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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This is the second Joe Hill book I have read (The first being “Horns”) + I must say, I really like how this guy tells a story.
“Heart-shaped Box” revolves around aging rock star, Judas Coyne. Now retired, Judas has an affinity for collecting weird things: occult writings, human remains, snuff films. He also has an affinity for women, whom he doesn’t even call by their birth names but by the name of the state from which they are from (Georgia, Florida, Tennessee). So, it’s no surprise to us that when the opportunity arises to buy a dead man’s suit (and subsequently his ghost), Judas jumps at this chance, convinced it would make a great story + be good for his image. Bad idea.
The suit arrives in a heart-shaped box + odd occurrences begin to happen almost immediately, alerting Judas that the ghost is not only real but out to kill him + anyone that tries to help him.
The way Joe Hill builds characters, environments, + plots with his writing is amazing. The book really was good from start to finish. However, a reoccurring personal problem I keep running into with Joe Hill is how he ends his novels. I HATED the ending to “Horns” + I disliked this one as well. Hopefully, one of his stories has an ending I like, lol.
“Heart-shaped Box” revolves around aging rock star, Judas Coyne. Now retired, Judas has an affinity for collecting weird things: occult writings, human remains, snuff films. He also has an affinity for women, whom he doesn’t even call by their birth names but by the name of the state from which they are from (Georgia, Florida, Tennessee). So, it’s no surprise to us that when the opportunity arises to buy a dead man’s suit (and subsequently his ghost), Judas jumps at this chance, convinced it would make a great story + be good for his image. Bad idea.
The suit arrives in a heart-shaped box + odd occurrences begin to happen almost immediately, alerting Judas that the ghost is not only real but out to kill him + anyone that tries to help him.
The way Joe Hill builds characters, environments, + plots with his writing is amazing. The book really was good from start to finish. However, a reoccurring personal problem I keep running into with Joe Hill is how he ends his novels. I HATED the ending to “Horns” + I disliked this one as well. Hopefully, one of his stories has an ending I like, lol.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was like a Stephen King book, only a lot less annoying and with none of the stupid made up words King likes to sprinkle his books with. THe parts that reminded me most of King were the repeated phrases (the dead pull the living down) and the fact that the main character is an aged rocker. However, it was enjoyable because Hill kept a sense of humor in the book. "Craddock's shadow fell over him. Ghosts could cast shadows? Jude wondered at it. He was tired." It sounds like something the author typed in and then decided to keep later.
I just read that Hill is Stephen King's son. Things make much more sense to me now.
I just read that Hill is Stephen King's son. Things make much more sense to me now.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Not for me. I didn't find it scary and Jude is just obnoxious.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Took me a long time to finish this one haha. But in the end I ended up really enjoying it.
Judith Coin is a rockstar and he is now being haunted by a sick fuck who knows how to control people with his voice. So Judith and Mary Beth, his girlfriend, go on the run from the ghost. In this novel they basically are traveling across country to try and stop a ghost from killing them. With their two big doggies as their warriors. It sounds weird right? It is. But it's also highly entertaining and somehow gets emotional by the end.
I really enjoyed the twist and turns. I guessed some of them but most were presented well. I also thought the villains were truly disgusting and sick, and this is a book filled with them. The best part is they don't really present our "heroes" in a positive light but they are far better than the villains. And isn't that life? There's bad, but there's always someone worse.
The sexual violence that occurs is mostly off screen but it's none the less hard to hear. Especially when it involves kids. So if you don't want to hear that I'd suggest maybe not reading this. But if you can stomach it, the tale is pretty solid, there's some spooky parts, and a emotional payoff that works well.
A 4 out of 5.
Judith Coin is a rockstar and he is now being haunted by a sick fuck who knows how to control people with his voice. So Judith and Mary Beth, his girlfriend, go on the run from the ghost. In this novel they basically are traveling across country to try and stop a ghost from killing them. With their two big doggies as their warriors. It sounds weird right? It is. But it's also highly entertaining and somehow gets emotional by the end.
I really enjoyed the twist and turns. I guessed some of them but most were presented well. I also thought the villains were truly disgusting and sick, and this is a book filled with them. The best part is they don't really present our "heroes" in a positive light but they are far better than the villains. And isn't that life? There's bad, but there's always someone worse.
The sexual violence that occurs is mostly off screen but it's none the less hard to hear. Especially when it involves kids. So if you don't want to hear that I'd suggest maybe not reading this. But if you can stomach it, the tale is pretty solid, there's some spooky parts, and a emotional payoff that works well.
A 4 out of 5.
World-weary rocker Jude Coyne grew up poor on a farm. His biggest goal in life was to put as much distance between him, his father and his life as Justin Cowzynski. Now that he has reinvented himself and achieved his goals, ennui has set in and he finds himself buying and collecting macabre items off the internet.
One such item comes to him in the form of an old man’s suit encased in a heart-shaped box. Almost from the minute Jude receives it, strange things start to happen, seemingly innocuous at first, but slowly escalating and giving new meaning to the haunted and the occult.
When Jude discovers who was behind the sale of the suit and why they took special pains to sell it to HIM, it’s too late to prevent the evil that has come to roost. Unfortunately, there are no backsies and Jude has to make some hard choices to survive because desperate times call for desperate measures.
Jude gives the impression he cares for no one but himself. His wife left him after one of his previous purchases that went too far over the line of decency. He beds much younger women now and refers to them only by the states from where they come instead of their real names. His devil-may-care attitude initially makes him a difficult character to like except that we do get glimpses of his humanity behind the callous façade. Whatever our preconceived notions of Jude the womanizer, however, he wasn’t half as bad as some characters in the book who were just downright evil.
This was a well-written, layered story about guilt, misplaced loyalty, regrets, forgiveness and redemption. It’s about how we handle the consequences of our actions. There was dark gruesome humor and unexpected twists and turns to change our perceptions about who were the wronged parties. The descriptive body horror and sinister familial revelations sent chills down my spine. Not nighttime reading for me, especially not before bed. Those couple of scenes with the dogs, Angus and Bon? Creepy with a Capital C. IYKYK
This was a great read with an unexpectedly bittersweet and hopeful ending that I’d highly recommend to fans of horror and the occult.
One such item comes to him in the form of an old man’s suit encased in a heart-shaped box. Almost from the minute Jude receives it, strange things start to happen, seemingly innocuous at first, but slowly escalating and giving new meaning to the haunted and the occult.
When Jude discovers who was behind the sale of the suit and why they took special pains to sell it to HIM, it’s too late to prevent the evil that has come to roost. Unfortunately, there are no backsies and Jude has to make some hard choices to survive because desperate times call for desperate measures.
Jude gives the impression he cares for no one but himself. His wife left him after one of his previous purchases that went too far over the line of decency. He beds much younger women now and refers to them only by the states from where they come instead of their real names. His devil-may-care attitude initially makes him a difficult character to like except that we do get glimpses of his humanity behind the callous façade. Whatever our preconceived notions of Jude the womanizer, however, he wasn’t half as bad as some characters in the book who were just downright evil.
This was a well-written, layered story about guilt, misplaced loyalty, regrets, forgiveness and redemption. It’s about how we handle the consequences of our actions. There was dark gruesome humor and unexpected twists and turns to change our perceptions about who were the wronged parties. The descriptive body horror and sinister familial revelations sent chills down my spine. Not nighttime reading for me, especially not before bed. Those couple of scenes with the dogs, Angus and Bon? Creepy with a Capital C. IYKYK
This was a great read with an unexpectedly bittersweet and hopeful ending that I’d highly recommend to fans of horror and the occult.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes