Heart-Shaped Box (Joe Hill) tells the story of Jude Coyne, an aging rocker (think Ozzy Osbourne without the DTs) who buys a haunted suit off an Internet auction site. Although he doesn't initially believe the spectral claims, Coyne soon discovers that the suit is, in fact, haunted by an extraordinarily determined ghost who is hell-bent of revenge. Since I really, really hate spoilers I won't say much more plot-wise, however, do trust that twist and turns abound.
So now to the review:
Let me start by saying that I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a horror writer who is also the son of Stephen King. To write from under the shadow of that giant must be absurd, and that would undoubtedly explain why he chose to keep his family tree a secret for the first eight years of his literary career. Nonetheless, now that Hill's identity has been "outed," it seems to be impossible to not make comparisons to his famous father, which I hardly think is fair since this is only his first novel.
But you know I'm going to do it anyway.
Because I'm terribly out of the loop of the publishing world, I had no idea of Hill's true identity until I was thirty or so pages into Heart-Shaped Box, yet I sensed it immediately. King has this "nerdy guy writing about cool guys" thing that I've always noticed yet found to be endearing, and Hill's writing has that same vibe. A few chapters in, I ran to the Internet to research my suspicions, and - low and behold - I discovered that I am the literary equivalent of Sherlock Holmes. It read like a Stephen King novel since it sort of was - a "son of the Stephen King novel" if you will. And that would be my biggest criticism of the novel - Hill hasn't completely found his own, unique voice yet.
Nonetheless, Heart-Shaped Box was a great read. A tautly-written, creepy little piece that was fun to read and terrifically difficult to put down. And if you're nice, I'll even let you borrow it.
Up Next: Finn, by Jon Clinch
So now to the review:
Let me start by saying that I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a horror writer who is also the son of Stephen King. To write from under the shadow of that giant must be absurd, and that would undoubtedly explain why he chose to keep his family tree a secret for the first eight years of his literary career. Nonetheless, now that Hill's identity has been "outed," it seems to be impossible to not make comparisons to his famous father, which I hardly think is fair since this is only his first novel.
But you know I'm going to do it anyway.
Because I'm terribly out of the loop of the publishing world, I had no idea of Hill's true identity until I was thirty or so pages into Heart-Shaped Box, yet I sensed it immediately. King has this "nerdy guy writing about cool guys" thing that I've always noticed yet found to be endearing, and Hill's writing has that same vibe. A few chapters in, I ran to the Internet to research my suspicions, and - low and behold - I discovered that I am the literary equivalent of Sherlock Holmes. It read like a Stephen King novel since it sort of was - a "son of the Stephen King novel" if you will. And that would be my biggest criticism of the novel - Hill hasn't completely found his own, unique voice yet.
Nonetheless, Heart-Shaped Box was a great read. A tautly-written, creepy little piece that was fun to read and terrifically difficult to put down. And if you're nice, I'll even let you borrow it.
Up Next: Finn, by Jon Clinch
Labels: authors F-J, books, fiction, ghosts, horror, suspense, the DTs
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