- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Corvus (1 Jun 2012)
- ISBN-10: 1848878877
- ISBN-13: 978-1848878877
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 179,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Mall
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'One of the cleverest, creepiest and most memorable horror novels for ages' Independent
Product Description
Dan works at a bookstore in a deadly dull shopping mall where nothing ever happens. He's an angsty emo-kid who sells mid-list books to mid-list people for the minimum wage. He hates his job. Rhoda has dragged her babysitting charge to the mall so she can meet her dealer and score some coke. Now the kid's run off, and she has two hours to find him. She hates her life. Rhoda bullies Dan into helping her search, but as they explore the neon-lit corridors behind the mall, disturbing text messages lure them into the bowels of the building, where old mannequins are stored in grave-like piles and raw sewage drips off the ceiling. The only escape is down, and before long Dan and Rhoda are trapped in a service lift listening to head-splitting musak. Worst of all, the lift's not stopping at the bottom floor. Plummeting into the earth, Dan and Rhoda enter a sinister underworld that mirrors their worst fears. Forced to complete a series of twisted tasks to find their way out, they finally emerge into the brightly lit food court, sick with relief at the banal sight of people shopping and eating. But something feels different. Why are the shoppers all pumped full of silicone? Why are the shop assistants chained to their counters? And why is a cafe called McColon's selling lumps of bleeding meat? Just when they think they've made it back to the mall, they realise their nightmare has only just begun...
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I'll cut to the chase: The Mall is absolutely brilliant.
I had thought that the last word on consumerism came with Fight Club and No Logo, and anything that followed would be a retread of familiar ground, but SL Grey has somehow managed to make this well-trodden theme and everything that goes with it seem fresh again.
I would never have expected this to happen within the narrative of a psychological horror/thriller - I was expecting a simple, lean mash-up of Saw, Cube and Fight Club going by the blurb - so what I read was a nice surprise. Character-wise, I was really turned round on the lead character of Rhoda (an object lesson in how to make an initially unsympathetic person compelling enough to want to be around), and the places that she and other lead Dan are taken emotionally are surprising yet always feel authentic.
What's best about the book is that its premise screams "commercial" but there's more to it than what's on the surface. Part two's bravely luxurious pace allows the character stuff the space to breathe, and while a return to The Mall always seems inevitable (and it's brilliant how it actually seems possible that such a return is desirable), the discoveries that Rhoda and Dan make about each other, and how far both characters have come since the opening of the novel, make their realisation of what they must do have an emotional truth that's pretty rare in today's commercial fiction.
Therefore, what could easily have descended into gratuitous schlock-horror is, in fact, a great character piece. There are still scares galore for horror fans, though, of course. And the narrative is littered with witty, cool stuff. Text messaging from hell. A restaurant called McColons. Shoppers like you've never seen before. There's a bucketload of imagination on display here and I loved reading it.
So my advice is to buy The Mall - right now if you're lucky enough to own a Kindle, but definitely when the book is released in hardback later this year. As others have already said, you'll never look at a shop mannequin in the same way again. More importantly, though, after reading this book you'll be counting the days until SL Grey releases his/her next novel.
I had thought that the last word on consumerism came with Fight Club and No Logo, and anything that followed would be a retread of familiar ground, but SL Grey has somehow managed to make this well-trodden theme and everything that goes with it seem fresh again.
I would never have expected this to happen within the narrative of a psychological horror/thriller - I was expecting a simple, lean mash-up of Saw, Cube and Fight Club going by the blurb - so what I read was a nice surprise. Character-wise, I was really turned round on the lead character of Rhoda (an object lesson in how to make an initially unsympathetic person compelling enough to want to be around), and the places that she and other lead Dan are taken emotionally are surprising yet always feel authentic.
What's best about the book is that its premise screams "commercial" but there's more to it than what's on the surface. Part two's bravely luxurious pace allows the character stuff the space to breathe, and while a return to The Mall always seems inevitable (and it's brilliant how it actually seems possible that such a return is desirable), the discoveries that Rhoda and Dan make about each other, and how far both characters have come since the opening of the novel, make their realisation of what they must do have an emotional truth that's pretty rare in today's commercial fiction.
Therefore, what could easily have descended into gratuitous schlock-horror is, in fact, a great character piece. There are still scares galore for horror fans, though, of course. And the narrative is littered with witty, cool stuff. Text messaging from hell. A restaurant called McColons. Shoppers like you've never seen before. There's a bucketload of imagination on display here and I loved reading it.
So my advice is to buy The Mall - right now if you're lucky enough to own a Kindle, but definitely when the book is released in hardback later this year. As others have already said, you'll never look at a shop mannequin in the same way again. More importantly, though, after reading this book you'll be counting the days until SL Grey releases his/her next novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was left thinking about this story for days afterwards! Even a few weeks later, my thoughts keep returning to it...
Set in a mall in the modern day city of Jo'burg, two strangers somehow find themselves in an alternate version of their mall being chased by a frightening and unknown entity (or entities?) that's out for their...blood? Souls? Bodies?....
Written from a present progressive perspective means that you are right there with them as they run, and experience it all with them. My heart thumped in fear along with them, I was left frantically thinking how they were going to get through the next part when I had to put the book down, and as I said, after finishing I've been left thinking about this books weeks after. As another reviewer said, this book could definately be made into a movie. The characters and the world were so fantastically 'real' and believable. A superb and refreshing story!
Set in a mall in the modern day city of Jo'burg, two strangers somehow find themselves in an alternate version of their mall being chased by a frightening and unknown entity (or entities?) that's out for their...blood? Souls? Bodies?....
Written from a present progressive perspective means that you are right there with them as they run, and experience it all with them. My heart thumped in fear along with them, I was left frantically thinking how they were going to get through the next part when I had to put the book down, and as I said, after finishing I've been left thinking about this books weeks after. As another reviewer said, this book could definately be made into a movie. The characters and the world were so fantastically 'real' and believable. A superb and refreshing story!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
The Mall is edgy, spooky and real...ANd also really funny. Fargo meets the Matrix meets Das Kapital. I loved the satire, the description and the action. McColon's Big Fat Number 2 (eeeeuuuu, puke, retch!), the delightful Colt's body image issues, Dan's angst and little neuroses, Rhoda's kickass grit, the buffoon security guards... And the surprisingly normalness of it all. Very vivid. I felt like I was reading a movie. This book is hard to categorise but really fun and freaky at the same time. I can't walk past shop mannequins in the same way again!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Red pill or blue pill time
Imagine a future where shopping is your job . . . the more you consume and the more 'original' your look the more precious your custom is. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cathy777
No bargain
Dystopian fantasy, set in modern shopping mall, Johannesburg, South Africa. Two strangers are dragged into a sadistic game in the tunnels beneath a shopping mall. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Kartowidjojo
Surprising!
I started this book months ago and gave up after only a few chapters. I tried again not long ago and couldn't put it down. After the slow start the story is just amazing. Read more
Published 7 months ago by F. Postlethwaite
Gripping and at times funny
There was something that drew me to read this book and I'll admit I wasn't too sure if it was going to be another predictable,sort of slash-type horror read. Read more
Published 8 months ago by CoolJules
Fantastic- One of the the best books I've read in ages
I came across this book by accident and based upon the reviews I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Rebecca Thompson
Really, really good!
I bought this as it was a very good price and the premise sounded interesting, I didn't necessarily expect great things of it. Read more
Published 8 months ago by K. Brailsford
Shop til you drop!
Rhoda and Dan are accidentally thrown together when Rhoda looses the child she is supposed to be looking after at the shopping mall. Read more
Published 9 months ago by S. Horrigan
The cutting edge of horror
The Mall is an unrepentant and twisted horror novel from S.L. Grey.
The novel stars an unlikely pairing of unlikeable protagonists. Read more
The novel stars an unlikely pairing of unlikeable protagonists. Read more
Published 10 months ago by J. Shurin
Truly Original - Loved It
I rarely write reviews but I have to say I loved this book.It is one of the most original books I have read in years.
Recommend it.
Cheers
J
Recommend it.
Cheers
J
Published 10 months ago by J. Smith
Review from The Word Fiend
S.L. Grey is the pen name of the writing team of Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg. This is their first collaboration and marks an impressive step forward for South African genre... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Shelagh
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
