“The dead will drag the living down.”
This horror novel by Joe Hill is the story of aging rock star Judas Coyne and how his love of collecting weird, morbid and supernatural things leads him to buy a dead man’s suit … when the ghost attached to the funeral suit refuses to leave, it unleashes a reign of terror and unearths a series of horrific incidents.
As a child raised on a farm under the aegis of a very strict father, Justin Cowzynski’s adult life as a rocker is surrounded by everything from acid and suicide to heartbreak and murder. The unnatural death of one of his exes - Florida - becomes the basis of this tale of suspense and horror.
Like the ghost that cannot be rid of, the strongest feature of this story was the relentless sense of terror that never once lets up. Bound together by the eyes with the black marker scribbles - a fantastic imagery that runs throughout the story - no matter where Judas and Georgia run, the spirit constantly finds them out: in a song that suddenly comes on, in radio ads, in an inexplicable email, in a weird incident in the car in the garage, in a spooky call from Danny Wooten, in the diner with the electrolarynx…
What I also really liked about the story was that it was not just about horror for the sake of horror. This is a story of a dark past and a terrifying present; one that moves from a very creepy world to a very sordid one, climaxing with high drama at end, with an absolutely surreal ending that commences with the drive down the ‘night road’.
I also loved the characters of this story: each and every one of them - the sinister Craddock McDermott, the weird Judas Coyne, the tragic Florida, the sick Jessica, and, other main character, Georgia - who shows remarkable growth in her staunch and loyal support of the haunted Judas.
I am quite the newbie when it comes to reading horror, so it may well be that I know no better, but I have to say I really liked this story a lot - interspersed by scenes of violent horror as much as softened by allusions to sad pasts, the story not only carried a constant sense of fear, but was also filled with unbelievable plot turns, and these surprise twists made Heart-Shaped Box a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Postscript: A few minutes (literally) before posting this blog, I had a fantastic moment of startling revelation of my own - Joe Hill is apparently the son of Stephen King. HUH! … Especially shocking for me, as readers of my blog (all two of you) know exactly how I feel about Mr. King.
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