The Danes are a band composed of WWII veterans and their sound is becoming really popular in Detroit and the Midwest. All seems on the upswing for the band until the army walks back through their door. An army man will pay each band member $100,000 to find the source of a sound in the Namib desert capable of rendering weapons, including nuclear warheads, impotent. The Danes don’t really have a choice, and it seems like easy money, but what kind of sound is capable of that sort of power?
The one storyline tells the story of the band’s recruitment and journey to find the sound in Africa. The other is the recovery of Philip Tonka, pianist of the band, who is in a military hospital in Iowa waking up after a six month coma. Philip had every bone in his body broken. Every. Single. Bone. Yet soon after waking he’s wiggling his fingers and moving his head. How is that possible? And how was he injured in the first place?
This is a horror book that leaves you with more questions than answers, for example where did the title come from? I never did figure that out, I’m guessing I missed it somewhere. But you really get to know Philip and feel for him and want him to get out of the hospital and away from the army. His story is what keeps you reading (or listening) and the source of the sound, and how is works, is secondary. The end is satisfying despite the unanswered questions, but I like not knowing everything at the end of a book. I know just as much as Philip at the end and that was enough for me.
I was a huge fan of Bird Box and still recommend that book immediately for anyone looking for a scary audiobook. This one was scary, but just wasn’t up to the fright of his first book.
