Review: Black Mad Wheel

Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Josh Malerman has been on my radar for a while due to Bird Box, a book everyone seems to love. I intended to start my Josh Malerman reading with Bird Box, but I ended up starting with Black Mad Wheel instead. Although I did not enjoy this one in the way I expected, I will be going to read Bird Box to see if this was simply a bad example of the author’s work.

Black Mad Wheel had me curious from the very first page. Although it wasn’t quite the horror I’d been expecting, it was a sensory experience that left me with plenty of questions. I was curious as to how everything would come together, and the back and forth of the story unfolding had me turning the pages at a rapid pace to get my answers.

Although interesting, I was never invested. I did not care much for the characters and was reading to get answers. I wanted an explanation of how everything came together, and as it was a short read I happily devoured the book in no time at all.

Unfortunately, the answers didn’t really do much for me. Things came together, but it all felt rather anticlimactic. I expected something much bigger, something much more terrifying. I expected a true horror, only to be given something else.

Overall, this was a book that had me curious for details even if I never fell in love with it.

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