Books › The Everything Box
The Everything Box
352 pages
A chaotic, laugh-out-loud supernatural heist where the fate of the world rests in the hands of the most unqualified misfits imaginable.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like strapping into a roller coaster that might be missing a few bolts, but you are laughing too hard to care. It is a masterclass in chaotic, irreverent urban fantasy, blending the high stakes of a literal apocalypse with the mundane annoyances of bureaucracy and bumbling incompetence. The narrative moves at a brisk, cinematic clip, pulling you through a neon-lit, gritty-yet-goofy underworld populated by snarky thieves, disgruntled angels, and eccentric government agents. The prose is punchy and relentlessly sarcastic, delivering deadpan humor alongside supernatural brawls. It is the perfect escape for readers who enjoy their doomsday scenarios laced with absurdity, where reluctant anti-heroes must begrudgingly save a world they are not even sure they like.
- Mood
- chaotic
- frenetic
- gritty-yet-goofy
- neon-lit
- Tone
- irreverent
- snarky
- cynical
- absurd
- wry
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- reluctant heroism · bureaucratic absurdity · the banality of evil · misfit camaraderie
- The writing
- Punchy and dialogue-heavy, the sentences are laced with deadpan humor, sharp metaphors, and cinematic action beats.
- The arc
- The protagonist shifts from cynical self-preservation to a begrudging, chaotic acceptance of responsibility for the fate of the world.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love their urban fantasy served with a heavy dose of sarcasm, bumbling villains, and reluctant anti-heroes will devour this.
Content notes
- fantasy violence
- profanity
- apocalyptic themes
- mild gore
About the book
"Reminiscent of the edgy, offbeat humor of Chris Moore and Matt Ruff, the first entry in a whimsical, fast-paced supernatural series from the author of the Sandman Slim novels--a dark and humorous story involving a doomsday gizmo, a horde of baddies determined to possess its power, and a clever thief who must steal it back. again and again. 2000 B.C. A beautiful, ambitious angel stands on a mountaintop, surveying the world and its little inhabitants below. He smiles because soon, the last of humanity who survived the great flood will meet its end, too. And he should know. He's going to play a big part in it. Our angel usually doesn't get to do field work, and if he does well, he's certain he'll get a big promotion. And now it's time.The angel reaches into his pocket for the instrument of humanity's doom. Must be in the other pocket. Then he frantically begins to pat himself down. Dejected, he realizes he has lost the object. Looking over the Earth at all that could have been, the majestic angel utters a single word."Crap." 2015. A thief named Coop--a specialist in purloining magic objects--steals and delivers a small box to the mysterious client who engaged his services. Coop doesn't know that his latest job could be the end of him--and the rest of the world. Suddenly he finds himself in the company of The Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome enforcement agency that polices the odd and strange. The box isn't just a supernatural heirloom with quaint powers, they tell him. It's a doomsday device. They think.And suddenly, everyone is out to get it"--
2000 B.C. An angel stands on a mountaintop, surveying the world and its little inhabitants below. He smiles because soon, the last of humanity who survived the great flood will meet its end, too. And he's going to play a big part in it; the instrument of humanity's doom is in his pocket. Oh, must be in the other pocket.... 2015. Coop, a thief specializing in purloining magic objects, delivers a small box to a mysterious client. Suddenly he finds himself in the company of The Department of Peculiar Science. It seems the box isn't just a supernatural heirloom with quaint powers: it's a doomsday device. Coop's latest job could be the end of him-- and the rest of the world.
Description from Open Library.
Books like The Everything Box
See why they match
Sandman SlimRichard KadreyA whiskey-soaked, blood-spattered joyride through a grimy supernatural Los Angeles with a protagonist who literally crawled out of Hell.
Hollywood Dead (Sandman Slim)Richard KadreyA gritty, ticking-clock supernatural thriller where a half-dead antihero races through a shadowy Los Angeles to pay off a demonic debt.
Secondhand SoulsChristopher MooreA hilariously macabre romp through San Francisco where the afterlife is just another bureaucratic nightmare managed by lovable misfits.
Practical DemonkeepingChristopher MooreA chaotic, laugh-out-loud romp through a quirky coastal town besieged by a very hungry, very inconvenient monster.
FoundrysideRobert Jackson BennettA kinetic, cyberpunk-flavored fantasy heist where magic is a programming language and scrappy underdogs are hacking the system.
Futuristic Violence and Fancy SuitsDavid WongA neon-soaked, hyper-violent joyride through a capitalist dystopia where the only thing more absurd than the villains is the reluctant hero trying to survive them.