The Cipher [NOOK Book]

( 21 )

Overview

Nicholas, a would-be poet, and Nakota, his feral lover, discover a strange hole in the storage room floor down the hall. "Black. Not darkness, not the absence of light but living black. Pure black and the sense of pulsation, especially when you look at it too closely, the sense of something not living but alive." It begins with curiosity, a joke - the Funhole down the hall. But then the experiments begin. "Something we haven't tried before," Nakota says. But she and Nicholas aren't in control, not from the first ...
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The Cipher

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More About This Book

Overview

Nicholas, a would-be poet, and Nakota, his feral lover, discover a strange hole in the storage room floor down the hall. "Black. Not darkness, not the absence of light but living black. Pure black and the sense of pulsation, especially when you look at it too closely, the sense of something not living but alive." It begins with curiosity, a joke - the Funhole down the hall. But then the experiments begin. "Something we haven't tried before," Nakota says. But she and Nicholas aren't in control, not from the first moment, so they free fall as the Funhole leads to obsession, darkness, and transformation.

Kathe Koja's classic horror novel was the winner of the 1991 Bram Stoker Award, and was recently named one of io9.com's Top 10 Debut Science Fiction Novels That Took the World By Storm. Long out-of-print and much sought-after, THE CIPHER is finally available as an ebook, with a new foreword by the author.


"An ethereal rollercoaster ride from start to finish." - The Detroit Free Press

"Combines intensely poetic language and lavish grotesqueries." - BoingBoing

"Unforgettable ... [THE CIPHER] takes you into the lives of the dark dreamers that crawl on the underbelly of art and culture. Seldom has language been so visceral and so right." - Locus

"Kathe Koja is a poet ... [T]he kind that prefers to read in seedy bars instead of universities, but a poet." - The New York Review of Science Fiction

"This powerful first novel is as thought-provoking as it is horrifying." - Publishers Weekly

"Not so much about the vast and wonderful strangeness of the universe as it is about the horrific and glorious potential of the human spirit." - Short Form

"A tour de force of style, horror, strong emotions, fear and obsession" - Writer's Digest

"Tough, savage, uncompromising ... It's a hell of read." - The Geis Letter

"[THE CIPHER] is a book that makes you sit up, pay attention, and jettison your moldy preconceptions about the genre ... Utterly original ... [An} imaginative debut." - Fangoria
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Product Details

  • BN ID: 2940014620994
  • Publisher: Roadswell Editions
  • Publication date: 7/13/2012
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 110,910
  • File size: 763 KB

Meet the Author

Kathe Koja Is the author of six books, including UNDER THE POPPY, THE CIPHER, and SKIN, and seven novels for young adults, including BUDDHA BOY, TALK, and HEADLONG. Her works have been honored by the ALA, the ASPCA, and with the Bram Stoker Award. She's a Detroit native and lives in the area with her husband, artist Rick Lieder, and their cats.
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 21 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(10)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(6)

2 Star

(3)

1 Star

(1)

Your Rating:

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 21 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 24, 2012

    Not really a sample

    The sample of the book should be a sample of the story, not just the forwards etc. Or the message from the author. Should be an actual sample of the story so I can decide if I am interested in the writing and want to buy it. Disappointed in that...

    26 out of 60 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted August 8, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Koja's first book, and her best. The writing style is jarring a

    Koja's first book, and her best. The writing style is jarring at first, not what you're used to. Sentences don't flow as they do in a typical novel; it's more sream of conciousness. You'll find yourself re-reading sentences because it forces you to be an active participant in the reading process. However, this enables her to be much more descriptive, and once you make the adjustment, it works very well.
    The book is very unique and dark. I read it when it first came out on the Dell Abyss line, and I've never forgetten it.

    5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 7, 2012

    True Horror

    Intensely nightmarish, visceral, and utterly consuming in its penetrating gaze into humanity and the creative process. Written with the deft hand of poet and in a style as spell-bindingly gripping as the story itself. The multiple typographical errors from the conversion process are somewhat distracting but pale in comparison to the burning darkness found within.

    4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 27, 2012

    Yay

    We need Temple Run! Rate as good so we can get it on Nook!

    4 out of 37 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 9, 2012

    I Also Recommend:

    Dead and Beyond (Ancient Legends)

    Great. Enjoyed it just wished it was longer.

    Great. Enjoyed it just wished it was longer.

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 24, 2012

    3 out of 35 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 27, 2012

    I couldn't wait to finish this book. The only reason I stuck wi

    I couldn't wait to finish this book. The only reason I stuck with it was to see just why it won an award. Still haven't figured it out (why the award that is). It goes on and on, from the room with the mysterious hole, to the room where Nick lives. In his room a new character is introduced; there is nothing more than bad mouthing each other until they are back into the storage room with the hole again. There, some action happens, then back to his room, with a new character, more bad mouthing of each other and previous introduced characters. It's back to the room with the hole, some action....and on and on it goes into circles that become nothing more than boring. The end of each circle, never reaches a satisfying point. What is haunting, is just gross-out nonsense I could do without., Did not like this book. Do not recommend it. Two stars for a unique style of writing, but your story gave nothing but a yawn, and a desire to reach the end "pdq".

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 9, 2012

    alarming and ferociously unique

    alarming and ferociously unique

    1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 18, 2012

    Grotesque

    I borrowed this. Spooky, grotesque, disgusting, sad in the way mental illness is very sad. Yet I read every word because I had to know how it ended.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted September 14, 2012

    It started out great

    It started out great. But as the book got toward the last third or so it became a chore to finish reading. It dragged on and on. I was relieved when it finally ended.

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  • Posted August 31, 2012

    .

    .

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  • Posted August 27, 2012

    Step.away. from. the. book.

    There is a mysterious black hole in the closet of a slum apartment house that appears to want to eat people. Before this book is finished you will want to personally insert every single character in the book into said hole. No psychological thriller, this book represents the gross out genre. Body fluids are described over, and over and over again until you just tire of the whole thing. The characters are allegedly on the edge of the performance art world, giving their perverse behavior some sort of grounding in reality, I suppose. It seems to me that the monster in the hole should have had better taste. This is one of the few books that I just couldn't finish.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 24, 2012

    It was Okay..more depressing than scary

    This book was filled with sad and depressing people.
    It was hard to like any of the characters.
    You will come away thinking you are very glad you don't have people like the characters in this book in your life....

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 9, 2012

    ????

    Should i try it out

    0 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 4, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 30, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 14, 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 6, 2013

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 18, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 24, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

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