Heart-Shaped Box audiobook

For those of you who don't know, Joe Hill is the son of Stephen King. And, yip, the old man gave him some tips, that's for sure.One of the reasons Stephen King has inspired just about every horror writer for decades, is that he writes small town 'America' better than anybody. I say 'America', because I have never been to the USA and I grew up in a city, but his stories puts me right there, as if I grew up and live in a small town.Hill shows signs of the same type of voice.This is a ghost story, but even more so, it is a growth story. I can recommend this to any horror reader out there.

With relentlessly good characterization, this debut horror novel by the now-firmly-established powerhouse of Joe Hill rocks one hell of a good ghost story.I have a thing for stories about aging rockers. I don't know what it is. They're just so pathetic and glorious and full of redemptive possibilities and gloriousness. :)In this case, he's just built such a gruesome persona over the years and he's pretty much any horror-writer's dream rocker. You know, like Ozzy, but more like Rob Zombie or a bit like any 70's glam punker. I digress. He gets himself in trouble by buying a ghost, but it's mostly a con and the ghost is out to get revenge on him, specifically. Throw in a ton of cool reveals and a lot of willpower, realism, and clear-headed common sense native ONLY to the purveyors of the macabre, and we've got a deliciously stewy no-nonsense novel focused on getting shit done. And all those character reveals did wonders for me. I fell in love with these people. :)I think it's fair to say I'll be able to pick up any of Joe's novels from now on and be pretty certain I'll have a great time. I'm very happy about this. I never need to read one of his blurbs again. :)

“Los fantasmas, al final, siempre le alcanzan a uno, y no hay manera de cerrarles las puertas, Pueden atravesarlas”"Llegaban a él como huérfanos errantes, hijos perdidos de grandes y venerables familias musicales. Se le acercaban en forma de canciones anteriores al fonógrafo, cantos populares de los bares, lamentos de las planicies desiertas, temas perdidos de Chuck Berry. Jude los vestía de negro y les enseñaba a gritar"3.5*En cuanto a la originalidad e imaginación no defrauda, de hecho cumple con creces.En esta, su primera novela, nos regala muy buenos pasajes. Abordando lo sobrenatural, pero con un trasfondo muy mundano y cotidiano (definitivamente mucho mas escalofriante).Sin embargo algunos detalles conspiran un poco en el resultado final...Se puede conceder que los personajes principales caigan mal, que tomen malas decisiones, todo si es en post de la historia. Pero considero que la misma pedía que al menos tuvieran un poco mas de carisma, carácter y actitud. Aunque es verdad que estos atraviesan cierta evolución a lo largo de la historia y que uno puede llegar a entender algunos motivos y tal vez empatizar un poco.Hay algunos sin sentidos, inclusive para este contexto. Por citar un ejemplo: Jude, el protagonista, colecciona objetos "ocultistas", "macabros", al punto que tiene el tablero de ajedrez con el que jugaba Aleister Crowley cuando era niño. Sin embargo no tiene una tabla de OUIJA, y casi se sorprende y se horroriza cuando ve una. Y como prácticamente parte de un capricho mio, me hubiera gustado que explotaran mas todo el asunto del rock y el heavy metal. Le hubiera aportado mas "mística" a la historia. Porque mas aya de los nombres de los perros "Angus y Bon"(Angus Young y Bon Scott) y "Jimmy y Robert"(Jimmy Page Y Robert Plant) y apenas un par de pequeños detalles mas al respecto.

I don't think I quite knew what I was getting into when I picked up this book. I don't know what I thought I was going to read, but it wasn't this. So a warning to you: this book, or at least the beginning of it, is pretty freaky. I'm not a wimp. I grew up on Goosebumps and Scary Stories by Alvan Schwartz, graduating on to Christopher Pike and various R.L. Stine young adult novels. I also love scary movies of all sort, so I'm not one easily freaked out. But this novel was pretty creepy, or at least the beginning.Perhaps it's the concept and the description of the ghost that is unnerving. Maybe it's also because I was sort of caught off guard by what I was reading. But whatever it was I was freaked out and loving the book. The whole concept of the novel was unique.At times I found myself wanting to give Joe Hill a thesaurus and a phrase book, because he kept using the same descriptions over and over again. I think it would have also helped him in making things a little clearer. It seemed he was having a little difficulty fleshing out plot points at moments. I can't really think of any specific examples, but you'll come across them as you read it.The end seemed really just swept up. Not really making too much sense in relation to the story. It seemed like Hill just wanted to quickly wrap it up, no matter how many questions it either raised or left unanswered.But besides those minor flaws, I gobbled this book up really fast. I wanted to know everything that was going on. Something kept me riveted throughout the whole story. That's why I'm keeping my rating at a B, despite some of the problems I pointed out. I'm also interested in reading some of Hill's other works. It was his way of telling this ghost story and the type of ghost story it was that made me interested. Overall? Pretty good read. Entertaining. Best part? The dogs, because they weren't just animals in the background, they were actual characters, very entertaining and loving ones.Want a quick, good, scary story? Here's your next read.

OK, so I need to get back to reviewing, because I'm staring to fall behind again, and it's messing with my OCD. Plus, I feel like my initial reaction is a good thing to get down right away, since so often I find myself changing my opinion of a novel, and it's always fun to go back and read what I wrote before I had time to mull it over.I read this one really fast. This is the third novel I have read of Hill's, and it did not disappoint. I'm supposed to be reading this as a buddy read on Instagram, but I literally could not put it down, and before I knew it I was done. I'm still fully prepared to talk about it though, and I can't wait to see what the other girls in my bookclub think.So far I would rank Hill's novels with NOS4A2 first, this second, and The Fireman third, which I pretty much eviscerated on here, but may have been a little hard on, in retrospect. The Fireman was my introduction to Hill, and I should have started long ago with these other two. Hindsight, right?Heart-Shaped Box is a creepy page turner. Initially the main characters, Jude an aging rockstar and his girlfriend of the moment Georgia, are not very likable characters, but Hill has a knack for characters, (like his father), and he had me really rooting for these two by the end of the novel.I'm going to keep this spoiler free, but if you enjoyed NOS4A2, you will probably like this one as well. Hill is quickly becoming an author that I enjoy very much.

I really liked it! Crazy, scary fun!

Jude is a member of a broken up metal band,; now living on farm land with his girlfriend, manager and two dogs. He sees the perfect opportunity to bring some excitement into his life when his manager shows him an online posting for a ghost for sale.Once his purchase arrives, Jude quickly realizes he is in for much more than he bargained for as sightings of the old man begin, as well as demons from the past being brought to life for all members of the household.In the style I've grown to adore from Joe Hill; a sprinkling of out right terrifying scenes interlaced with profound ideas and plot to keep you thinking for days.

I remember looking at this book at my local Barnes & Nobles years ago, I was strangely drawn to the title and it's meaning which always puzzled me but the cover was intriguing, not sure what took me so long to read it but I’m so glad that I finally dived in. Sometimes it's hard to pick a new book to read but it's still a delicious torment even if you don't know what is good enough to wrap your mind around, this was a good pick and it was recommended by a friend so I read it with pretty high expectations. In a funny way this book shows the power of love and also it's opposite which is very driven dark side and even in real life those can be close so making it into a striking, dangerous and scary story was great. Both good and bad things can be done in the name of love, each pushed by an intense energy that seems to beam out of us at certain times, and it's most potent when it's real. The Heart Shaped Box is a great example of mental surgery; the amount of thought that will go into creating this world and it's characters is immense but it also has to be pure, it needs to come from the heart. It's a story told by a man who took the courage to pick up the pen ( or the laptop) and write it all down, Joe Hill is very good and I can see him having a great career in the literary world, having a genius father ( Stephen King) doesn't hurt either hehe.Making a purchase doesn't seem to be a scary thing unless one is buying something grand, a mansion or a fancy plane, an island or special car, it's a choice we can take with relish unless it goes wrong. Jude Coyne buys a haunted suit and he definitely gets what he pays for, it arrives in a black heart shaped box and once that lid is off his life starts to go on a dangerous decline, those close to him are in an intense danger and the only way to stop the horrific power behind the purchase seems to be sucked straight out of hell. Coworkers and friends start dying but they aren't gone and neither is the power that pushes them to their demise. Connected to his past, the suit is not an ordinary object but a weapon, Jude must figure out who really is behind it and how to get rid of it or be forced to end his own suffering. I gripped the pages at the end and cheered a few times and also felt some sadness, this hit all sorts of high points for me, a perfect example of a good book.This story reads almost like a fantasy tale that takes the reader on a ride, I would read out passages to my boyfriend and we'd follow the story together at the end because he would ask me what happened every few hours ... it's a fun yet pungent read, don't be fooled that this is some cute story, there is death and there is intense danger and stress, but oh so well woven together, I enjoyed it tremendously and cant wait to read more form Hill. This is part mystery, part horror and a whole lot of fun intensity, good stuff.- Kasia S.

4 Stars for Heart-Shaped Box (audiobook) by Joe Hill read by Stephen Lang. I thought that this was good but I’ve enjoyed Joe Hill’s other books more.

WOW! This was a great horror novel and I will be reading more books by Joe Hill. I would recommend reading this book via audiobook because it really up'd the creepies.