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The Cipher [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathe Koja
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Down-and-out Nicholas and his friend Nakota one day discover a black hole in the floor of an abandoned storage room in his apartment building, which they quickly christen the "Funhole." The two set out to see what happens when they drop various items into the hole, whetting its appetite with insects, a mouse and a human hand, which all come back violently rearranged. Next, they lower a camcorder into the hole to record the action within. The videotape they retrieve is spellbinding, but there's a catch: what Nicholas sees is different from everyone else's vision. To Nakota the hole means change, because whatever is dropped into the Funhole emerges transformed-- if it ever emerges. Mesmerized by the Funhole, she claims that Nicholas is the only one who can make things happen around it. For Nicholas himself, the hole is a phenomenon that forces him to face his miserable, aimless life. Koja has created credible characters who are desperate for both entertainment and salvation. Inaugurating Dell's new Abyss Books series, this powerful first novel is as thought-provoking as it is horrifying.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 356 pages
  • Publisher: Dell; First Edition edition (January 5, 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0440207827
  • ISBN-13: 978-0440207825
  • Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars H.P. Lovecraft meets the Sex Pistols September 21, 1998
Format:Mass Market Paperback
An introspective, overwhelming, claustrophobically creepy horror novel in which you're not entirely sure anything has "really happened". A combination of the intricate "other world" detail of the best of 1920's sci-fi horror fiction, with the dark, compulsive nihilism of the best of punk. Along with a really realistic portray of personal relationships. Does all that sound overly pretentious? Well, it is, but the book ISN'T. I picked the book up one morning on the way to work, and didn't do a damn thing until I finished it after lunch.
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25 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The "Underground" of Horror April 6, 1999
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Kathe Koja is almost a phenomenon. Her dazzling prose is so good that she doesn't even need a plot. She can write a 400 page book about a guy walking around his house and it would be good enought for me. This story seemed absurd to me (which I liked). If you boil down to it, it is about some people that are obsessed with sticking things into a hole. But it wasn't an absurd novel. It was deeply psychological and supernatural. The plot is very simple. There aren't too many characters or setting changes or days passing. It is just simple. But this makes room for the her works. excellent language, because she can concentrate on details. Even a paper clip can be criptic or erotic in a Kathe Koja novel. After I read the first paragraph of this book 6 years ago I HAD to go out and buy all of her works. SKIN is another book of hers I recommend. If you haven't read SKIN or THE CIPHER, don't read any others. Start with one of these.

Anyway, you'll hate this book if you enjoy "cheap" horror novels about monsters killing people or any of that crap. You'll also hate it if you think Stephen King and Dean R Koontz novels should be put in the "Classics" section of your bookstore. This book is for the artistic-minded, the "Underground" followers, and the punk-poets. If you are looking for psychological/supernatural horror that is truly UNIQUE, that stands out of the slop, then Kathe Koja's THE CIPHER is a book for you.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars So simple it's complicated. December 12, 2011
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Obsession: we all suffer from it, we all dabble into its temptation. But what do we do when we can't LET GO of it? We swim into its viscous waters, drown, and then rise again. Or do we?

This is the constant battle in THE CIPHER, written by the once QUEEN of Horror, the macabre, obsession and the wasted twenty somethings of the American landscape: Kathe Koja. Koja weaves a tale inspired by Alice in Wonderland and everything H.P. Lovecraft, with prose influenced by Burroughs, Poe and Burgess, which is uniquely Koja's own. I first read the book in 2008 and didn't get it. Not until I picked it up again a year later was I floored (I'd become a better reader). It's perhaps the best book to come off the Dell Abyss line (Koja's other titles were just as good, but didn't tap the same vein as this did, though Strange Angels comes closest), and it's also probably one of the most unique books written in the 90's when everything was about horror and blood and gore, Koja stood far away from that and made us realize what went on inside people's heads. Koja is a master at what she does, and even with her new book Under the Poppy, she hasn't lost her touch.

Truly, unrepentantly, brilliant!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but lots of typos January 9, 2013
By Sarah
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Definitely an enjoyable read. Not like anything I've read before. My only issue with the kindle version are the typos.. in the beginning they were few and far between, but towards the end they were frequent and annoying. Obviously whoever typed this up didn't have spell check. Nothing against the book, which I'm sure I'll read again.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Unique and fascinating December 26, 2010
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Nicholas and his lover, Nakota, discover a black-hole-like thing, which they name "The Funhole," in his apartment building's storage closet. They are so fascinated by it that they perform experiments to see what the Funhole will do. First they put a jar of insects next to it, then they dangle a mouse over it and they eventually lower a video camera down. The video makes Nakota obsessive and she almost dives into the Funhole, being saved by Nicholas who inadvertently plunges his hand into the hole.

The plot is bizarre. Basically, it's 356 pages about a hole. But even stranger is how compelling it is despite the simple plot. I didn't expect it to hold my interest, but its fast pace had me flipping the pages. It gradually builds tension, beginning with a bit of an interest in the hole, eventually turning into a full-blown obsession. Koja has a way with words, writing poetic prose that makes you think.

Nicholas is a very likable narrator and I felt afraid for him. I identified with him and his messed up relationship with Nakota. But I hated Nakota. She was selfish, rude, crazy and basically just a bitch. I couldn't understand why Nicholas wanted to be with her.

The ending was inevitable, but it didn't explain what happened to Nicholas. I can guess, but I would rather have had Koja describe it because her words are better than my imagination. And there was never an explanation for what the Funhole really was, why it was there, etc.

The Cipher is a very unique horror novel, perfect for those of you who are sick and tired of reading the same monster plots over and over.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I thought it was
I read this back in high school in paperback. I distinctly remember an eye coming out of his palm. Maybe I mixed it up with another novel I read. this was very dirty and raw. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rottenpeach
5.0 out of 5 stars Kathe, call me
i want to sex you up. thank you for writing this book which is obviously for me. it's like it spoke to my soul if i had one. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Derek Trigg
2.0 out of 5 stars The Cipher
Certainly a page turner due ti its unique story line, but outcome was predictable and oildcoulld have come sooner. Felt like a first novel, which it was.
Published 5 months ago by Eric Greenfield
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, flawed by typos (e-book only).
In general, a great book, but I was disappointed by the number of typos in the e-book. I see more typos in e-books than printed books and understand it is a result of the process,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by ray@camdenfamily.com
3.0 out of 5 stars Not completely disappointed
For a book that made several top twenty lists of the scariest book ever it fell a bit short. Still, it presented an interesting scenario and overall idea. Read more
Published 7 months ago by argusjw
2.0 out of 5 stars The Cypher
I think this book had potential to be scary..but?
Like other readers I wished everyone had gone down the FunHole (except Vanese -she was the only posititve character in this... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Karen Ashcraft
5.0 out of 5 stars Enigmatic and terrifying.
What is the funhole? A portal into another world, a fold in reality, or as Nicholas always puts it, a process? Read more
Published 10 months ago by C. HAYES-KOSSMANN
2.0 out of 5 stars This book should have stayed in the hole
I am not sorry I read this book - it has won awards and everyone here is pretty thrilled with it, but I didn't like it very much. Read more
Published 18 months ago by A. Joshi
4.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively simple, surprisingly intense--a dark, thought-provoking,...
When Nicholas and Nakota discover an inexplicable, endless hole which they christen the Funhole, they're both drawn to it. Read more
Published on August 31, 2010 by Juushika
5.0 out of 5 stars Strange and intense
A young man is a poet living in squalor. He's in love with a woman who doesn't love him, or anything. They discover a hole in the floor which can do horrible things. Read more
Published on May 23, 2010 by elektrophyte
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