The Late Bloomer
In Mark Falkin's THE LATE BLOOMER, the world experiences an abrupt and unthinkable cataclysm on the morning of October 29, 2018. Kevin March, high school band trombonist and want-to-be writer playing early morning hooky, is witness to its beginning, though he isn’t as shocked by it as he thinks he should be or wishes he could be—these dreams he’s been having; this story that he wrote; his little brother’s night terrors and sleepwalking. Surprised or not, Kevin now not only finds himself pitted against forces these changes have wrought in order to survive, but soon discovers that he may have a crucial role in this new world, one that he is reluctant to play.
To stay alive, Kevin embarks on a journey that promises to change everything yet again. On his journey, into a digital recorder he chronicles his experiences at the end of his world.
This book is a transcript of that recording.
Depicting an unspeakable apocalypse unlike any seen in fiction—there are no zombies, viruses or virals, no doomsday asteroid, no aliens, no environmental cataclysm, no nuclear holocaust—with a Holden Caulfieldesque protagonist at his world’s end, The Late Bloomer is both a companion piece to Lord of the Flies and a Bradburyian Halloween tale. And though crossover-oriented and delivering genre-novel fear, The Late Bloomer is harrowing, grim and poignant in the way of McCarthy’s The Road. Told in Kevin March’s singular and unforgettable voice, delivering a gripping narrative with an unsparing climax as moving as it is terrifying, The Late Bloomer defies expectations of the genre and will haunt those who read it.
"With pitch-perfect prose, Falkin has penned an irresistible and audacious coming-of-age novel that plumbs the depths of adolescence and global cataclysm in equal, page-turning measure. I predict The Late Bloomer will take its place on the post-apocalyptic bestseller list, next to Station Eleven and The Stand.”― Will Clarke, author of The Neon Palm of Madame Melançon and Lord Vishnu's Love Handles
“Falkin synthesizes multiple unnerving apocalypse scenarios into something entirely new in this horror novel….The novel’s style also highlights the protagonist’s flair for poetic language, and the overwhelming situation that he finds himself in allows readers to learn more about him as he sees deeper into himself. The apocalypse itself is a mystery that drives the entire story….Through all of this, Kevin has to contend with the possibility that survival is a false hope, but he also finds that recording and remembering are acts of defiance in and of themselves.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review; named one of the Best Books of the Year)
Similar Book Suggested by Kirkus’ Critics: STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel (National Book Award Finalist)
Book retailers and libraries compare The Late Bloomer to:
BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman
ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer
THE CITY OF MIRRORS (The Passage Trilogy Series, #3) by Justin Cronin
To stay alive, Kevin embarks on a journey that promises to change everything yet again. On his journey, into a digital recorder he chronicles his experiences at the end of his world.
This book is a transcript of that recording.
Depicting an unspeakable apocalypse unlike any seen in fiction—there are no zombies, viruses or virals, no doomsday asteroid, no aliens, no environmental cataclysm, no nuclear holocaust—with a Holden Caulfieldesque protagonist at his world’s end, The Late Bloomer is both a companion piece to Lord of the Flies and a Bradburyian Halloween tale. And though crossover-oriented and delivering genre-novel fear, The Late Bloomer is harrowing, grim and poignant in the way of McCarthy’s The Road. Told in Kevin March’s singular and unforgettable voice, delivering a gripping narrative with an unsparing climax as moving as it is terrifying, The Late Bloomer defies expectations of the genre and will haunt those who read it.
"With pitch-perfect prose, Falkin has penned an irresistible and audacious coming-of-age novel that plumbs the depths of adolescence and global cataclysm in equal, page-turning measure. I predict The Late Bloomer will take its place on the post-apocalyptic bestseller list, next to Station Eleven and The Stand.”― Will Clarke, author of The Neon Palm of Madame Melançon and Lord Vishnu's Love Handles
“Falkin synthesizes multiple unnerving apocalypse scenarios into something entirely new in this horror novel….The novel’s style also highlights the protagonist’s flair for poetic language, and the overwhelming situation that he finds himself in allows readers to learn more about him as he sees deeper into himself. The apocalypse itself is a mystery that drives the entire story….Through all of this, Kevin has to contend with the possibility that survival is a false hope, but he also finds that recording and remembering are acts of defiance in and of themselves.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review; named one of the Best Books of the Year)
Similar Book Suggested by Kirkus’ Critics: STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel (National Book Award Finalist)
Book retailers and libraries compare The Late Bloomer to:
BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman
ANNIHILATION by Jeff VanderMeer
THE CITY OF MIRRORS (The Passage Trilogy Series, #3) by Justin Cronin
