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Book Review: Inspection by Josh Malerman

Inspection by Josh Malerman

Del Rey, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1524796990

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Hot on the heels of the biggest Netflix movie of all time, Bird Box, Josh Malerman is poised to continue his climb to stardom in this stellar new novel, a strange story that takes a left turn through the woods of Michigan instead of following a well-trodden road.

For anyone who has read him, Malerman a refreshing read because he eschews the normal, refusing  to follow formula: he entertains  readers. as well as forcing them to think. Bird Box, Malerman’s first novel, has been followed by Black Mad Wheel (music was the antagonist, allegedly), Goblin (a connected set of stories), and Unbury Carol (a western/horror/romance),

Inspection may remind some of 1984 or The Giver. The premise is that two towers exist in the forest, each just barely out of sight of the other. Within each, 26 students are raised from birth, given names of simply letters. The Alphabet Boys. The Letter Girls.  Neither is aware the other sex exists. The leaders of the experiment, D.A.D. and M.O.M., train their prodigies in several subjects, the arts, and more, honing the twelve-year-olds for mysterious lives.

The initial sections force the reader to push past the typical storytelling format, as the characters and setting require an intricate set up. Assigning each student only a letter for a name accomplishes both identity and sameness, the reason of which will reveal itself in layers. The schooling and activities impressed upon the students are mindbending and brutal: bizarre games and social events that twist in logic and morality.

J suspects something exists beyond the borders of his world when he sees a shadowy figure beyond a tree in the yard. It sends him on a journey that will alter him in ways he never thought possible, changing how he views his compartmentalized world. When a strange book lands on the students’ beds one day, one that reveals the truths about life outside of the school, the walls begin to crumble and terror of a new kind creeps into the students’ lives, one that could send them to “the corner,” a place from where no one has ever returned.

K embarks on a similar path, one that will bring her to a world she never knew existed.

Inspection will challenge readers. The result of Malerman’s story is a rewarding psychological journey that is guaranteed to garner him new readers and please his fans. His examination of the human condition, and of the “nature vs. nurture” debate, is relevant to the educational system and parenting today’s youth.

Finding a genre that fits this story will be a tough task, but one that should be determined by each reader. Inspection is destined to become one of the most talked about novels of 2019– and  it should be. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on March 19, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Goblin by Josh Malerman

Goblin

 

Goblin by Josh Malerman
Earthling Publications, October 2017
ISBN: Not available
Available: Limited edition numbered hardcover copies, direct from publisher only

 

It’s the time of year when horror is in the air, a celebrated author is called up, and Earthling Publications turns out another Halloween masterpiece. This year, the newest superstar in the genre, Josh Malerman, takes the helm and delivers one of the best offerings in the history of the series. Malerman, fresh off the success of his second novel, Black Mad Wheel,  and the news that his novel Bird Box will soon be a major motion picture, displays consummate skill in Goblin, a book comprised of six novellas all taking place in the small town of Goblin, Michigan.

 

Goblin, Michigan is Derry. It’s Oxrun Station. It’s Cedar Hills. It’s Green Town. It’s all of us in our hometowns, and yet, it’s something brand new.. Think of Goblin as Derry’s disturbed little brother, filling the reader with uneasy pleasure from cover to cover.

 

“A Man In Slices” shows that friendship can be a tricky concept, as a boy does whatever he can to help his lonely friend, at any cost. “Kamp” is a lighter tale, about a man petrified of a seeing a ghost. Everyone in Walter’s family has, and he knows his time is coming. How he copes with the expectation will make many readers feel a bit better about their own issues with  things that go bump in the night.”Happy Birthday, Hunter” displays the heart and obsession of a man who cannot give up the hunt. Nash’s addiction comes to a boiling point during his 60th birthday party, when he decides to kill Goblin’s most prized game in the north woods, a place from which no one ever returns.”Presto” is a love affair with magic, the oldest and darkest kind, where a young boy seeks to learn the secrets behind his favorite performer in a story that channels classic Bradbury.”A Mix-Up At The Zoo” details the inner struggle of Dirk, a man who switches jobs to become a tour guide in a zoo, a far cry from his other employment in the slaughterhouse. He finds a talent for understanding the mighty beasts within the cages but feels a certain darkness brewing when he drifts off in thought. In “The Hedges,” mazes, both ones built out of corn and the famed topiary in the film version of “The Shining,” emerge. Young Margot claims to have solved the unsolvable creation by Wayne Sherman.  What she finds at the end causes her to alert the Goblin police.

 

The mythology about Goblin’s history is richly drawn within these stories and connects them effectively, with a style that keeps the pages turning. Malerman has created a town that may even be darker than something that King, Grant, and Bradbury have created. Goblin should be listed on every horror reader’s itinerary, with the lights turned low and the night breeze creeping into the room. An incredible Halloween find for all. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on November 1, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman


Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman
Ecco, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0062259684
Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook
 

When  Bird Box hit the horror scene three years ago, readers discovered a new voice. Lyrical, rhythmic, and brutal, Josh Malerman wrote like a musician carving away at an album of great songs. The result was a true original that should have won the Bram Stoker award.  Malerman is the singer and guitarist of the rock band The High Strung, and in this second novel, Malerman has used his experience to pen a novel about the power of music, both good and bad.  Black Mad Wheel is incredibly accessible, with strong characters and a narrative that flows like the best classic rock and roll.

 

In the post-World War II era, the members of The Danes, a band with a one-hit-wonder, are looking for their next big thing. They find it when an officer from military intelligence makes them an offer that could put them all back on the path to wealth. The officer claims there is a “sound” emanating from the African desert that can disarm any weapon, but can also destroy a human in a horrific manner. The band accepts, and heads to the desert to find the source of the sound.

 

Meanwhile, in a parallel story, Phillip Tonka awakes from a long coma in a strange hospital, unable to move. Nearly every bone in his body is broken. He is a miracle to those who care for him. Ellen, his nurse, begins to unravel the mystery of what is happening to him, and why he is still alive and healing at a rate that is physically impossible. Both stories weave around each other like a great vocal riding atop a harmony, a guitar riff alongside a backbeat rhythm that can transform the simplest of songs into something magical. What the band finds in the desert is something most won’t see coming; Phillip’s tale is both mysterious and thrilling, and, as Malerman develops the bond between the man and his nurse, heartwarming as well.
Black Mad Wheel proves that Josh Malerman wasn’t a one-hit wonder. The story is just as enticing as Bird Box, with as much heart as horror. Do not miss this. Highly recommended. This ranks near the top of any thriller written about music.

 

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Posted on July 30, 2017 by , Reply
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