Josh Malerman

A Bird Box Novel

Malorie

Lara Engle

This was really good! I was surprised at how good. The power of Bird Box was in its suspense. And Malorie is not without suspense, but its power is in the growth of its characters and the depth of emotion in new experiences and places. Malorie's kids are teenagers now and they act like real teens. I mean, what teen is eager to follow all their parents' rules? None, right? And what about when you've been living in a world where simply seeing creatures could destroy you, the creatures have multiplied, and you're just over it? (Aside: This book has so much relevance with us living in a pandemic.) This book went places both literally and figuratively that I did not expect. It feels real, but it is still satisfying.

In the “fast-paced, frightening” (The New York Times Book Review) sequel to Bird Box, the inspiration for the record-breaking Netflix film starring Sandra Bullock, bestselling author Josh Malerman brings unseen horrors to life. NOMINATED FOR THE BRAM STOKER AWARD • “Malorie is even more of a psychological thriller than Bird Box, and all the scarier for it.”—The Wall Street Journal Twelve years after Malorie and her children rowed up the river to safety, a blindfold is still the only thing that stands between sanity and madness. One glimpse of the creatures that stalk the world will drive a person to unspeakable violence. There remains no explanation. No solution. All Malorie can do is survive—and impart her fierce will to do so on her children. Don’t get lazy, she tells them. Don’t take off your blindfold. AND DON’T LOOK. But then comes what feels like impossible news. And with it, the first time Malorie has allowed herself to hope. Someone very dear to her, someone she believed dead, may be alive. Malorie has already lost so much: her sister, a house full of people who meant everything, and any chance at an ordinary life. But getting her life back means returning to a world full of unknowable horrors—and risking the lives of her children again. Because the creatures are not the only thing Malorie fears: There are the people who claim to have caught and experimented on the creatures. Murmerings of monstrous inventions and dangerous new ideas. And rumors that the creatures themselves have changed into something even more frightening. Malorie has a harrowing choice to make: to live by the rules of survival that have served her so well, or to venture into the darkness and reach for hope once more.

Arturo Hernández

This story unfolds 10 years after BIRD BOX finished. I recall feeling a lot of adrenaline while reading that first story so when I saw the author has published a follow-up, I was very excited to get my hands on this tale ASAP.

There is always danger in continuing a story, because it can easily be derailed by authors thinking they get what audiences loved and going in a different way than where the story originally leads them, however I’m pleased to say that this isn’t the case for MALORIE. In this second novel, the author goes deep into the mindset of our original protagonist and how all the events on the first story changed her life and that of the people that surround her.

I would have loved to understand more of the origin of the unearthly things that antagonize this story, but outside of that, I pretty much liked this follow-up to the original.

Ewan

7/10

OK, this book starts at 100 MPH, no recap, no long lead in, just "let's go", and that carries me about a third into the book before i start to have a look around.

What we've got is a great bunch of set pieces and a pre-defined ending that we know we are heading towards, even if the book pretends we are heading somewhere else.

Did i mention set pieces? it is a LOT of set pieces, that sometimes feel like they belong in the same book, and sometimes feel like a collection of ideas that.....yes that's it...you know when a band release a seminal album, maybe OK Computer....and then a few years later there is an album made from the same sessions. You might love it, but you can't shake the feeling that some of these ideas did't make it into the first book, or have been shoehorned into this one. 

Still, it was fun, and had some great moments of tense horror and fear, as long as you don't look too closely at them...oh wait a minute!!!!

Cheri McElroy

I read The Bird Box last October and thought it was brilliant, from the writing to the tension, to the lessons on trust, relationships, and grieving. So when I heard Malorie was coming I was really excited.

The book started with a bang, with Malorie and her six-year-old children having to leave the safe house they had reached at the end of Bird Box because of a creature attack. Then there came the middle section, where Malorie, Tom, Olympia head north to search for possible family, which was a bit of a slough fest to get through for me. Once they found the train and events started happening and twists started occurring, the story was fantastic until the very end.

I was touched by Malorie's conversations with herself, her obvious PTSD, and the family dynamics and issues of trust. This book did not disappoint and was a great way to give a bit of closure without wrapping up things like a neat fairy tale.

Dee B. 

The audio of this book was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The creatures are still a threat and there's still so much Malorie doesn't know. There is still the intrigue and fear that was present in book one, so in that respect, Malerman has a hit on his hands. True to form, our main characters are also tasked with going on a trip to find another group of survivors and so we have the main plotline. All in all, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first one.

Audio review: If you enjoyed the narrator the first time around, then you'll be satisfied as Cassandra Campbell been enlisted to narrate this one as well. This lends a sense of continuity to the stories that is pleasantly satisfying as already familiar characters have not changed. The flow wasn't an issue as the chapter breaks were quite clear. There also weren't any distracting music or sound effects to take you away from the tension of the world. Sometimes effects are needed, this time the book worked well without them.

Krystal 

Vicki Grever

Jamie Trenholm

Kirsty

I really enjoyed being back in this world. I love Malorie as a character and Olympia is so sweet. Tom got on my nerves quite a bit and although it wasn’t as good as the first one, it was still a really enjoyable read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for my copy of this book!

Becca Miller 

Talk about the sequel I didn’t know we needed! I could not put this down! I was so sucked in and had to know the ending of the story. If they make a sequel on Netflix I hope they do better than they did with the original bird box. I really enjoyed getting the teen perspective from Tom and Olympia. It really helped me to understand what it must be like to only know this crazy time.

Venessa Johnstone

I enjoyed.. not as suspenful as Bird Box..

Casie Blevins

Wow. Exceptional.
I loved this tale. I liked Bird Box but I loved Malorie. It was perfect in prose, characterization, plot, pacing. It was the quintessential 5 star book. I truly hope Malerman writes at this quality for the rest of his novels. I will read them all.

Jacklyn O’Brien 

Not nearly as good as Bird Box (because Bird Box was amazing!) but still a good progression of the story line.

Emma Myers

Did this need to be made? Maybe not. 

Was it scary? No. I don't feel there was as much intensity as the last book. 

Was it a fun read? Yeah. 

Also fuck gary.

In the old world there were many rules. In the new world there is only one: don't open your eyes. In the seventeen years since the 'creatures' appeared, many people have broken that rule. Many have looked. Many have lost their minds, their lives, their loved ones. In that time, Malorie has raised her two children - Olympia and Tom - on the run or in hiding. Now nearly teenagers, survival is no longer enough. They want freedom. When a census-taker stops by their refuge, he is not welcome. But he leaves a list of names - of survivors building a future beyond the darkness - and on that list are two names Malorie knows. Two names for whom she'll break every rule, and take her children across the wilderness, in the hope of becoming a family again...

'One of the Best Horror Stories Published for Years (Express)

Elle

Jon Eckert

C. J. Daley 

Yashwanth Bharadwaj Vedula

Jessica Deaner

Kayla

In the thrilling sequel to Bird Box, the inspiration for the record-breaking Netflix film that starred Sandra Bullock and "absolutely riveted" Stephen King, New York Times bestselling author Josh Malerman brings unseen horrors to life. "This sequel is as tense and harrowing as the original, with a new depth that raises the stakes."--Riley Sager, author of Lock Every Door The film adaptation of Malerman's first novel, Bird Box, was watched by over forty-five million Netflix accounts in the first week, the best first seven days ever for a film on the platform. Countless more came to know the story through social media. The image of Sandra Bullock's character, Malorie, blindfolded--as she's led through a terrifying near-future apocalypse by the trained ears of her children--has become synonymous with a new generation of horror. Now from the mind of a true master of suspense comes the next chapter in the riveting tale. This time, Malorie is front and center, and she will confront the dangers of her world head-on.

Malorie A Bird Box Novel

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