Author : Grady Hendrix
Publication date: September 23rd 2014 by Quirk Books
Ignoring the title and taking a short glance of the cover, I would think this book to be an interior design magazine. I am sure some of you would think the same too! With the hot trend industrial Scandinavian style decor, Horrorstör is nothing like the typical horror book cover.
Meet Amy, 24 year-old slacker who worked at Orsk, resented her job but couldn't afford to lose her job, with her friend, Ruth Anne were asked by their boss, Basil to do night time shift. Basil believed there was intruder that needed taken care of. Desperate for cash and had no choice, Amy agreed to take the night shift and discover something scary that happened at the store at midnight.
To tell you the truth, the villain didn't appear until I reached 50% of the book, so I can say that it is quite slow at the beginning. Hendrix is a powerful storyteller though, he's the master in writing dialogue! I enjoy every conversation in the book, maybe that's what kept me going and when I finally got to see the ghost, I felt a relieved.
Amy is a very annoying character at the beginning. She's so lazy and she believe her unlucky fate is the universe's fault. Well, having faced some slacker co worker in my life, I can say that it's an accurate trait. The good news is, she developed as the story went as if having revelation. It's a good thing for a character to have, actually.
Basil on the other hand is a typical boss. He wanted all his subordinates to follow his orders and listen to whatever he had to say. He loved his job too much, which gave me the impression that he had no life, but he wasn't as bad as he seemed to be.
I think the book would be extremely awesome if only it didn't take half of the book before the action started. It would be around 200 pages, mind you, some people wouldn't wait that long before putting a book on their DNF list. Oh while I waited for the ghost to appear, I was treated with product flyers of Orsk product as well as the torturing tool of 19th century ( I cringed every time I came across one).
Now here's my favorite quote. See, Hendrix is awesome in dialogue:
"I don't want to go on the floor, either, but having a job is all about doing things you don't want to do. That's why they pay you money for it. Life doesn't care what you want, other people don't care what you want. All that matters is what you do. And right now, what you're going to do is stand shoulder to shoulder with me and march out that door, find our friends, and help them deal with this situation. Tomorrow you can do whatever the heck you want, but I am going to keep my job. So get up, put some pepper in your pants, and let's get moving."
Overall, I liked this book. I have never work for retail, so I have no comment on how accurate the description in Horrorstör. 4 rating, it's good and scary enough. I wish it was packed with more actions or combats. Oh, the ending makes me guess if there will be a sequel, because if yes, I so want to read it!
Well, your turn now! Have you ever read a book that scared you so much you won't read it at night? What is it? Would you reread it?
