Ben Marcus is a different type of best-selling writer. His prose sings songs that the average reader may not understand – at first. While this is the first plunge into Marcus’ fiction for this reviewer, it took awhile to break through the literary ice in order to enjoy.
There is a new pandemic around town and it resembles nothing the world has seen before. Don’t worry, it’s not zombies. Definitely not vampires. It’s children.
Their voices suddenly make adults ill. I know, it sounds like nonfiction or a Hannah Montana concert. Hang in there.
It truly is frightening in its premise. When children speak, adults grow sick and eventually wither away in painful death.
Samuel lives with wife Claire and daughter Esther. Their life is typical. Parents attempt to connect with daughter and draw back an emotional stomp. Nothing new or scary here – it’s everyday life. Yet soon reports trickle in from all over that adults are dying. The sheer words that she and every other child speaks is auditory poison. Sam takes his wife on the run, to find answers in a world that is highly influenced by his religion. Claire disappears at the onset of the escape and Sam collapses under the strain.
He finds himself in a government think-tank that struggles for a cure – at the expense of all who suffer the experiments.
Both literal and metaphoric, Marcus’ story touches on many issues in today’s dysfunctional and disconnected society. It’s an important tale that easily separates itself from the competition.
For fans of both apocalyptic fiction, both horror and in the vein of McCarthy’s The Road, The Flame Alphabet will definitely unsettle in a wondrous way.
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