Bird box

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English

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Now a Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, Rosa Salazar and John Malkovich!

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 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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ISBN
9780062259653
9780062259677
9780062259660
9780062331908

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Also in this Series

  • Bird box (Bird Box novels Volume 1) Cover
  • Malorie (Bird Box novels Volume 2) Cover

Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These series have the appeal factors disturbing and menacing, and they have the themes "band of survivors," "trapped!," and "monster menace"; the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "survival," "monsters," and "end of the world."
These series have the appeal factors violent, disturbing, and menacing, and they have the theme "band of survivors"; the genre "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "dystopias," "violence," and "post-apocalypse."
These series have the appeal factors violent, gruesome, and creepy, and they have the themes "band of survivors" and "trapped!"; the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "survival," "dystopias," and "violence."
These series have the appeal factors disturbing, evocative, and nonlinear, and they have the theme "trapped!"; the genre "horror"; and the subject "violence."
These series have the appeal factors disturbing and bleak, and they have the themes "band of survivors" and "trapped!"; the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "survival" and "monsters."
These series have the appeal factors gruesome, and they have the themes "band of survivors" and "trapped!"; the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "survival," "monsters," and "dystopias."
These series have the appeal factors violent, disturbing, and menacing, and they have the theme "band of survivors"; the genre "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "survival," "dystopias," and "violence."
These series have the themes "band of survivors" and "trapped!"; the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "monsters" and "mother and child."
These series have the appeal factors gruesome and nonlinear, and they have the themes "trapped!" and "toxic relationships"; the genre "horror"; the subjects "monsters," "mothers and daughters," and "escapes"; and characters that are "complex characters."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
While the epidemic of violence in Bird Box comes from horrific monster and in Cell it's caused by the use of cell phones, each of these creepy tales features a small group of unaffected people desperately seeking ways to survive. -- Katherine Johnson
Both compelling apocalyptic novels blend elements of sci-fi and horror and star characters trying to survive the mysterious otherworldly creatures out to kill them. -- Kaitlin Conner
World of Trouble and Bird Box portray characters who are determined to find solutions against tremendous odds in devastated worlds. Bird Box employs more elements of terror, but World of Trouble similarly depicts a chaotic environment. -- Katherine Johnson
Despite differing in genre and subject, Homecoming and Bird Box deliver similiarly high-intensity combinations of horror and suspense. Both describe bizarrely terrifying circumstances that push sympathetic, well realized protagonists to their psychological limit. Suspense gradually intensifies in Homecoming. -- Kim Burton
Both suspenseful works of apocalyptic horror center on a virus in which eye contact causes murderous rage among the afflicted. -- Kaitlin Conner
Sudden blindness leads to mental illness, incarceration, sensory deprivation, and the end of civilization in these unsettling novels, in which vulnerable human survivors must choose between captivity and freedom, and thus between narrowly circumscribed life and near-certain violent death. -- NoveList Contributor
While Bird Box is horror and Running Club is science fiction, in these suspenseful post-apocalyptic novels the protagonists' physical and mental endurance is tested as they try to reach safety. A menacing tone and rich detail heightens the tension. -- Halle Carlson
Though faster-paced than Bird Box, the spare, compelling I Am Legend is another creepy and suspenseful post-apocalyptic novel that pits a human survivor with no allies and dwindling resources against a formidable enemy with all the time in the world. -- NoveList Contributor
In a world where monstrous creatures threaten human existence, small groups of people struggle to attain safety. Both terrifying novels convey desperation and emphasize limitations on the senses: self-imposed visual impairment in Bird Box; deafness in The Silence. -- Katherine Johnson
Apocalyptic levels of suspense power both claustrophobic horror novels with high-stakes, high-concept plotlines and particularly vulnerable characters, including children. -- Autumn Winters
A mysterious plague affecting humans enables otherwordly invaders to gain a foothold on Earth in these compelling post-apocalyptic novels. Despite leisurely pacing, both books present suspenseful stories of survival against seemingly insurmountable odds as refugees make desperate bids for freedom. -- NoveList Contributor
These compelling novels feature strong women focused on the survival of themselves and their children in apocalyptic landscapes. Bird Box is an unsettling thriller while After the Flood is science fiction. -- Heather Cover

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Known for their atmospheric yet understated prose, authors Josh Malerman and Stephen King write pulse-pounding speculative fiction novels featuring well-developed characters, unsettling violence, and gloomy suspense. Their compelling works frequently blend disturbing elements of horror, supernatural thriller, and apocalyptic fiction. -- Kaitlin Conner
John Malerman and H.P. Lovecraft write horror stories that are creepy, menacing, and unsettling. Both authors create suspense through leisurely and atmospheric storytelling that offers descriptive accounts of supernatural creatures and strange phenomena that pose terrifying threats to civilization. -- Alicia Cavitt
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, creepy, and menacing, and they have the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "mental illness" and "psychiatric hospitals."
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, creepy, and menacing, and they have the genre "horror"; and the subjects "small towns," "mental illness," and "violence."
These authors' works have the appeal factors creepy and menacing, and they have the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "end of the world" and "dreams."
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, creepy, and nonlinear, and they have the genres "horror" and "psychological suspense"; and the subject "violence."
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, creepy, and unputdownable, and they have the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "small towns" and "end of the world."
These authors' works have the appeal factors creepy, menacing, and leisurely paced, and they have the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subjects "monsters," "survival," and "dystopias."
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, stylistically complex, and nonlinear, and they have the genre "horror"; and the subjects "violence," "paranormal phenomena," and "mother and child."
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, creepy, and menacing, and they have the genres "horror" and "psychological suspense"; and the subjects "small towns," "mental illness," and "violence."
These authors' works have the appeal factors creepy, menacing, and nonlinear, and they have the genres "horror" and "apocalyptic fiction"; and the subject "mental illness."
These authors' works have the appeal factors disturbing, thought-provoking, and nonlinear, and they have the genre "horror"; and the subjects "monsters" and "violence."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Malorie, a young mother of two children known simply as Boy and Girl, is a survivor living in a postapocalyptic world, raising her children to use all their senses, especially their listening skills, as sight is not an option here. In this world, the survivors struggle to stay alive by living indoors with all the windows boarded up. The sight of whatever is outside is causing people to become violent murderers, as well as suicidal, in the most horrific ways possible. The book moves back and forth over a four-year period when all the insanity began, exploring the personalities of the people that came together and survived and how they managed to live after all forms of communication effectively withered and died with most of the population. The characters are involving, the story moves along very rapidly as the suspense builds, but unfortunately, the ending is a disappointment. The reason for all the bloodshed is never explored or explained. Still, recommend this one to readers who enjoy a blend of horror and postapocalyptic fiction.--Alesi, Stacy Copyright 2014 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

The sight of something unknown drives people to savagely attack others before taking their own lives in Malerman's terrific debut, a sophisticated update of John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids. First reported in Russia, the mysterious plague spreads to the U.S., where it takes a devastating toll on humanity. The only defense against the madness is to avoid looking at the outside world. Four years after the initial outbreak, Malorie lives with her four-year-old twins, known as Boy and Girl, in a suburban Detroit house with sealed windows that has been prepared for long-term survival, stocked with food and other necessary supplies. When Malorie and her children go outside for brief periods, they do so blindfolded. Now Malorie has decided that the time is right for them to flee their refuge. The author uses understatement and allusion to create a lean, spellbinding thriller that Stephen King fans will relish. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency. (May)? (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Library Journal Review

There is something out there. Something that drives people insane from simply seeing it. In their postapocalyptic world where looking outside is potentially deadly, -Malorie and her two children live in perpetual darkness with blacked-out windows, blindfolding themselves when they venture outside. But Malorie can survive on her own for only so long. Hoping to find a safer place to live, she takes her children on a -20-mile trip down the river that runs behind their house. Blindfolded and alert to every sound, they set out on a journey that will require Malorie to use everything that she has to get her children to safety. Because something is following them, something that wants them to take off their blindfolds. VERDICT A good horror story lets the tension build slowly, eventually ending in a nail-biting crisis that is finally resolved by the novel's last page. Debut author Malerman, however, takes the pressure level from zero to 100 on page one and attempts to keep it there for the entire book. That extreme suspense becomes tedious after about 50 pages, and yet there are another 200-plus pages that the reader must get through. Malerman does attempt to add dimension to his protoganist by interspersing her backstory into the main plotline, but that addition only serves to make the peripheral characters more interesting than Malorie. With an anticlimactic ending, there is little reward here for the faithful reader who perseveres to the end.-Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Booklist Reviews

Malorie, a young mother of two children known simply as Boy and Girl, is a survivor living in a postapocalyptic world, raising her children to use all their senses, especially their listening skills, as sight is not an option here. In this world, the survivors struggle to stay alive by living indoors with all the windows boarded up. The sight of whatever is outside is causing people to become violent murderers, as well as suicidal, in the most horrific ways possible. The book moves back and forth over a four-year period when all the insanity began, exploring the personalities of the people that came together and survived and how they managed to live after all forms of communication effectively withered and died with most of the population. The characters are involving, the story moves along very rapidly as the suspense builds, but unfortunately, the ending is a disappointment. The reason for all the bloodshed is never explored or explained. Still, recommend this one to readers who enjoy a blend of horror and postapocalyptic fiction. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

There is something out there. Something that drives people insane from simply seeing it. In their postapocalyptic world where looking outside is potentially deadly, Malorie and her two children live in perpetual darkness with blacked-out windows, blindfolding themselves when they venture outside. But Malorie can survive on her own for only so long. Hoping to find a safer place to live, she takes her children on a 20-mile trip down the river that runs behind their house. Blindfolded and alert to every sound, they set out on a journey that will require Malorie to use everything that she has to get her children to safety. Because something is following them, something that wants them to take off their blindfolds. VERDICT A good horror story lets the tension build slowly, eventually ending in a nail-biting crisis that is finally resolved by the novel's last page. Debut author Malerman, however, takes the pressure level from zero to 100 on page one and attempts to keep it there for the entire book. That extreme suspense becomes tedious after about 50 pages, and yet there are another 200-plus pages that the reader must get through. Malerman does attempt to add dimension to his protoganist by interspersing her backstory into the main plotline, but that addition only serves to make the peripheral characters more interesting than Malorie. With an anticlimactic ending, there is little reward here for the faithful reader who perseveres to the end.—Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola

[Page 102]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Powered by Content Cafe

Publishers Weekly Reviews

The sight of something unknown drives people to savagely attack others before taking their own lives in Malerman's terrific debut, a sophisticated update of John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids. First reported in Russia, the mysterious plague spreads to the U.S., where it takes a devastating toll on humanity. The only defense against the madness is to avoid looking at the outside world. Four years after the initial outbreak, Malorie lives with her four-year-old twins, known as Boy and Girl, in a suburban Detroit house with sealed windows that has been prepared for long-term survival, stocked with food and other necessary supplies. When Malorie and her children go outside for brief periods, they do so blindfolded. Now Malorie has decided that the time is right for them to flee their refuge. The author uses understatement and allusion to create a lean, spellbinding thriller that Stephen King fans will relish. Agent: Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency. (May)?

[Page ]. Copyright 2014 PWxyz LLC

Copyright 2014 PWxyz LLC
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