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sage01 's review for:
Heart-Shaped Box
by Joe Hill
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