Sample

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Book of Accidents  By  cover art

The Book of Accidents

By: Chuck Wendig
Narrated by: Xe Sands, George Newbern
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers

LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • “The dread, the scope, the pacing, the turns—I haven’t felt all this so intensely since The Shining.”—Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Public Library, Library Journal

Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.

©2021 Chuck Wendig (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[The Book of Accidents] is Chuck Wendig’s magnum opus, blazing with imagination, humanity, and a tiny glimmer of hope for a world drowning in cruelty. It’s horror for right now, and it’s Wendig’s best so far.” (Christopher Golden, New York Times best-selling author of Road of Bones)

“Only Chuck Wendig can blend horror, fantasy, and science fiction into a propulsive thriller that is as funny as it is frightening, clever as it is uncanny, tender as it is terrifying. A magical ride.” (Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow and The Deep)

“Chuck Wendig’s The Book of Accidents transported me to the golden age of sprawling horror novels that I loved so much as a kid. Sweeping yet intimate, multilayered and bighearted, this is a novel to sink deeply into.” (Dan Chaon, New York Times best-selling author of Ill Will)

Featured Article: Seek Out the Strange and Supernatural with the 45 Best Paranormal Audiobooks


The folklore of just about every human culture is rife with stories that feature talking animals, shape-shifters, demons, witches, spirits, and more. Whether you arrive seeking horror, thrills, romance, or fantasy, there’s a title here for you. And with a slate of narrators that includes famous actors and award-winning voice artists, it’s impossible to go wrong with any of these picks.

What listeners say about The Book of Accidents

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    592
  • 4 Stars
    309
  • 3 Stars
    131
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    54
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    676
  • 4 Stars
    200
  • 3 Stars
    78
  • 2 Stars
    31
  • 1 Stars
    24
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    529
  • 4 Stars
    258
  • 3 Stars
    119
  • 2 Stars
    55
  • 1 Stars
    50

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Are these fake bad reviews?

You don’t often see so many 1 star reviews clogging things up, and I’ve only listened to the first few chapters and I’m hooked. Glad I looked at reviews elsewhere instead of just these!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Different

Different.... in a good way. This book was not what I was expecting. A part horror / part sci-fi tangled web that sparks your curiosity early on and keeps you fascinated as it unfolds.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing character development and intriguing plot

I loved the characters in this book. The narration was also incredible. This was a unique read with an interesting storyline. I loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Crazy Gloom & Doom

With some sunshine thrown casually in! I haven’t read a book like this since early Stephen King. It was just wickedly delicious and oh so good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Cycle of abuse meets a demon

I saw a video for this book on TikTok, saying how much they liked it. I agree. It was very good. But I think for a person to understand it, you have to have known real pain (which almost everyone does). The author hits the nail on the head as he describes the cycle of abuse in a family dynamic. The other part of the book is what makes it a good read. The unknown of what our lives could be in other universes. I loved it. Highly recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

!!!!

A wonderful listen, I enjoyed the book from start to finish. Well written!! Loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Some interesting characters, but.....

Overall 2.5. I feel like this book was way too long with a ton of rambling that did not add anything to the story. I really liked Ollie, Nate, and Caleb, but I felt like the plot was so convoluted that it just ended up making NO SENSE. I found myself very bored at times and very frustrated at other times. I was hoping it would come together, but for me, it never did.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

if you love Stephen King you'll love this author

this author has gained a new fan in me. the book grabbed me from the first chapter. great listen. not a huge fan of the female narrator but the male narator was great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining

Fun book. We follow along the family of 3 on a peculiar adventure. Not all the storylines were fully explained or vetted. But that is what makes this a unique offering. It keeps you guessing while reminding you that it's us that can be our worst enemy, not the people or things we dilute ourself with.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wendig at his best

Felt like Steven King in his heyday - great big book, neatly packaged, and wisely presented. It calls to mind a lot of other greats, and echoes with its own ring. Great solid narration, too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful