Audiobook Review: Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

Mogsy’s Rating: 1 of 5 stars

Genre: Horror

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing (January 7, 2025)

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Narrators: Kelli Tager, Joe Hempel, Cary Hite, Neil Hellegers, Marni Penning, P. J. Ochlan, Noah Levine, Soneela Nankani, Charlotte Moore-Lambert, Megan Tusing

Social horror. Psychological horror. Body horror. Zombie plague horror. Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman, a novel which follows the Fairchild family as they navigate the apocalypse triggered by an epidemic of a mind virus that spreads through media consumption, can probably be slotted into any of these categories. As the story opens, we meet Noah, a self-proclaimed “libtard” who grows increasingly alarmed as his “formerly polite Southern” parents fall under the influence of a “Great Reawakening” conspiracy propagated by a far-right commentator on the cable news network, Fax News (seriously…as in “Just the Fax!”) After not being able to reach them for a while, a concerned Noah makes the drive from Brooklyn to his childhood home in Richmond, Virginia to check up on his mom and dad, only to find the place in shambles. His parents are in even worse shape—dehydrated, malnourished, and unkempt—yet they remain strangely indifferent to their condition. That’s because their minds are fully consumed by the television, on which a voice loudly and gleefully declares that the long-awaited Great Reawakening is finally at hand.

When Noah tries to snap his parents out of it, he is met with vicious and indecent attacks, forcing him to do the unthinkable. With no other help coming, he comes to the sickening realization that this was not an isolated incident. All over the country, roughly half the population has been transformed into aggressive, salacious, zombie-like beings, forming huge mobs to engage in reckless self-harm while inflicting violence on others without restraint. Some of Noah’s other family members are among those who have succumbed to the far-right programming, including his brother Ash and his social media addicted sister-in-law Devon. Determined to reunite with his wife and child, Noah embarks on a treacherous journey back to Brooklyn while desperately trying to make sense of it all.

So, if you’ve already seen my rating, then you might have guessed: I have regrets. Let’s just start with how nothing good ever comes from talking about politics. For that reason alone (though there were plenty of others…oh so many), I probably should have DNF’ed Wake Up and Open Your Eyes because there’s enough political bullshit in real life—I certainly don’t need more of it in my leisure reading. Still, I decided to give the book a fair shake and pressed forward until 20%, at which point the narrative shifted toward the apocalyptic elements. For a moment, I thought the story might redeem itself, but this hope fizzled again by the time I was about three quarters of the way through, when things took another nosedive. Of course, by then I was too far in to abandon ship and resolved to finish the book, if for no other reason than it means I get to write this review out of sheer spite.

First, let’s talk about the themes. The most obvious one here is the political messaging, which by itself is not a dealbreaker for me usually. Whether it’s heavy-handed satire or thinly veiled preachiness, if it’s done well and serves its purpose, I can enjoy it. That said, this wasn’t the case here. This book makes you wonder whether the author has ever actually stepped outside his bubble to interact with real Americans from both sides of the aisle. I’ve always considered myself an independent, and even then, I thought that the stereotypes in this story—regardless of their political slant, even as satire—came across as downright ignorant and cartoonish. LAZY! I’m also wondering now if he wishes the book had come out before the last election, as the final polls reveal just how off base and out of touch some of the stereotypes are in this story, especially the assumptions regarding demographics. From the heavy-handedness to the complete lack of self-awareness, all of it was just so cringey.

But the main issue I had with this book was the over-the-top horror, particularly its reliance on unsettling imagery that seemed to exist solely for the sake of being offensive and shocking rather than having any real meaning or reason to be there. It’s like the author went down a checklist of the most inappropriate topics imaginable and decided to throw it all against a wall and see what sticks. Allusions to incest? Check. Brutalizing cute little animals like the family dog and a fluffy bunny? Check. Violence against children and disturbing school shooting references? Also check. Rather than horrifying, it just felt exploitative and tasteless. Again, LAZY!

And as if that wasn’t enough, the book’s structure was an absolute mess. A part of me can look beyond this disaster and appreciate the creative desire to make bold, stylistic choices, but another part of me can’t help but assume that, at this point, you’re just trolling your readers and trying to annoy them on purpose. The story starts off being told in third person, then switches to second person (you can’t make this up!), then randomly inserts transcripts from cam footage and social media videos because, why not? For shits and giggles, we can also just repeat the same words over and over for pages at a time! Let’s throw in some footnotes too while we’re at it, that’s totally edgy and different, right? Heck, if you told me this novel was meant to be experimental art, I’d believe it—but I’d also tell you straight up that it feels less like art and more like pretentious chaos.

In conclusion, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes was a disappointment on multiple levels and should have been a DNF had I followed my initial gut instinct. If there’s any silver lining at all, it’s the catharsis and satisfaction of venting all my frustrations into this review. Safe to say, this one wasn’t for me. Since it’s my first book by Clay McLeod Chapman, I have no idea if maybe this was just a fluke when it comes to its particular themes and writing style. While I wouldn’t rule it out completely, I’d still need to think long and hard and probably do some research before considering another book by the author.