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The mercenaries set an explosive scheme in motion to blow this bad dream to smithereens. But in part five of The Boy in the Iron Box, they soon find that even the best-laid plans can backfire.
With the morale of the team fraying, Liev makes a vow. He’s not going to leave anyone behind until the last stand is seen through to its cold and bitter end. On this night, it’s Liev who lies in wait to face everything he’s feared. It’s nothing like he expected.
From Academy Award–winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Siege, part five of The Boy in the Iron Box, a blood-chilling series of short stories about an ancient secret that was never meant to be unleashed, featuring exclusive interior artwork. Each can be read or listened to in one breathless sitting.
With the morale of the team fraying, Liev makes a vow. He’s not going to leave anyone behind until the last stand is seen through to its cold and bitter end. On this night, it’s Liev who lies in wait to face everything he’s feared. It’s nothing like he expected.
From Academy Award–winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Siege, part five of The Boy in the Iron Box, a blood-chilling series of short stories about an ancient secret that was never meant to be unleashed, featuring exclusive interior artwork. Each can be read or listened to in one breathless sitting.
29 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2024
630 people are currently reading
1127 people want to read
About the author
Guillermo del Toro
154 books5,034 followersGuillermo del Toro is a Mexican director mostly known for his acclaimed films Pan's Labyrinth, The Devils Backbone, Crimson Peak and the Hellboy film franchise. His films draw heavily on sources as diverse as weird fiction, fantasy, horror, and war. In 2009, Del Toro released his debut novel, The Strain, co-authored with Chuck Hogan, as the first part of The Strain Trilogy, an apocalyptic horror series featuring vampires. The series continued with The Fall in 2010 and concluded with The Night Eternal in 2011.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
August 9, 2024
Hopes were high, but caution still reigned.
This is the fifth installment of the six part The Boy in the Iron Box book.
A group of missionaries are stranded in an isolated snowy mountaintop after their plane crash. They find a shelter in a mysterious labyrinthine structure from the freezing cold and hungry wolves.
They think they are alone until they find their radio sabotaged and one of the men missing.
I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't yet read the first four books.
In this fifth book, the group has had enough and is planning their escape.
It seems there is a spot of hope.
Or is there?
This is the fifth installment of the six part The Boy in the Iron Box book.
A group of missionaries are stranded in an isolated snowy mountaintop after their plane crash. They find a shelter in a mysterious labyrinthine structure from the freezing cold and hungry wolves.
They think they are alone until they find their radio sabotaged and one of the men missing.
I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't yet read the first four books.
In this fifth book, the group has had enough and is planning their escape.
It seems there is a spot of hope.
Or is there?
July 9, 2024
Seige, the fifth and penultimate story in the Boy in the Iron Box series of short stories by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan has us galloping full horror in this showdown at the labyrinth.
I strongly encourage fans to read these but in order or you’ll be lost and this will make little sense.
Creepy and weird already, Del Toro and Hogan crank this up to eleven on the horror dial and then end with another fun cliffhanger. Protagonist Liev and the Boy are set for a boss fight in the next and final episode and I’m there for it.
I strongly encourage fans to read these but in order or you’ll be lost and this will make little sense.
Creepy and weird already, Del Toro and Hogan crank this up to eleven on the horror dial and then end with another fun cliffhanger. Protagonist Liev and the Boy are set for a boss fight in the next and final episode and I’m there for it.
July 5, 2024
Fighting the Undead
Review of the Amazon Original Stories Kindle eBook edition (July 1, 2024), released simultaneously by Audible Originals in audio format (July 1, 2024)
Fighting the Undead. Cover illustration (which is hidden behind the title script) by Fabrizio De Tommaso for the eBook edition, colorized in the Audible edition.
The team of black-ops mercenaries are trapped in the fortress and still puzzling over how to stop the Boy and his gradually growing group of acolytes forming as each victim rises to join forces against them. Lessons learned from The Walking Dead, Book One are not enough. Can they booby-trap the passages and eliminate the threats or will the Boy prevail?
The suspense builds as we approach the conclusion of this vampire/zombie series.
Siege is the fifth of six stories in The Boy in the Iron Box series released on July 1, 2024 by Amazon Originals & Audible Originals.
Trivia and Links
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan have collaborated several times in the past, especially on The Strain trilogy (2009-11), which was later adapted for a TV series (2014-2017).
Review of the Amazon Original Stories Kindle eBook edition (July 1, 2024), released simultaneously by Audible Originals in audio format (July 1, 2024)
“They’re supposed to stop when you shoot the brain,” said Timur. “You hit the brain and they go down. That’s how it works . . .”
Fighting the Undead. Cover illustration (which is hidden behind the title script) by Fabrizio De Tommaso for the eBook edition, colorized in the Audible edition.
The team of black-ops mercenaries are trapped in the fortress and still puzzling over how to stop the Boy and his gradually growing group of acolytes forming as each victim rises to join forces against them. Lessons learned from The Walking Dead, Book One are not enough. Can they booby-trap the passages and eliminate the threats or will the Boy prevail?
The suspense builds as we approach the conclusion of this vampire/zombie series.
Siege is the fifth of six stories in The Boy in the Iron Box series released on July 1, 2024 by Amazon Originals & Audible Originals.
Trivia and Links
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan have collaborated several times in the past, especially on The Strain trilogy (2009-11), which was later adapted for a TV series (2014-2017).
November 9, 2024
4 Stars for Siege: The Boy in the Iron Box, Book 5 (audiobook) by Guillermo del Toro read by Chuck Hogan.
Moral is low as a last stand is planned, but there’s still hope that some will get out alive.
Moral is low as a last stand is planned, but there’s still hope that some will get out alive.
July 6, 2024
Thrilling ride
Another good part of this ongoing story. Now to the next one . I'm not certain at all how it will play out.
Another good part of this ongoing story. Now to the next one . I'm not certain at all how it will play out.
December 6, 2024
Things go from bad to worse as The Boy and his undead victims continue their attack on the remaining live soldiers.
The fifth book in the six book series maintains the level of violence and desperation.
The fifth book in the six book series maintains the level of violence and desperation.
July 9, 2024
“Darkness lurked everywhere.” This chapter just made me sad. The mercenaries finally got a decent meal of wolf meat to try to get some of their strength back. They’re still trying their best to kill this strange demon boy, but I’m not sure if their best is good enough. Hopefully, I’ll find out tomorrow when I read the last of the story.
October 31, 2024
Stakes definitely up here and this was insane. Things are very dramatic now and you can feel the end creeping in.
Dark and deadly, this was probably one of my favourites so far in the series.
It's been easy to digest in this format, too, though it's a little frustrating to download a new book every time!
Still, free on KU so can't complain. This was a lot of fun.
Dark and deadly, this was probably one of my favourites so far in the series.
It's been easy to digest in this format, too, though it's a little frustrating to download a new book every time!
Still, free on KU so can't complain. This was a lot of fun.
December 1, 2024
Last Stand
The Russian Special Forces team has been decimated not only by the evil boy, but by the resurrection of their on dead team members.
They are now down to the last man.
The Russian Special Forces team has been decimated not only by the evil boy, but by the resurrection of their on dead team members.
They are now down to the last man.
January 31, 2025
Best section so far, action is amping up loads.
July 2, 2024
Oh wow, well this fifth instalment really amped up the action! I’m really enjoying these short reads!
July 2, 2024
This installment continues the story's high octane race to the finish... I can't wait to see how this ends.
July 4, 2024
Only one more part to go! Love this approach to story telling.
July 21, 2024
The continuing short story series by Prime Original, The boy in the Iron Box, Number 5...exciting!
October 24, 2024
In instalment five, the situation of the mercenaries is becoming critical. They come up with an ingenious way to fight back, but their enemy is always one step ahead. Overall rating 4 stars.
November 30, 2024
"What do you think our chances are?” asked Daniil. “No b*llshit.”
Is this guy for real, chances he asks, the minute you walked into the ruins and opened the box you ran out of chances numb skull!
Is this guy for real, chances he asks, the minute you walked into the ruins and opened the box you ran out of chances numb skull!
August 1, 2024
I actually stopped reading at the third story. It’s not my preferred reading.
July 14, 2024
This is a brilliant collection of six books written as an Amazon Original Story, which, when put together, make up the whole novella, The Boy In The Iron Box.
Consisting of Falling Down, The Pit And The Box, The Hunted, Risen, Siege and Encounter.
I've been trying to get back to the love of my youth - horror! And this was such a great choice for my next read.
Being a novella, we really need a swift introduction to make sure that we're all invested right from the off and this first book does this to perfection.
We meet all the characters as they're travelling to a mission - all mercenaries and all well used to dangerous situations.
When things go wrong and the plane crashes, the team have to find a way to survive the conditions until help arrives and they make their way to an odd structure for shelter.
Given their job, the men were definitely not the type of people that I could relate well to, but the dynamics of the group help us to integrate and I liked how we were given extra background information about each member of the team.
Learning about Liev, the leader's home life - Avva and Timur being brothers and the determined loyalty and respect amongst the whole group. This made me feel more connected too.
I loved the way this set off at a great pace right from the first page. The isolated and bleak setting was well described and sucked us straight into this creepy atmosphere.
This level of detail ran through each book which built up the tension and suspense and had me on edge right to the last line!
Each book adds a new layer to the story, filling us with both despair and hope and leaving us with questions and dangling on a mini cliffhanger at each break.
And that ending! Well you'll have to grab a copy and let me know what you think!
I loved both the format and the writing style of these books and would definitely recommend them to all lovers of the genre - and if you're new to horror, this would be the ideal first read! Enjoy!
Consisting of Falling Down, The Pit And The Box, The Hunted, Risen, Siege and Encounter.
I've been trying to get back to the love of my youth - horror! And this was such a great choice for my next read.
Being a novella, we really need a swift introduction to make sure that we're all invested right from the off and this first book does this to perfection.
We meet all the characters as they're travelling to a mission - all mercenaries and all well used to dangerous situations.
When things go wrong and the plane crashes, the team have to find a way to survive the conditions until help arrives and they make their way to an odd structure for shelter.
Given their job, the men were definitely not the type of people that I could relate well to, but the dynamics of the group help us to integrate and I liked how we were given extra background information about each member of the team.
Learning about Liev, the leader's home life - Avva and Timur being brothers and the determined loyalty and respect amongst the whole group. This made me feel more connected too.
I loved the way this set off at a great pace right from the first page. The isolated and bleak setting was well described and sucked us straight into this creepy atmosphere.
This level of detail ran through each book which built up the tension and suspense and had me on edge right to the last line!
Each book adds a new layer to the story, filling us with both despair and hope and leaving us with questions and dangling on a mini cliffhanger at each break.
And that ending! Well you'll have to grab a copy and let me know what you think!
I loved both the format and the writing style of these books and would definitely recommend them to all lovers of the genre - and if you're new to horror, this would be the ideal first read! Enjoy!
July 12, 2024
The Boy in the Iron Box by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Split into six chapters we follow a group of mercenaries as they try to survive an unspeakable and unknowable evil in an ancient temple built to imprison this unstoppable demon.
Falling Down
Plane crashes and the survivors make their way to a monument that they saw during the plane going down.
The Pit and the Box
One of the soldiers finds a chest in the ancient monument and of course opens it hoping for treasure
The Hunted
The team search for their missing team mate and find something unexpected.
Risen
Fallen comrades become the enemy whilst the remaining try desperately to stay alive
Siege
The soldiers plan to stay alive and make plans to fight the unknown.
Encounter
The last battle between good and evil. Will good prevail?
Sold as six interweaving stories it is in fact six chapters of the same story so a little cheeky of Amazon to sell in parts. Overall it is a single short story. I enjoyed it immensely and definitely recommend. There is plenty of blood and gore as well as creepy, scary moments. As you would expect very similar in style to The Strain series.
Split into six chapters we follow a group of mercenaries as they try to survive an unspeakable and unknowable evil in an ancient temple built to imprison this unstoppable demon.
Falling Down
Plane crashes and the survivors make their way to a monument that they saw during the plane going down.
The Pit and the Box
One of the soldiers finds a chest in the ancient monument and of course opens it hoping for treasure
The Hunted
The team search for their missing team mate and find something unexpected.
Risen
Fallen comrades become the enemy whilst the remaining try desperately to stay alive
Siege
The soldiers plan to stay alive and make plans to fight the unknown.
Encounter
The last battle between good and evil. Will good prevail?
Sold as six interweaving stories it is in fact six chapters of the same story so a little cheeky of Amazon to sell in parts. Overall it is a single short story. I enjoyed it immensely and definitely recommend. There is plenty of blood and gore as well as creepy, scary moments. As you would expect very similar in style to The Strain series.
January 21, 2025
This six-part novella released by Amazon and free from the Prime Reading library was a fun diversion into the horrors of a Siberian undercover mission that turns into an unexpected supernatural zombie survival thriller. When their plane crashes attempting to infiltrate Russia for some unclear mercenary goals, six intrepid fighters find themselves fighting for their lives in the snowy tundra. They find a safe haven in the show; a strange shrine like manmade structure that seems to have been built by ancient superhumans. There are dusty bones guarding this place, and the unexpected horrors that come when an iron box is discovered at the bottom of a pit reveals unimaginable terrors for the surviving crew. A really fun read that was a blast to fly through, this is a supernatural horror that isn’t for the weak of heart. Perfect for bite-size dips into a completely different world similar to and perfect for fans of The Thing.
September 23, 2024
Left Me Breathless!
"Siege" was an absolute thrill ride of a read - the most so of this series for me this far. It picked up on the cliffhanger ending of the previous installment, and ran with the action through the entire book.
As always, the writing was top-notch. The plot is great. The characters are all well-developed and unique. The plot's pacing is masterful. It's obvious that these two authors were at the top of their game when they wrote this project.
Have you read the first four installments of "The Boy in the Iron Box"? Then you must keep reading! Grab yourself a copy of "Siege"!
"Siege" was an absolute thrill ride of a read - the most so of this series for me this far. It picked up on the cliffhanger ending of the previous installment, and ran with the action through the entire book.
As always, the writing was top-notch. The plot is great. The characters are all well-developed and unique. The plot's pacing is masterful. It's obvious that these two authors were at the top of their game when they wrote this project.
Have you read the first four installments of "The Boy in the Iron Box"? Then you must keep reading! Grab yourself a copy of "Siege"!
October 14, 2024
“Not only is it unafraid—I expect it is glad. Glad to feed off of such expert killers, and to have them fully under its control.”
The cool artwork continues.
The team is taking more losses. Yuri is dead—again—and Radimir has a shattered knee. Oleg? Missing.
Daniil returns—with the wolf.
Shellshocked by the paranormal events unfolding around them. Infighting. Suspicions.
A loose plan begins to form with Liev and his men.
Liev’s dream of The Boy.
Radimir and the explosives.
A possible weakness?
Starts out well. Even has a solid middle. But the calamities befalling this team are excessively agonizing.
The cliffhanger—with Liev—is not promising.
“We’ll stay alert—but we won’t be drawn out of this chamber. Not anymore. This is our last stand.”
The cool artwork continues.
The team is taking more losses. Yuri is dead—again—and Radimir has a shattered knee. Oleg? Missing.
Daniil returns—with the wolf.
Shellshocked by the paranormal events unfolding around them. Infighting. Suspicions.
A loose plan begins to form with Liev and his men.
Liev’s dream of The Boy.
Radimir and the explosives.
A possible weakness?
Starts out well. Even has a solid middle. But the calamities befalling this team are excessively agonizing.
The cliffhanger—with Liev—is not promising.
“We’ll stay alert—but we won’t be drawn out of this chamber. Not anymore. This is our last stand.”
Read
September 23, 2025With the upcoming feature adaptation of this series coming to Netflix I thought I'd read the written word before it premiers. It gets better with each new installment. Each book in the 6 book series seems to average around 30 pages each
"What has been awakened is unbound. The Boy is getting his first taste of freedom. As their comrades fall, fear threatens to consume the survivors in part four of The Boy in the Iron Box.
Liev’s get his men out of this ancient stone prison, take their chances with the wolves, and descend the summit at first light. But in this snowbound hell, there’s soon to be a frightening new twist to survival."
"What has been awakened is unbound. The Boy is getting his first taste of freedom. As their comrades fall, fear threatens to consume the survivors in part four of The Boy in the Iron Box.
Liev’s get his men out of this ancient stone prison, take their chances with the wolves, and descend the summit at first light. But in this snowbound hell, there’s soon to be a frightening new twist to survival."
November 18, 2024
I could feel the pendulum swing in this part. The mercenaries were losing ground, their comrades, and hope. But they came up with a last ditch plan to stop The Boy from escaping. And it worked until it was revealed The Boy had come up with its own plan. There was teasing into what this creature is and vague instructions of how to stop it's minions and maybe it. There is one part left and I'm interested in seeing how this ends and if all the pieces are going to click into place.
November 22, 2024
It’s Now or Never.
They must endure the night and prepare a plan by morning. Action is their only option. The four remaining men, though ready to fight, must summon every ounce of strength and determination to outwit their relentless hunter.
I won’t spoil anything, but this book will leave you in awe, fear, and heartbreak. With dwindling options, the men must do whatever it takes to survive.
They must endure the night and prepare a plan by morning. Action is their only option. The four remaining men, though ready to fight, must summon every ounce of strength and determination to outwit their relentless hunter.
I won’t spoil anything, but this book will leave you in awe, fear, and heartbreak. With dwindling options, the men must do whatever it takes to survive.
March 6, 2025
The plan failed!
A plan, explosives, cables, a detonation, confront a sadly reality, a heart was taken. A bomb was robbed, then a second detonation, chaos, chaos, blood, a body in pieces, when you finally started to see a light at the end of the tunnel everything changed and all you have fought for it’s just gone, this twist in this story will leave you in awe but also heart broken, running to book number six to find out what’s is coming next, don’t miss this story!
A plan, explosives, cables, a detonation, confront a sadly reality, a heart was taken. A bomb was robbed, then a second detonation, chaos, chaos, blood, a body in pieces, when you finally started to see a light at the end of the tunnel everything changed and all you have fought for it’s just gone, this twist in this story will leave you in awe but also heart broken, running to book number six to find out what’s is coming next, don’t miss this story!
July 2, 2024
The last book slowly separated this series from action/survival into outright horror and “Siege” fully cements its spot into the later category. Undead soldiers, creepy locales, and an overwhelmingly spooky feel makes this one the best in this series so far. One more to go in what has been one of Amazon’s best original short story collections in a a very long time.
July 6, 2024
Wow, there’s no one left! The plan was a good plan but feel apart too soon. Some great characters in the group, some lost too soon (others not soon enough!) I can’t see a way out for Liev currently, just too much at stake. It would be good if there was a cavalry on their way but somehow I don’t see it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews