A review of Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box

Joe Hill is the new kid on the block as far as horror goes, but this is a very special author who's definitely going places. If, as a reader of horror fiction, you don't know who Mr. Hill is by now, then please allow me to tell you. Joe Hill is the son of the famous horror writer, Stephen King, and the apple definitely doesn't fall far from the tree. Mr. Hill's first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is proof of that. Few writers are capable of turning out such a stark, terrifying novel their first time at bat. As a reader, I can tell that this author poured his heart and soul into the creation of his book, and maybe a little blood, too. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Joe Hill had sold his soul and maybe his first-born child to the devil in the hope of achieving a number one bestseller. Just kidding about the devil, but the Heart-Shaped Box is certainly good enough to be on anyone's bestseller list.

The story deals with aging metal rocker, Judas Coyne, who has a macabre collection of artifacts pertaining to murder and death. When his assistant tells him about a ghost being auctioned off of the Internet, Judas quickly decides to put in the highest bid and to see what it gets him. His purchase turns out to be a black Johnny Cash type suit that arrives by UPS a few days later in a heart-shaped box. What's attached to the suit, however, turns out to be more than the rocker bargained for. The suit used to belong to an old preacher named Craddock, who was familiar with the ways of the supernatural and the dark arts. Craddock now wants revenge for the apparent suicide of his stepdaughter, Anna, who used to live with Judas and never got over him after she was kicked out and sent back to her family in Florida. Now, the ghost of Craddock wants to hurt Judas in the worst possible way, not to mention anyone who attempts to help him. For years Judas Coyne and his band sang about death, now Death is about to pay a visit to Judas and to those around him. The only chance the singer has is to figure out a way to fight back, even if that means confronting Craddock's angry spirit head on!

Heart-Shaped Box clearly displays Joe Hill's enormous skill as a writer and his complete command of the English language. He puts together tight, crisp sentences that show off his sheer brilliance for imagery without taking away from the book. He creates the type of characters that literally haunt your subconscious for days after you've finished this awesome first novel. In fact, Mr. Hill is so good that the reader could easily believe he's been turning out novels for the last decade or so. And, no, his father didn't write the book. But, like his father, Joe Hill is a man who was born to write, and he's chosen the "horror" genre as his field of endeavor. I can only hope that he'll stick with horror because this area of fiction needs young blood to give it some new life. I'm going to eagerly await Joe Hill's second novel, and my guess is that it will be even better than Heart-Shaped Box, which is a tough act to follow.