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Not the best of Joe Hill's work in my opinion, simply because there was very little that surprised me as I read the book, and very few turns or twists that interested me. The rock-star-bad-boy-becomes-hero, or almost hero, had little new that has not been done by numerous other previous authors who tackled this subject, and in some cases those previous authors did a much better job of leading the reader to the conclusion that all of us can overcome more than everyday horror. There were few instances where I looked up from the book and thought I was reading a masterful work. It was much more of a 'could be hollywood' fiction than it was a book that I will remember fondly, or wish to read again. Fine for passing the time. Nothing special.
A recluse rock star with a dark past buys a GHOST on eBay-like internet auction site and gets much more than he bargained for when he receives the black HEART-SHAPED BOX... Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals . . . a used hangman's noose . . . a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet. I will "sell" my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder. . . . For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn't afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts—of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What's one more? But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It's the real thing. And suddenly the suit's previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door . . . seated in Jude's restored vintage Mustang . . . standing outside his window . . . staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting—with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand. . A multiple-award winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a blood-chilling roller-coaster ride of a novel, a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.Read full review
A very good & solid novel by James Hill. I have read that he is Stephen King's son; if so, his dad should be very proud. The book has Stephen King's no holds barred storytelling and has a fast pace from beginning to end. It is a ghost story about an aging rock star who bids on a haunted suit on an "Ebay like" on-line auction and wins the suit. However, when the suit is delivered home, the rock star finds out it is haunted and the story blasts off. The hero & heroine of the book are very likeable in spite of all their faults and seedy pasts. This book falls in a hard-to-put-down category. I recommend Heart-shaped Box to all suspense/horror genre lovers. There is more suspense than gore, which makes for excellent reading.
I read a lot of scary novels in fact Horror fiction is my genre. So when I tell you that Joe Hill’s “Heart-Shaped Box” is one of the best books to come out in a long while, you'd better believe it! It is the story of an aging heavy metal superstar named Judas Coyne who, owing to his carefully crafted public image, has developed a habit for acquiring morbid things. This includes a procession of pale Goth girlfriends, groupies who become lovers and think they’re the one who will tame the beastly Judas. Then Judas buys a ghost online. A woman says she’s selling the suit that belonged to her stepfather, and that the man’s ghost is now “attached” to it so that whoever buys the suit will get the ghost, too. Stupid, of course, but hey, it’s only a thousand bucks, and Judas is rich, and the public eats it up when he does morbid things like buy ghosts. So why not? Well, I’ll tell you why not. BECAUSE THE GHOST IS EVIL AND MEAN AND HE WANTS TO MAKE JUDAS KILL HIS CURRENT GOTH GIRLFRIEND AND HIMSELF!! This book is a true "one nighter", meaning you won't be able to put it down until you have finished it! The first half, in particular, is fiendishly creepy and spooky, the kind of chilly ghost story you read only during the daytime and in public. The second half gets bloody and is more horrifying than terrifying (if you catch the difference), but no less thrilling. It is the first novel from Joe Hill, who had previously written a collection of short stories. I just discovered that Joe Hill’s real name is Joe King, as in son of Stephen King. It’s good that he keeps that fact hidden. It would create unfair expectations of him. Also, it might make some people think that the glowing reviews heaped on “Heart-Shaped Box” are occurring automatically because of his pedigree. Think again. In my opinion, Joe Hill has all the best from his Dad, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice all bundled into one superman! Right now I am reading Joe Hill's other title: 20th Century Ghosts, I will report on that one next!Read full review
I usually finish all of the books I start, and I read a lot. I bought this book after reading the "rave" reviews it got in the newspaper. I was also intriged about the author since he is Stephen King's son, and I have enjoyed many of his father's books over the years. However, after reading the first 100 pages of this novel, I found that finishing it was becoming a chore, not a pleasure. On analyzing my lack of interest in this book, I would say it stemmed from the fact that I did not like or care about Joe Hill's characters. They were not people to whom I could relate, and therefore I really didn't care whether they survived or not. Also, the action in the story was predictable. At no point was I surprised at what was occurring in the story. There was no real suspense factor. When I finally found myself rooting for the ghost and thinking that if anyone deserved to be terrorized it was the self-centered, egocentric main character who was a real,human monster, I knew it was time to stop reading this book move onto something more enjoyable like cleaning my house or doing the laundry.Read full review
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