The Maker’s Box by David Barclay
9 Swords (March 2022)
89 pages; $6.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Haley Newlin
Stephen King’s dreamscape fantasy Rose Madder meets the precise cleverness of Richard Chizmar’s Gwendy’s series in The Maker’s Box.
I’d never read anything from Barclay before The Maker’s Box, but now I’m blood-thirsty for more.
In this devoutly dark and sinister tale, Emily receives a peculiar box for her birthday. Only this isn’t a typical birthday gift; it beats, it feeds, it possesses. It’s a live, pounding heart.
The heart thudding in the box felt so classically creepy, like something Edgar Allan Poe or Shirley Jackson would write.
But, Barclay adds plenty of contemporary elements, too, such as the coming of age themes and the wavering sexuality of both Emily and her friend, Noah.
While I loved Emily’s character, Noah’s development felt a bit bumpy — like pieces were missing and we hit potholes along the road.
Noah is sweet and protective of Emily, but there’s a particular point where his life is at risk, like everyone’s in this grim tale, and readers could’ve felt the desperate tone so much more with a few more moments between he and Emily.
I felt this with Emily’s father Jack and Stacey too. All the relationships within the book are interesting, but readers needed more.
However, I found the villain of The Maker’s Box, The Magic Man, enticing, wicked, and downright freaky. Barclay gave this character such a brilliant backstory that alluded to a Wes Craven flick, but dare I say, with more poise.
I also loved the Heart references.
We’d seen each other in a dream
Seemed like he knew me
He looked right through me, yeahBut try to understand
Try to understand
Try, try, try to to understand
It felt so fitting as the cursed object at hand is a beating heart.
I wish this book had about 40 more pages for character development, but that doesn’t mean that it felt underdeveloped overall.
The Maker’s Box is an eerie depiction of the teetering foundation of life and death, and I enjoyed every bloody moment of it.
