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The Box
A mysterious artifact is uncovered in the desert. It is metallic, perfectly cubical, covered in strange writing... and older than human civilization. Four strangers are brought to a secret laboratory to unlock its secrets, including a codebreaker, a linguist, and a young prodigy physicist. What is the box? What secrets does it contain within? Finding out will send the team on the greatest adventure of their lives... and could mean the end of everything they know.
'The Box' is a story of approximately 16,000 words.
'The Box' is a story of approximately 16,000 words.
46 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 28, 2012
About the author
Ben Guilfoy
19 books14 followersBen Guilfoy was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he found an intense love of various foods and a seething hatred of snow. But since an early age, he had an interest in stories of all kinds (but mostly the fantastical kinds). He studied English and Communications/Journalism at Framingham State College (now University) and currently works at an online news publication in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 15, 2012
I stopped reading The Box two-thirds of the way through. It wasn't engaging me enough, and I had other things to read that I thought I would enjoy more. I wasn't quite sure why it didn't engage me until I read a post on the author's blog.
In that post, Guilfoy talks about modeling his stories on TV episodes, and that is exactly what The Box is. It reads like a straight description of an episode in a (fairly average) TV show.
The problem with that is that when I sit down to read, I'm looking for more than I will get from a TV show. I don't just want to know the characters' actions and reactions to what they see and hear. I want to know what's going on inside the head of at least one of them. What are their pasts, their hopes and dreams and desires, their thoughts and feelings? What do the events mean to them? I want to see them change and grow and develop as characters, too. I haven't gone back and checked thoroughly, but my memory is that we get little, if any, of that in The Box. It's all action and dialogue.
I'm also looking for writing that is more than simply functional, that is flowing and competent, that has commas in all the right places and chooses exactly the right word. I didn't get that either.
It's not terrible. I've read much worse. But for me, it was lacking in a lot of what I look for when I read a story.
In that post, Guilfoy talks about modeling his stories on TV episodes, and that is exactly what The Box is. It reads like a straight description of an episode in a (fairly average) TV show.
The problem with that is that when I sit down to read, I'm looking for more than I will get from a TV show. I don't just want to know the characters' actions and reactions to what they see and hear. I want to know what's going on inside the head of at least one of them. What are their pasts, their hopes and dreams and desires, their thoughts and feelings? What do the events mean to them? I want to see them change and grow and develop as characters, too. I haven't gone back and checked thoroughly, but my memory is that we get little, if any, of that in The Box. It's all action and dialogue.
I'm also looking for writing that is more than simply functional, that is flowing and competent, that has commas in all the right places and chooses exactly the right word. I didn't get that either.
It's not terrible. I've read much worse. But for me, it was lacking in a lot of what I look for when I read a story.
July 5, 2012
An enjoyable short story, which reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode. The ending was one of those that made me stop...think...and ponder. I love that in a book.
I would recommend this for those looking for something quick to read, as this can be read easily in one afternoon or evening.
I would recommend this for those looking for something quick to read, as this can be read easily in one afternoon or evening.
Want to Read
July 17, 2012Just ordered this on Amazon and I plan to start it in a few days. The description is intreguing and for some reason I can't stop thinking of the movie Hell Raiser, lol. Oh well, guess I'm just a typical horror nut but I've made my pre-reading prediction and I stand by it!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews