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Heart-Shaped Box [Paperback]

Joe Hill
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

1 May 2008

'Buy my stepfather's ghost' read the e-mail.

So Jude did.

He bought it, in the shape of the dead man's suit, delivered in a heart-shaped box, because he wanted it: because his fans ate up that kind of story. It was perfect for his collection: the genuine skulls and the bones, the real honest-to-God snuff movie, the occult books and all the rest of the paraphanalia that goes along with his kind of hard/goth rock.

But the rest of his collection doesn't make the house feel cold. The bones don't make the dogs bark; the movie doesn't make Jude feel as if he's being watched. And none of the artefacts bring a vengeful old ghost with black scribbles over his eyes out of the shadows to chase Jude out of his home, and make him run for his life . . .


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Heart-Shaped Box + Horns + 20th Century Ghosts
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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz; paperback / softback edition (1 May 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0575081864
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575081864
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 16,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"Hill's book is satisfyingly creepy and bleak, ideal for those who relish a good scare." (WATERSONES' BOOKS QUARTERLY)

"A supernatural thriller which is well written, superbly paced, convincingly plotted and populated with intriguing characters, a story that will grip you from first word to last, the embodiment of the phrase page turner, and for a first novel that's damned good going." (BLACK STATIC)

Book Description

`A compelling, spine-tingling chiller' (Harlan Coben), one of the most memorable debuts in decades

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Good buy 19 July 2010
By gaviota
Format:Hardcover
Even if Joe Hill hadn't blown his cover, you would immediately pick up on the fact that he's Stephen King's son on his writing style alone. As I was reading the book, more than once I had to stop reading and think I wasn't actually reading a Stephen King novel but his son's. The same style, even Stephen's irony which I love, is all there.
Brilliant book!
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars American gothic 20 Jan 2009
Format:Paperback
I'm a big fan of supernatural horror (ie, ghosties!) and when I spotted this as a staff recommendation at my local bookshop I immediately snapped it up and went home to read it.

I loved the premise - a modern tale of an aging rock star who buys a haunted suit on the internet. So simple and so full of narrative promise.

The first few chapters were truly chilling. Jude's first encounter with the ghost - the spirit sitting quietly, head down, in an old chair outside his bedroom, Jude creeping past trying not to be noticed - resulted in a sleepless night for me. The sheer simplicity of the descriptions, the silence and the menace, were very effective. I woke the next morning and wondered if I should read the rest of the novel before sleep, or somewhere a little more public and comforting during the day. However, the remainder - and bulk - of the story, while quite compulsive, lacked the same chill factor. There were wonderful touches - particularly the ways in which the ghost tormented Jude through the radio, TV and even an electrolarynx in a crowded diner and how he climbed out of an old heart-shaped sweet box on the floor of Jude's childhood home - but it was like watching an enjoyable horror movie, enjoying the imaginative thrills but never really feeling terrified, or particularly tense.

For me, one of the narrative's weaknesses was the lack of real fear on the part of the main protagonists. If I had to imagine being relentlessly stalked by a vengeful spirit, determined to kill me and anyone who attempted to help me, I think the fright would kill me long before the ghost did. And this is what I expected to feel when reading the novel. But Jude, whilst seriously ticked off, is more than a match for his adversary.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Heart Shaped Mockery 25 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback
I was really looking forward to reading this, I'd had a few recommendations from people I know about it and what I knew of the basic story sounded intriguing. What's more, when I actually started the book, the first few dozen pages grabbed my attention and I wanted to carry on reading. BUT the longer it went on, the more quickly I wanted it to end and when the end did come, it seemed like a cop-out, like Hill had written so much of the book and didn't then know what to do to bring it to a conclusion. On top of that none of the characters in the book elicit the slightest bit of sympathy or interest, the dogs were the only protagonists I felt for (and I'm no animal lover). If Hill wants to stay in this line of work, he's going to have to up his game a fair old bit - many of the key elements to this kind of book, 'victims' that you care about, a plausible plot, pacing are just missing. The whole thing trudges along more like some sad old Judas Coyne-like rock dinosaur than an electrifying young punk.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, just goes on too long 28 Dec 2007
By Bantam Dave TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed the first 100 or so pages. Written in a style very reminiscent of his dad, I thought that in Joe Hill I had found the author that would fill the gap left when Stephen King finally decides to put his pen and paper away. A couple of hundred pages later I wasn't so sure. For whilst this is a well written book the story really drags after a while and then it just seems to go on and on and on and on.....
The characters are good - an Ozzyish heavy rocker and his girl - and the storyline is inventive - a revengeful ghost being 'bought' on-line - but I got bored with the book long before the end and I was relieved when I had finished it.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Don't Listen to a Waterstones Assistant 4 Feb 2010
Format:Paperback
I gave up reading Stephen King some years back, as I found his novels too long and often quite boring. So it was with some trepidation that I found myself the victim of the 'hard sell' by a Waterstones assistant. "It's Stephen King's son, you know!" exclaimed the enthusiastic assistant (who must have emerged from a trapdoor in the floor beside me, such was his sudden appearance) as I read the synopsis on the back of the book. He continued: "He writes very much in the style of James Herbert". Now let me tell you from the onset and just having finished the book, no he doesn't! Not by a long way and what's more, don't listen to a word a Waterstones assistant tells you, although this particular assistant would have sold a fridge to an Eskimo, such was his gusto... Quite a likeably bloke actually, just misinformed.

Anyway, I digress.

I have to agree with the review from Bantam Dave. The first hundred pages or so were pretty good and the idea of being pursued by a pissed-off ghost was quite an original idea. Where it starts to fall apart in my humble opinion, is when you are faced with page after page of tedious character histories. It would seem the author is more preoccupied with the past than with the present. In fact one of the main protagonists, 'Florida' who happens to be the ex-girlfriend of the main character - Jude, gets more than her fair share of historical ramblings. What makes things worse, is that Florida's history is about as exciting and welcome as a veggie burger at an Aussie - Barbie...it's boring Mr. Hill!

By the third quarter of the book, I was checking for dirt under my finger nails between sentences such was the tedium. The good bits are good and there are a few jumps along the way, as long as you can put up with the wait and persevere.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Another great story
Can't wait for his next book haven't read horror for years but read three in two weeks. Excellent plot & character's
Published 4 days ago by jackie
4.0 out of 5 stars Like father like Son!
Obviously tried this out as the author is the son of my favourite author. Similar style of writing, good story and thoroughly enjoyed the book. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Amanda Hughes
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Horror Novel
I've just go round to reading Joe Hill's horror novel Heart Shaped Box. As his new novel NOS4RTU has just been published, I thought I'd better catch up on his back catalogue. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Jonathan
4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Read
The horror parts were not really scary to be honest but I did love the rest. The writer has a way of making us understand more about the characters as the story progresses and they... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Elif Kaya
4.0 out of 5 stars Good fast paced novel
really good face paced ghost novel --must read for all fans of the paranormal and supernatural --joe hill keeps you hooked on the plot
Published 1 month ago by Michael Kew
4.0 out of 5 stars My introduction to Mr Hill and really enjoyed...
As Joe Hill is commencing a UK tour in the near future I particularly wanted to read his first major breakthrough UK novel. Read more
Published 2 months ago by RT Twinem
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read
I enjoyed reading this. Loved the references to rock music. A modern tale with just the right level of old style ghoules. I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Jane
5.0 out of 5 stars A damn good read
Fantastic book. Great story. Genuinely found this book scary. Joe hill may be even better than is father. I would highly recommend this book
Published 3 months ago by joshua Dolan
5.0 out of 5 stars Bring it on!
Joe Hill is a real 'chip off the old block', but though he is Stephen King's son, he certainly has a style and voice of his own. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ellie
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!
This was a great read....a new idea, well executed. I agree with other reviewers that it is not a pure fear type story, but the upside to that is that it becomes an interesting and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Louise
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