Josh Malerman Books In Order

Publication Order of Bird Box Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Creature Feature Collection Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Josh Malerman is American author of thriller, horror and fiction novels and the band leader for the rock band known as The High Strung. Josh began writing stories back in the fifth grade and mostly wrote about space dogs. Josh Malerman is famously known for his debut book Bird Box published in the United Kingdom in 2012 and USA in 2014 to much positive acclaim.

A resident of Ferndale, Michigan, Josh Malerman has won and also been nominated for various awards, thanks to his first novel Bird Box. In 2015, the author won Michigan Notable Book Award for his debut novel, and in the same year, he was nominated for James Herbert Award and also nominated for Bram Stoker Award for the Best First Novel.

Upon release, Bird Box received positive critical reception, and Malerman received comparisons to famous author such as Jonathan Carroll and Stephen King. Universal Studios optioned the film rights to Bird Box in 2013 before the novel release in the United States. Chris Morgan and Scott Stuber are set to produce the movie which will be directed by Andy Muschietti.

Bird Box

Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic horror novel, the debut work of Josh Malerman., the lead of a rock band- The High Strung.

The book was initially published in the UK in 2014 by Harper Voyager and later in the United States by Ecco Press. It follows the story of a woman who must find a way and navigate herself and her children to safety despite threats from an unseen enemy. The narrative is partially narrated in flashbacks and is set in the different time periods. Josh first wrote the rough draft of Bird Box before the release of 2008 film The Happening and 2009 movie The Road which led him to worry that his novel could get lost in the shuffle.

The story kicks off after a sinister phenomenon starts to occur on a global scale beginning in Russia, then Alaska and eventually makes its way to the suburbs of Detroit where the story picks up, and all suddenly people start to see, something. No one knows what this “something” is simply because when once it has been seen- “the something” drives people crazy and makes them suicidal. With some homicidal along the way, everyone begins to blackening his or her windshields, boarding down his or her windows and keeping off from strangers.

No one knows what “something” wants or where it came from or what form it takes or even what the future of the humanity will be. Then we are introduced to Malorie, a young mother living in a house with her two beloved children- both four years old. Right from the time she gave birth to her two adorable kids, she has been training them how to live and survive in this new world by making them wear blindfolds when outside and putting them through the very tough test and training them on how to have a preternatural hearing of the bats. All these preparations are intended for the day they will finally leave the house and try to find other people or find a safer place to live.

Bird Box is narrated from alternating chapters between Malorie at the beginning of the event and Malorie now. At the beginning of the story, finding out that she is pregnant just as the world begins to collapse. Even though the author does not give a detailed account of how the event unfolded, we get to get a glimpse of what transpired through both primary and secondary characters stories.

How terrifying is it not to be able to see what just a few paces in front of you? To be able to hear noises just behind you and not know what it is? Leave a safe house to hunt for food and not be sure that you will ever find your way back home? Drive your car blindfolded, through corpse filled roads and not know whether you will fall into a ditch? This is the exact kind of feeling you will get when reading Bird Box by Josh Malerman. It is the best building of dark horror, the writing itself is beautiful maintaining tension on every single passage.

Josh Malerman does a brilliant job in building suspense throughout the novel and allowing tension to the nerves to the limit- breaking point. What makes Bird Box unique from other post-apocalyptic horror novel is the fact that the author does not give the readers info before his characters figure out something- there is a danger, but readers are not allowed to “experience” before the characters. Somehow, Josh Malerman figured out that terror/suspense/tension is acuter when readers’ brain does not have a shape to project out to. Additionally, the non-linear timeline of this story is brilliantly done- shifting back to the “beginning of the events” not only lets the readers to have a glimpse of the unseen enemy but also helps in building suspense in the story.

A House at the Bottom of the Lake

Josh Malerman has cemented his reputation as one of the best and most original horror writers of the 21st century. His debut novel Bird Box gave a new meaning to phrases such as “see no evil.” In A House at the Bottom of the Lake, we have even a thrilling horror tale that quenches horror fans thirsty.

Awkward and shy teens James and Amelia are going on their first date- and James has an idea of taking his woman for canoeing on a deserted lake. While canoeing, the couple discovers a path to another lake that is even more secluded, and at the bottom of this lake, there is a two-story house. What begins as an exploration turns out to be an obsession, one that is welcomed as the two swim down the lake to explore the house and each visit bonds them to one another as well as to the house.

A House at the Bottom of the Lake by Josh Malerman is, in reality, a brilliant fantasy about crushing lows and the roller-coaster highs of young love and lust. In other words, it is a metaphor that shows how without the “glue” of commonality in a relationship, then the relationship would ultimately come crashing down.