Abbot is an insecure 26 year old, still living at home with his dad who he doesn’t get along with. His life is lived almost exclusively on line with the occasional job as a Lyft driver. On one trip, he picks up a young woman who offers him an exorbitant amount of money to drive her across the country with a strange black box. He’s hesitant but eventually agrees. She tells him her name is Ether but refuses to say what is in the box, only that it must be at the destination in four days and he has to leave his cell phone and any other devices behind. He stops at home to pack and, while there, he lets his online chat group know that he’ll be offline for a few days and why. Soon, the internet blows up with conspiracies about what’s in the box and who Ether is, attracting the attention of a retired FBI agent. They are also being followed by a huge nasty looking biker who knows what's in the box and will do anything to get his hands on it.

Jason Pargin is a master at combining exciting thrillers with dark humour and insightful social commentary and I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom is no exception. This is one hell of a wild and crazy cross-country ride. But, along with all the excitement and the mystery of the black box are some very interesting and thoughtful looks at social media including incel culture, influencers, and the ease of spread of toxic rumours and conspiracies. Despite all of this, though, it ends on a surprisingly hopeful note. Definitely one of my favourite books so far this year Oh, and just as a kind of side note, whatever you think is in the box, that ain’t it.

I read an eARC provided by St Martin’s Press while listening to an audiobook from Macmillan Audio narrated by Ari Fliakos who does an amazing job of ramping up the tension as well as the humour. Thanks to both publishers as well as Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

4 stars.

I am a huge Jason Pargin fan, so I was very much looking forward to "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom." I am happy to say that it fully delivered! If you've never read one of his books, I can see how this might be a little too all over the place for some readers because, while there is one central plot, there are a billion outlandish moving parts that make this eccentric material come to life. This story is a trip, literally and figuratively. It's a wild car ride full of zany-but-unlikable-but-still-wholly-relatable characters, social commentary, bizarre situations with even more bizarre online commentary, and laughs aplenty. Just when you think it can't get crazier, Pargin doubles down and makes it that much more outlandish in the very next chapter. The social commentary is on point, and I love what Pargin tries to say in this novel. I agree with everything he's saying about the internet, our culture, loneliness, our obsessions and fascinations with fame and becoming famous, the end of America, technology, and especially social media. Some readers may feel he is being too heavy-handed with his commentary, but I didn't mind it. I also have to shout out Ari Fliakos, the audiobook narrator. He does a spectacular job bringing this material to life in a fun, entertaining, captivating way. Do yourself a favor and check this one out. I would love to see this become a TV series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jason Pargin, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I always enjoy the writing style of Jason Pargin, by any name. Fast-paced and clever, they are never boring. The Black Box of Doom of the title may not be what you think it is. Everyone has an opinion about what it is. That's the point. A simple ride share turns into a cross country, viral conspiracy. This was an unapologetic turn at social media, especially the internet "celebrity" and the "experts" of online spaces like Reddit. It did go on a little long. The whole point was heavy-handed in an "all right we get it already" way. I think it could have lost 1/4 of the book and still gotten the entire story across.

Took this one in as an audiobook and had a good time – probably closer to a 3.5 star rating than a 3. It’s a zany and thoroughly modern road trip in which Abbott, a sad sap Lyft driver/Twitch streamer/incel, is coaxed into transporting an eccentric woman with ties to some shadowy groups, Ether, and her mysterious black box across the country to Washington DC. Leaving behind all traceable devices and unaware of the contents of this titular box, Abbott soon becomes an internet celebrity as conspiracies run rampant about the box and their hypothetically terroristic end goals, while law enforcement and some other illicit figures are hot on their tail.

I found the dynamic between Abbott & Ether to be dynamic and unique, and there are several explosive set pieces that stand out (particularly one about a lost dog). And while the author’s diversions into social commentary are initially additive to the story, by the midpoint I found myself wishing for more time with the characters. By the end, these lengthy rants impacted the pacing and made it difficult to stay connected with the characters. I don’t love complaining about book length but, like many other reviewers, this one felt like it would be better served with a shorter page count and more time with Abbott & Ether.

Definitely worth checking out for fans of the author or anybody looking for a wild (if slightly uneven) ride across the country. And of course, thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the Arc!

Wow this was so witty and entertaining! I loved the cast of characters and the silly situations they found themselves in.

I’m not sure what I thought I was getting into with this book, but I didn’t think it was going to be this good. This book is not written to be a work of art, it is meant to be entertaining and semi thought provoking without being one side or a political piece. It just brings up some very interesting ideas on how you can take different topics.

I thought it was funny on how there are interjections from Reddit conversations thought out the book and I thought they were so spot on to how life is in the real world.

I listened to the audiobook and I highly recommend doing this since listening to the narrator made me laugh so many times.

I will definitely read more of his books!

Thanks NetGalley and publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

DNF at 55%

I really wanted to love this book, and for a while I did. But then the rants social commentary that was sort of fun and amusing became grating and annoying. There were too many POV's slowing down the plot and when Abbot turned out to be a sexist dirt bag- I just couldn't find any reason to keep reading.

The audio narrator was phenomenal though. I think the narrator is why I made it as far as I did!

(I wish Netgalley would allow you to not rate DNF's or categorize them as such instead of using stars.)

Dear Author,



What a raucous and wild ride you sent me on! This satirical pilgrimage into the depths of the internet, social media—all media really—and the darkness of American culture at large made me laugh out loud. It caused me more than once to wax existentially about our existence as a nation and question, “What the fuck are we going to do about the realities of misinformation and paranoid beliefs breeding and festering in this country?” Stop feeding it. But what do I know?



Ari Fliakos did an amazing job narrating this whirlwind, quirky, character-filled romp! I look forward to hearing his voice in many more audiobooks.



Yours truly,

J. D. McCoughtry



Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the chance to listen to this e-arc audiobook.

What a fun and wild ride! We follow a woman Ether who hires ride share driver Abbott to take her and her myserteous black box across the country as quickly as possible. Through a variety of means, the internet learns of their quest and becomes obsessed with the trip in real time. Chaos ensues

This was my first book by Jason Pargin but it is clear immediately that he had a distinctive writing style. His characterizations are fun which made this book an overall good time. The flaws of the characters are on full display (especially Abbott…) which was tough to read at times but led to more opportunities for growth and reflection. I really enjoyed this and will be going back and reading some of Pargin’s earlier works

The audiobook narrator did a fantastic job and was a joy to listen to. Highly recommend this book via audio!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Well this book was not what I was expecting and definitely a wild something. It was bizarre but much like a train wreck I had a hard time looking away. I listened to the audiobook and read the kindle (switching because I wanted to be done honestly) and I thought the narrator did an excellent job. This book was strange in that for most of the book every main character is pretty horrible until you get to the end and they’re all not as bad as you thought (except I struggle with Abbott still) so you’re questioning your own judgement and experience. This book was less a thriller and more a social commentary which was fine, except I was expecting a thriller and felt like it could have gone a little more quickly. This book was funny but it was a really dark level of humor, the kind of humor that makes you question your morality when you find it funny so be warned of that. I did like the blog posts and twitch chats and Reddit posts that were sprinkled in the story as I felt like they enhanced it and helped underline some of the bigger themes. I will admit I never would have guessed the contents of the black box in a million years. Abbott goes to give a person a Lyft ride to the airport when the girl who orders the ride offers him 200,000 dollars to drive him and a giant mysterious box to DC by the Fourth of July but he can’t ask what’s in the box. Some small pieces of information get leaked and twisted by social media and suddenly Abbott and the girl, Ether, are the topic of public scrutiny and suspected to be bringing a bomb to DC. Their five day journey was chaotic and the book is also fleshed out with some other perspectives who have connections to the two. This was an interesting book. I’m not sure how it made me feel, but it did make me think about things I wouldn’t have been thinking about.

I just finished I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin and here are my thoughts.

What would you do if your Lyft passenger offers you $200,000 to drive her and a box across the country and you aren’t allowed to bring your electronics, look in the box or ask any questions?

This book was WILD!!!! I listened to the audio as well and I found the audio was better than reading it for myself.

Abbott has his problems. He’s on meds for his issues. Lives at home with his dad, uses his dad's vehicle when he picks passengers up… He is living a sad existence. His whole life is on his twitch streaming account.

Ether is weird… Like really weird but her personality seemed to work when she banters with Abbott. It was an interesting dynamic. I love dark humor and this one was well paced and exciting. It had some uninteresting parts but I think that was because I needed to stay with Abbott and what was going on with their road trip. I didn’t connect with the characters like I normally do but I found I understood why Abbott was the way he was so connecting didn’t matter. Ether was annoying but she annoyed Abbott too so that worked for me.

This was my first book by this author and I cannot wait to read more. I found the way social media was used to show how it shapes our thoughts and opinions. It was clever.

The ending was great. I really found the whole book totally entertaining.

4 stars

Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy!

Hmm. I’m not entirely sure what to make of this one. The premise sounded intriguing, I work in social media, and I often enjoy Jason Pargin’s TikToks, so I was excited to check this out.

The plot was compelling. I couldn’t put it down. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great (though I will say everything was so high stakes and the characters were so annoying that it was somewhat stressful to listen to).

This is not a subtle book. It really hits you over the head again and again with its message that social media isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and we need to interact with each other in the real world more. Kind of odd coming from a guy who’s built a huge following online that he can use to market his books well but okay.

There’s not a lot of nuance here, and the message is presented through rants by one of the main characters ad nauseum. It got boring after awhile. I never knew where the story was going, so that’s what kept me reading. The ending was kind of fun and unexpected, but also annoying in a way. I hate when an author introduces a random character out of nowhere that is the answer to all the mysteries and you never could’ve guessed that would be how things turn out. Ugh.

All in all, an engaging read, but a bit excessive with the ranting against the evils of social media. We get it!

This is a rather long-winded social commentary that has some intriguing things to say about where our society is and the direction it is heading. However, so much of the good in this book gets absolutely lost in the melee of endless ranting. I suppose this is to the point of the book, but one I fear will be missed for the volume of the noise.

The premise is great: Abbott, a 20-something gamer/streamer who works part-time as a Lyft driver picks up a fare who calls herself Ether. Ether offers him $200K to transport her and the large black case she has with her across the country from California to Washington DC. He has to leave all of his electronic devices behind, can't tell anyone where he is going, and he absolutely cannot look in or open the box. This starts a madcap trip, followed by multiple people who want to intercept the box, as well as a plethora of people on the internet who believe various and sundry things about what is in said box.

In the end I was satisfied with the outcome, but it just took so very long to get there and I got kind of glazed over, especially with the more outlandish Reddit posts and suppositions about what is in the box and what the desired result is for the box contents. I listened to this partially as an audiobook, and Ari Fliakos's narration is excellent to keep with the frantic nature of the narrative and the characters. While I do think the audiobook is a decent way to experience this book, being able to read the subreddit threads, Twitch comments, and other conversations with multiple contributors is easier to follow (and more realistic) with a print copy.

Overall, this is an astute look at how media drives society and how people can get entrenched in mob-think despite their best efforts. It's just very long and the message gets drowned out in the chaos. (Which again, is like real life if you think about it)

Engaging, entertaining, and well-narrated. A recommended purchase for collections where offbeat specfic is popular.

After socially awkward, perpetually online Twitch Streamer/Lyft driver Abbott Coburn is offered a huge wad of cash to transport a mysterious box across the country by a mysterious young woman in green sunglasses, he finds that he literally cannot say no: she won't let him. What ensues is a madcap road trip across the country where Abbott and Ether are pursued by a tattooed biker, an ex-FBI agent, and a number of vigilantes rallied by Reddit who want the box for themselves. And as Abbott and Ether get closer to their final destination, Washington DC on the 4th of July, they begin to worry that one of those internet weirdos may be right about what's inside.

The wackiness of the characters mixed with social commentary reminded me of Carl Hiaasen for the internet age. Unfortunately, the book was unable to maintain its relentless pace and lagged at times, particularly due to Ether's didactic monologues. It made it hard to stick with at times, but the ending was a fun surprise.

Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC of The audiobook via Netgalley. I listened to it at 1.5x speed which did not diminish the read/quality. The narrator did well differentiating all the different voices of the POV characters.

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom: A Wild Ride through Conspiracy and Chaos

Jason Pargin, the master of darkly humorous thrillers, delivers another mind-bending tale that will leave you questioning everything. "I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom" is a fast-paced, anxiety-inducing journey through a modern America teetering on the edge of chaos.

A mysterious woman, a black box, and a cross-country road trip with no questions asked. The premise alone is enough to hook you in, but Pargin takes it to another level, layering in social media frenzy, government conspiracies, and a healthy dose of absurdity.

The story unfolds with breakneck speed, as our unlikely duo navigates a landscape of paranoia and misinformation. The black box becomes a symbol of both hope and fear, representing the unknown and the power it holds over our lives.

Pargin's signature wit and sharp observations on modern society shine through, making even the most outlandish scenarios feel eerily plausible. He expertly captures the zeitgeist of our time, where technology and social media amplify our anxieties and blur the lines between truth and fiction.

"I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom" is a thrilling, thought-provoking, and darkly humorous exploration of the human condition in the age of information overload. It's a wild ride that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the world around you.

This one was quite the trip! I think if you're in the mood for a somewhat silly and action packed ride this one is a decent choice. I can't say I cared for any of the characters in this one and the narrative does get a bit too interested in cultural discussions that I wasn't super interested in. I did really enjoy Ari Fliakos' narration of this one and thought he did a great job bringing the MC to life.

Very fun book. Snarky and funny with lots of excitement. Very timely, though I wonder how it might hold up in 5-10 years because of the very current references to tech, but that was a lot of what made it so fun to read. Well worth a read.

One thing I know I can count on with a Jason Pargin novel is that it is going to be a ride and I'm Starting to Worry about This Black Box of Doom is no exception. Abbott is a Lyft driver trying to make a buck when he meets Ether, a woman who has no idea of what's inside a sealed black box she's tasked with delivering across the country. Using a mixture of philosophical questions and money, Ether convinces Abbott to drive her. The only problem is Abbott is kind of internet famous, so when his followers start tracking the story, everything goes crazy. There were several parts where I wondered what exactly was happening, but that is the appeal for me with stories like this one. Given the multi-layer narration, I thought the narrator did a great job at being different enough to discern the changes. Overall great listen!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC.

3.5⭐️’s This is one of those books that would make an excellent movie! Action packed, a little chaotic and a box of doom with a nerdy Uber driver and a failed influencer. Then we have a rich guy, a retired FBI agent, a “monster” biker guy and the entire internet to make things a little more interesting.
I enjoyed it! Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this audio in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited when I read this synopsis, but I really felt this book was lacking something. It was fine, but I couldn’t get truly into this one.