Book Review
Oct. 7th, 2019 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariBird Box
by Josh Malerman
In this atmospheric and effective horror novel, creatures appear and spread throughout the globe. Seeing one drives people into a violent insanity in which they often kill others before ending their pwn lives. People have covered their windows and only go outside when absolutely necessary and always blindfolded. Soon, however, all that remains are scattered handfuls of isolated survivors. Malorie and her two small children are some of these survivors. In hopes of finding a safer place and other survivors, she takes her children on a 20-mile trip down the river in a rowboat, relying on the children's highly trained hearing. The story of this journey is interspersed with Malorie's recent past living with half a dozen other survivors and then her struggles to raise the two children alone.
Bird Box was scary, suspenseful, and very compelling. For me, the most effective and enjoyable horror is as much about what you aren't shown and what you don't know as what is revealed, and that is the very foundation of this book. Malerman is very good at creating suspense and cranking up the tension - every time anyone stepped outside my heart rate went up. I also really liked Malorie as a character. Even though she occasionally breaks down, she gets the job done. The moments when she is an emotional wreck don't interfere with her will and ability to survive and keep her children alive.
by Josh Malerman
In this atmospheric and effective horror novel, creatures appear and spread throughout the globe. Seeing one drives people into a violent insanity in which they often kill others before ending their pwn lives. People have covered their windows and only go outside when absolutely necessary and always blindfolded. Soon, however, all that remains are scattered handfuls of isolated survivors. Malorie and her two small children are some of these survivors. In hopes of finding a safer place and other survivors, she takes her children on a 20-mile trip down the river in a rowboat, relying on the children's highly trained hearing. The story of this journey is interspersed with Malorie's recent past living with half a dozen other survivors and then her struggles to raise the two children alone.
Bird Box was scary, suspenseful, and very compelling. For me, the most effective and enjoyable horror is as much about what you aren't shown and what you don't know as what is revealed, and that is the very foundation of this book. Malerman is very good at creating suspense and cranking up the tension - every time anyone stepped outside my heart rate went up. I also really liked Malorie as a character. Even though she occasionally breaks down, she gets the job done. The moments when she is an emotional wreck don't interfere with her will and ability to survive and keep her children alive.
