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Inside a Silver Box
Walter Mosley's talent knows no bounds. Inside a Silver Box continues to explore the cosmic questions entertainingly discussed in his Crosstown to Oblivion. From life's meaning to the nature of good and evil, Mosley takes readers on a speculative journey beyond reality.
In Inside a Silver Box, two people brought together by a horrific act are united in a common cause by the powers of the Silver Box. The two join to protect humanity from destruction by an alien race, the Laz, hell-bent on regaining control over the Silver Box, the most destructive and powerful tool in the universe. The Silver Box will stop at nothing to prevent its former master from returning to being, even if it means finishing the earth itself.
In Inside a Silver Box, two people brought together by a horrific act are united in a common cause by the powers of the Silver Box. The two join to protect humanity from destruction by an alien race, the Laz, hell-bent on regaining control over the Silver Box, the most destructive and powerful tool in the universe. The Silver Box will stop at nothing to prevent its former master from returning to being, even if it means finishing the earth itself.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2015
37 people are currently reading
979 people want to read
About the author
Walter Mosley
203 books3,894 followersWalter Mosley (b. 1952) is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins, as well as numerous other works, from literary fiction and science fiction to a young adult novel and political monographs. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Nation, among other publications. Mosley is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
August 12, 2016
Rating: 3.5 stars
Walter Mosley’s strong suit has always been Mystery writing. The Easy Rawlings series is his literary crown jewel. Sci-Fi books represent a side endeavor, with typically average results. The Wave was my first plunge into Mosley’s Speculative Fiction headspace, followed by two selections from his Crosstown to Oblivion series. I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of these books.
Mosley is by no means a one trick pony, though. I’ve read and enjoyed other non-series titles such as The Man in My Basement, Diablerie and The Tempest Tales. Each book was uniquely different from what this author is known for and represented an exceptional versatility.
Enter: Inside a Silver Box. For more than 150,000 years the Sliver Box has been embedded in the earth just below present day Central Park in New York City. The Box is essentially the conscience of an alien race known as the Laz. Earth is nothing more than another pit stop on the Laz’ galactic mission to wipe out any and all lifeforms.
Ronnie Bottoms and Lorraine Fell are apparently the first humans to come in contact with the Silver Box. Bottoms, a stereotypical black thug, and Fell, a prototypical Ivy League educated Barbie type cross paths one day with life altering results.
The common thread that connects all of Walter Mosley’s books is his penchant for character study. Inside of a Silver Box is no exception. By choosing a black male and white female protagonist, both from vastly different socio-economic realities, and having their lives become as entangled as they do, equips Mosley with a broad array of scenarios to play around with. The alien or Sci-Fi component of the book winds up taking a back seat to the exploration of race, gender and class.
If you are even remotely religious or spiritual, with a belief in a higher being, Mosley’s reference to the Silver Box as God Almighty may offend you. Within the context of the story, a character that happens to be part human and alien makes this claim. This has always been my gripe with Sci-Fi literature, the blurring of lines between science and spirituality. I’d prefer that Mosley refrain from writing within this genre altogether. But. There is a but. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some intriguing ideas presented here. Walter Mosley is an undeniably gifted writer and quite intelligent to say the least.
Walter Mosley’s strong suit has always been Mystery writing. The Easy Rawlings series is his literary crown jewel. Sci-Fi books represent a side endeavor, with typically average results. The Wave was my first plunge into Mosley’s Speculative Fiction headspace, followed by two selections from his Crosstown to Oblivion series. I wasn’t particularly impressed with any of these books.
Mosley is by no means a one trick pony, though. I’ve read and enjoyed other non-series titles such as The Man in My Basement, Diablerie and The Tempest Tales. Each book was uniquely different from what this author is known for and represented an exceptional versatility.
Enter: Inside a Silver Box. For more than 150,000 years the Sliver Box has been embedded in the earth just below present day Central Park in New York City. The Box is essentially the conscience of an alien race known as the Laz. Earth is nothing more than another pit stop on the Laz’ galactic mission to wipe out any and all lifeforms.
Ronnie Bottoms and Lorraine Fell are apparently the first humans to come in contact with the Silver Box. Bottoms, a stereotypical black thug, and Fell, a prototypical Ivy League educated Barbie type cross paths one day with life altering results.
The common thread that connects all of Walter Mosley’s books is his penchant for character study. Inside of a Silver Box is no exception. By choosing a black male and white female protagonist, both from vastly different socio-economic realities, and having their lives become as entangled as they do, equips Mosley with a broad array of scenarios to play around with. The alien or Sci-Fi component of the book winds up taking a back seat to the exploration of race, gender and class.
If you are even remotely religious or spiritual, with a belief in a higher being, Mosley’s reference to the Silver Box as God Almighty may offend you. Within the context of the story, a character that happens to be part human and alien makes this claim. This has always been my gripe with Sci-Fi literature, the blurring of lines between science and spirituality. I’d prefer that Mosley refrain from writing within this genre altogether. But. There is a but. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some intriguing ideas presented here. Walter Mosley is an undeniably gifted writer and quite intelligent to say the least.
January 30, 2018
Umm....Well I absolutely get the premise of this read, I believe that's only because I love The Mind of Mosley, truly I do and I can follow his thought process in a way that some of my friends can not. We r not all entertained by the way writers chose to deliver their stories. Writer like Mosley you either totally get him or he will absolutely go right over your head, The Overlay for the Underplay, or does that suppose to go the other way around🙃. Mosley is the master for Mi at least, in this aspect, not misdirecting but excellent at delivering his message when you might not know it's a message until the end.....Masterful! And this read gives all the messages that I'm accustomed to from him. But I just did not care for this particular story. However, I did heed the messages. Good v Evil, Rich v Poor, Black v White, Man v Woman....etc. And Because he does not stray from giving you something to ponder on, I give this read 4stars.
March 12, 2015
My kind of book. Great writing. Thoughtful treatment of important topics: does justice exist in society; privilege vs poverty, and how these circumstances change the individual; what is evil; who is God and what are the conundrums such a being would present; what does it mean to truly step outside of the stories we live; what is the potential of each human being and how it nurtured or discouraged; how much it means to have even just one person who makes time to understand you; and how love in it's basest form is truly blind. I probably could go on, as the novel was chock full of such topics. But somehow the story did not suffer one bit. A perfect weave. A joyful read.
July 25, 2018
There’s not a single redeemable word in this waste of a book.
April 7, 2015
This may be the most difficult book I have ever tried to review, so much so that I am not sure that I should even try. Although I have a sizable collection of Walter Mosley books on my 'too read' shelf, this is the first I have actually read, and as an introduction to his work, I am not sure it is the best choice. Frankly, I just don't know what to make of it. It is esoteric, unbridled, uniquely imaginative and original, both well written and pulpy. It has a lot to say about the nature of reality, so much so that it tends to get all muddled and mish-mashed.
I give it an A+ for it's perception altering originality. The quality of writing varies from incredibly sophisticated descriptively, to utterly pulpy. For example, pp. 48 "...she wrapped her thighs around him, rubbing her sex against his leg." That's bad. Fine maybe for an Easy Rawlings book, but not here.
I am sure that this will remain in my consciousnesses for a long time to come. With time, perhaps, will come more illumination into the books deeper meanings. It is certainly unique. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts if you have read Inside a Silver Box. A discussion would certainly be interesting.
*A word about the narration of the audio version of Inside a Silver Box, read by Dion Graham. Graham definitely has a voice for audio, but at time his nuance can be distracting, and he rushes quite a bit, ostensibly to add urgency or excitement, but it is not necessary. When he rushes through his narration, the meaning and feeling gets obliterated and lost, and in a box such as this, that can be fatal to the understanding of what the author is trying to express in thoughtful description.
I give it an A+ for it's perception altering originality. The quality of writing varies from incredibly sophisticated descriptively, to utterly pulpy. For example, pp. 48 "...she wrapped her thighs around him, rubbing her sex against his leg." That's bad. Fine maybe for an Easy Rawlings book, but not here.
I am sure that this will remain in my consciousnesses for a long time to come. With time, perhaps, will come more illumination into the books deeper meanings. It is certainly unique. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts if you have read Inside a Silver Box. A discussion would certainly be interesting.
*A word about the narration of the audio version of Inside a Silver Box, read by Dion Graham. Graham definitely has a voice for audio, but at time his nuance can be distracting, and he rushes quite a bit, ostensibly to add urgency or excitement, but it is not necessary. When he rushes through his narration, the meaning and feeling gets obliterated and lost, and in a box such as this, that can be fatal to the understanding of what the author is trying to express in thoughtful description.
April 20, 2015
Inside a Silver Box by Walter Mosley Ronnie Bottoms and Lorraine Fell crash together in just the right place to activate the Silver Box, a box that the Laz (an alien race) placed on the Earth long before humans and which contains & constrains the last of a most powerful and destructive sentient force. Together, they struggle to contain what they inadvertently have set loose in order to save the entire planet.
I don’t like this book and I really did want to like this book. It is my first Walter Mosley book and I have heard great things about his work. HighBridge Audio is a quality publisher and the narrator, Dion Graham, is awesome. The cover art is intriguing. The story itself was a clash of themes and ideas that never melded into a coherent plot line. Quite frankly, I was bored with it.
First, Ronnie is a serial mugger and rapist. He has been in and out of prison much of his adult life. He ‘meets’ Lorraine in a New York City park when he attempts to mug and rape her. She fights back and he reacts harshly, killing her. This all happens in an area that is full of small boulders and large rocks and is right over the resting place of the Silver Box. Once Lorraine is dead, the Silver Box preserves her consciousness and this allows her to take over other bodies and eventually get Ronnie to return to the scene of the crime. At that point, using the power of the Silver Box, he has the greatest orgasmic experience of his life in bringing Lorraine’s dead, bloated corpse back to life, and in fine shape.
So we get all that very early on in the book. Ronnie and Lorraine have now become our heroes set on saving the Earth. They have been set upon a quest and given special powers. And they decide they need to visit family, friends, and folks from their past in order to hash some stuff out. Uh… wasn’t there a time limit for their quest? I kept waiting for the story to veer back towards the cool scifi part that involves aliens and saving the Earth. That is almost completely sidelined until the very end, which is hugely anticlimactic and not satisfying at all.
Next, Ronnie is now one of our heroes. Mr. Serial Rapist is going to save the Earth. He has completely turned over a new leaf (in record time from one scene to the next) and now sees that all those horrible things he did were wrong. He no longer has all the anger and hunger inside. So he digs up an old teacher to chat about the old days, stumbles into an old girlfriend, and crashes at Lorraine’s swanky uptown penthouse, complete with weekly maid service. He never visits his victims to redress his past ill deeds. I had a hard time routing for him because of his past bad behavior and also because he is not being very proactive in saving the world.
Lorraine wasn’t much better. She comes from a privileged family and she has to struggle with realizing that turning your head and looking the other way is wrong, especially when you have the power and money to make a difference. She has a shouting match with her parents, who threaten to stop making payments on her penthouse. So, Lorraine doesn’t work and isn’t paying for her upkeep at all, and that doesn’t change by the end of the book. I found her character to be boring because her circumstances didn’t change, so her behavior didn’t have to change much either.
Lastly, there is sex, and then there isn’t. Ronnie initially attempts to rape Lorraine, and once she returns to the land of the living, she has some choice words to say to him about that. But then they get super powers and there are 2 scenes in the book where they kind of have sex. And yet they think of each other as akin to siblings since the Silver Box changed them. So that added a yuck factor to their sexytimes, plus that whole attempted rape thing starting off their acquaintance.
So with all that, I had this feeling that perhaps the author was attempting to mash together opposing themes that would intentionally make the reader uncomfortable. Yes, I left this book feeling like I had been put through some kind of social experiment and then tossed out the back door with my meager compensation for my time – the pleasure of writing up this review.
The Narration: While I didn’t care for this book, Dion Graham was an amazing narrator. His voice is deep and smooth and a joy to listen to. He had dialects for the various New Yorkers and a range of male and female voices. The audio production was excellent.
I don’t like this book and I really did want to like this book. It is my first Walter Mosley book and I have heard great things about his work. HighBridge Audio is a quality publisher and the narrator, Dion Graham, is awesome. The cover art is intriguing. The story itself was a clash of themes and ideas that never melded into a coherent plot line. Quite frankly, I was bored with it.
First, Ronnie is a serial mugger and rapist. He has been in and out of prison much of his adult life. He ‘meets’ Lorraine in a New York City park when he attempts to mug and rape her. She fights back and he reacts harshly, killing her. This all happens in an area that is full of small boulders and large rocks and is right over the resting place of the Silver Box. Once Lorraine is dead, the Silver Box preserves her consciousness and this allows her to take over other bodies and eventually get Ronnie to return to the scene of the crime. At that point, using the power of the Silver Box, he has the greatest orgasmic experience of his life in bringing Lorraine’s dead, bloated corpse back to life, and in fine shape.
So we get all that very early on in the book. Ronnie and Lorraine have now become our heroes set on saving the Earth. They have been set upon a quest and given special powers. And they decide they need to visit family, friends, and folks from their past in order to hash some stuff out. Uh… wasn’t there a time limit for their quest? I kept waiting for the story to veer back towards the cool scifi part that involves aliens and saving the Earth. That is almost completely sidelined until the very end, which is hugely anticlimactic and not satisfying at all.
Next, Ronnie is now one of our heroes. Mr. Serial Rapist is going to save the Earth. He has completely turned over a new leaf (in record time from one scene to the next) and now sees that all those horrible things he did were wrong. He no longer has all the anger and hunger inside. So he digs up an old teacher to chat about the old days, stumbles into an old girlfriend, and crashes at Lorraine’s swanky uptown penthouse, complete with weekly maid service. He never visits his victims to redress his past ill deeds. I had a hard time routing for him because of his past bad behavior and also because he is not being very proactive in saving the world.
Lorraine wasn’t much better. She comes from a privileged family and she has to struggle with realizing that turning your head and looking the other way is wrong, especially when you have the power and money to make a difference. She has a shouting match with her parents, who threaten to stop making payments on her penthouse. So, Lorraine doesn’t work and isn’t paying for her upkeep at all, and that doesn’t change by the end of the book. I found her character to be boring because her circumstances didn’t change, so her behavior didn’t have to change much either.
Lastly, there is sex, and then there isn’t. Ronnie initially attempts to rape Lorraine, and once she returns to the land of the living, she has some choice words to say to him about that. But then they get super powers and there are 2 scenes in the book where they kind of have sex. And yet they think of each other as akin to siblings since the Silver Box changed them. So that added a yuck factor to their sexytimes, plus that whole attempted rape thing starting off their acquaintance.
So with all that, I had this feeling that perhaps the author was attempting to mash together opposing themes that would intentionally make the reader uncomfortable. Yes, I left this book feeling like I had been put through some kind of social experiment and then tossed out the back door with my meager compensation for my time – the pleasure of writing up this review.
The Narration: While I didn’t care for this book, Dion Graham was an amazing narrator. His voice is deep and smooth and a joy to listen to. He had dialects for the various New Yorkers and a range of male and female voices. The audio production was excellent.
February 21, 2015
This is as different from "Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore" as Raisinets from Orange Chicken, or a Hybrid Tea rose from an original David Austin, or . . . you get the idea. What do you do when you're a white indulged rich girl (Lorraine) killed by a black, hungry Ronnie Bottoms? Save the world, of course.
This is a sci-fi, existential fantasy that examines our core beliefs about the people who share our world, and those who don't. Along the way, Walter Mosley give us some of his own (presumable) inspirations.
"Velocity . . moves beyond itself into places that cannot be connected by conceptualization." . . . "a man who died before the boy's sweat had smell." "How you feel don't mattah. If I killed your brother and then said I was sorry, that don't change nuthin'. But if you take care'a his kids or stand up for what he believed in, then you got a start. And ain't none of us innocent anyway: It's like if you eat a hamburger and then say you didn't kill the cow. Still somebody killed that cow for you." . . . " life was like a landslide, an avalanche making little sense and going nowhere but down. Like [a] waterfall . . . you don't have to be goin' nowhere to be beautiful." "Prison guards and administrators spent most of there waking hours in the same spaces that [prisoners do]. They were all prisoners together." "He was incarcerated even when he was at liberty; like the people in the parole office. ". . . even though there is no God," that there is.. . . it is a story between cousins or peoples rather than a story of the master and the slave; not only am I a part of God, I am also equal to God. "Your mother would tell me I couldn't have no son if I was gonna be a drunk and then the bottle would tell me, 'To hell with her.' The bottle was wrong but I didn't know it . . . "
Oh dear, it's enough to make me a complete vegetarian! I'm going to buy this book, but first I have to read more Walter Mosley!
This is a sci-fi, existential fantasy that examines our core beliefs about the people who share our world, and those who don't. Along the way, Walter Mosley give us some of his own (presumable) inspirations.
"Velocity . . moves beyond itself into places that cannot be connected by conceptualization." . . . "a man who died before the boy's sweat had smell." "How you feel don't mattah. If I killed your brother and then said I was sorry, that don't change nuthin'. But if you take care'a his kids or stand up for what he believed in, then you got a start. And ain't none of us innocent anyway: It's like if you eat a hamburger and then say you didn't kill the cow. Still somebody killed that cow for you." . . . " life was like a landslide, an avalanche making little sense and going nowhere but down. Like [a] waterfall . . . you don't have to be goin' nowhere to be beautiful." "Prison guards and administrators spent most of there waking hours in the same spaces that [prisoners do]. They were all prisoners together." "He was incarcerated even when he was at liberty; like the people in the parole office. ". . . even though there is no God," that there is.. . . it is a story between cousins or peoples rather than a story of the master and the slave; not only am I a part of God, I am also equal to God. "Your mother would tell me I couldn't have no son if I was gonna be a drunk and then the bottle would tell me, 'To hell with her.' The bottle was wrong but I didn't know it . . . "
Oh dear, it's enough to make me a complete vegetarian! I'm going to buy this book, but first I have to read more Walter Mosley!
Read
April 16, 2015Sometimes you read a book and think, “Well, that was a bad book.” And sometimes you read a book and wonder, “Was that a bad book?” Walter Mosley has been a widely praised author for decades, has won a host of major awards, and is known for his sharp characterization and compelling plotting. So when I read a book of his that just throws me wholly for a loop, one in which I can’t abide either the characters or plot at all, so much so that I have to force myself to reach the halfway point before finally giving up, I have to wonder, “Was that a bad book, or did I miss something?”
Inside a Silver Box offers up an all-powerful being/machine — the titular silver box — whose goal is to stop the last of a genocidal alien race from regaining control of the box (it had been the aliens��� super-weapon) and using it to wipe out an entire species y... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Inside a Silver Box offers up an all-powerful being/machine — the titular silver box — whose goal is to stop the last of a genocidal alien race from regaining control of the box (it had been the aliens��� super-weapon) and using it to wipe out an entire species y... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
June 27, 2022
Who wrote it? Walter Mosley is, by a substantial margin, my favorite author. He made his mark in Mystery novels that live in the backdrop of racist Los Angeles during the 1940s-1960s. I have read 90%+ of his books, and the ones I haven't read yet are at home on my to-be-read bookshelf. He's written everything from Mysteries to non-fiction to Science Fiction, to How-to-Write books, and more. And he's done them all with a high level of craft.
What is it about? A young Black man assaults a white college student while trying to mug her. From this chance encounter, the novel then uses the backdrop of a veneer of science fiction grand battle of Good Vs Evil to discuss the state of race relations, class and caste, while the characters engage in philosophical discussions in-between and during intermittent battles with the evil-because-they-are bad guys.
At some point, I began to care less about how the surface plot of Good VS Evil would resolve itself, and was more interested in what was going on in the main characters lives and the lives of the various secondary characters. That and the more interesting of the philosophical musings.
What's wrong with this book? Instead of "what's wrong", this is more like tiny cuts - death by a thousand tiny cuts. Too many facets of the novel seemed off by a smidge, missing the mark of satisfaction by only a small margin but missing so often that upon completion the mood I felt is more of mild dissatisfaction than satisfaction.
Also, while I'm accustomed to a bit of graphic sexual exploration in Mosley's non-Easy Rawlins novels, this straddled the border of gratuitous and unintentionally comical. When one character rode another character to enhance their chance to win the battle, I wondered if I was reading a Heavy Metal story intended for horny teenage virgin boys.
What's right with this book? A lot. Despite the framework being more workmanlike than inspired, the layers of this novel work wonderfully. Individual scenes are incredibly satisfying. The character's conversations are almost always wonderful to experience. Mosley's narration is often perfectly toned.
The introduction of new characters is like a series of character studies. I liked every character and felt like I understood them. That's a very Mosley experience for me. All his characters seem drafted from perfect central casting for my specifications. Often, a character is introduced and I assume it's a throwaway character I'll forget about by the end of the next page. But Mosley draws these characters with precise strokes that strike a chord with me ... and the character makes a second, then third brief appearance. And I'm left wishing I had a novel about THAT character to read too.
Is it worth reading? Despite my 3-star rating, I think so. Certainly not as an introduction to Mosley - there are much better options than this. And maybe not even for someone who has read (and enjoyed) two or three Mosley novels. But for someone well-versed in Mosley, this is a nice book to read to be steeped in Mosleyology. This might be the "worst" Mosley book I've read, but still I enjoyed more of it than I disliked.
"Inside A Silver Box" is similar to what? I'll start with something like "The Great And Secret Show" by Clive Barker, or an Ann Rice vampire novel. The mixture of the more fantastical/SF elements may differ in type and volume, but these books end up being more about the worlds and lives of the characters than the Good VS Evil story. If the reader connects with the character and enjoys exploring the world/reality/experience of the story, the framework becomes immaterial. These are not perfect fits by any stretch, because the non-fantasy/sf themes are so different. However, if you like exploring the philosophy of an author within a sf/fantasy backdrop, these are decent options.
What is it about? A young Black man assaults a white college student while trying to mug her. From this chance encounter, the novel then uses the backdrop of a veneer of science fiction grand battle of Good Vs Evil to discuss the state of race relations, class and caste, while the characters engage in philosophical discussions in-between and during intermittent battles with the evil-because-they-are bad guys.
At some point, I began to care less about how the surface plot of Good VS Evil would resolve itself, and was more interested in what was going on in the main characters lives and the lives of the various secondary characters. That and the more interesting of the philosophical musings.
What's wrong with this book? Instead of "what's wrong", this is more like tiny cuts - death by a thousand tiny cuts. Too many facets of the novel seemed off by a smidge, missing the mark of satisfaction by only a small margin but missing so often that upon completion the mood I felt is more of mild dissatisfaction than satisfaction.
Also, while I'm accustomed to a bit of graphic sexual exploration in Mosley's non-Easy Rawlins novels, this straddled the border of gratuitous and unintentionally comical. When one character rode another character to enhance their chance to win the battle, I wondered if I was reading a Heavy Metal story intended for horny teenage virgin boys.
What's right with this book? A lot. Despite the framework being more workmanlike than inspired, the layers of this novel work wonderfully. Individual scenes are incredibly satisfying. The character's conversations are almost always wonderful to experience. Mosley's narration is often perfectly toned.
The introduction of new characters is like a series of character studies. I liked every character and felt like I understood them. That's a very Mosley experience for me. All his characters seem drafted from perfect central casting for my specifications. Often, a character is introduced and I assume it's a throwaway character I'll forget about by the end of the next page. But Mosley draws these characters with precise strokes that strike a chord with me ... and the character makes a second, then third brief appearance. And I'm left wishing I had a novel about THAT character to read too.
Is it worth reading? Despite my 3-star rating, I think so. Certainly not as an introduction to Mosley - there are much better options than this. And maybe not even for someone who has read (and enjoyed) two or three Mosley novels. But for someone well-versed in Mosley, this is a nice book to read to be steeped in Mosleyology. This might be the "worst" Mosley book I've read, but still I enjoyed more of it than I disliked.
"Inside A Silver Box" is similar to what? I'll start with something like "The Great And Secret Show" by Clive Barker, or an Ann Rice vampire novel. The mixture of the more fantastical/SF elements may differ in type and volume, but these books end up being more about the worlds and lives of the characters than the Good VS Evil story. If the reader connects with the character and enjoys exploring the world/reality/experience of the story, the framework becomes immaterial. These are not perfect fits by any stretch, because the non-fantasy/sf themes are so different. However, if you like exploring the philosophy of an author within a sf/fantasy backdrop, these are decent options.
January 9, 2020
Did Not Finish.
I don't care for SF/F that is quite so openly a framework for philosophy.
Especially when the SF/F part has a ludicrously powerful character, so that there isn't ANYthing that can't happen.
I don't care for SF/F that is quite so openly a framework for philosophy.
Especially when the SF/F part has a ludicrously powerful character, so that there isn't ANYthing that can't happen.
January 16, 2020
Make it make sense...
November 29, 2017
Sometimes I feel so bad when I pronounce a book awful, especially when a friend liked it. But this book is just awful. (OK, use your adult words and tell us why it was bad) I can see what the author was going for, delving into grand philosophical cosmic themes… but he really missed. He used racial and ethnic stereotypes for what little character development there was, and don’t get me started on how he portrayed women… and those sex scenes! So bad. Left me wondering if he has met a human woman before. Flat, boring, bad pacing, stretched suspension of belief past the breaking point.
January 5, 2015
First Reads. Was given a free copy for an honest review...
I really have no idea how to start my review. It was just wow, yeah... wow. Im just gonna dive right in.
(huge sigh)
Could you put your differences aside to save the world? Team up with someone who raped and killed you?
Ronnie is a thug, he does anything he can to get what he wants. Was also just released from prison.
Lorriane is your typical rich girl, goes to college and lives in the rich part of New York.
Ronnie spots Lorraine and wants her money. He tried to rape her and steal what he wants. He cant seem to do it because of the racket shes making. So he grabs a rock and smashes her head in, killing her. Flees and scene and leaves her near a boulder.
The Silver Box had infinite power and is buried in Central Park.
It speaks to Lorraine and tells her to get Ronnie to give her life. She does and he brings her back to life.
Together they must team together to save the world. The Silver Box wants Nontee and if they dont bring him here, the box will destroy the world. Nontee will also destroy the world. Either way the world will be no longer if they dont bring this down together.
This changes both their lives. Ronnie gives up his thug life ways and Lorraine gives up her perfect life.
They come together to save the entire world. But will all this work?
Very bizarre story about life ending and changing your life for the better. Never judge anyone by how they look. People change and grow.
Never read anything like this. Had so many warm messages while also saving humanity.
I really have no idea how to start my review. It was just wow, yeah... wow. Im just gonna dive right in.
(huge sigh)
Could you put your differences aside to save the world? Team up with someone who raped and killed you?
Ronnie is a thug, he does anything he can to get what he wants. Was also just released from prison.
Lorriane is your typical rich girl, goes to college and lives in the rich part of New York.
Ronnie spots Lorraine and wants her money. He tried to rape her and steal what he wants. He cant seem to do it because of the racket shes making. So he grabs a rock and smashes her head in, killing her. Flees and scene and leaves her near a boulder.
The Silver Box had infinite power and is buried in Central Park.
It speaks to Lorraine and tells her to get Ronnie to give her life. She does and he brings her back to life.
Together they must team together to save the world. The Silver Box wants Nontee and if they dont bring him here, the box will destroy the world. Nontee will also destroy the world. Either way the world will be no longer if they dont bring this down together.
This changes both their lives. Ronnie gives up his thug life ways and Lorraine gives up her perfect life.
They come together to save the entire world. But will all this work?
Very bizarre story about life ending and changing your life for the better. Never judge anyone by how they look. People change and grow.
Never read anything like this. Had so many warm messages while also saving humanity.
April 7, 2015
This may be the most difficult book I have ever tried to review, so much so that I am not sure that I should even try. Although I have a sizable collection of Walter Mosley books on my 'too read' shelf, this is the first I have actually read, and as an introduction to his work, I am not sure it is the best choice. Frankly, I just don't know what to make of it. It is esoteric, unbridled, uniquely imaginative and original, both well written and pulpy. It has a lot to say about the nature of reality, so much so that it tends to get all muddled and mish-mashed.
I give it an A+ for it's perception altering originality. The quality of writing varies from incredibly sophisticated descriptively, to utterly pulpy. For example, pp. 48 "...she wrapped her thighs around him, rubbing her sex against his leg." That's bad. Fine maybe for an Easy Rawlings book, but not here.
I am sure that this will remain in my consciousnesses for a long time to come. With time, perhaps, will come more illumination into the books deeper meanings. It is certainly unique. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts if you have read Inside a Silver Box. A discussion would certainly be interesting.
I give it an A+ for it's perception altering originality. The quality of writing varies from incredibly sophisticated descriptively, to utterly pulpy. For example, pp. 48 "...she wrapped her thighs around him, rubbing her sex against his leg." That's bad. Fine maybe for an Easy Rawlings book, but not here.
I am sure that this will remain in my consciousnesses for a long time to come. With time, perhaps, will come more illumination into the books deeper meanings. It is certainly unique. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts if you have read Inside a Silver Box. A discussion would certainly be interesting.
June 1, 2015
Walter Mosley is one of my favorite writers, and please don't let the rating get in the way of my feelings about him. The writing in Inside a Silver Box is wonderful. I read it in a day, if that gives you any ideas (and now I really want to grab another of his Easy Rawlins books--the ones he's best known for). The sheer melancholy he evokes from these characters, especially the transformed Ronnie Bottoms, will grab your heart. However, I think this is more of a tale than a story, a fascinating concept with Mosley riffing on the ideas about God, transformation, redemption, and love. As the story jumps between Ronnie and Lorraine, as each person struggles with understanding hatred and the meaning of life, the tale was just one step away from having the impact it could have had. I struggled with the trigger for this tale and the concept of victimization. How do we define "victim"? How do we deal with those who clearly came out of the womb with two strikes against them before they have a chance to act? What is the connection between victim and perpetrator? I could see this book as a catalyst for all sorts of interesting discussions. The themes Mosely deals with in his novels are probably best portrayed in his fiction rather than his science fiction, but the ideas he presents are worth the time.
August 23, 2015
This was just.... A weird read. Maybe I missed the point, but it seemed a bit disjointed and the characters felt very 2 dimensional... Flat. I've read some of Mosley's earlier mystery books and have always found him to write well. I can see glimpses here, but it wasn't enough to save it in my opinion. Weird is how I will describe the experience. 8)
March 18, 2016
I'm a big Walter Mosley fan. Which is why I finished this rather than stopping after the first two chapters.
All I can do is wonder "what was he thinking?".
It would be a decent first attempt by an adolescent. That's the best I can say about it.
Transparent plot, glacial character development, sophomoric exploration of meaning and mind-numbing repetition of truly bad dialogue.
All I can do is wonder "what was he thinking?".
It would be a decent first attempt by an adolescent. That's the best I can say about it.
Transparent plot, glacial character development, sophomoric exploration of meaning and mind-numbing repetition of truly bad dialogue.
March 2, 2015
I don't know what I just read.
But I liked it.
But I liked it.
February 17, 2016
Rating: 3.5
This book was just really weird. I don't even know. I can't even.
TW: Rape and murder combo.
This book was just really weird. I don't even know. I can't even.
TW: Rape and murder combo.
January 27, 2020
This book is hard to get into but once you get into it the story is well written. I gave this book 4 stars for that reason, of being hard to get into and as well as this book is definitely targeted towards sci-fi specific readers. The beginning of the book does lay out the relationship between Lorraine and Ronnie the two main characters of the story who are in charge of saving the planet. Ronnie a once criminal and Lorraine the perfect girl, on complete opposite spectrums meet when Ronnie killed her by accident when he was trying to rape her in central park. The story between their friendship grows and the strength they have between the both of them combines to improve the skills they have to fight against the Laz and save the world.
April 14, 2021
A different kind of book than Mosley's Easy Rawlins and Leonid McGill series, Inside the Silver Box is one of Mosley's four science fiction books. From a review in Publishers Weekly: "Mosley uses an eons-old battle for control of existence as a backdrop for a character-driven novel of philosophy and social commentary....Mosley really pulls out all the stops, managing with improbable success to combine a struggle for the fate of all existence with a story about two New Yorkers from very different backgrounds coming to understand each other and address the mistakes they’ve made in their own lives. Wild concepts and deep thoughts sit comfortably alongside the musings of ordinary people undergoing radical changes in this top-notch tale."
December 17, 2023
Walter Mosley never disappoints. Inside a Silver Box is a hard novel to pull off. It's takes the biggest battle in the universe and brings it to Central Park where two unlikely allies must struggle to save the Earth. It's fanciful and philosophical, but it's also action, romance and drama. Mosley keeps the pages turning with his clear and poignant writing.
This is also a novel about race and privilege, which Mosley investigates through his two heroes, a black man and a white woman. It turns out they both have a spiritual cross to bear and they both must transform to become the defenders of humanity.
This is a fun read and excellent writing. I recommend that you try it today, or pick up any of Mosley's science fiction or mystery writing for a great read.
This is also a novel about race and privilege, which Mosley investigates through his two heroes, a black man and a white woman. It turns out they both have a spiritual cross to bear and they both must transform to become the defenders of humanity.
This is a fun read and excellent writing. I recommend that you try it today, or pick up any of Mosley's science fiction or mystery writing for a great read.
January 15, 2018
This was a DNF for me - I couldn't get past the tone-deaf stereotyping of the two leads and the rape as an instigating event. I came to GR to check out the reviews and it seems pretty well split between people who felt the same as me and those that indicated these issues didn't bother them. I might have pushed on, but in the reviews of those that weren't bothered by the above, they were pretty split on the effectiveness of the story and the philosophy. So - no reason to read a book that is churning my stomach in a not-good way!
November 14, 2025
Mainly enjoyed this book for the social and philosophical commentary.
One thing that stuck with me—though I read this book as an advanced copy back when it came out, and I worked at Prairie Lights Books, and am only now giving it a review—is a quote, "I am who I was, but who I was is not who I am."
If nothing else is taken away from this book, one can take this and find so many times in life to forgive themselves with just this one line.
One thing that stuck with me—though I read this book as an advanced copy back when it came out, and I worked at Prairie Lights Books, and am only now giving it a review—is a quote, "I am who I was, but who I was is not who I am."
If nothing else is taken away from this book, one can take this and find so many times in life to forgive themselves with just this one line.
September 12, 2020
This science fiction novel is not in the top twenty of his works, but since his bar is set pretty high it is still worth reading. Just don't expect one of his better efforts here. A little bit of philosophy mixed in with a comic book's worth of plot that feels like it could have come from the 1950s EC comics. Now all it needs is some Wally Wood art and we're in business.
April 10, 2021
Just as Perelandra is sci fi wrapped around a theological exposition, so this book is sci fi wrapped around existential philosophy. Written mostly from a young black male’s viewpoint, it covers what it is to live as a black, looking in confusion at white culture and vice versa. Also, Ragnarok gets thrown in. Something for everyone.
February 7, 2019
Not great. I didn't really like the Laz and too much of this didn't make much sense at all.
"There will be other planets," Lorraine said calmly. "Sooner or later, even God has to know when to give up the fight."
"There will be other planets," Lorraine said calmly. "Sooner or later, even God has to know when to give up the fight."
May 27, 2020
This was a weird book. Like many books about aliens, it's not really about the aliens. Mosley seemed to have a long list of important social and philosophical points he wanted to make, but I'm not sure that he made any of them successfully.
July 5, 2020
This book started out with a very violent, disturbing scene. It tainted the rest of the book and I found myself disliking it A LOT. I finished the rest of book (speed reading) just to say I made it to the end, but there was nothing commendable about it. I won't read another of Mosley's books.
December 30, 2020
I really feel like I missed something here and may have to go back. This is my first Mosley novel proper, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. The characters were flat, unlikeable, and the story seems, at best, a thin allegory. Maybe will try when I'm in a better mood, really wanted to like this based on Mosley's reputation and mode...
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