Number 17 - Bobby Knocks - Josh Malerman

The ulitmate in cheat reads.  I read Bird Box an few years ago and thought it was on of the best books I'd read in a long long time.  This copy is the special limited edition from Dark Regions Press (and is totally sold out).  The artwork on that sleeve is truly amazing and the quality of the book, from the look to the feel of the paper is absolutely top notch.

That's the full wraparound picture. Vincent Chong is an awesome cover artist.

It also has several illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne scattered through the book. Atmospheric black and white sketches like this one...

All in all, this copy of the book is a work of art.

Why did I say this was the ultimate cheat read? Basically, I've not reread the whole book, but, as the title of this entry might suggest, I just read the new novelette included in this edition and set in the Bird Box world.

Bobby Knocks is told entirely in first person present tense by Bobby, a thirteen year old boy who's been camping outside a house and watching the occupants to see if this is a safe place for him to ask to live after his family died in the events. He's trying to get the courage to knock on the door and request shelter.

It's a tense and brutal story, and well up to the standards set by the full novel. Through Bobby's eyes we get to know the characters inside the house, his nicknames for them provide a great quick insight to the five adults and the tensions between them

If I have any criticism, the picture on page 330 should be on page 332 as it gives away the ending two pages early.

Excellent work all round.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/R1XK9DK6UUXK2H?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp


For those who want to see, this was my review of Birdbox when I first read it