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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

Audiobook
41 of 42 copies available
41 of 42 copies available

From Vulture's "master of horror" Clay McLeod Chapman, a relentless and emotionally charged social horror novel about a family on the run from a demonic possession epidemic that spreads through media, for fans of The Last of Us and Where Evil Lurks

Noah Fairchild has been losing his formerly polite Southern parents to far-right cable news for years, so when his mother leaves him a voicemail warning him that the "Great Reckoning" is here, he assumes it's related to one of the many conspiracy theories she believes in. But when his own phone calls go unanswered, Noah makes the long drive from Brooklyn to Richmond, Virginia. There, he discovers his childhood home in shambles, a fridge full of spoiled food, and his parents locked in a terrifying trance-like state in front of the TV. Panicked, Noah attempts to snap them out of it and get medical help.

Then Noah's mother brutally attacks him.

But Noah isn't the only person to be attacked by a loved one. Families across the country are tearing each other apart—literally—as people succumb to a form of possession that gets worse the more time they spend watching particular channels, using certain apps, or visiting certain websites. In Noah's Richmond-based family, only he and his young nephew Marcus are unaffected. Together, they must race back to the safe haven of Brooklyn—but can they make it before they fall prey to the violent hordes?

This ambitious, searing novel from "one of horror's modern masters" holds a mirror to our divided nation, and will shake listeners to the core.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 21, 2024
      Chapman (What Kind of Mother) takes a big swing and misses in his attempt to explore the mounting political tensions in America through the lens of a splatterpunk apocalypse. Noah Fairchild, a young father in Brooklyn, despairs over his conservative Southern family members getting sucked into a popular cable news channel’s far-right cult of personality. When his parents and siblings stop returning his calls, Noah travels home to reconcile with them. Unfortunately for him, the ideological horror he confronts in his childhood home is only the beginning. Soon, he discovers that a mysterious force transmitted through the television is turning formerly normal people into monsters, and that it’s up to him to stop it. Chapman has a confident hand when it comes to horror, and, with carnage as creative as it is copious, fans of transgressive gore will find plenty to enjoy in these blood-slicked pages. Unfortunately, the author is less successful at crafting the political metaphor at the narrative’s heart, which winds up feeling both heavy-handed and somewhat muddled. The continued use of caustically profane narration, clichés like “snowflake,” and false equivalences between violent IRL rhetoric and anodyne internet fads undermine the politics. The result is a gleefully nasty story that fails to deliver a coherent or insightful message.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Joe Hempel is the primary narrator of this apocalyptic horror story. Noah has distanced himself from his conspiracy-minded Fax-News- obsessed family, but his mother's recent voicemail about the "Great Reawakening" worries him. When his calls go unanswered, he travels to his childhood home to find it ruined and his parents catatonic. Hempel's narration captures Noah's increasing anxiety, which transforms into childlike horror when his parents suddenly attack him. Interspersed throughout the audiobook are news stories voiced by a full cast showing how the chaos quickly accelerates. P.J. Ochlan neutrally introduces each news story and provides stage directions. Ochlan's calm juxtaposed with the cast's panicked voices creates an unsettling experience that is perfect for horror. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

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Languages

  • English

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