Last weekend I flew to Tucson to attend the annual Festival of Books. Trust me, getting to the Southwest from Grand Rapids is not an easy feat and to wile away the hours stuck in the ‘friendly skies’ I made sure I had plenty of reading material on my Kindle. Lucky for me, I chose wisely ….

What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this novel? (There are already 605 reviews on Amazon!)  I read Bird Box in one sitting – unable to put it down – mesmerized by Malerman’s vision of a terrifying and haunting not-too-distant future.

Bird Box is the story of a young woman, Malorie, who must navigate the horrors of this new world and try, against all odds, to find sanctuary for herself and her two young children.  Malerman’s prose is sparse – there is not one wasted word – and the impact of this is huge. For example, consider the stains on the walls and floor of the house Malorie lives in – stains that she desperately tries to erase. The author does not need to tell us what they are – we know. And, because we haven’t witnessed the carnage, the stains are even more significant – they cut us to the core.

There are terrors out there beyond the doors of this house. But even more frightening are the terrors found inside and it is these human monsters who scare you even more than the unknown creatures that keep Malorie and the others captive.

I’m not going to go into detail about the plot – I don’t want to give anything away – each reader needs to experience it for him or herself. Suffice to say that if you are a fan of Shirley Jackson and/or early Stephen King, you will be enthralled by Bird Box. I know I was and I can recommend it to you most highly and without reservation. It is by far the best novel I have read in 2016 and I doubt that I will find anything better as the year progresses. Malerman is a rising star in the literary world and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

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First a note – this is a serialized book and, therefore, if you plan on reading it, start with Part 1 – otherwise you may find yourself lost! (For information on Part 1, catch my review on this blog, dated 3/09/2016)

In Part 2 of The Pseudo-Chronicles, Mark finds himself falling deeper into the mysteries that surround him. With the help of a new friend (?), Rafael, Mark now separates the auras he’s been seeing into two groups: the purple muchos (the many) and the silver pocos  (the few). These beings – not of this world – are engaged in a great war, but are hampered by the fact that, since they have taken on human form, are unable to identify each other. Hence their need for Mark. Rafael, despite his own barely-there purple aura, is aligned with the pocos and urges Mark to join their side. Are the pocos really the good guys and will Mark be making a mistake if he joins them? I think the jury’s still out on that one and we still have Parts 3 and 4 to go.

As with the first installment in this series, Deck’s writing flows effortlessly and is laced with wry humor. The author did not let me down and I found Part 2 to be just as enthralling as Part 1.

If you are a fan of science fiction and like a little humor thrown in, you can’t go wrong with this series. I recommend it highly and without reservation.