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Sign up todayI'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom
A Novel
Narrator
Ari Fliakos
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn more
Length
12 hours 43 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“A wild ride from start to end, this book pulls the old 'telephone game' into the 21st century. ”
— Julie • Three Bells Books
Bookseller recommendation
“A Twitch streamer pairs up with a mysterious woman on a quest to transport a black box across the country. Their journey is followed closely by police, FBI, Reddit internet sleuths, the streamer's father, and a menacing biker. A fun and bizarre road trip story filled with social commentary on the internet age - should we give up on humanity, or is there hope? ”
— Ellen • Blacksburg Books
Bookseller recommendation
“With the backdrop of a mystery/adventure, the characters confront all aspects of our digital world, social media, and virtual communities. The complexity of each character added to the richness of the story.”
— Ellen • Banter Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“What a romp! From California to Virginia, Abbot and Ether encounter one hurdle after another in their attempt to deliver a sealed black trunk to a wealthy man. Rumors abound on the internet about the possibly lethal contents of the box and about the motives and identities of all involved. This novel is a wonderfully entertaining and clever look at social media, conspiracy theories, and connection and disconnection in today’s world. ”
— Nancy • Raven Book Store
Bookseller recommendation
“I did not think I'd ever find myself empathizing with an incel, but that's the beauty of good literature! Compared to a John & Dave novel, this book isn't as balls-to-the-wall wacky, but it is still funny and features a gang of outcast losers that are in way over their heads with something they don't understand. Mix in a large, unidentified black box and the concerned citizens of Reddit and you've got a cross country chase that results in multiple semi crashes, an underwater rescue, a horse girl's broken heart, and one (1) saved rabbit. This book doesn't ask a lot of you, only to listen like you want to understand. This book is beautifully crafted, with moments that made me take pause and ones that had me barreling through to see what happened next. I too, am starting to worry about this black box of doom, and I hope you read this so we can worry about it together.”
— CJ • Page 1 Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I laughed out loud many times while listening to this!”
— Julie • Three Bells Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Witty, satirical commentary on social media’s influence on human behavior. ”
— Natalie • Katy Budget Books
A standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.
Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.
But there are rules:
He cannot look inside the box.
He cannot ask questions.
He cannot tell anyone.
They must leave immediately.
He must leave all trackable devices behind.
As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.
The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
JASON PARGIN is the New York Times bestselling author of the John Dies at the End series as well as the award-winning Zoey Ashe novels. He previously published under the pseudonym David Wong. His essays at Cracked.com and other outlets have been enjoyed by tens of millions of readers around the world.
Ari Fliakos is an actor with experience in television, radio, film, theater, and voiceovers. His narration of Seth Patrick’s Reviver won an Audie for paranormal fiction. He has narrated Black Site and Tier One Wild by Dalton Fury, as well as Gangster Squad, The Inquisitor, and Shotgun Lovesongs. On screen, he is best-known for his roles in Law & Order, Pills, and Company K.
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Audiobook details
Author:
Jason Pargin
Narrator:
Ari Fliakos
ISBN:
9781250354235
Length:
12 hours 43 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Macmillan Audio
Publication date:
September 24, 2024
Edition:
Unabridged
Libro.fm rank:
#762 Overall
Genre rank:
#35 in Science Fiction
Reviews
"Strident and timely, the dark humor of this wild standalone adventure from Pargin evokes satirists like Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams for a new age... It’s a raucous roller-coaster ride." — Publisher's Weekly
"A road trip through America that is equal parts hilarious and terrifying. Jason understands humanity better than most, and it’s inspiring that his diagnosis is ultimately optimistic." — Daniel O'Brien, Senior Writer, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
"I was hooked from the first page. If I'm honest, from the first sentence or two. Jason has a rare gift for delivering High Weirdness coated in a sticky layer of real life, deeply relatable shit that forces you to see yourself in whatever weirdo or maniac he introduces. It's a rare gift, but he's got a lot of those. You should read this book." — Robert Evans, Host of Behind the Bastards
“Jason Pargin’s curse is a brain that can make sense of what we’re all living through. His gift is an ability to take the key elements -- paranoia, screen addiction, deep loneliness, fear of the end times -- and hocus-pocus them into a comic thriller. Illuminatus! for an even weirder time, and with much cooler cars.” — David Weigel, national political reporter, Semafor
“Jason Pargin has a unique grasp on all the ways our relationship with information technology has warped our brains and our society as a whole. This latest work is a fun, socially relevant, and propulsive work of satire. Well, mostly satire: The way its characters fabricate dangerous narratives out of whatever information they can access is terrifyingly true to life. I felt personally called out a dozen times and I loved every page of it.” — Matthew Kitchen, Editor, Chron
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