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A Novel.
by Joe Hill
Book Reviewed by:Joe Hill's first novel is a horrific
little tale centered on Jude, a 54-year-old aging
heavy-metal star living comfortably on the royalties
of his albums. Jude buys a haunted suit on the
internet believing it will be a suitable addition to
his ghoulish collection, but he gets more than he
expected when the suit turns out to be genuinely
haunted by a ghost who has no intention of being
part of a collection, especially when he has a
personal vendetta to fulfill.
The irony is that Jude has spent his life exploiting
the macabre with his stage persona, but now he is
the target, and his fantasy seems to have taken a
very realistic turn. It transpires that the ghostly
bag of bones is a Vietnam vet turned mesmerist (a
form of hypnotism) who also happens to be the deeply
evil stepfather of one of Jude's old girlfriends who
committed suicide after they split up.
Jude and his current girlfriend take to the road to
escape the ghost, who follows in a cinematic,
ghostly old Chevy pickup, releasing the full gamut
of supernatural offerings on his intended victims as
he chases them across the country.
Heart-Shaped Box has garnered high praise
from many. Kirkus Reviews describes it as
"hair-raising fun" and Publishers Weekly concludes
that Hill's "subtle and skillful treatment of
horrors that could easily have exploded over the top
and out of control helps make this a truly memorable
debut."
In short, Hill knows his audience. If horror is your
genre you're likely to find yourself satisfied with
his first novel, and with book rights already sold
in at least 17 countries and a movie already being
planned, it's likely we'll be hearing more from him
before too long.
This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in February 2007, and has been updated for the
May 2008 edition.
Click here to go to this issue.
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