I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom

A Novel

By: Jason Pargin

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

A standalone darkly humorous thriller set in modern America's age of anxiety, by New York Times bestselling author Jason Pargin.

Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box.

He cannot ask questions.

He cannot tell anyone.

They must leave immediately.

He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2024 Jason Pargin (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Strident and timely, the dark humor of this wild standalone adventure from Pargin evokes satirists like Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams for a new age... It’s a raucous roller-coaster ride."—Publisher's Weekly

"A road trip through America that is equal parts hilarious and terrifying. Jason understands humanity better than most, and it’s inspiring that his diagnosis is ultimately optimistic."—Daniel O'Brien, Senior Writer, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

"I was hooked from the first page. If I'm honest, from the first sentence or two. Jason has a rare gift for delivering High Weirdness coated in a sticky layer of real life, deeply relatable shit that forces you to see yourself in whatever weirdo or maniac he introduces. It's a rare gift, but he's got a lot of those. You should read this book."—Robert Evans, Host of Behind the Bastards

Can't believe someone would write this

I had to pick this book up given the controversy and despite that I was hooked. Fantastic book. I was outraged by headlines but fell in love with the paragraphs.

Fake but true

This fanciful novel is ripe with the truth about how older folks don’t understand the lonely internet dwellers who never leave their rooms rather than have real experiences. It also uses humor to explain why the young folks stay in their dungeons and become afraid of being ostracized by fake friends. But in this book the friends materialize amidst drama and trauma and a good dose of action causing the reader to laugh out loud at the circumstances they face. Loved it.

I knew there would be a twist, but was subverted and enjoyed the reveal!

I'm terrible at reviews... But I absolutely loved the story. There wasn't a need for world building because you're expected to assume the book takes place in our current time and space. So it was stupid easy to follow the logic and what was happening... Especially in hindsight. This is an amazing exposé on our current culture. Good and bad. Nobody comes out a protagonist.

loved this book so much I have to try cooking some string cheese!

Jason Pargin did it again. He wrote another book I couldn't put down! This one is actually more terrifying than the others because he reflects a funhouse version of the real world that's only a millimeter away.

Wow … loved it!

The writing is extremely creative and entertaining. The performance is the best I’ve ever experienced; fabulous job of changing voices for each character.

Pulled me in!

This book has my attention from beginning to end, also does a great job of getting the reader to think and view different perspectives.

This read was inspired!

I really enjoyed the way Jason spiraled the narrative through a series of lenses which felt real and relatable. I really enjoys his books (I've heard all of them) but this one takes the cake!
Thank you Jason... can't wait for the next one 😉

Great book!

I loved this book! I love all of this author's books. He's got a habit of keeping it interesting the whole way through. Humor and action, relatable characters and characters that remind me of people I know. In every book,I feel this way. His humor and insight make it even better. I would recommend this to everyone.

I'm starting to worry that I have to wait!

I wish I could fast-forward to every new release from Jason Pargin. His books are like Christmas to me, and I wish they could last forever. This one is simple, fun, and endlessly entertaining. Keep writing, and I'll keep reading (or listening)!

Also, Ari Fliakos does an excellent job bringing even more life to this dynamic cast of characters. Really great work—I look forward to hearing more from you.

Many unpredictable twist and turns!

This was one of thr entertaining books I have list to ever. I will read all that he writes and all he has written. I can't say enough how great a ride this listen was. I may even listen again.