I was very excited to get this book and thought I might really enjoy it, but I think it was just too complex and different from what I’m used to, to fully enjoy. I know it’s likely most will enjoy it, but it just was not for me,
Will be using in a challenge and telling the members of Chapter Chatter Pub about it’s release.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

inspection (Josh Malerman)
Title: inspection
Author: Josh Malerman
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Ray
Publication Date: TODAY!!! (hardcover/e-book)
ISBN: 978-1524796990
Source: NetGalley

I have become a major fan of Malerman's work.  Ye tend to always get interesting concepts, compelling characters, and ambiguous endings.  This book had all of those things even if the execution was less than desired.  I also read this one without reading the blurb so I had no idea what the story was about before picking it up.

The concept is that there are two towers in the wilderness set up for an experiment called the Parenthood.  The goal is to raise children to the best of their potential with a focus on mathematics and the sciences.  To do that the curriculum must be strictly adhered to.  The distractions that must be avoided at all costs a) religion; and b) the opposite sex.  The complete focus ended up being on gender.  One tower is for boys and the other for girls - 26 of each gender and named after the letters of the alphabet.  Raised from infants, these children have reached the age of 12 and puberty is on the horizon.  The Parenthood is determined to protect their innocent charges from the ravages of their hormones.  But what if these pre-teens start questioning their elders?

The book is set up in four parts 1) the alphabets boys; 2) needs; 3) K; and 4) spoiled rotten.  What is most interesting about this book to me was the structure.  The first part relates the boys' life in the tower and ye are introduced to (boy) J.  I actually really enjoyed J's perspectives and character and watching his journey was the most satisfying part of the book.  In the second part ye be introduced to an adult in the facility who be having "the guilts" and is part of the propaganda writing machine.  These are interspersed with (boy) J's doubts.  I liked the juxtaposition of the two.

The third part introduces the girl's side of things and how they are questioning their environment.  I loved that the girl's are substantially further along than the boys in both education and rationale and are so practical in discovering answers.  The girls resort to action and the boys don't.  Nice change of the usual.  And of course part four is where all hell breaks loose.

There were major problems with the book's structure and plot.  One is that the pacing is extremely slow, especially at the beginning.  I didn't have trouble following the story because of this but because both the questions and answers are handed out piecemeal, the flow of the writing was impeded in multiple parts.Two, I thought the motivation of all the adults were rudimentary at best.  Only the "M.O.M.", "D.A.D.", and two novelists really have any personality.  All the others are lost in the background, basically nameless, and rather pointless.  And yet there are tons of adults, like cooks, guards, etc., mentioned for such a large facility.  I wanted better details on how the towers functioned.  Also the adults were kinda naive and one-dimensional in their thinking just so they could underestimate the 12-year olds.  And seriously what do those "M.O.M." and "D.A.D." acronyms stand for?  Did I miss it?

Third, I thought that even the concept of gender was dealt with in the most arbitrary and surface way.  For example, all the children are assumed to be heteronormative.  It would have been nice to have some nuance to sexual development in an arena where sex as a concept has been avoided altogether.  And some things were just plain stupid.  Boy meets girl for the first time and basically immediately start kissing and making out.  Life altering facts have been discovered, they are complete strangers, and yet they take a break and jump right into bed.  Bleck.

Four, from the makeout session the plot literally spiraled into almost a farce of ridiculousness.  Believability went right out the window.  Reality went out the window.  The entertainment value was in how crazy and silly the story was getting with each new page.  It made me laugh and I don't think that was the intention.  And the ending was super open-ended.  I had kinda expected it based on his other works but I think this be one time where there should have been an epilogue with something along of the lines of "10 years later" and brief descriptions of where (boy) J, (girl) K, (boy) D, (girl) B, (girl) Q for example ended up.

All those problems aside, I got what I love Malerman's works - cool ideas that make me think.  So I am very grateful to have been given a review copy and to have read this one.  I will be reading whatever he writes next.  Arrrr!
So lastly . . .Thank you Random House!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

J is a student at a school deep in a forest far away from the rest of the world.J is one of only twenty-six students, all of whom think of the school’s enigmatic founder as their father. J’s peers are the only family he has ever had. The students are being trained to be prodigies of art, science, and athletics, and their life at the school is all they know—and all they are allowed to know.But J suspects that there is something out there, beyond the pines, that the founder does not want him to see, and he’s beginning to ask questions. What is the real purpose of this place? Why can the students never leave? And what secrets is their father hiding from them?Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, in a school very much like J’s, a girl named K is asking the same questions. J has never seen a girl, and K has never seen a boy. As K and J work to investigate the secrets of their two strange schools, they come to discover something even more mysterious: each other.

To visit the author’s website go to:
Josh Malerman - Author

To buy the novel please visit:i
nspection - Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author
unbury carol (On the Horizon - Fantasy eArc)
bird box (Captain's Log - Sci-Fi)

Original, Zany and Perplexing...

From the author of Bird Box, this novel completely through me for a loop. A mesmerizing cover and a promising premise had me diving in with high expectations.

From the first chapters I was aware of something dark and secretive going on with this group of boys duped "the alphabet boys".  They are living in a tower at a remote location as part of an "experiment".  These boys are being raised to become the worlds best in science, engineering and math.

While I enjoyed the creative idea, I felt it lacked the suspense and tension that I was craving. I was interested in finding out more about what was happening at the "Parenthood" , but parts were repetitive and all the kids with the letter names became confusing. Although there is a nice plot turn towards the end, it happened a bit late in the game for me.

I know I can't expect everything Josh Malerman writes to be just like Bird Box, but I still went into this book with a certain expectation, and I ended up disappointed. This one was just not for me. The first half bored me, and while it does pick up in the second half, the ending was bizarre. The premise is sort of interesting, but the motivations of the adult characters never felt very realistic to me.

Fast forward twenty years and Josh Malerman will be held in regard as strongly as Ramsey Campbell, John Farris, Rick Hautula, Jonathan Maberry and more like them.
Inspection is further proof that Josh is not content on driving down the same road as his predecessors. A true original.

I have read Malerman's other works and this book is his tensest book yet. Although it doesn't deal with themes of gender equality where it might, the book instead focuses on the isolation of the boys from the girls. A perfect book for a light, horror read. This is probably my favorite of Malerman's because it had a pretty strong plot. Yes it isn't a book for everyone because it is very dystopian but if the reader can get past this, the reward is great.

This book was nothing like I have read before. I think this book is too far out of my comfort zone for me to fully be able to give a fair rating. I think this book definitely has an audience that will find it engaging and enjoyable. I found it hard to follow and understand.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. It was interesting, to say the least. This will be a very brief review, as there is not a lot I can say about this without spoiling it.

I will start by saying I haven't watched or read Bird Box, another book by the author. I have heard of it, but horror is not my genre in any way shape or form. I was weary starting off, not sure what to expect. But the story sucked me in immediately and I couldn't read fast enough!

I loved the way the children were named by simple alphabet letters, showing how the adults/scientists truly stayed detached from their experimental subjects. This was a truly one of a kind type of story.

The ending was terrific! Bravo!

Inspection is due to be released here in the United States on March 19, 2019 so order it now for delivery in 4 days!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for allowing me an e-ARC to read and give my honest review.

This was a 4 star read for me!

Happy Reading!

A great experiment gone wrong. The alphabet boys and girls (26 of each named “A” through “Z”) are being raised with absolutely no knowledge of the opposite sex. All going along pretty well until they near puberty and all hell breaks loose as they discover the lies and deceit. Even though the leaders deserved what they got, I would have liked a more reasonable ending rather than the all out bloody mutiny.

Talk about a slooooowwww burn with a OH MY GOD.

J lives with the other Alphabet boys under the rule and guidance of D.A.D and the rest of the Parenthood. This all male village is full of fear of disease, fear of change, fear of knowledge. This is a school to create the most intelligent beings. But the boys are growing older and have questions...

K lives with the other Alphabet girls under the rule and gu....do you see where I'm going with this?

Two school, separated by sex, with no knowledge of each other. What could go wrong?

Josh Malerman is a master at creating tension and underlying fear. He's also a master at writing stories of love, loss, hope, nature, nurture, freedom, character development...the list goes on. This is not Bird Box part 2. This is something special, something different. This is a masterpiece.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Josh Malerman for this book in exchange for this review.

Once again I find myself branching out into the dystopian world. How could I possibly resist the latest release from Josh Malerman. I absolutely loved his previous release of Bird Box.

While Bird Box rests comfortably on my favorite shelf, this one just fell a bit shy of reaching that status for me.
An ingenious premise that promised an explosive mind-blowing read. But I just couldn’t quite let go and be taken there. While I really liked it...I just can't say I loved it as much as Bird Box.

There are two groups of children being raised completely separate from the other. The Alphabet boys and the Letter girls. Neither group is aware of the others’ existence. All raised to reach their full potential without the distraction of knowing that there’s another sex alive, well, and being raised just 3 miles away.

The book began just a bit slow for me, but I was eventually deeply drawn into this world of Letter Children. But the ending left me wanting more. I haven’t heard of a follow up...but a girl can dream!

I do recall I felt the same way with Bird Box. I wanted more! Is that Josh Malerman’s sneaky style? I believe it is. Will it stop me from reaching for his next release? Not a chance! Already looking!

A buddy read with Susanne! Thank you Susanne for reading this one with me!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and Josh Malerman for an ARC to read and review.

This is the first time I have been disappointed in a Josh Malerman book and that makes me sad. I love his writing but this book made for a slow read. The story also opened itself up for so much that was never addressed let alone hinted at.

You would think another dystopian novel, featuring kids/teens would be a bore, but this book's original story will grab you from the beginning and make you keep turning the pages until the bitter end.
I'm hoping this one will be turned into a movie very soon!

Intriguing. Twenty six boys and twenty six girls are being raised separately and in isolation by D.A.D. and M.O.M. They don't have any clue that the other sex exists or that their own situation is strange beyond belief. Well, then something happens. This is creepy in the extreme, especially the scene where the boys are inspected for disease etc. It's also a bit slow and, frankly repetitive when it switches to the girls halfway through. It does, however, pick up quite a bit. I'd not read Malerman before but know him only through the film of Bird Box. This isn't my usual genre but I was entertained. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Yield to the oddness.

In a bizarre thought experiment, a group of 12-year-old boys with only a first initial for names exist in a tower, unaware of the opposite sex. They are raised to become prodigies, and are put through regular thorough inspections. It's all very strange. We also learn a similar academy exists with 11 year-old-girls in the same situation.

This book is like nothing I've read. It's a YA-style setup for a book meant for adults. The first half is a slow-burn puzzle and the second half is a fast-paced race to see what happens when the boys and girls meet and realize there's more to their existence than living a life of the mind.

Josh Malerman deserves credit for creating something completely different from his previous books (which are all different in their own right). Inspection teeters on the edge of the ridiculous, yet it keeps us rooting for a reasonable ending — and somehow manages to accomplish it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reader copy.

INSPECTION is definitely a slow burn when it comes to the horror aspects of the plot, but the slow build up is worth it in the end. We get to see the ins and outs of the boarding school/experiment from not only the kids views, but the views of the people running it, and the stark contrasts are jarring to say the least. The horror of the program itself and how it came to be isn't really harped on, which gives it all the more of a twisted and unsettling feeling as you read on. It was also really interesting seeing that Malerman thought of how discipline and isolation alone wouldn't be able to keep the subjects in line, and that there is a whole subplot about the man who writes the propaganda for the Alphabet Boys. It's a very complex look at a terrifying concept, and Malerman covered many bases (though here is my big hang up: if the premise is that attraction and sexuality is what keeps people from their true potential, within 24 kids of the same sex there is a statistical chance that at LEAST one of them would be attracted to the same sex; wouldn't that throw off the entire experiment? Or would that subject just be 'spoiled' in the eyes of the researcher? Was this Malerman's point that there would be a deliberate and biased blind spot in the theory? Or did he just not think of it?). I also liked seeing the differences between J and K in how they approached things, and how when they realized there WERE different genders they reacted to it, perhaps based on their innate personalities OR because of how they were conditioned. And yes, it's a slow burn to the horror. But when it gets there, it's THERE.

INSPECTION was a complex and riveting thriller/horror novel. Now that BIRD BOX has a new spotlight on it thank to Netflix, I'm hoping INSPECTION will get some attention to those who wouldn't have sought it out otherwise.

Having read two other books by Josh Mallerman, I was looking forward to reading Inspection, his most recent work. It has a very interesting premise in which children are separated by gender and are not even aware that another gender exists. Sadly, I just never connected with the story.

I have to say that I didn’t finish this one. I know others have really enjoyed this story, but I just couldn’t stick with it long enough to find out how it ended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me an advance copy to read and give my honest review.

3.75 Stars* (rounded up).

Well, that was different. In truth, I couldn’t tear my eyes away!

What can I say without giving too much away? “Inspection” is weird and wild and had a really interesting concept. The first part was a little slower for me and took a while to get into and then BAM!!, the second part took off and I was all in. The characterizations hooked me. K and B, got me and and they got me good. Reality is not what you think it is and truth well, what is the truth? Be honest and you are safe or Lie and the Corner will await. What do you think and what do you actually know? Not much!

Let me leave you with this: Girls rule and boys drool. Baah!!

“Inspection” was definitely unlike any other book I have ever read. I have to hand it to Josh Malerman. He continues to think out of the box - for which I give him kudos. There is one part of the novel I thought was unnecessary and was ultimately too graphic and for which I was forced to cover my eyes... thus I must warn people in advance.

For those of you looking for something a little different, I suggest giving this one a try. Yes it’s totally out there, completely weird and totally unlike “Bird Box” but that’s the beauty of it. It’s wholly original.

This was a buddy read with Kaceey! Thanks for reading this with me Kace! It was a weird, wild ride!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Josh Malerman for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Published on NetGalley and Goodreads on 3.10.10.
Will be published on Amazon and Twitter on 3.19.19.

Not every book is for every reader. I just couldn't get into this one. I didn't give up on it, but after about 25%, I heavily skimmed most chapters. I am not sure that I liked the whole first part being about the boys and then giving the girls a chance on the flip-side for about 30%. Whereas the slow burn of Bird Box built the tension perfectly, the pacing in this one was a bit off for me. I didn't feel as much a sense of tension building. However, when it really picked up at about 80%, the payoff was pretty solid. By that point, however, I just wanted to be finished. Though I didn't enjoy this particular book, I will not stop reading Malerman's work. I loved Bird Box and still want to read Unbury Carol. I'm going to refrain from posting a review anywhere, because I don't want to negatively review it when I think it will find its audience. That audience just wasn't me.

I was super excited to read Inspection. I had read the blurb and thought to myself “This seems like it is going to be a good book.” Then I started reading it. All I can say is that the book was a huge disappointment.

The plot of Inspection was interesting at first. I thought that the whole premise of the book was interesting. Then it became stale. It faltered about halfway through the book, when K’s storyline was introduced. K’s storyline was the same as J’s. The only difference was the timeline. K’s storyline started off earlier than J’s. Which meant she knew things before J. It was meh to me. Not bad, not good. Just meh.

I did like the kids. J’s confusion over what he read in the book was realistic. As was his anger and disappointment when he realized that D.A.D. wasn’t who he thought he was. K’s determination to find the other tower was great to read also. What she did once she was there set the stage for the rest of the book. The other kids (the rest of the Alphabet Boys and Letter Girls) were well written also.

D.A.D. was an egotistical maniac. His mood swings dominated J’s storyline. The deeper into the book I got, the more the experiment unravel, the more unhinged he became. I didn’t like it. It didn’t sit well with. As for M.O.M., I wasn’t impressed with her either. The main reason was her before scenes. When she met D.A.D. and hatched the plan for the school. She was condescending and it drove me nuts. The other adults made me angry. They saw what was going on. They knew what being sent to the Corner meant. And they still did nothing. Oh, they were sad. There were several passages where people looked at the kids with sadness in their eyes. But they didn’t act. Drove me nuts reading that.

I didn’t get the need for the inspections at first. I couldn’t understand why the boys and girls had to be inspected every morning. But, as the book went on, I started to understand. I won’t say why because it would be a major spoiler.

I thought that the way kept the kids in line was awful. They told the kids that the outside world had diseases. Made up diseases. Diseases that sounded like Harry Potter spells. They also threatened to put them in the Corner. The kids were terrified of the Corner. Why? Because the 2 boys and 1 girl put in the Corner never came back. And they were reminded of that daily.

The end of Inspection underwhelmed me. What ended up happening, I expected. I was interested in the letter that was at the very end of the book. But other than that, I was meh about it. There were certain things that were left up in the air. Things that should have been explained.

I would give Inspection an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is swearing. There is language. I would suggest that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread Inspection. I am also on the fence if I would recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Inspection.

All opinions stated in this review of Inspection are mine.

Have you read Inspection?

What were your thoughts on it?

Social experiments? What are your thoughts?

Let me know!!