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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I went into this blind, without any idea what it was about (but Res liked it, so I'd give it a try). I should probably give it more than three stars -- it's far closer to 4, but I'm not sure of that yet. We'll see after the book's had some time to settle into my brain some. (Vague spoilers below.)
Joe Hill writes himself some good character. I loved how clearly everyone was drawn and how so much of who and what everyone was was shown in their words and actions. The skewed POV of the narrator was perfect for that and all that was really nicely done.
I loved the hook of buying a ghost and the twist he spun on it. I loved that the ghost story itself was so turned upside-down. It felt fresh, which rocks for a ghost story. *g*
I also enjoyed that much of the first third felt influenced by Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves, which is a terrifying and brilliant novel.
I loved the description of the scenery changing as they reached the Deep South, and I appreciated that the women characters were interesting, strong, and had some depth of character.
There are three gay men/boys and they have a 100% mortality rate. The two main female characters are both technically of the "hooker with a heart of gold" variety, although they're a lot deeper than that makes them sound. There's one black guy (a doctor, with one scene). There's a great supernatural hook and a scary bad guy. There are cool cars and at least one car chase -- so all the usual Hollywood tropes, good and bad, are there. I wonder when the movie's going to come out.
The only thing I hated was how the flashbacks were in italics, but the dialogue within those flashbacks was in plain roman. There was no reason to style it like that and it bugged the hell out of me -- to the point of yanking me out of the story.
My other gripe was with the ending. I bought some of his life after the story's climax, but not all of it. (I know enough about the music industry and the fame machine to make me go 'buh?') Otherwise, the story trailed off into fragments of happily-ever-after, which really (bothered me and) seemed to belong to an entirely different novel. Frustrating.
But overall it was nicely harrowing and about as scary as I can comfortably handle. :D
Joe Hill writes himself some good character. I loved how clearly everyone was drawn and how so much of who and what everyone was was shown in their words and actions. The skewed POV of the narrator was perfect for that and all that was really nicely done.
I loved the hook of buying a ghost and the twist he spun on it. I loved that the ghost story itself was so turned upside-down. It felt fresh, which rocks for a ghost story. *g*
I also enjoyed that much of the first third felt influenced by Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves, which is a terrifying and brilliant novel.
I loved the description of the scenery changing as they reached the Deep South, and I appreciated that the women characters were interesting, strong, and had some depth of character.
There are three gay men/boys and they have a 100% mortality rate. The two main female characters are both technically of the "hooker with a heart of gold" variety, although they're a lot deeper than that makes them sound. There's one black guy (a doctor, with one scene). There's a great supernatural hook and a scary bad guy. There are cool cars and at least one car chase -- so all the usual Hollywood tropes, good and bad, are there. I wonder when the movie's going to come out.
The only thing I hated was how the flashbacks were in italics, but the dialogue within those flashbacks was in plain roman. There was no reason to style it like that and it bugged the hell out of me -- to the point of yanking me out of the story.
My other gripe was with the ending. I bought some of his life after the story's climax, but not all of it. (I know enough about the music industry and the fame machine to make me go 'buh?') Otherwise, the story trailed off into fragments of happily-ever-after, which really (bothered me and) seemed to belong to an entirely different novel. Frustrating.
But overall it was nicely harrowing and about as scary as I can comfortably handle. :D
DNF@p139 (36%)
First, didn't realize this was written by Stephen King's son, wouldn't have bought the book in 2011 if I had known. Second, this book is incredibly dated with its references to MySpace and My Chemical Romance, whom the author must have no clue about, based on an inaccurate description that could've been alleviated with a simple AskJeeves search.
This was about a gross post-fame aging Rockstar and his current live-in groupie whom he addresses by the state she's from, a pattern he maintains so he can fulfill the perverse Rockstar facade. Think sellout era Corey Taylor mixed with Ozzie and there ya go.
I wasn't having a decent time with it, but I got to the part where the groupie is masturbating to a racist-described snuff film while holding a gun to her head and had to call it quits shortly after.
The rotten apple doesn't fall far from the perverted tree.
First, didn't realize this was written by Stephen King's son, wouldn't have bought the book in 2011 if I had known. Second, this book is incredibly dated with its references to MySpace and My Chemical Romance, whom the author must have no clue about, based on an inaccurate description that could've been alleviated with a simple AskJeeves search.
This was about a gross post-fame aging Rockstar and his current live-in groupie whom he addresses by the state she's from, a pattern he maintains so he can fulfill the perverse Rockstar facade. Think sellout era Corey Taylor mixed with Ozzie and there ya go.
I wasn't having a decent time with it, but I got to the part where the groupie is masturbating to a racist-described snuff film while holding a gun to her head and had to call it quits shortly after.
The rotten apple doesn't fall far from the perverted tree.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence
Full disclosure I found this novel through Save The Cat Writes A Novel and knew all the key elements going in. I can't speak for the suspense of the novel because of that but I did enjoy how Hill executed the twists. He built up to it in a way that you reached the conclusions naturally alongside Judas Coyne (took me a while but I got the pun and that is an awesome rockstar name). Judas was a fairly interesting character if a tad cliche. His girlfriends on the other hand were 100% cliche the whole way through, they fit with the story and were a cute compliment to Judas but they weren't particularly special. In the end they were both just props to "save Judas'' and that was nothing less than insipid.
One last critique pertaining to the audiobook only; was the random rock music between chapters absolutely necessary.
With all that being said I thoroughly enjoyed the novel from start to finish. The characters were at least unique enough from each other that their interactions were entertaining. I wouldn't go into Heart-Shaped Box expecting horror because it's more a paranormal thriller with gruesome aspects but I suppose that's too long for a genre. If you're looking for something creepy to cozy up to this may be your book. Plus dogs can't go wrong with dogs.
One last critique pertaining to the audiobook only; was the random rock music between chapters absolutely necessary.
With all that being said I thoroughly enjoyed the novel from start to finish. The characters were at least unique enough from each other that their interactions were entertaining. I wouldn't go into Heart-Shaped Box expecting horror because it's more a paranormal thriller with gruesome aspects but I suppose that's too long for a genre. If you're looking for something creepy to cozy up to this may be your book. Plus dogs can't go wrong with dogs.
2.5 stars rounded up
2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book originally published under a pen name
This book was meh…, but I was using it for too many challenges so I could not DNF it.
2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book originally published under a pen name
This book was meh…, but I was using it for too many challenges so I could not DNF it.
I didn't like this one nearly as much as I liked Horns. It's a good first novel, but maaaaan is it a first novel. It's all over the place. The ending, too, is pretty weird - what on earth did they need to go to the father's place for? And did the main character really need to resolve things with his father the way he did? But it's a page-turner, no doubt.
3.75. Pretty good. I like how well things were wrapped up.
Decent enough ghost story. The main character reminded me a lot of Danzig. I was moderately entertained while reading it, but I wasn't wowed by it. It was an OK novel, but nothing special in my opinion. I've read worse and I've read better.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-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