Bird Box: A Novel - bookrastinating.com

Gary reviewed Bird Box: A Novel by Josh Malerman

Review of 'Bird Box: A Novel' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Oh my gods. I cannot remember reading a book that had my heart beating fast in a long time. I read with trepidation and nerves, scared of how this could possibly end well for anybody. Picturing myself in this life of necessary blindness isn't just terrifying but it's the unknown that will make you fear every new paragraph as you read. The book was written with increasing conciseness and simplicity, and seemed to rush onward towards the finale at an ever increasing pace and alarming plot. It's not the writing or detail that would push my rating up... it's simply an unmatched level of suspense in a plot that shifts across several timelines, converging on an ending I wasn't sure would ever arrive. And it's not the exact ending I had anticipated either! Highly recommend this book unless you have anxiety or stress issues!

Dubi reviewed Bird Box: A Novel by Josh Malerman

Review of 'Bird Box: A Novel' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Maybe Steven Moffat desensitized me, but it's hard for me to get excited about monsters you can't see. It feels a bit like a cheap trick to create "psychological terror" with little effort.
But the book in general was underwhelming. The housemates were flat - I can pretty much assign a Ninja Turtle to each one (except for Jules, because there was no "animal-lover" ninja turtle, and Olympia, who's "Pregnant Turtle") and that would be sufficient to describe their character... Even the protagonist herself doesn't really have much of a personality. Not to mention the kids, who are little more than a plot device.
The story could have been a lot more than it is at the hands of a more skilled author. Even the ending, which is probably the best part of the book, suffers from this jumbling feeling, where more stuff is just piled on top even though …

Maybe Steven Moffat desensitized me, but it's hard for me to get excited about monsters you can't see. It feels a bit like a cheap trick to create "psychological terror" with little effort.
But the book in general was underwhelming. The housemates were flat - I can pretty much assign a Ninja Turtle to each one (except for Jules, because there was no "animal-lover" ninja turtle, and Olympia, who's "Pregnant Turtle") and that would be sufficient to describe their character... Even the protagonist herself doesn't really have much of a personality. Not to mention the kids, who are little more than a plot device.
The story could have been a lot more than it is at the hands of a more skilled author. Even the ending, which is probably the best part of the book, suffers from this jumbling feeling, where more stuff is just piled on top even though it doesn't really add anything, and just slows down the pace. What was the point of the whole blinded people bit? Did it really contribute anything? Were we supposed to think for 20 seconds that she reached a hellish place? It never went anywhere, it got resolved in half a page, and then the book ended. What was that for?

It's not that it's a bad book, but it's just not one of the best out there recently.

ChinHeir

rated it

April 10, 2018