Malorie

I spy with my little eye
by Josh Malerman | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 9780593156858 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 8/2/2020
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
Amazon.com | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Bol.com
3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, August 2, 2020
I enjoyed Malerman's creepy Bird Box, and when I saw there was a sequel I had to order a copy.

The story's set in a world where some kind of beings appeared, beings so alien that the mere sight of them causes humans (and many types of birds and animals) to go mad, in a raging, homicidal way; survivors learn to stay blindfolded unless they're in a safe space indoors. As of the end of the last book, Malorie and her two children had reached a haven - a school for the blind, where many people had managed to create a relatively safe enclave. But as this book opens, two years later, something's gone wrong, and Malorie and the two children, now six years old, have to flee a riot of madness and death. And then...

...then we get a "ten years later" page, and the story proper begins. [Side note: There is a little bit of how-we-got-here during Malorie's panicked internal thoughts, but readers who haven't read the first book may not appreciate what Malorie went through to survive and to save the kids; they might enjoy this story anyway, but I think the context would be rather different, as Malorie comes across as extremely controlling and emotionally shut-down here. It's sort of a study in the cost of survival under impossible circumstances.]

We don't learn much about the journey to the new location, just that it's a former summer camp with lots of buildings and a very well-stocked supply room, enough to provide food, shelter and necessary supplies for the three of them for the last decade and more. The kids are 16 now, both so keen of hearing that they can sense the presence of the creatures from much farther away than Malorie can, and while they still heed the rules about never going out or even opening a door without having blindfolds on and eyes closed, Tom is beginning to resent this level of control. He's always working on experimental ways of preventing the madness - different kinds of helmets and eye protection, ideas about what causes the madness and how people might be able to see the creatures safely - though Malorie takes or destroys the gadgets when she finds them, terrified that he'll try to use one and be lost...

Tom's restlessness might be about to cause a rupture in the little family, but another event triggers the next major change in their lives: a man comes to their enclave one day, claiming he's part of a census, gathering and passing along information about survivors. The information he leaves behind includes a lot of startling things, from accounts of people who claim they can see the beings unscathed to those who claim to have captured some, and including the highly disturbing experiments conducted by some groups - one of them suggesting that if a person sees a creature but is confined such that they can't immediately damage themselves or others in their madness, the madness may subside into craftiness, with the victim seeming safe only to turn deadly as soon as the opportunity arrives {shudder}. But it's the list of survivors that pulls Malorie out of her settled attitude: her parents may have survived!

There's a lot more going on here, including the existence of a "Blind Train" that - slowly, and with many precautions - shuttles goods and passengers back and forth. And during the entire story the tension between the increasingly-rebellious Tom and his mother, with Olympia trying to keep the peace, while every new encounter presents potential risk. Getting to see the protagonists interact with quite a few other survivors in different stages of emotional stability highlights the long-term cost of the creatures and the damage they cause.

I enjoyed the story, for the most part - it's very atmospheric, and the many scenes in which characters have to cope with the presence of the enigmatic creatures are very tense indeed. But as the story progressed I began to fret about details - heck, the train alone demanded so much in the way of maintenance and fuel and transportation of goods that I would have liked more info on how it was done! The dramatic turn of events on the train was shocking indeed (though I realized it had been foreshadowed rather heavily), but from there the story pretty much zooms to its conclusion, with some plot-points that had me baffled. [Among them: with all these people trying at huge cost to find ways to safely see again without going mad, did nobody come up with Tom's idea before?] There's also the seriously underwhelming resolution of a subplot about a very dangerous nemesis, which was not nearly as cathartic as it should have been - though perhaps it was the brutally sensible way to go...

Anyway, I did get caught up in the story, and found it very effective for most of its length, but I felt rushed and a bit let down by the ending, so I'm knocking off a point for that.

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Monday, December 7, 2020

Released 3 yrs ago (12/7/2020 UTC) at Nashua, New Hampshire USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I'm adding this book to the Bookbox of the Apocalypse, which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Hope someone enjoys it!

*** Released for the 2020 What's in a Name challenge. ***

Journal Entry 3 by Chicvolley99 at Denver, Colorado USA on Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Received in the The Bookbox of the Apocalypse & Other Realities

I will find another place to release this book because I realized that I gave away my copy of Birdbox, which I haven't read yet.

Journal Entry 4 by Chicvolley99 at Denver, Colorado USA on Thursday, March 25, 2021

Released 3 yrs ago (3/25/2021 UTC) at Denver, Colorado USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:


Journal Entry 5 by bamaforever at Clanton, Alabama USA on Thursday, June 3, 2021
Choosing this from the Otherworldly book box.

Are you sure you want to delete this item? It cannot be undone.