Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A very strange book I felt, the language and style of writing was very unique. Not really for me unfortunately as I was excited by the premise of the book.

Even if it's well written I found it too violent and gory , totally outside my comfort zone and the story didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Book of Malachi is not a book for the faint-hearted, and it certainly won’t be a book for everyone, as it delves deep into some very dark subjects, and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It was incredibly well written, and I’m not one for shying away from darker books, but there were a few points in this one where it felt not quite gratuitous but brushing up against the periphery of that.

That said, this was a very unique book that takes that Sci-Fi/Speculative element and makes it disturbingly real and close to the world that we live in now because it does not feel outside the realms of possibility that this could be happening somewhere out in our world. A dystopian future that feels terrifyingly like it could be an alternative present and I think perhaps that was the Book of Malachi’s greatest strength was, because it made it immediate and devasting with its possibility. There is also the fact that this book is an in-depth dive into the way humans can and will treat one another for exploitation, for money or personal gain, and exploration of the depths of human cruelty and morality, and this is another aspect that is dealt with very well. Yes, it’s dark, yes it pushes the limits at times, but it never does so unquestionably, and it doesn’t shy away from exploring them, which while disturbing is to be admired.

The titular Malachi makes for an interesting main character, and the first person POV means that we dive as deeply into his thoughts and feelings, and experience, as we do the world and situation that he finds himself, which creates the sense that we are there, experiencing the horrors of the world, the questions for ourselves. That he is mute provides not only motivation for his participation in what is happening on the oil rig, but it adds depth to his perception of the world and how he experiences, and in a way, it makes his experience and the choices that he makes more visceral because he has to confront himself, his past and what might happen if he chooses to help, or chooses to keep his peace and do his job. We spend so much time with Malachi and his thoughts, that his turmoil becomes ours, that his decisions are weighed as heavily in our thoughts, and it really does add an extra dimension to this book.

There is not a lot of light or hope within this book to offset the darkness, and I think perhaps some glimmers might have made this book more accessible, and in some ways would have deepened the sense of horror. There is a glimmer of it towards the end though that was much needed.
Overall, I did enjoy The Book of Malachi, and it is a book that will stay with me for a while, but I think it is very much a book that will not appeal to everyone because it is truly a dark read. However, for those who enjoy dystopian fiction, especially ones with bleak futures filled with terror, or just fiction on the darker (very dark) side, then this may well be the book for you.

Malachi is mute, his tongue removed years ago when soldiers came to his village and killed everyone but him. However, if he will work for Raizier Pharmaceuticals for six months on an oilrig, then Raizier will grow him a new one. It seems like a dream job until Malachi realises that his role is to care for criminals who are being used as incubators, growing new organs for the wealthy elite. Doubt of his wards’ guilt set in as the prisoners tells him their stories—Malachi questions whether they deserve their fate regardless of whether they are guilty or not. As relationships form, Malachi must decide what is more important, his tongue or the lives of forty inmates.
The Book of Malachi is told from Malachi’s point of view in first person present tense. There is a leaning towards a literary style, which, although not my favourite style, works really well here. The use of present tense, as well as separating the chapters by days, creates a sense of immediacy, which made it difficult for me to put the book down.
We learn early on that Malachi could talk at one point and is a lot more intelligent than the people around him. His story of how he came to be a mute is fed to us in pieces as Malachi discovers one of the criminals on the lab helped the soldiers who destroyed his village. One of my favourite elements is that Malachi is an unreliable narrator. His exposure to the criminals and their honesty strips away the lies he tells himself, and us, to reveal the truth.
There are some graphic elements in The Book of Malachi, which could trigger people. There are frank descriptions of genital self-mutilation, the murder of children, and operations. Malachi is also fixated with the genitals of the criminals. They are all naked to make caring for them more straightforward, so every time Malachi is with them, the reader is given descriptions of their bodies. There is a reason for this, but for the sake of being spoiler-free, I won’t tell you. However, I will say that, after a while, it felt gratuitous and lost its initial impact.
The central theme explores the subject of guilt. There is no doubt that the inmates on the oilrig are guilty of something, but is it what they were found guilty of and do they deserve their punishment? And are Raizier’s employees innocent? The organ harvesting operation is illegal, and the employees are being paid with much-needed organs for their loved ones. Without Raizier, their family members would die, so does that excuse the employees when they ignore the neglect of a stranded sailor who went to them for help? There is no easy answer for us or for Malachi, which is part of this book’s appeal. Everyone is guilty of something, and it is a question of what they can live with.
The Book of Malachi is not for the faint-hearted or squeamish, you have been warned, but it is also a gripping, tense novel about second chances. Highly recommended.

The way that humans treat each other in real life is far darker and harrowing than any science fiction book that you can create, but this does not stop some authors from exploring the depths of the human condition. If we are only as good as how we treat the weakest in society, the people who inhabit the world of The Book of Malachi by T C Farren are not very good. This is a future in which Africa seems adrift, ripe for exploitation. Not only from political leaders but corporations. On a distant offshore oil rig a series of human tragedies are happening. Do murderers and rapists deserve this?

Malachi works silently in a chicken packing factory. His words do not form as he no longer has a tongue. His silence is noted by a corporation looking for a discreet and diligent worker. For six months work on an oil rig working maintenance, Malachi will have a new tongue grown and grafted. This seems like too good an offer to refuse and it is only when Malachi arrives at the oil rig that he realises the type of maintenance expected of him. These organs are not grown in vats, but on prisoners pumped full of growth hormones and kept in cages. His job is to maintain their bodies. Can Malachi ignore this human suffering to gain the ability to speak or will his past not let him live with the violation of these men and women?

It does not take many pages into Malachi to observe that this is a dark book that explores scenarios many people may not want to read. War atrocities, human right violations, anger, pain and suffering. These elements may make the book a difficult read in places, but it also gives it a sense of power and depth. Farren does not shy away from the terrors that occur and they are all man made. Although a science fiction story, there is a sense that this book is set in some of the worst places that our current planet holds. You may want to look away at times, but the characters deserve you to see their story.

As the main character Malachi is an inspired choice. As a mute it makes the first-person perspective make sense. He always internalises his thoughts and we the reader benefit from the development of this skill. The outside world dismisses him as both mute and stupid, but we know otherwise. He is an educated man whose Father taught him English and the works of Shakespeare. Malachi chooses to disguise his full abilities, and this opens possibilities in the narrative as he can enter where others would not be allowed.

The book is not only about Malachi but the how humans interact and their cruelty. On the oil rig there are communities; the workers, the prisoners and the bosses. Each are a different ecosystem and mimic the larger world. Malachi is one of the workers and becomes their friend, but he also has empathy with the prisoners. He spends as much time tending to their needs as with his erstwhile pals. The prisoners are a mixed group taken from prisons across Africa. Are they truly guilty enough to be caged and treated like the worst kept farm animals? Malachi must choose were his loyalties lie.

The interaction with the prisoners force to Malachi to examine his own past and recall the events that led to his tongue being violently removed. There is an inner turmoil within the character that threatens to boil over. This is a person who knows that impulsive actions do not always lead to the solutions you had hoped.

Malachi is unlike most of the science fiction I have read. It is dystopian in outlook but reads like an alternative today. Other dystopian books I have read paint bleak futures but have action and a sometimes-perverse lightness to them. Farren instead embraces the terror from the setting, to the characters and even the prose. This is an unsettling book evocative of the best of dreich 70s horror. There is only a sense of hope towards the latter part. The darkness within these pages will prove too much for some readers but someone looking for a read that challenges your outlook on the world will find a powerful exploration of human cruelty.

I will start by saying that I know this book wont be for everyone, books that feature dark subjects will always have that effect on potential readers but I truly enjoyed this book and despite the grim subject, I was sucked in till the end.

Malachi Dakwaa is mute, he spends his days working in a chicken processing factory and his nights sleeping in a stall in converted stables. He is a clever man with some considerable demons, having lost his tongue at an early age and seeing loved ones murdered in front of you will do that to a person.

His life is about to change and for the better, he is offered a job working for a classified medical programme. This position is not in a hospital, it is on an oil rig far off the coast of Africa and his payment for six months will be the grafting of a new tongue. You see the rig is not drilling for oil, it is harvesting organs from prisoners, these prisoners have committed horrible acts and as punishment their bodies are being used to grow organs. Malachi will be monitoring them.

The rig houses other people of course and they are all there for the same reason, they have all been promised payment in the form of a body part for a loved one, lungs for a baby boy, a heart for a young girl and they are all desperate to get paid.

Malachi will maintain the prisoners, they are all kept naked in cages, his job is to cut their nails which grow extremely quickly, make sure they are well (because if they are sick, the precious cargo inside them which is worth millions will be null and void) and most importantly not to talk to them, that of course won’t be a problem. He quickly gets in to the swing of things and his disgust for the prisoners is obvious but then he starts to listen to them. All of them are guilty but what if they deserve better?

The setting of this book is quite sinister, I mean of course it is, its an oil rig where they are cutting up people to make money. But the rig itself is huge and I think for me the fact it is in the middle of the ocean with no land around for miles makes me incredibly uneasy - plus did I mention there is sharks!?

Malachi is a complex character, he is thought to be stupid because he is mute but that is incredibly far from the truth, he is an avid reader and that shows in his thoughts. He is compassionate and hard working but as his time on the rig goes by he sees things that he doesn’t like on little bit.

Like I said at the start this book won’t be for everyone but of course if we all liked the same books then life would be incredibly boring. The Book of Malachi is well written and will stay in your thoughts for days after.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This really is something different., so much so that I am a little unsure as to how to categorise it. I it's a dark sci-fi fantasy horror story, about a mute fellow who gets a very strange job in a very strange place. This is a short sharp read, quite gritty and unpleasant at times but also very touching in places. A good book for anyone looking for something unusual and a bit weird.

This just wasn't for me. I can see how some would like the brutality and horror, and the psuedo-moral dilemma of rescuing murderers and rapists along with the innocent. But I found much of the violence and nudity to be gratuitous and offputting, and I saw zero moral ambiguity in rescuing anyone from such torture.

On top of which, though Farren's writing style is entirely in keeping with the nature of the story, I found it disjointed and hard to follow at times. In particular, the constant use of metaphor was exhausting to try to keep up with. And while sentence fragments might convey urgency or a character's fractured thoughts, they don't make for easy reading.

A marmite book, I think, and I really don't like marmite.