Heart-Shaped Box

By: Joe Hill

Narrated by: Stephen Lang

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

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 widely known. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, a thing so terrible-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. 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 hand.

A multiple award-winner for his short fiction, author Joe Hill immediately vaults into the top echelon of dark fantasists with a masterwork brimming with relentless thrills and acid terror.

©2007 Joe Hill (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Audie Award winner, Thriller/Suspense, 2008
• Thriller Award, Best Novel, 2008

"Powerful....[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." (Publishers Weekly)
"Mr. Hill elicits honest empathy for Jude, who turned his stage persona into a nightmare version of his fears and must now figure out what strength he has left for legitimate battles. This dynamic is both frightening and funny, and the book weaves together those two threads in clever ways." (The New York Times)

Enjoyable story, good performance

The characters were likable and their back stories were revealed over the course of the book. The Heart-Shaped Box delivery allows the reader/listener to become invested in the characters without slowing down the rhythm and flow of the story. I prefer this evolutionary approach to character development versus some writers that spend the first several chapters belching forth all the character detail while I, the reader/listener, have no context in which to place those details. By the time the details become relevant to the larger plot, I've either lost interest in the story or forgotten them. Those are the books/stories that I quickly lose interest in and rarely bother finishing.

I'm pleased that Joe Hill has his own voice that delivers an enjoyable, King-quality story without mirroring his father's voice.

Surprised

Very good surprised pleasantly of course my type genre. The ending left you thinking maybe a sequel?

Worth the Listen

As I'm certain he wants to distinguish himself from his prolific father, Joe Hill is a good horror writer that tends to err on the side of harshness to the eventual point of annoyance in his storytelling. I've read that in reviews about his first two books also - agreed - and it still holds true. Not as much as before - we get that the main character is dark, disturbed, angry and generally unhappy. Hill tends to over-paint that picture to a point that sometimes I almost lose interest in the character. But not quite.

That said, the story itself was very captivating and kept me engaged in the book. Character development eventually arrived at a place I could get on board with, and I'd recommend this one over some of Hill's other books.

#BackFromTheDead #DarkRock
#Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Better than I thought...

At first I thought I wasn't going to make it through this book. The narrators voice grew on me and so did the story. It is one of those books you need to give it a bit before you make a judgement. The story ending up being pretty decent.

It's basically a Stephen King book.

For someone that goes out of his way to look and write like his father it's pretty silly to use another name to write books.

It is essentially a Stephen King book with out all the cocaine fueled character overdevelopment. Also his son didn't share Stephen's affinity for writing about children having sex, at least not in this book.

I doubt I'll read another of Stephen Jr's books but it certainly isn't bad. It's just extremely derivative.

This was a pleasant surprise

I like the guilt in this book. It touches on bad habits and horrible sins. Made a character that I didn't think would be relatable into someone I grew to see as a someone I might know personally.

Wonderfully written

The book its self was wonderfully written, although, a bit hard to follow at times. I’m a sucker for dark & twisty reads & this was right up my alley. I’m looking forward to checking out more by Mr. Hill.

cool but annoying music

It is a good story. The near random B movie synthetic music nearly ruines the narrative for me though. Great performance, terrible sound cuts. Stick with the story Harper Audio.

interesting

I enjoyed this book. Fantastic? No. But had an interesting premise and well written. I think in time, as this writer develops, he could become a force in this genre. I wish though that writer's would realize that adding the F-bomb constantly does not make you a good writer nor will it make you Stephen King.

Good Book

What did you love best about Heart-Shaped Box?

Very unusual storyline

Any additional comments?

He writes in a similar style to his father. I enjoyed this book.