Reviews with content warning for Gore - We Sold Our Souls

First of all, I feel it’s important to note that since reading A Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires in January, I’ve read pretty much all of Grady Hendrix’s bibliography (with How to Sell a Haunted House, his newest release, being the exception). Suffice it to say, Grady Hendrix could release his tax release and I would read it.

I left We Sold Our Souls until second to last because I knew from the synopsis it wasn’t going to be my favorite. Growing up Christian, there was a point that I bought into all that satanic panic and the scary blurred lines between the devil and heavy metal.

What I was not expecting was for Hendrix to put write my childhood fears so clearly into this novel. Unlike the more classic horror elements of his other works (slaying vampires, performing exorcisms, fleeing a slasher, surviving a haunted house) this novel focuses on conspiracy theories and real life horror.

For me, the best of this book was the relatable 40 something year old female protagonist who was once a rock star going on an emotional journey and falling in love with music again. A girl with a guitar has nothing to apologize for.

This book did take a while for me to get into - I think it was because while the first few chapters had lots of action and interesting twists, there were moments on the main characters journey where the tension dipped and took me out of it.

The ending (like almost all of the Hendrix’s novels) did leave me feeling unsatisfied. I tend to like a tidy ending and Hendrix likes to leave you thinking about the implications of an open end.

Definitely read the trigger warning son this one.

Content Warnings

allynat's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

horrorhayleigh's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

hollistera's review

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

ohsunnyaa's review

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

cinderrunner's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It is honestly impressive how metal, in essence not even just subject matter, this book is. I will admit, i wasn't overly impressed when i first started. I felt like it was taking too long to actually get anywhere. The plot doesnt really get rolling or exciting til maybe halfway through. I felt myself wishing Hendrix spent more time on them as a band and developed their connection a little better so their relationships had more omph. But the longer I read, the more the plot revealed, the more into it I got. Specifically around page 182 (in the edition I own) Kris starts playing guitar with a girl on the street and she talks about why she plays and the things that drive her. I read that passage and wanted to start snapping like i was at a poetry reading. If you are an artist of any kind, someone who really gets the drive to create for the sake of art not fame or money, the themes in this book are gonna hit home. Definitely recommend for you. Especially if youre an artist who is in alt subculture. I've only read 3 Hendrix books so far and can only recall the plot of this one and Final Girl Support Group enough to comment on them. But something I don't think people give Hendrix enough credit for his the social commentary and psychology behind some of these books. I get its easy to look past it with the camp factors and horror elements. Yet, its a really powerful part of the books when you notice it and it keeps making me rate them higher than i expect to. We Sold Our Souls would have been a 3 star read until the themes around society, its ambivalence to suffering, our obsession with shallow crap that doesnt matter, our selfishness, our obsession with treating the famous like gods, etc started becoming clearer to me. I love the full circle moment of ending on Melanie the way the book opens on Kris. Really wraps up the overall message of the book incredibly well. CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS ONE PLEASE! ESPECIALLY IF SA IS A TRIGGER FOR YOU.

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