The Late Bloomer

About this book

A 2019 Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year Falkin synthesizes multiple unnerving apocalypse scenarios into something entirely new in this horror novel. ?Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The world experiences an abrupt and unthinkable cataclysm on the morning of October 29 2018. Kevin March high school band trombonist and wannabe writer playing hooky is witness to its beginning. 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 fictionthere are no zombies viruses or virals no doomsday asteroid no aliens no environmental cataclysm no nuclear holocaustwith a Holden Caulfieldesque protagonist at his worlds end The Late Bloomer is both a companion piece to Lord of the Flies and a Bradburyian Halloween tale. The Late Bloomer is harrowing grim and poignant in the way of Cormac McCarthys The Road. Told in Kevin Marchs 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.