Black Mad Wheel
Ratings5
Average rating3.4
The Danes--the band known as the "Darlings of Detroit"--are washed up and desperate for inspiration, eager to once again have a number one hit. That is, until an agent from the US Army approaches them. Will they travel to an African desert and track down the source of a mysterious and malevolent sound? Under the guidance of their front man, Philip Tonka, the Danes embark on a harrowing journey through the scorching desert--a trip that takes Tonka into the heart of an ominous and twisted conspiracy. Meanwhile, in a nondescript Midwestern hospital, a nurse named Ellen tends to a patient recovering from a near-fatal accident. The circumstances that led to his injuries are mysterious--and his body heals at a remarkable rate. Ellen will do the impossible for this enigmatic patient, who reveals more about his accident with each passing day. -- Amazon.com.
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What a premise. Group of musicians goes into the African desert to search for a mysterious sound that the US military thinks is disarming weapons. Cool, right? Pulled me right in.
Other than that, the book didn't have much going for it. I felt like Dan Brown wrote this and someone on the sidelines was cheering him on, yelling “More vomit! More vomit!” Maybe that person was Josh Malerman, maybe not.
The story itself didn't make a lot of sense. If you read some of the other reviews here, you'll get a sense of what I mean. Having said that, and I won't spoil anything, the premise itself wrote Malerman into a corner. Which do you think would be the worse payoff: revealing the source, or NOT revealing the source? I believe that either scenario would be equally disappointing.
2.5 maybe? But that breaks my heart, since Bird Box is nigh unto perfection. I love love LOVE Bird Box. So I had high hopes for this one. But I feel like this one was getting close to a deadline and just needed to be finished or something. There's no magic in it. Every time something interesting starts to happen, the chapter ends, and we end up back in the hospital where Philip Tonka, our hero, is recovering from SOMETHING. And in the end, that something is lacking. The strange supernatural/unnatural element is sort of just left hanging. Much more could have happened in this book, but it just didn't. And now I am sad. So much potential for cool things to happen, but it all just petered out into a vague happyish ending.
