Heart Shaped Box

[HJB]

I was as impressed as I was told that I would be. I was a little worried that Hill was going to take after his dad a bit too much, but he really stands on his own two feet. I think that I could see his where he was influenced by both his mom and dads style, but he clearly has his own and surly has plenty of books in his future.
His writing style aside, the story itself was really good too. There were the strong and full characters you hope for when you start a book, and more than enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes without going overboard. There were a few trivial little things I could have done without (if I were to nitpick) but I'll not get into that in fear of swaying any opinions of those who have yet to read this debut novel by Joe Hill. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading his second novel Horns.

[tomkent]

I thought the slow burn of certain characters motivations was well paced, rather than infodumping too early, although one twist was a little too predictable and smacked of "why didn't he think about that earlier?" But, no, I loved the book. Genuinely creepy in all the right places. Or wrong places depending on your view.

[HJB]

I liked that he didn't think of it. He was a goth metal rock star who had spent years drinking and partying. I felt that he was deliberately made to be not the brightest bulb on the rack. Not stupid, but a little slower on the uptake than the readers. That way we also get a bit of a thrill like watching a child wander closer to the road with us knowing the danger but them innocently unaware. That example is overly dramatic of the character, but that is a subtle impression I got. If you look at the character profiles he built up of the 'types' of people involved, the truth was pretty clear early on. I loved seeing them take so long to catch on. It was like a counter mystery novel.