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lanternatomika 's review for:
Heart-Shaped Box
by Joe Hill
It took me a while, but I wound up deciding to give Heart-Shaped Box an all too rare five star rating (actually, I'm not sure if I'm that stingy with my stars. Eh, I'm not gonna bother checking). This book combines everything I love about Joe Hill's work: a simplicity of premise and an elegance of execution. Also, this 10th anniversary hardcover is gorgeous but not as gorgeous as the person who gave it to me
So, what is this book about? It's about a death metal rockstar named Judas Coyne who is becoming disillusioned with life and amassing a collection of freaky occult stuff. One of the things that ends up in his possession is a heart shaped box containing a suit haunted by the stepfather of one of his ex-girlfriends. It's up to him and his current girlfriend to go on the lam as they try to figure out how to make this ghost deader than dead
Much like with Horns, this book mostly plays out the scenario of a haunted metal star and his goth girlfriend. There is a story here, but unlike Horns, this one is pretty damn good. Like the best ghost stories, it's scary and tragic and pulse pounding to read. Judas comes off as a pretty messed up character in the beginning, but his layers peel off and he undergoes plenty of character development, as does his girlfriend Georgia
I tried to find something about the book that I didn't like, and I just couldn't. My previous favorite book by Joe Hill was The Fireman, and I have to give Heart-Shaped Box the nod because The Fireman did have some boring parts (and that slice of pie/pussy line)
This is basically an 80s horror movie in book form. It's got the scares and it doesn't waste time, racing to it's trippy conclusion. It's a great place to start with Joe Hill and I recommend it
[Okay, one thing that annoyed me with the audiobook: it's normal for audiobooks to have musical interludes as transitions but what was that techno nonsense? It doesn't suit the story or the atmosphere of the book and it just put me off, though it would be a dumb reason to take a star off. But seriously, the protagonist is a death metal person, any random guitar riff on YouTube would work better!]
So, what is this book about? It's about a death metal rockstar named Judas Coyne who is becoming disillusioned with life and amassing a collection of freaky occult stuff. One of the things that ends up in his possession is a heart shaped box containing a suit haunted by the stepfather of one of his ex-girlfriends. It's up to him and his current girlfriend to go on the lam as they try to figure out how to make this ghost deader than dead
Much like with Horns, this book mostly plays out the scenario of a haunted metal star and his goth girlfriend. There is a story here, but unlike Horns, this one is pretty damn good. Like the best ghost stories, it's scary and tragic and pulse pounding to read. Judas comes off as a pretty messed up character in the beginning, but his layers peel off and he undergoes plenty of character development, as does his girlfriend Georgia
I tried to find something about the book that I didn't like, and I just couldn't. My previous favorite book by Joe Hill was The Fireman, and I have to give Heart-Shaped Box the nod because The Fireman did have some boring parts (and that slice of pie/pussy line)
This is basically an 80s horror movie in book form. It's got the scares and it doesn't waste time, racing to it's trippy conclusion. It's a great place to start with Joe Hill and I recommend it
[Okay, one thing that annoyed me with the audiobook: it's normal for audiobooks to have musical interludes as transitions but what was that techno nonsense? It doesn't suit the story or the atmosphere of the book and it just put me off, though it would be a dumb reason to take a star off. But seriously, the protagonist is a death metal person, any random guitar riff on YouTube would work better!]