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Heart-Shaped Box
- Narrated by: Stephen Lang
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller & Suspense
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Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
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No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies - before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
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Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache, and a pair of horns growing from his temples. At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances.
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Kinda lost direction at the end?
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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In this masterful collection of short fiction, Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in 13 relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In The Tall Grass”, one of two stories cowritten with Stephen King, basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.
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Good Collection of Stories
- By Jari on 2019-10-31
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14
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There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
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5 out of 5 stars
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my favorite narrator
- By dave on 2018-12-06
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Strange Weather
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative number one New York Times best-selling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best of Hill so far!
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NOS4A2
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 198
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 186
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 186
Victoria McQueen has an uncanny knack for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. When she rides her bicycle over the rickety old covered bridge in the woods near her house, she always emerges in the places she needs to be. Vic doesn't tell anyone about her unusual ability, because she knows no one will believe her. She has trouble understanding it herself.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 73
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No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it's Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies - before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache, and a pair of horns growing from his temples. At first Ig thought the horns were a hallucination, the product of a mind damaged by rage and grief. He had spent the last year in a lonely, private purgatory, following the death of his beloved, Merrin Williams, who was raped and murdered under inexplicable circumstances.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Kinda lost direction at the end?
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
In this masterful collection of short fiction, Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in 13 relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In The Tall Grass”, one of two stories cowritten with Stephen King, basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.
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3 out of 5 stars
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There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
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5 out of 5 stars
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my favorite narrator
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The Troop
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Once every year, Scoutmaster Tim Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a weekend camping trip - a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story around a roaring bonfre. The boys are a tight-knit crew. There’s Kent, one of the most popular kids in school; Ephraim and Max, also well-liked and easygoing; then there’s Newt the nerd and Shelley the odd duck. For the most part, they all get along and are happy to be there - which makes Scoutmaster Tim’s job a little easier.
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Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon on an afternoon in 1945...Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Meh.
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Years ago, a young girl ran away from her childhood home and vowed never to go back. It was a place of fear, pain, and misery at the hands of an abusive father. But now, her father is dead, and she is forced to break that vow and return home - to lay his body to rest and face up to the ghosts of her past. However, Danni is about to learn that some ghosts are more real than others. Something beyond her understanding waits for her there, lurking in the shadows.
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Tananarive Due, author of The Living Blood won the American Book Award and is praised as Stephen King's equal by Publishers Weekly. In The Good House, Due sets a story of ancient powers and modern retribution in a small Pacific Northwest town. When a young woman returns to her grandmother's empty mansion, she is pitted against demonic forces that have poisoned her family for generations.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great story and narration. Not scary, but, do not let that stop you.
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The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.
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Entertaining listen.
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When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country's most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won't be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.
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For over 20 years, Belasco House has stood empty. Regarded as the Mt. Everest of haunted houses, its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of unimaginable horror and depravity. All previous attempts to probe its mysteries have ended in murder, suicide, or insanity.
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Story4 out of 5 stars 88
Tina Evans has spent a year suffering from incredible heartache since her son Danny's tragic death. But now, with her Vegas show about to premiere, Tina can think of no better time for a fresh start. Maybe she can finally move on and put her grief behind her. Only there is a message for Tina, scrawled on the chalkboard in Danny's room: NOT DEAD.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Meh
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From number one New York Times best-selling author, legendary storyteller, and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new and compelling novellas - Mr. Harrigan's Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds - each pulling you into intriguing and frightening places.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Narration is captivating!
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4 out of 5 stars 37
For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past - and get away with murder. Peter Straub's classic best seller is a work of "superb horror" ( Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time - and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well thought out and creepy.
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The Deep
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Story4 out of 5 stars 39
A strange plague called the "Gets" is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget - small things at first, like where they left their keys... then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily - and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as "ambrosia" has been discovered - a universal healer, from initial reports.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Forgetable but hes a great descriptive wtiter
- By Amazon Customer on 2020-07-07
Written by: Nick Cutter
Publisher's Summary
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.
What the critics say
- 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)
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What listeners say about Heart-Shaped Box
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Heather Little
- 2018-05-30
Jury Still Out
This was the first book by Joe Hill I've had the pleasure of consuming. I enjoyed his writing, descriptive without being frilly or monotonous. His characters are well developed and very human with real, believable problems even though they're supernatural problems, they're introduced so well they're almost believable too.
The narrator did well with the reading, giving the proper tone to a horror novel and voicing all characters.
My only complaint is the MUSIC that just randomly pops up at the end of a part. WTH!? Whoever decided to stick music into a narrated novel needs a smack.
I want to say more about the novel and how wonderful it is, but I'm so angry about that music scaring the crap out of me it's all I can really remember about it.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- jacques
- 2019-10-26
pretty good
Reminded me of Dean Koontz, with his magic dogs and brilliant lights from doors to the afterlife. ending seemed kindof slapped together. still a good listen.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2020-09-10
Disappointing, Difficult to Enjoy
Hill has written better stories, and better characters. Worst thing about this audiobook is the voice actor. He gives this dull, slow, low-affect reading throughout the whole book. I lost track of what was going on at several points because the reading is so flat. Sometimes I could hear Lang reading through a yawn and while holding in a sneeze. Exacerbating the situation was Lang's strange approximation of a woman's voice, with very little variation between female characters. In a book where characters are possessed, you might have to rewind to catch when the change starts because his voice doesn't change if they're women.
Lastly, there's this sudden loud "rock-esque" riff that plays between sections. It doesn't fade in, and almost cuts off the voice actor in sections. Halts any immersion you might have managed.
Re-Record this, and maybe it'll be worth readers' time and credits.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rose
- 2018-02-05
Creepy
Creepy story, well built up story line until the last chapters which fall flat of the surmounting tension this thriller develops over the course of the book. Still worth a listen for the thriller/horror fans.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- K
- 2021-06-28
Ended well
Had a bit of trouble getting into this story…seemed to drag for the first 1/3…but then picked up…and excellent storyline. Creative, with some excellent “ewwwww…!” moments. Glad I stuck it through. Worth the listen.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-06-12
Very entertaining but not his best
Not the best of Joe Hill but still very enjoyable. Perfect ending. The narrator was great but the weird music was terrible. I feel like someone hated their boss and wanted to see what ridiculous shit they could get away with for their last job. Seriously what was that weird misplaced techno bullshit? Totally distracting but did add a bit of hilarity to seriously moments.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kasey McNaughton
- 2021-03-08
Music was distracting
The book was good- but the sporadic music was distracting - I noticed multiple reviews mentioning it- and didn’t think it could be that bad. But it really was. It makes the book feel cheap and cheesy- had nothing to do with the overall tone of the book- just shakes you out of the moment.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SilkeForce
- 2021-03-03
bugs
nasty bugs in my recording caused a lot of skips. really messed up a perfectly good book.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- K. Betz
- 2021-01-24
It's Fine
For a short novel, it was a fine way to pass the time, but that's about it. The story was ok, with a few good character moments and a couple spooky scenes. Overall I did not really connect with the characters or understand their motivations. The overall story seemed a bit silly. I won't be recommending this to anyone. (I had no problem with the audible version, by the way, just didn't like the story). This is my second Hill novel and it paled in comparison to N0S4ATU.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dustin Hertel
- 2020-12-05
Awesome story, good performance, okay production
The book is great, and the narrator does a good job. the only thing I didnt like is the music that plays between chapters because it would last WAY too long once the narrator had started reading again, which was distracting and frustrating. otherwise, a great listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Laura
- 2012-05-10
Wonderful!
I can't remember when I have enjoyed a book as well as this one. The story is one that has left me with chills and the characters are not only entertaining but realistic. The reader is just outstanding and really pulls the listener into the story. I loved this book, would highly recommend.
38 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Lesley
- 2007-02-23
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.
228 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2018-10-06
Wtf is up with the crappy techno music between chapters?!
This isn’t my favorite Joe Hill book, but it’s pretty good. However there is this generic techno miso that intermittently pops up between some chapters. It is jarring and out of place. It really takes you out of the story, and makes the whole thing feel cheesy.
39 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Patricia
- 2007-11-30
Disturbing
Intricately written and extremely descriptive, this story leaves you wondering who the real victims/villains are...the roles are not clearly defined and each character crosses back and forth across the line of decency. Yet, it becomes fairly evident 'who's the evilest one of all' as the book progresses...but then what?
This book was clearly written by someone who knows his way around character development. My main criticism is that the reader was tediously slow in his reading and could have done more to act out the characters. I had to put my IPOD speed to "faster" just so I wouldn't give up because of the slow pace. Not sure if this was all the fault of the reader, but most of it probably was. It's well worth listening to, but at times will give you an uneasy feeling, so I'm not sure that I would put this book in my top 5 favs.
71 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Susan
- 2014-10-07
Nightmare in a suit
I could not put this one down. As good as NOS4A2 just not as freaky/creepy. This was a crazy, paranormal, mystery served with a little romance on the side. Joe Hill is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors because of his ability to keep a good steady pace along with original stories in each of his books.
Jude is a rock star that loves to collect macabre objects until one day when he purchases a Heart Shaped Box that sends his whole life into a tailspin. Unfortunately everyone in his life is drawn into his treacherous paranormal, nightmare that may just suck them all down the death road. Great, sinister, October read with believable characters and top notch narration.
39 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Steve C.
- 2018-05-07
not bad
The story is interesting, the writing is well done. The narrator wasn't very good in my opinion. Also, there is music that plays sometimes and its loud and a bit jarring. Totally unnecessary. Overall it's a 3 star experience.
10 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Jodee
- 2007-07-03
Good enough, but not momentous
Two things lessened my enjoyment of this book: The reader and the Audible interview hyping the book, which misrepresented it in an effort to broaden its appeal.
I didn't care for the reader's approach to the southern accents in the book. This was part of the plot, that accents changed as the characters traveled south, but most of his female characters sounded like Mr. Rogers.
I am not devoted to the genre, but I will read it occasionally, maybe once a year. I picked this book because of the interview in 'This is Audible.' The slant of the interview was that this crosses genre, can even hold its own among literary fiction. This is hype that tainted my listening experience. I kept waiting for conflict, catharsis, character growth...
Literary fiction it is not. However, it is every bit as good as the best X-files episode, and the book could have been honestly presented as such. If that had been my expectation, I am sure I would have had no problem recommending it.
9 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Amanda H.
- 2011-08-14
Spooky, Creepy, and Smart!
One word comes to mind after listening to Heart-Shaped Box.....TALENT! The book was extremely spooky and creepy. The characters are well written with depth. Had a hard time pausing the book, I did not want to leave the story or characters.
32 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan
- 2009-11-10
A well-crafted thriller
I agree with those who have compared this book favorably with Stephen King's work. Hill does an excellent job of creating fully fleshed-out characters and a viscerally chilling narrative, using a very accessible prose. I didn't love the ending, and I thought the paranormal stuff verged on silly at times, but it's still a very entertaining read. Solid narration by Mr. Lang, too.
23 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Sabrina
- 2013-04-15
Not scary.
Has Heart-Shaped Box turned you off from other books in this genre?
Maybe not from the genre, but certainly from the author.
Which scene was your favorite?
None.
Any additional comments?
I had read numerous reviews about this book to make sure I would not be wasting my money, but the reviews were misleading. This book was touted as being intensely frightening and scary, but it was neither. I found it boring and silly, not in the least bit terrifying. It felt more like a short story that was stretched much too far in order to make it into a novel. Incredibly boring and not worth my time.
21 people found this helpful