Mark Falkin - The Late Bloomer

[sound of a single loud thump [44] These early days—especially once I left the late bloomers with Rebecca to be with the children—are very foggy in my memory, nearly a blackout, but the memory of that moment on that morning on the beach is sharp enough. I do know, I do remember, though it hurts my head like memories of the old world still do, that it was my stone that knocked my brother unconscious. It struck him just above his right occipital bone. ]

[sound of the recorder falling into the sand]

[sounds of less loud thudding]

[sounds of the ocean; sounds of gulls crying and the continuous sounds of stones thudding into the body of Kevin Gabriel March]

[the very last sounds of the recording are of the faraway sounds of Kodie Janine Lagenkamp, screaming]

Thank you:

Robert J. Peterson

Andrea

Stella

Elizabeth

Mark Falkinis the author of the novels Days of Grace and Contract City . Though he remains a card-carrying member of the Texas Bar, he is a literary agent by day and oftentimes by night. He lives with his wife and daughters in Austin, Texas.

“I fell deep into the postapocalyptic and addictively complex world of The Late Bloomer and didn’t want it to end. Not only is it a wonderful, binge-able story, but the voice of the central character had me hooked from the beginning, and Kevin March became a person I cared about, thought about, even after the last page was finished.”

“Like a sharp, winding staircase that narrows as it turns, the claustrophobic world of The Late Bloomer hems the reader in page by page.”

“Harrowing, unsettling and exquisitely written, The Late Bloomer is part War of the Worlds , part Twilight Zone, and part Shirley Jackson. It is an unforgettable, unforgiving vision of the end of the world, of those who attempt to survive and those who wish to stop them. The images conjured here will haunt you long after putting it down. Good luck, dear reader.”

“We classify some prose as genre, some as literary, and ‘never the twain shall meet.’ The Late Bloomer is both. Falkin gives us all sorts of Stephen King (story), meets the oft-mentioned William Golding’s (character), Lord of the Flies . Experimental in its style, protagonist, writing protégé Kevin Gabriel March, possible future guide of the new world, dictates the old world’s ending into a stolen voice recorder. Establishing a Stand -like setting, The Late Bloomer morphs into full-on textbook lit, like, for the ages literature. Like man versus all seven narrative conflict themes. Like drilling deep for symbolism and allegory. Yes, literary devices and shit. This novel overflows with rich language and divine sentences. The Late Bloomer is giving me everything! After the end someone must tell the tale, dear Reader. Why not our Kevin Gabriel March?”

“An apocalyptic coming-of-age tale the likes of which you’ve never seen, Mark Falkin’s The Late Bloomer channels the heart of Ray Bradbury, the sensibilities of Rod Serling, and the grim despair of Cormac McCarthy, all wrapped up in Falkin’s unshakable, inimitable style. Both beautiful and horrific, this is a young adult novel that even the most case-hardened fans of speculative fiction will find riveting and deeply moving. Highly recommended.”

“With dark humor and taught prose, The Late Bloomer takes the reader on an apocalyptic journey that is hurried, furrowed and in Mark Falkin’s skilled hands, all too real. Literary horror at its finest.”

“If you’re a fan of dull, weary storytelling with characters you’ve seen a million times doing the things you’ve seen them do a million times until you pass out from boredom, then this isn’t the book for you. If, on the other hand, you’re into roller coasters, laughter, fear, surprise, and characters who keep going against all odds, then The Late Bloomer will suck you down its twisted literary throat through its very last word.”

“With pitch-perfect prose, Falkin has penned an irresistible and audacious coming-of-age novel that plumbs the depths of adolescence and global cataclysm in equal, page-turning measure. I predict The Late Bloomer will take its place on the post-apocalyptic bestseller list, next to Station Eleven and The Stand. ”

“With The Late Bloomer , Mark Falkin has created a visceral, classic adventure story updated for our dystopian times when many of us long to push the reset button. Read your Jackson, your Golding, your King, and your Falkin, and be careful what you wish for.”

“An apocalyptic tale unlike any other, The Late Bloomer is smartly written; with shades of Stephen King meeting Cormac McCarthy, a blistering pace and lyrical prose, it demands to be consumed. Falkin’s take on the end of the world is intriguing, beautiful and tragic—a must-read.”

“With The Late Bloomer , Mark Falkin has written a Blair Witch Project- kind of novel, a dystopian nightmare that sends his characters racing to escape a killer that always seems to be waiting just ahead of them. It’s a gripping rush of literary adrenaline.”

“Imagine nature itself seething with Holden Caulfield’s rage at adult phoniness. Now imagine what happens when a decimated humanity inherits the planet. With The Late Bloomer , Mark Falkin combines an authentic portrait of twenty-first-century adolescence with a terrifying, and unsettlingly plausible, vision of the end of humanity as we know it.”

“ The Late Bloomer is a standout novel—a contemporary end-of-days novel that grabs you by the throat and won’t let go. Narrated in the unforgettable voice of Kevin March, the unlikely and resistant teenaged ‘late bloomer’ whose prophetic dreams have marked him for leadership of those who survive a world apocalypse reminiscent of the great floods, The Late Bloomer is an important cautionary tale that will haunt you long after you’ve finished the last page. With themes of good versus evil, the horrors of mob mentality, and the necessity of human empathy, The Late Bloomer gives strong nods to The Hunger Games, The Terminator, and The Lord of the Flies , wherein the beast resides within us all. The story’s unexpected climax is a chilling perspective of a political era where it may seem that only our youth can be entrusted with society’s moral compass.”