie takes refuge in a house with 6 other people. They have enough food to last for several months and a well for water. Tom – the de factor leader of the house – is keen to try and develop ways to combat the creatures but not all the house is behind him. And then one day, there’s a knock at the door …
Josh Malerman’s debut horror novel is a slick, taut apocalyptic horror with Lovecraftian tones. It’s a short novel but there’s not an ounce of fat in it and Malerman skilfully jumps between his timeline, showing Malorie as she is now (trying to get two four year old children to a safer location) and the events in the house 4 years earlier. The characters are a little stock and I would have liked more of the side characters (particularly Don and Cheryl who are under-utilised). The apocalyptic depiction is well written but doesn’t offer anything different to others of this genre and I would have also liked to have known a little bit more about the creatures. That said, it was an entertaining and creepy read and I would definitely read Malerman’s next book.
The story unfolds through the eyes of Malorie and there is a vast difference between pre and post-apocalyptic versions of the character. I enjoyed seeing the tough coldness of the later version, her training of the children and focus on survival rang true (although maybe not the fact that the children haven’t been given names). There’s a hint of romance with Tom, which is sweet and the ways in which the housemates try to find ways to adapt to their circumstances held my interest. I would also have liked to have seen more of Malorie and the children’s journey to the safe place, which for me didn’t quite have the pay-off that the build up hinted at.
All in all though this is a solid and interesting horror read and I’d definitely read Malerman’s next novel.
The Verdict:
Josh Malerman’s debut horror novel is a slick, taut apocalyptic horror with Lovecraftian tones. It’s a short novel but there’s not an ounce of fat in it and Malerman skilfully jumps between his timeline, showing Malorie as she is now (trying to get two four year old children to a safer location) and the events in the house 4 years earlier. The characters are a little stock and I would have liked more of the side characters (particularly Don and Cheryl who are under-utilised). The apocalyptic depiction is well written but doesn’t offer anything different to others of this genre and I would have also liked to have known a little bit more about the creatures. That said, it was an entertaining and creepy read and I would definitely read Malerman’s next book.
BIRD BOX is released in the United Kingdom on 27th March 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
