Good writing about overly gruesome stuff; i wanted to like it; but not my cup of tea!

Another brilliant story from Joe Hill. Depicts a rock star lifestyle, and almost reads like a biography, with all the drugs, the music, the guitars, the fans, even down to the broken fingers Judas Coyne received as a child from his father's abuse. He meets some interesting characters on his journey though America; twins Bammy (short for Alabama) and Ruth, and his girlfriend Anna (to name just three) who aren't all living. References to Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, and more; the title comes from the Nirvana song, and the parts of the novel are each named after classic rock’n’roll songs (Black Dog, Ride On, Hurt, and Alive). Also literary references to Poe, Alan Moore, Alistair Crowley, Colin Dexter Ward; and the painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. Enjoyable original story of the rock star who's money could buy him anything - even a ghost, which turns out to haunt him and tries to kill him more than once. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

okay so I started this book as a paperback at the airport years ago. a friend of mine asked me a few days ago what to read and I recommended this to her. I decided to give it a shot. finished it in 3 days. cant say its My favorite book but it was different I enjoyed it

Joe Hill's debut horror novel is wild, violent, disturbing, macabre fun. Much has been made of the kinship of Hill and his superstar father, Stephen King, but Heart-Shaped Box proves Hill can stand on his own two feet. Horror is totally the family business, or so it seems.

And while Heart-Shaped Box may not be Joe Hill's best novel, it certainly shows his astounding promise.

So what is it all about? The story is about an aging, retired rocker named Judas Coyne (Judas Priest and Flaming Lips combo maybe?) who is living his disturbing and sad life with his current girlfriend, Georgia. Judas also happens to collect items of the macabre (no biggie). So when he buys a ghost on-line, he gets more than he bargained for, as the ghost, which arrives by way of a used suit in a heart-shaped box, is no benign spirit. It's out for revenge and will kill anyone who stands in the way of said vengeance. The suit and the ghost did not come to Coyne by happenstance. The ghost immediately gets into Coyne’s head, urging him to murder Georgia and then commit suicide. Coyne and Georgia resist the temptations but not everyone is immune to the evil influence. Judas' assistant, Danny Wooten, kills himself, but not before contacting the woman who sent the suit. Jude finds out that the ghost was the stepfather of a groupie, Florida, whom Jude lived with for a few months and who had later committed suicide. The ghost holds Judas responsible for Florida's death and wants revenge. Jude flees his house with his current girlfriend, Georgia, with the ghost in hot pursuit. Can they find the answers they seek? The reconciliation they need? Can they fight for Flordia's memory? Can they defeat such evil?

As debuts go, Heart-Shaped Box is solid. But this isn't my first book from Joe Hill and I can't help but think other works by him are a bit better. This book seemed to ride on the style of his father a little too much. This isn't a bad thing per se but rather, just an observation.

This being said, Heart-Shaped Box becomes a very riveting story. I was impressed with Joe Hill's ability to cause me to really dislike Jude and Georgia at the beginning of the novel and how by the ending of the novel, I had grown to sympathize with them and was rooting for them to survive. I was not ecstatic early on about the premise, mainly because I didn't care for Judas as a character. He was such a jerk! Yet, as he took responsibility for his actions throughout the novel and listed his regrets I grew to appreciate him as a character. The supernatural aspect of the book was intriguing and is always one of the things I think Joe Hill does extremely well. Craddock in a way reminded me of Freddie Krueger, as the hostile ghost sets out to destroy Coyne and all those he holds dear.

Heart-Shaped Box is not for the faint of heart. Read at your own peril.

Trigger warnings: suicide, abusive relationships, depression, drug use.

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