Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, and Rosa Salazar!
Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world—a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.
Something is … brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.
Something is out there . . .
Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from.
Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now, that the boy and girl are four, it is time to go. But the journey ahead will be terrifying: twenty miles downriver in a rowboat—blindfolded—with nothing to rely on but her wits and the children’s trained ears. One wrong choice and they will die. And something is following them. But is it man, animal, or monster?
Engulfed in darkness, surrounded by sounds both familiar and frightening, Malorie embarks on a harrowing odyssey—a trip that takes her into an unseen world and back into the past, to the companions who once saved her. Under the guidance of the stalwart Tom, a motely group of strangers banded together against the unseen terror, creating order from the chaos. But when supplies ran low, they were forced to venture outside—and confront the ultimate question: in a world gone mad, who can really be trusted?
Interweaving past and present, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking debut is a horrific and gripping snapshot of a world unraveled that will have you racing to the final page.
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4.5/5
This was essentially a two sitting read for me. 100% spurred on by the release of the movie.
I don’t think I can really add much to the scope of reviews of this book, so here’s my point form take;
– fantastically written
– story is riveting considering there isn’t a lot going on overall
– the use of ‘creatures’ but never using creatures is …
Read it before watching the movie! One of those rare books with alternating timelines that are equally compelling (when the world fell apart five years ago versus the present horrific norm) and masterful slow, inexorable reveals.
This claustrophobic horror novel gets off to a slow start, but it will soon hook you. A moody and engrossing supernatural survival story, Bird Box will scratch at your thoughts until you reach the un-put-downable ending — and it will continue to haunt you long after. Warning: not suitable for a young or squeamish readers. Other than that, highly …
From the very first page, I saw this book as a movie. Glad I wasn’t wrong. 🙂
I first gave this book 4 stars, then after realizing that I read it in two nights I changed it to five. I was on the lookout for a scary book and this one definitely had its moments. Well written, creepy in the right places; a great read.
I enjoyed this alternate post apocalyptic story. I’m a sucker for a good survivalist horror story, and this one is truly unique and utterly human. Well done.
The premise wasn’t very believable. But once I got over that, the book was wonderfully creepy and scary.
A must-read for avid horror fans.
This book is a debut novel by Josh Malerman, and revolves around a woman who needs to guide herself and her children from being protected against an unknown problem. Mostly narrated through flashbacks and running across three time periods, the book has an intriguing concept altogether and is a post-apocalyptic horror-thriller. There is also a …
Josh Malerman’s Bird Box is one of those horror stories that comes out of nowhere. The book’s premise that sight is the enemy is a brilliant twist in a genre that typically relies on the sense of vision to impart dread and fear. But in Bird Box, the fear of seeing is what drives the story of a mother (Malorie) who battles inexplicable evil and …
Don’t bother, very predictable.
Looking forward to the sequel.
Too much hype. The build-up was ok, but ending wasn’t great. Just meh.
original story and a real page turner. Great story line and characters.
Raw and Tight
The writing was no frills, which worked really well. I knew the story going in because I watched the movie last year, but it still held my interest and I dug it.
An original, easy-to-read page-turner. Happy there’s a sequel and looking forward to reading it
I thought this book was on the edge of your seat scary. Not many books scare me but this did.
I hope he writes more.
Not my usual genre, so I was surprised to fall in love with this psychological thriller. I was captured from the very first image of a trembling woman examining the fog outside her kitchen window, while her children slept in black out chicken wire cages.
Malerman creates two separate, interwoven timelines in this spare novel, which move at a fast …
There is a review on the book cover that describes the writing as “Hitchcockian”. It’s absolutely right. The writing style, language use, and interior monologue all remind me of watching films like “Rear Window”, “The Birds” and “Vertigo”. Its my opinion that the psychology is what makes this book truly terrifying. Told from first person POV, the …
I haven’t seen the movie, I always like to read the book first. This certainly had some things in it you didn’t see coming. It was definitely worth the read.