Now from the mind of a true master of suspense comes the next chapter in Bird Box. This time, Malorie is front and center, and she will confront the dangers of her world head-on.
Twelve years after Malorie and her children rowed up the river to safety, a blindfold is still the only thing that stands between sanity and madness. One glimpse of the creatures that stalk the world will drive a person to unspeakable violence. There remains no explanation. No solution.
All Malorie can do is survive. But then comes what feels like impossible news. And with it, the first time Malorie has allowed herself to hope. Someone very dear to her, someone she believed dead, may be alive.
Malorie has a harrowing choice to make: to live by the rules of survival that have served her so well, or to venture into the darkness and reach for hope once more.
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10 books in catalog
Post-apocalyptic horror fiction gained widespread attention with the publication of Bird Box, a novel exploring psychological survival under total sensory deprivation that was later adapted into a feature film. Josh Malerman introduced readers to this sensory-focused narrative, establishing a distinct presence in contemporary horror and speculative fiction.
Before publishing his debut novel with ECCO/HarperCollins in 2014, Josh Malerman wrote fourteen complete novels without ever shopping a single manuscript to agents or publishers. During this period, he spent six years touring extensively as a singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for the Detroit-based rock band The High Strung, playing an average of 250 shows a year across the United States. He wrote many of his early rough drafts in the passenger seat of the tour van while traveling between cities. For years, Malerman maintained what he described as a glorious delusion, engaging in phantom interviews, imagining interactions with fictional literary agents, debating invisible editors, and placing imaginary hardcover books on his shelves.
The situation changed when Dave Simmer, a friend from high school who had worked with authors and properties in Hollywood, contacted Malerman to ask permission to share one of his manuscripts with contacts in the publishing industry. Simmer helped assemble a professional team, leading to representation by a real agent and active editorial guidance. Following the release of Bird Box in 2014, Malerman published numerous novels, novellas, and short story collections while remaining active in music and later co-founding the production company Spin a Black Yarn in 2020.
Malerman's fiction is marked by high-concept psychological tension, atmospheric horror, and rhythmic pacing influenced by his musical background. Heavily influenced by classic horror films and literature such as The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, and Bram Stoker's Dracula, alongside classic authors like William Faulkner and Fyodor Dostoevsky, he often constructs book structures with the sequencing and flow of music albums. His stories frequently revolve around unseen or inexplicable threats, close-knit family dynamics, and high-stakes survival scenarios that force characters to navigate extreme environmental or sensory restrictions.
