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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
First book I have read by Joe Hill (aka Joseph Hillston King, son of Stephen)and it will likely be my last. Might make an awesome SCARY movie though.
Disturbingly clever. Every once in awhile your read a book that is just so clever in the way the story unfolds that you have to rave about it even if it was quite disturbing. You can read the summary about the story from Audible. I will just say, I felt like the author did a damn good job of developing the characters, and you will find yourself rooting for the main character in spite of how unlikable he is in the beginning, believe me. The story does not take long to have you completely hooked and listening way past bedtime. I was just a bit disappointed at some of the "why" that gets explained at the end - I didn't feel the story needed it and it was almost creepier not to know. But, that being said, I really enjoyed this book!
It's not often I don't finish a book, but Heart-Shaped Box was so mind numbingly dull that I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading it.
I only got half way through the book before it seemed like the plot had strayed so far off the path of the original description that it felt like I was reading a different book. The characters seemed to behave rather irrationally at times too. And scary? No. I have read scarier children's books.
The only thing about this book that pleased me was that I did not spend money on it! Thank goodness for public libraries.
I only got half way through the book before it seemed like the plot had strayed so far off the path of the original description that it felt like I was reading a different book. The characters seemed to behave rather irrationally at times too. And scary? No. I have read scarier children's books.
The only thing about this book that pleased me was that I did not spend money on it! Thank goodness for public libraries.
First time I have read anything by Joe Hill. Fantastic read. A very engaging and fast paced novel. I see a lot of the talent he received from his father, but he definitely has his own voice. Can’t wait to read something else from him!
Not finished yet. I’m half way through and here are some thoughts.
The obsession that Jude has with the goth culture circling around women is so weird and also fucked up. I’m on chapter 23, and he has made a comment about his attraction/past with/what he thinks is the norm with ‘goth girls’. I think that maybe Joe Hill kind of wants that part to be a self insert.
Okay update:
I’ve finished the book and I have to say I understand why his books, and his father’s book’s are made into movies. I would give this movie five stars. But as a book I couldn’t do it. It almost took,r forever. And I didn’t have any desire to keep reading except to finish this book.
The obsession that Jude has with the goth culture circling around women is so weird and also fucked up. I’m on chapter 23, and he has made a comment about his attraction/past with/what he thinks is the norm with ‘goth girls’. I think that maybe Joe Hill kind of wants that part to be a self insert.
Okay update:
I’ve finished the book and I have to say I understand why his books, and his father’s book’s are made into movies. I would give this movie five stars. But as a book I couldn’t do it. It almost took,r forever. And I didn’t have any desire to keep reading except to finish this book.
I wouldn't say there's anything particularly compelling or original about this book. Hill uses cookie-cutter characters and pretty much generally goes for 'classic' emotional investment situations (in Horns it was rape/murder, in this it's pedophilia/child abuse). Jude is basically a verbally and emotionally abusive asshole, but hey, he's the 'anti hero'.
That said I don't read Joe Hill for anything thought-provoking or original. You pretty much know what you're getting. As far as authors who write the same tired old stories go, Hill actually isn't bad. He's entertaining, and honestly he goes for what sells and seems to do it well. Not my favourite but it was an easy read and mindless entertainment.
That said I don't read Joe Hill for anything thought-provoking or original. You pretty much know what you're getting. As far as authors who write the same tired old stories go, Hill actually isn't bad. He's entertaining, and honestly he goes for what sells and seems to do it well. Not my favourite but it was an easy read and mindless entertainment.
I added this book to my tbr pile for several reasons: Joe Hill’s “Heart Shaped Box” is a award winning horror book (Bram Stoker and Locus)and Joe Hill himself is not only the author of “Locke and Key” a award winning comic book that I love but also the son of the master of horror - Stephen King. The fact that Hill seemed reluctant to advertise this fact only made me like him more.
The book’s main character is Judas Coyne an almost retired fifty-four year old rock star with a thing for young Goth girls and an ego the size of a small country. Coyne has a penchant for the macabre, twisted and occult, as his rock star persona demands and throughout the years he has collected assorted items – a real snuff movie, several rare books on the occult, sketches from serial killers, a trepanned skull, etc – and the last item to catch his attention is a ghost that is being sold over the internet. Believing this to be good for publicity, he buys this ghost, or better he buys the dead man’s suit, guaranteed by the seller that will bring along the spirit. As it turns out this is the spirit of a evil, vengeance obsessed man, who is also the stepfather of one of his ex-Goth girlfriends that committed suicide after being dumped by Coyne. As the story progresses we learn that nothing is as straightforward or as simple as it seems and the result is a twisting and twisted story with lots of classic horror elements and obvious homages to King’s works. We get assassin ghost cars, tons upon tons of rock / metal culture references, ghosts that are mediums that are hypnotists that are almost super powered after death,german shepperds that double as familiar spirits, induced insanity as a method of haunting and pure stereotypical evil.
On the overall Hill manages to keep the suspension of disbelief well enough (and believe me, there is some weird crazy crap going on in this book), but in some aspects I think he failed, relying on insanity and evilness as a means to justify the chase the dead man and his family do on Coyne. To me, implying a character is being driven to death and insanity merely because the villain is an insane control-freak with a love for psychological torture and sexual abuse is copping out. The truth is Coyne never was a real threat to the villain and as such there seems to be no real reason to go after him, except for the delusions of a dying mad man.
On the other hand, I didn’t like the way Hill stereotyped the Goth culture. Being somewhat attached to that culture and being a female I was confused and appalled, since apparently not only should I have been trough some horrible trauma during my childhood (to explain the way I dress and act) but I should also be either a stripper, drug-addicted groupie or a crackpot fortune teller. Or all three. It made the novel seem a bit short sighted and prejudiced and that’s why I can’t give it a 4 star review.
However, if you are a horror fan I would still advise you to read this book. For me it was like seeing a blockbuster: It was easy to see and fun, but not memorable. Perfect for distracting your mind before heading to more heavy reading.
The book’s main character is Judas Coyne an almost retired fifty-four year old rock star with a thing for young Goth girls and an ego the size of a small country. Coyne has a penchant for the macabre, twisted and occult, as his rock star persona demands and throughout the years he has collected assorted items – a real snuff movie, several rare books on the occult, sketches from serial killers, a trepanned skull, etc – and the last item to catch his attention is a ghost that is being sold over the internet. Believing this to be good for publicity, he buys this ghost, or better he buys the dead man’s suit, guaranteed by the seller that will bring along the spirit. As it turns out this is the spirit of a evil, vengeance obsessed man, who is also the stepfather of one of his ex-Goth girlfriends that committed suicide after being dumped by Coyne. As the story progresses we learn that nothing is as straightforward or as simple as it seems and the result is a twisting and twisted story with lots of classic horror elements and obvious homages to King’s works. We get assassin ghost cars, tons upon tons of rock / metal culture references, ghosts that are mediums that are hypnotists that are almost super powered after death,german shepperds that double as familiar spirits, induced insanity as a method of haunting and pure stereotypical evil.
On the overall Hill manages to keep the suspension of disbelief well enough (and believe me, there is some weird crazy crap going on in this book), but in some aspects I think he failed, relying on insanity and evilness as a means to justify the chase the dead man and his family do on Coyne. To me, implying a character is being driven to death and insanity merely because the villain is an insane control-freak with a love for psychological torture and sexual abuse is copping out. The truth is Coyne never was a real threat to the villain and as such there seems to be no real reason to go after him, except for the delusions of a dying mad man.
On the other hand, I didn’t like the way Hill stereotyped the Goth culture. Being somewhat attached to that culture and being a female I was confused and appalled, since apparently not only should I have been trough some horrible trauma during my childhood (to explain the way I dress and act) but I should also be either a stripper, drug-addicted groupie or a crackpot fortune teller. Or all three. It made the novel seem a bit short sighted and prejudiced and that’s why I can’t give it a 4 star review.
However, if you are a horror fan I would still advise you to read this book. For me it was like seeing a blockbuster: It was easy to see and fun, but not memorable. Perfect for distracting your mind before heading to more heavy reading.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
My second Joe Hill novel was just as good as the first. Heart-Shaped Box follows a metal rockstar who has a history of going through women like tissues, and who has had some father-related trauma in his past. He has a collection of occult and macabre items, so when an email arrives alerting him to an online auction site's listing of a ghost, he's intrigued and buys the allegedly haunted clothing, which sets a fateful series of events into motion.
A lot of dark themes here, with the possibility of redemption the dangling carrot that propels the story. Does it happen in the end? I feel like that would be a spoiler, but I will say after 2 novels, I'm convinced Hill is a lot better at endings than his famous father.
5 out of 5 stars.
A lot of dark themes here, with the possibility of redemption the dangling carrot that propels the story. Does it happen in the end? I feel like that would be a spoiler, but I will say after 2 novels, I'm convinced Hill is a lot better at endings than his famous father.
5 out of 5 stars.