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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Od pana Kopečka mám přečtených už pár knížek a teprve teď se dostávám k jeho prvnímu románu. A rozhodně mě nečekalo zklamání :)
Hill hezky vykreslil bývalou stárnoucí rockovou hvězdu, která má vše, co si zamane. Spousta holek, které mu prošly postelí. Hvězdné manýry. Sbírka obskurních předmětů. Lesk zašlé slávy...
Nedá se říct, že by Judas Coyne byl nějaký líbivý charakter, ale jakmile se na scéně objeví určité postavy, rozhodně vede v žebříčku postav, kterým fandit. Černá krabice je poměrně útlá knížka, žádný grafomanský román jako od tatíka, ale i tak obsáhne vše, co má zdařilý duchařský příběh mít.
K dokonalosti by mi chyběl více zlověstný konec, ale beru, co je :)
Hill hezky vykreslil bývalou stárnoucí rockovou hvězdu, která má vše, co si zamane. Spousta holek, které mu prošly postelí. Hvězdné manýry. Sbírka obskurních předmětů. Lesk zašlé slávy...
Nedá se říct, že by Judas Coyne byl nějaký líbivý charakter, ale jakmile se na scéně objeví určité postavy, rozhodně vede v žebříčku postav, kterým fandit. Černá krabice je poměrně útlá knížka, žádný grafomanský román jako od tatíka, ale i tak obsáhne vše, co má zdařilý duchařský příběh mít.
K dokonalosti by mi chyběl více zlověstný konec, ale beru, co je :)
I admit it. I read this, because NOS4A2 was too long for me in the time I had. Joe Hill, son of Stephen and Tabitha King, is a great storyteller. His name has come up in conversation many a time among my librarian friends, because he writes well. Also, I watched Horns, which is based on his book of the same name. It was trippy in all the right ways, and since I couldn't get my hands on the source material and my second option was too long, I read this. The idea that a suit could be haunted was also intriguing.
There's more than a bit of truth to the retail caution "Buyer Beware."
After unsuccessfully trying to outsmart and outrun Craddock, Jude and MaryBeth use a Ouija board to contact Anna. Anna reveals a few secrets, including one that Jude did not want to acknowledge. Anna, her sister Julia and her niece Reese, were all molested by Craddock, usually while under deep hypnosis, which Craddock learned while in Vietnam. Julia embraced her step-father and his ways, believing that he loved her, her sister, and her child. Anna sunk into deep depression for the rest of her life. When she confronts Julia and Craddock, after Jude has sent her home, they stall her until nightfall, the time at which Julia has embedded a compulsion to make Anna take pills and fall into a deep sleep. Craddock suggests, then seemingly hypnotises Julia into agreeing, that no one would suspect murder if they slit Anna's wrists just right. Her kind, people who suffer from depression, are known to do that sort of thing.
Jude and MaryBeth confront Craddock at Jude's childhood home, and with the help of Anna, exorcise the murderous ghost.
Creepy is as creepy does. I could not read this at night. It is superbly done. It is not hard to see King's influence on Hill, but in a book about daddy issues, one does wonder. I've seen this categorized as gentle horror, but I'm not sure that's what this is. This is a true horror story. Murderous, vengeful ghosts are out to get you? Yep, sounds about right. The tone makes one envision the entire story through a blue or dark filter? Yep, sounds about right. Ghost appears and disappears AND has a back story filled with terrible things done in life? Yep, definitely sounds like horror story to me.
This is not the kind of horror story I like to read. It was entirely too scary for me. It did, on the other hand, keep me entertained. When I sat down to read it, I was surprised at how fast it went by. I was engaged right from the start. No one thing stands out as being that point at which I knew would keep going, but as a whole, the story worked very well.
The horror story writing apple does not fall far from the tree.
There's more than a bit of truth to the retail caution "Buyer Beware."
Spoiler
Jude Coyne, semi-retired rock star and all around a-hole, has a thing for creepy stuff. He enjoys the obscure, the macabre, and the occult. So, when his manager shows him an eBay-like sale for a haunted suit, he jumps on it. He thinks it's a bit of a hoax, but nonetheless. The suit, though, really is haunted by the ghost of a former lover's step-daddy, Craddock McDermott, and he has vowed to make Jude pay for what he did to his little girl. The girl in question, Anna aka Florida, is said to have committed suicide after Jude sent her home when he couldn't deal with her depression and didn't know how to help her. Craddock is determined to make Jude's life a living hell, but not just his. Jude's current girlfriend, MaryBeth Kimball aka Georgia, refuses to leave Jude, so Craddock vows to get her too.After unsuccessfully trying to outsmart and outrun Craddock, Jude and MaryBeth use a Ouija board to contact Anna. Anna reveals a few secrets, including one that Jude did not want to acknowledge. Anna, her sister Julia and her niece Reese, were all molested by Craddock, usually while under deep hypnosis, which Craddock learned while in Vietnam. Julia embraced her step-father and his ways, believing that he loved her, her sister, and her child. Anna sunk into deep depression for the rest of her life. When she confronts Julia and Craddock, after Jude has sent her home, they stall her until nightfall, the time at which Julia has embedded a compulsion to make Anna take pills and fall into a deep sleep. Craddock suggests, then seemingly hypnotises Julia into agreeing, that no one would suspect murder if they slit Anna's wrists just right. Her kind, people who suffer from depression, are known to do that sort of thing.
Jude and MaryBeth confront Craddock at Jude's childhood home, and with the help of Anna, exorcise the murderous ghost.
Creepy is as creepy does. I could not read this at night. It is superbly done. It is not hard to see King's influence on Hill, but in a book about daddy issues, one does wonder. I've seen this categorized as gentle horror, but I'm not sure that's what this is. This is a true horror story. Murderous, vengeful ghosts are out to get you? Yep, sounds about right. The tone makes one envision the entire story through a blue or dark filter? Yep, sounds about right. Ghost appears and disappears AND has a back story filled with terrible things done in life? Yep, definitely sounds like horror story to me.
This is not the kind of horror story I like to read. It was entirely too scary for me. It did, on the other hand, keep me entertained. When I sat down to read it, I was surprised at how fast it went by. I was engaged right from the start. No one thing stands out as being that point at which I knew would keep going, but as a whole, the story worked very well.
The horror story writing apple does not fall far from the tree.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Meh, not great, though I did like how it ended and that brought my rating up from one star. Hill's other book, NOS4A2, was great.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
I wanted to like this one, but I ended up listening on 2x speed to get through it. Joe Hill, the nepo baby.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Siete años después volví a leer esta novela de Hill que en su momento me volvió loca y me hizo jurar que leería todo lo que este hombre escribiera. En esta segunda lectura, si bien me volvió a cautivar de principio a fin, encontré algunas cositas que la primera vez no vi. Me gusta mucho que Hill tome como protagonista a un metalero grandote y malote y nos diga, "Mira ellos también se asustan". Lo que no amé fue el papel de Georgia y Florida en toda la historia. Si bien Jude crece como persona después de enfrentarse al fantasma de Craddock (a veces parece más una novela de acción que de fantasmas), la idea de la mujer "buena" que está dispuesta a sacrificarse por amor a un tipo que ni por su nombre le llama, me hizo rodar los ojos. Igual es un libro que seguiré recomendando por sus momentos aterradores: la primera aparición del fantasma, la sesión de ouija y el enfrentamiento final hacen que absolutamente todo valga la pena.