Scan barcode
romehsaur's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Slavery, Torture, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Bullying, and Kidnapping
davidrb's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
You can tell this was one of his earlier works, but even then, he's still such a talented horror writer. His character writing suffers a little here, and that's my main complaint. Amy is still fantastic, though! Great, creative book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Torture
writtenontheflyleaves's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix 🛋️
🌟🌟🌟🌟
🛋️ The plot: Amy hates her job at Orsk, an Ikea rip-off whose disorientating layout lulls shoppers into handing over handfuls of cash for cheap furniture. She hates it even more when strange things start happening at the store and her manager asks her and a few others to stay inside overnight to catch the culprit. Little do they suspect that there is a more sinister - and less human - reason for the disturbance...
After also loving My Best Friend's Exorcism, this book has really sealed Grady Hendrix as an auto-buy author for me. This was such a quick and compulsive read and much less gimmicky than I expected - especially as the book itself is designed to look like an Ikea catalogue. Even though the final third was a bit of a letdown (a lot of tension is built up that then kind of peters out anticlimactically) and it could have done with being a bit longer, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I love the horror genre because it's a study in what we fear, and what we fear greatly depends on what we believe. Hendrix is fascinated by where we find meaning in our lives outside of the structure of religion and he uses horror to explore the double edge of that belief, the fact that it can put us in danger as well as rescue us from it. In MBFE, he looked at friendship and the emotional danger that trust can put us in - and how necessary that is. In Horrorstör, he looks at work: why we do it, and whether cynical corporate slogans about "home" and "responsibility" can have sincere meaning in the lives of workers. Both of these books offer genuinely interesting questions about the nature of modern life - as well as some honestly sickening horror scenes 💀
🛋️ Read it if you like horror comedy films, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, or any novel that looks at modern work through a skewed lens.
🚫 Avoid it if you hate horror (obviously), or if you're feeling depressed about your job as it probably won't help. There's also more gore in this than in MBFE so tread lightly if you have a weak stomach!
🌟🌟🌟🌟
🛋️ The plot: Amy hates her job at Orsk, an Ikea rip-off whose disorientating layout lulls shoppers into handing over handfuls of cash for cheap furniture. She hates it even more when strange things start happening at the store and her manager asks her and a few others to stay inside overnight to catch the culprit. Little do they suspect that there is a more sinister - and less human - reason for the disturbance...
After also loving My Best Friend's Exorcism, this book has really sealed Grady Hendrix as an auto-buy author for me. This was such a quick and compulsive read and much less gimmicky than I expected - especially as the book itself is designed to look like an Ikea catalogue. Even though the final third was a bit of a letdown (a lot of tension is built up that then kind of peters out anticlimactically) and it could have done with being a bit longer, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I love the horror genre because it's a study in what we fear, and what we fear greatly depends on what we believe. Hendrix is fascinated by where we find meaning in our lives outside of the structure of religion and he uses horror to explore the double edge of that belief, the fact that it can put us in danger as well as rescue us from it. In MBFE, he looked at friendship and the emotional danger that trust can put us in - and how necessary that is. In Horrorstör, he looks at work: why we do it, and whether cynical corporate slogans about "home" and "responsibility" can have sincere meaning in the lives of workers. Both of these books offer genuinely interesting questions about the nature of modern life - as well as some honestly sickening horror scenes 💀
🛋️ Read it if you like horror comedy films, Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, or any novel that looks at modern work through a skewed lens.
🚫 Avoid it if you hate horror (obviously), or if you're feeling depressed about your job as it probably won't help. There's also more gore in this than in MBFE so tread lightly if you have a weak stomach!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
seawarrior's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Funny, thrilling and disturbing, Horrorstör presents a haunting with a Ikea-esque gimmick. Graphics of furniture options introduce each chapter with witty captions alongside warnings of what's to come as they grow increasingly demented. The amount of detail put into these false catalog pages and other graphic additions definitely added to the humor, horror, and immersion of the story. I felt that the plot was engaging and genuinely terrifying, but the characters felt somewhat flat, though that seems fairly standard for the horror genre. They're mainly there to experience the meat of the story by enduring hours of terror in their labyrinthian place of employment. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to read a scary story that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
badbitchwithabook's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was the most unique experience for a book I’ve ever had. I loved it. I was thoroughly creeped out and there were sections of the story I had a really hard time reading as I was immersed deeply into the characters fear and anxiety. Although I found pretty much every character really annoying and immature I still was rooting for their survival and their success. Overall I think 4 stars is a perfect rating considering all aspects of the book and the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
a_h_severa's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The author writes in a way that makes it feel like a movie. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading. The pacing was overall pretty good. It was slow for the first chapter or so and then there was a quickly building tension that remained for most of the book. The main character didn’t feel super likable and the story unfortunately lacked diversity but overall it was a thrilling journey with a lot of twists and turns. I do have mixed feelings about the ending. I enjoyed it because it truly showed the character development for the main character but it felt like it was setting up for a sequel that felt unnecessary and undeserved. There’s a time gap of a year if I remember correctly so whatever rescue plan the main character had felt too little too late. Still, I’m glad she completed her character arc because she felt a little flat for the majority of the book. I didn’t really like her until towards the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Alcoholism, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
lorie336's review
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Was it scary, not really, but it was fun. Had clichés that worked for this book and characters that were relatable as well as identifiable, whereas I work or have worked with people like this. I love that it was set in Ohio in an area that I know. I used to work in Brecksville and our company at one point worked temporarily over on Rockside Road in Independence, so I probably could find this location. Also, I wouldn't be surprised by a haunted Orsk because Ohio is very haunted and with that tidbit is what you need to know about this book. We have Basil, loyal to Orsk and what we call an upper, Ruth Anne, a lifer to the retail world yet the sweetest person around, Amy, who is tired of the job yet trying to work her way up and is sassy as well as drowning in debt. We have Matt and Trinity who are trying to have their own ghost hunting show and picked the wrong night to do it. As the night progresses because of recent floor models being vandalized the answers to what's going on is disturbing. Enjoy!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Death and Excrement
miserablesplendor's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Slavery, and Torture
More...