Heart-Shaped Box
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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 ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"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 ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Alex Sarll, PRESS ASSOCIATION
"He's successfully woven strands of family drama and American road movie with his horror, and that horror itself combines traditional motifs with images all its own, old-fashioned ghost stories with uncanny applications of modern technology. Joe Hill's debut is certainly the work of an important new horror voice."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The set-up to Joe Hill's debut is certainly an original one: Jude, an ageing rockstar and hoarder of the macabre, receives an email alerting him to an online auction in which a young woman is selling the ghost of her stepfather. Jude pays the `buy now' price and adds the ghost to his collection, but soon discovers that the young woman had more on her mind than offloading an old ghost.
Hill wastes no time in getting to the crux of the story, and doesn't compromise a thing in doing so. His prose is tight and lively and his use of dialogue never falls short of excellent and at times is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard, the highest praise I can give.
Characterisations benefit hugely from the dialogue, and each of Hill's colourful cast has a distinct voice that will leave you in no doubt that they are all living and breathing people and have merely consented to Hill documenting their lives for a while.
With the fundamentals nailed down on this heart-shaped coffin lid, I allowed myself to relax. I was in safe hands. Even felt a little pang of remorse for enjoying the book so much, and felt I was two-timing Joe's old man with this new and improved younger hybrid. But it didn't take long to realise that Joe had quickly run out of nails, and the coffin lid was about to fly off to reveal a bunch of dry twigs masquerading as the delicious, maggot-munched cadaver I was hoping for.
As good as the writing is, Hill doesn't seem to have any time for suspending the reader's disbelief. Characterisations, though good superficially, lack depth and realism, and when you're trying to sell a fantasy this is unforgivable. For instance, Jude receives a phone call from his friend Danny. Danny tells Jude that he's just killed himself. Jude replies with something like a `sorry to hear that' attitude, instead of the more believable: `Do you think I'm an idiot, Danny? You're calling me on the phone!' All of Hill's characters accept these supernatural developments with similar pinches of salt.
Structure and focus is the second of the claw-hammers to go to work on that flappy lid. Long and pointless passages that add nothing to the story, meaningless plot threads that only ever lead to dead-ends. Short chapters which at first give the illusion of pace become clumsy tools for dissecting perfectly good scenes, randomly assigned way stations for a publisher's perceived attention-deficient modern reader.
Once your eyes are opened to all this, and you realise you're not is safe hands, you start to notice it isn't a coffin at all - just a soggy cardboard box that will fall apart if you touch it. And it does fall apart.
By far the weakest and most frustrating part of Heart-Shaped Box is the gargantuan array of plot holes, and it makes me angry that Joe Hill thought he could serve this half-baked pulp cake. Given the privileged platform from which Hill is afforded to pedal his wares, he should at least be fulfilling his duty as storyteller. If his dad can hold a plot together over a thousand pages, Joe has no excuses for letting a mere four-hundred-pager slip from his grasp.
Hill wastes no time in getting to the crux of the story, and doesn't compromise a thing in doing so. His prose is tight and lively and his use of dialogue never falls short of excellent and at times is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard, the highest praise I can give.
Characterisations benefit hugely from the dialogue, and each of Hill's colourful cast has a distinct voice that will leave you in no doubt that they are all living and breathing people and have merely consented to Hill documenting their lives for a while.
With the fundamentals nailed down on this heart-shaped coffin lid, I allowed myself to relax. I was in safe hands. Even felt a little pang of remorse for enjoying the book so much, and felt I was two-timing Joe's old man with this new and improved younger hybrid. But it didn't take long to realise that Joe had quickly run out of nails, and the coffin lid was about to fly off to reveal a bunch of dry twigs masquerading as the delicious, maggot-munched cadaver I was hoping for.
As good as the writing is, Hill doesn't seem to have any time for suspending the reader's disbelief. Characterisations, though good superficially, lack depth and realism, and when you're trying to sell a fantasy this is unforgivable. For instance, Jude receives a phone call from his friend Danny. Danny tells Jude that he's just killed himself. Jude replies with something like a `sorry to hear that' attitude, instead of the more believable: `Do you think I'm an idiot, Danny? You're calling me on the phone!' All of Hill's characters accept these supernatural developments with similar pinches of salt.
Structure and focus is the second of the claw-hammers to go to work on that flappy lid. Long and pointless passages that add nothing to the story, meaningless plot threads that only ever lead to dead-ends. Short chapters which at first give the illusion of pace become clumsy tools for dissecting perfectly good scenes, randomly assigned way stations for a publisher's perceived attention-deficient modern reader.
Once your eyes are opened to all this, and you realise you're not is safe hands, you start to notice it isn't a coffin at all - just a soggy cardboard box that will fall apart if you touch it. And it does fall apart.
By far the weakest and most frustrating part of Heart-Shaped Box is the gargantuan array of plot holes, and it makes me angry that Joe Hill thought he could serve this half-baked pulp cake. Given the privileged platform from which Hill is afforded to pedal his wares, he should at least be fulfilling his duty as storyteller. If his dad can hold a plot together over a thousand pages, Joe has no excuses for letting a mere four-hundred-pager slip from his grasp.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
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. I couldn't relate to him at all or feel scared on his behalf.
Also, early on in the novel a fairly righteous reason is given for the ghost's murderous quest. Through a later twist of sorts, the real reason is revealed, and for me this lessened the novel's impact by further demonising the spirit and absolving Jude of any true wrongdoing.
Although Joe Hill presents Jude as a flawed anti-hero on the road to enlightenment and redemption, I think the novel would have been far more interesting had Jude really deserved what was chasing him.
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. I couldn't relate to him at all or feel scared on his behalf.
Also, early on in the novel a fairly righteous reason is given for the ghost's murderous quest. Through a later twist of sorts, the real reason is revealed, and for me this lessened the novel's impact by further demonising the spirit and absolving Jude of any true wrongdoing.
Although Joe Hill presents Jude as a flawed anti-hero on the road to enlightenment and redemption, I think the novel would have been far more interesting had Jude really deserved what was chasing him.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
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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Most Recent Customer Reviews
All sales are final - some more than others
Retired rock star Judas Coyne has a passion for the unusual, after years of being sent odd occult-related articles, he thinks he has found the crown & glory for his collection; a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. Morris
Excellent!!
Stephen kings son. This was a great read for me. Kept me turning the the pages. I finished the in about 3 days so this ways a quick read for me as i am a slow reader. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Euan
Almost perfect...
The cat's out of the bag when it comes to Joe Hill; it's common knowledge that his father is Stephen King and that HILL is his middle name. Read more
Published 10 months ago by I R Wright
Simply un-putdownable
This is the first book by King Jr that I have read and I must say that he's done me proud! Yes, there is a similar writing style to that of famous Daddy King Sr, but that for me... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sue Lewendon
Not quite as good as daddy..
..but then, daddy King has had rather longer to perfect his art. I have to say that I found this book difficult to get in to, which wasn't down to the story so much as the writing. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Martin J.
slow beginning.
The basic premises is that this semi-ex rock stars likes to collect morbid and weird things. So when he's alerted to a ghost for sale on an ebay ripoff site, Jude snatches up the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Rebecca
Fantastic!
This was the first book I bought for my Kindle and also the first book of Joe Hill's I have read. I was looking forward to reading his writing as I have been a huge fan of Stephen... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Nicolette Laurence
Competent first novel of supernatural horror
'Heart-Shaped Box' is Joe Hill's first novel. By now, it's probable that nobody is unaware that Hill is Stephen King's son, so let's get that out of the way. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Paul Bowes
Good start but fades a bit...
Every so often, I pick up a horror novel. I keep looking for that frisson of fear that I felt when I read Dracula or M.R. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Little Green Alien
Good buy
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. Read more
Published 22 months ago by gaviota
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