Heart-Shaped Box

De: Joe Hill

Narrado por: Stephen Lang

“Wild, mesmerizing, perversely witty….A Valentine from hell.”
—Janet Maslin, New York Times

The publication of Joe Hill’s beautifully textured, deliciously scary debut novel Heart-Shaped Box was greeted with the sort of overwhelming critical acclaim that is rare for a work of skin-crawling supernatural terror. It was cited as a Best Book of the Year by Atlanta magazine, the Tampa Tribune, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and the Village Voice, to name but a few. Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling Neil Gaiman of The Sandman, The Graveyard Book, and Anansi Boys fame calls Joe Hill’s story of a jaded rock star haunted by a ghost he purchased on the internet, “relentless, gripping, powerful.” Open this Heart-Shaped Box from two-time Bram Stoker Award-winner Hill if you dare and see what all the well-deserved hoopla is about.

Yikes! Five stars for fright

I bought this book for the concept: a dead man's suit that comes with a ghost. I figured it would be good and scary, and I wasn't wrong.

I read a lot of stories that I think are going to be scary, but then I'm disappointed when it turns out the monster really isn't much of a monster. But parts of Heart-Shaped Box scared me so much I could barely listen, even in a brightly-lit health club with dozens of other people there.

I won't describe any of those sections for fear of spoiling other readers' fun. Let's just say that some stuff happens that scares even the main character--a guy who owns a cookbook for cannibals.

Although this book is frightening, and a thriller, the writing doesn't suffer. All the characters had fully realized story arcs, even some of the minor ones who turned out later to be more important than they seemed at first.

I particularly liked the main character, Judas Coyne. Even though he has apparently been mean to others through some of his life, I found him fairly easy to sympathize with through most of the action. By the end of the book he'd won me over--I was cheering for his side all the way.

The production of the audiobook itself was good, too. The narrator did a fine job, even with voices for female characters, which is often hard for a guy. Between sections, there are a couple of musical breaks--the first one startled me, but only because I wasn't expecting it.

I definitely recommend this one for people who don't mind a good scare. I hope Joe Hill has some more on the way.

Not dissappointed and very pleased.

Better than I expected. If you like ghost stories this one is a must. Hard to turn this one off because it makes you feel like you are right there with the characters and you want to get involved in the story. Hill's best work I think and the narrator brought it to the listener so well done.

Spooky!

Would you listen to Heart-Shaped Box again? Why?

Sure. It was enjoyable. I think the narrator did good voices and there were a lot of interesting details and side notes along the way.

What other book might you compare Heart-Shaped Box to and why?

Gosh I'm bad at remembering stuff. "Horns", also by Joe Hill comes to mind. It's basically a creepy horrorfest wrapped around a gritty mystery thriller. So if that's your bag, look no further.

What does Stephen Lang bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a good job with differentiating character voices. He added just the right amount of emotion into scenes and line reading.

Who was the most memorable character of Heart-Shaped Box and why?

They were all memorable! I guess Florida stuck with me the most since she's the real mystery. You get to know her piece by piece and her story is so compelling.

Any additional comments?

I really liked this. But whoever thought it was an awesome idea to pipe in terrible synthy hair rock between some chapters ... I just can't. Notable musicians were mentioned throughout the book; I don't think any of them would have appreciated the musical interludes here. Please stick to the storytelling; no more music.

A great Listen

I am a huge Stephen King fan, so when I came across this book I knew only his could be as great as him. This book will keep interested from start to finish!

Unimpressed

This would have been a decent story story but nothing more. I forced myself to finish because it's approximately 20 chapters too long.