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A review by bookswithlukas
Malorie by Josh Malerman
2.0
In many ways, ‘Malorie’ is the disappointing sequel to ‘Bird Box’ that I always knew it was going to be. It’s seemingly rushed conception (along with reading another disappointing Malerman novel) really lowered my expectations as to the quality of this one - and while I wouldn’t advise staying away from it if you enjoyed the first, I think everyone kind of knew that they were getting a little bit of a cash grab here.
That’s not to say that Malerman doesn’t try. The story itself justifies its existence, it’s not simply a retread of the first novel - the themes change, the world grows bigger and the adventure goes longer. It’s just that there are no surprises.
There’s a distinct inevitability when it comes to horror - in that we always *know* that something has to go wrong for the story to truly start. Good horror plays with those expectations - layering events and characters and building to these moments. ‘Malorie’ however stagnates a little, it’s not that it’s bad per say, it’s just all very standard. The journey here takes place on a train (instead of the first novels row boat), and while there’s a real attempt to echo the suspense of the boat trip with extra characters thrown in - it just all falls rather flat, limping to a somewhat contrived and expected finale.
It may sound like I really didn’t enjoy ‘Malorie’ and that’s not entirely true, it’s a very quick and easy read that doesn’t out stay it’s welcome. One or two character moments hit successfully - and I approve of Malerman’s decision to keep Malorie as a survivor.
If you enjoyed the first, give it a read and see what you think - let’s just hope Malerman sticks to a duology for this one.
That’s not to say that Malerman doesn’t try. The story itself justifies its existence, it’s not simply a retread of the first novel - the themes change, the world grows bigger and the adventure goes longer. It’s just that there are no surprises.
There’s a distinct inevitability when it comes to horror - in that we always *know* that something has to go wrong for the story to truly start. Good horror plays with those expectations - layering events and characters and building to these moments. ‘Malorie’ however stagnates a little, it’s not that it’s bad per say, it’s just all very standard. The journey here takes place on a train (instead of the first novels row boat), and while there’s a real attempt to echo the suspense of the boat trip with extra characters thrown in - it just all falls rather flat, limping to a somewhat contrived and expected finale.
It may sound like I really didn’t enjoy ‘Malorie’ and that’s not entirely true, it’s a very quick and easy read that doesn’t out stay it’s welcome. One or two character moments hit successfully - and I approve of Malerman’s decision to keep Malorie as a survivor.
If you enjoyed the first, give it a read and see what you think - let’s just hope Malerman sticks to a duology for this one.