This is a great place to start if you're newer to Pargin's works since it's a standalone and thus an easier lift for anyone unsure about delving into his series.

Lyft driver Abbott nervously accepts an offer of $200,000 cash to transport a woman named Ether across the country with a large black box. But she has a list of rules he must follow: he cannot look inside the box; he cannot ask questions about the box; he cannot tell anyone what he is doing; they must leave immediately; and he must leave all trackable devices behind. What ensues is a hilarious and timely tale about the way technology and the internet have completely overrun our lives. As the internet community speculates about what’s in the box as well as sparking rumors that this duo is preparing to launch a terror attack, the tension mounts. A variety of characters narrate the story, which works particularly well and so many thought-provoking issues are raised. I’m Starting to Worry about This Black Box of Doom will appeal to fans of quirky, unique, and creative stories and is well worth the read.

I thought the premise was intriguing so I decided to give it a try. I don't think it was a bad story or poorly written it just wasn't for me.

As a person who has frequently used Lyft and Uber, I was really intrigued by Jason Pargin's I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom, as I have had some really bizarre rides as a passenger. This is a thriller with a side of dark humor that satirizes contemporary culture - and the ways social media has a pervasive hold on so many and perpetuates so much misinformation.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

A wild ride that somehow is both incredibly long and tedious and yet also a fascinating tahe on society and media consumption. I liked it, but good god, the endless ranting about things was so boring and I actually had to skip sections because my eyes were rolling too much.

This book reads like I’m watching a movie! I could picture every detail and I most definitely want to see it brought to the big screen !
Thank you #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Published by ‎ St. Martin's Press on September 24, 2024

I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom is both an indictment and a celebration of the internet. It’s also one of the funniest books I’ve read this year.

Abbott Coburn is an incel. Like other incels, he blames women for problems that extend beyond involuntary celibacy. Abbott has an anxiety disorder and depends on his medication to function. Even medicated, Abbott has no social skills.

Abbott lives with his father Hunter and earns money from a ride-share app by driving Hunter’s SUV. Abbott was bullied in high school and blames high school girls for the bullying because girls reward bullies with sex. Abbott has joined the hordes of young male vloggers who insist that they are victims of a conspiracy. The conspirators are either feminists or attractive women who won’t shag them, depending on the moment.

Abbott is such a dunce that he’s almost likeable. The dynamic between Abott and his father encourages the reader to feel Abbott is far from evil and not irretrievably lost to the internet’s dark side.

A woman named Ether asks Abbott for a ride across the country, from the West Coast to the East. When he explains that the app does not permit long-distance travel, she offers him a large payment of cash to work off the app, half in advance, provided he leaves behind his phone and laptop. The other hitch is that she’s transporting a large black box that might or might not display radiation decals. A mysterious employer paid Ether a large amount of cash to bring the box to his place outside of D.C.

Abbott sets aside his suspicion of women and accepts Ether’s terms because he needs cash to reboot his life. He soon realizes that Ether didn’t tell him that she’s being followed by a biker named Malort who wants to acquire the box for his own (presumably nefarious) purposes. Things get out of hand when Reddit users begin tracing Abbott and Ether on their trek, having convinced themselves that they are terrorists or heroes, no theory being too crazy to express as a certainty.

The story picks up additional characters as it bounces along, some of whom live almost entirely in the digital world. Zeke Ngata is in a wheelchair. He’s active on Reddit and a fan of Abbott’s vlog. Phil Green was a genius who lived off-grid in Canada. An anti-technology conspiracy theorist, Phil was convinced that software was rewiring human brains to turn us into zombies. Maybe he was right, but Phil is dead now, survived only by his blog. Phil had the black box when Ether first saw it, although he refused to reveal its contents.

A former FBI agent named Joan Key has a long list of problems (that’s why she’s a “former” fed). She sees the black box as an opportunity to rekindle her relationship with the FBI. Or, if she’s lucky, she’ll be near the box when it explodes, perhaps gaining postmortem recognition for her effort to avoid a catastrophe.

Key contributes to the narrative by expressing interesting opinions. She attributes school shootings and other random acts of mass violence to “aggrieved narcissism, a total inability to put personal affronts into perspective. Why shouldn’t others die for your petty humiliations, when you’re the Main Character of the Universe”? Key teams with Hunter to find Abbott before a wannabe internet hero kills him.

The characters come together in an action-adventure comedy that is driven by misunderstandings and (since people get their information from questionable internet sources) outright fabrications. The story is amusing — and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny — for multiple reasons, but my favorite is its depiction of Reddit as a haven for “mostly young males with a vast arsenal of shallow knowledge and free time.” Transcripts of Reddit conspiracy theories surrounding Abbott are hilarious. Was he taken hostage by a crazy woman? Was he abducted by aliens? Does the box in his father’s SUV contain the radioactive corpse of an alien? Is the box stuffed with the corpse of a woman who disappeared while visiting the state where Abbott lives? Is Abbott a terrorist who intends to set off a dirty bomb in Washington D.C.? Are people who post groundless conspiracy theories working for Russia or is that also a groundless conspiracy theory?

A reader might surmise that the title refers to the black box in Abbott’s SUV, but the “black box of doom” actually refers to the screens on our communication devices and the algorithms that assure our exposure to bad behavior, driving us to fear the badly behaving, who are inevitably depicted as people different from ourselves — different by race, gender, political affiliation, place of birth, or any other factor that allows us to distinguish ourselves as good people, unlike all the different kinds of people who are always causing trouble.

Abbott’s arguments with Ether about female manipulation of males are insightful in their realistic portrayal of opposing viewpoints, even if the viewpoints of both characters are easily mocked. I agree with Abbot’s view that it’s silly for women to put on a bikini and then complain that they feel objectified when they are noticed by visibly appreciative men. But it’s even sillier for Abbott to claim that he’d rather be raped than to be falsely accused of rape because rape victims get sympathy while society always condemns accused are men.

Ether wants to teach Abbott a lesson that all incels should internalize — “you can actually get over bad things that happen to you.” The story at least forces Abbott to grow up, to start making decisions for himself rather than blaming the world for his empty life.

What’s in the box? The answer, carefully set up by scenes that might quickly be forgotten in this fast-moving story, is delightful. Just know that the climax is wild and funny. Some scenes have the credibility of Road Runner cartoons, but comedy doesn’t need to be credible.

I would recommend the novel just for its goofiness and the Looney Tunes feel of its final act, but I am even more enthused about the characters’ semi-serious discussions of significant social issues: the potential impact of growing up with screen interactions rather than human touch; the incel movement that links young men with stunted social skills; and the ridiculous (and potentially dangerous) nature of the conspiracy theories that these socially challenged men devote their lives to spreading in the hope of improving their self-worth. Those are discussions that society should be having. For that reason, I'm Starting to Worry would be a good book for book clubs that actually discuss books rather than gossiping about book club members who didn't make it to the meeting.

RECOMMENDED

Very thought-provoking in a lot of ways. A wild ride with a well-fleshed out cast of characters. This was my first Pargin book although I've had a few of his others on my radar for a while. I'm looking forward to diving into some of that blacklist as this was a really pleasant experience that I would be happy to have again with other offerings. Highly recommend for any other chronically online folks like me, as well as lovers of intrigue and adventure. Must love unlikeable characters and some discussion of politics but nothing too divisive.

This book is totally bizarre, but not in a bad way. This will be a book for a very specific audience, so I will still recommend it, but it won't be for everyone. I couldn't really get invested in the story, but it will be fantastic for readers looking for something unusual and thought-provoking.

This book is very much outside my normal genres, but there was something about it that drew me in and made me want to read it. This book was bizarre… but in a good way… I think. I’ve never read anything by Jason Pargin before, but I’ve had some of his books on my TBR forever. I think his writing style is one you have to be in the mood for.

This dark comedy follows Abbott, a Lyft driver who agrees to transport a woman and a mysterious black box across the country. Unfortunately for Abbott, he has no idea what he is getting himself into and the media craze that will follow.

This book is a wild social commentary on the power of social media and online gossip. A mysterious black box is blown up to extreme proportions online. What is fact and what is fiction?

It followed an interesting group of characters. The book flips between narratives and includes mixed media elements, and it all seems to work to create a unique narrative. Ether, the woman Abbott is transporting, is a voice of reason in a pile of outrageous characters – including Abbott who is very much the worst of the online world.

This book is darkly funny and very appropriate for the time we are in. I don’t even know how to review this book because it really was just completely bananas. Although this was very much outside my comfort zone, I really did enjoy it.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

It's entertaining but even from the very beginning I wanted a deeper understanding of the motivations of these characters because without that specific element the book reads like fluff - very fun and entertaining fluff, but fluff nonetheless. I would say I'm very very picky when it comes to comedy so others may find this wildly entertaining in a way that makes up for my complaints.

I read maybe one or two sci-fi novels each year, so I tend to be really picky about which ones I pick up, looking for titles that bring in elements from other genres. I was drawn to I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom mainly because of the mystery and thriller aspects, and while I enjoyed reading it, my overall feelings about it are a bit muddled.

To be clear, the story is wildly entertaining. It starts with a Lyft driver being approached to drive a mysterious package across the country, and then it goes to places I didn’t expect. The story is fast-paced and darkly funny at times, and I was never bored while reading.

It really reminded me of Hank Green’s An Absolutely Remarkable Thing in that it definitely has a lot of sci-fi elements, but it doesn’t read like a stereotypical sci-fi novel. Both books also share a similar commentary about internet fame and how our online world can ultimately be a negative and dangerous space, which was very thought provoking.

Where the book lost me was in the fuzziness of the message. The author is really trying to make a point about darker corners of the internet, but after reading this, I was confused about what the message was. Maybe reading it post-election was a bad choice, but in the end I found it difficult to just accept the story at face value.

In short, if you’re ready to read some comedic sci-fi that will start discussion, this is the book for you.

Thanks to St. Martin’s and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4+ fun and very funny stars

I thoroughly enjoyed I’m Starting to Worry…even though, a retiree, I am probably Not part of the target audience. This book will appeal even more to younger people.

Pargin’s writing uses strong very visual elements. This book with the Cumbersome Title that is Very Long would make an outstanding action-adventure movie with lots of humor. I think the long unwieldy title that continues to go on and worry me might be part of the ‘irony/ satire’ of the book.

Things I liked about …This Black Box of Doom:
• Its fast-paced plot (Personally, I think it climaxed a little early (and then stretched out the tiniest bit long, but there is always lots happening.
• The creativity in pulling this together
• Interesting characters with depth!
• Many LOL moments. The humor flowed easily and did not feel forced. It is a hilarious book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pargin writes a modern classic for the meme generation. There's a lot of dialogue, which makes sense as the novel takes on internet debate culture. The pacing drags a tad and there's a lot of references you may miss if you don't spend a lot of time on the internet. Overall it's a great read and a lot of fun.

I saw a fellow reviewer relate this to Kurt Vonnegut, and I wholeheartedly agree. There are absurdities, yes, but there are a lot of pointed observations that make the reader go, "Hey! I took that personally." Doesn't matter what your life perspective is — if you have any internet presence, you'll be a target at some point in this book. This is both a good thing.

Heavy is the hand that has opinions on and about the internet.

I waffled on the rating for this book, but considering how many times its plot points, ideologies, and factoids bubbled up in my real-life conversations, I'd have to give it five stars.

2.5 / 5 stars

Abbott Colman is in his mid-twenties, but lives at home with his father. He makes his living as a Twitch streamer and sometimes driving for Lyft. Everything in his life -- his prospects and his outlook -- changes when he meets a young woman with a large black box who offers him $200K to drive her and the box straight across the country. But he has to leave his phone and laptop behind. Abbott accepts, and soon he's on the road and has no idea that the whole Internet is watching him and speculating on what is inside that box.

I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom is part road-trip adventure, part recap of the very excellent book Factfulness. Unfortunately, the long blocks of dialogue between the characters while they are on the road makes for an uneven plot. The mystery of the box's contents did keep me hooked, and the third act was action-packed and quite fun.

I too am starting to worry about this black box of doom...Ironically, this book, which was about how the black box of doom can twist reality and detract from real human interaction ... and potentially blow up in your face, actually took me a ridiculously long amount of time to finish BECAUSE of my own black box of doom. Impending U.S Election doom, coupled with U.S Election outcomes (which feel pretty damn doom-centric) kept me unfocused and jittery...staring at my phone, doom scrolling through narrative after narrative. Add some real life stress and a 3-4 day read took me SIX FREAKING WEEKS TO FINISH. I feel like Pargin would appreciate that my delayed review was directly related to the insanity that he details in his book.

I appreciated the reminder that perhaps I need to look up and out and to try and keep perspective on how real human interactions can and should work. I also appreciated the demonstration of how one person's perspective might not be every person's reality. I also just really enjoyed the ridiculousness of the whole plot line and the characters themselves, as both archetypes and as fun and unique individuals that I would love to know (and sort of do).

As always, I appreciate the opportunity afforded me to have an early read by netgalley and St. Martin's Press. The opinions in this review are expressly those of ButIDigressBookClub and are intended for use by my followers and friends when choosing their next book. #butidigress #butidigressbookclub #imstartingtoworryaboutthisblackboxofdoom #blackboxofdoom #jasonpargin #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #arc #arcs #twitch #streaming #influencer

When Abbot's Lyft passenger offers him $200,000 to transport her and a large black box from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, Abbot knows it's life changing money. The catch - he can't look inside the box, ask questions, or tell anyone about the box. As Abbot and his passenger cross the United States, they unknowingly become some of the most wanted people in the country. As the general population and online sleuths try to track the two down, misinformation has the country on edge for a potential deadly terror attack.

With plenty of dark humor and a great array of characters, this is a must-read book. It's fun. It's unique. It's such an interesting depiction of the perils of social media. It's a bit far-fetched and it's best to go into the story with an open mind. I read this while driving from Texas to Iowa, and it's the perfect road trip read. It definitely made the 20hour drive that much more enjoyable. If you have a holiday road trip coming, grab this one to accompany you.


I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom is out now. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my:
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This is a book that will either work for a reader or really, really not work. I fell into the latter category as the randomness, zaniness, and general meta-ness of the book was far too much for my own tastes. However, I can appreciate what the author was doing and I'm confident there are a handful of customers at my store who will be absolutely obsessed with this one. The trouble is figuring out which ones, so the rest don't think I've lost my mind.

This book is not for me - I usually like quirky characters, but maybe I am too old to appreciate all the randomness that happens when an uber - type driver agrees to drive a slightly crazy girl with a big black box across the country. I am from the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" era of funny narratives and social commentary. Maybe younger readers will like it. I probably would have watched this as a movie, but but 400 pages is too long for this type of book.