Audiobook Review: Jessica’s Thoughts on Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
Author: Grady Hendrix
Narrators:
Bronson Pinchot
Tai Sammons
Published: September 23, 2014
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 21-22, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.
Jessica’s Review:
Grady Hendrix’s novels have not worked for me in the past and the sole reason I gave this one a shot was because it made Kim’s Top 10 of 2021 (And it was free on Audible). After listening to Horrorstör I can say this: A Grady Hendrix novel that worked for me!!!
I think the main reason why it resonated for me so much was because after I graduated college, I worked at a Target store for almost 3 years until I got my government job, and I still work for local county government. I identified with the employees of Orsk and understood what they go through each day.
I know I most likely missed some things listening to the audiobook since the physical novel itself is set up like an IKEA catalog. Kim even said “If you had read the physical book, then you would have given it 5 stars!” The audiobook did have a PDF document attached, so I did get some of the illustrations that included the featured product at the beginning of each chapter. One thing to note with the photos, as the novel progresses each featured item becomes creepier than the previous one that corresponds with the story.
We have two narrators: Bronson Pinchot and Tai Sammons. Pinchot did the narrations that accompanied each photo at the start of each chapter and Sammons narrated the novel. One character is Amy and I pictured her as America Ferrera from Super Store. These two characters have the same name and attitude! Both narrators did a great job with their narrations! Pinchot has that voice that is the commercial type but also adds the needed creepiness as the novel progresses.
Horrorstör doesn’t take itself seriously and you are in for a ride with this novel as it mixes working in the retail environment and the daily nightmares that brings in of itself, along with horror and humor. It’s a fun novel in the creative way it was put together. Hopefully one day I can get a physical copy of it and see what I missed.
Bravo to Hendrix for finally writing a novel that works for me!
Horrorstör is recommended.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
The Final Girl Support Group
Author: Grady Hendrix
Published: July 13, 2021
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: September 16-22, 2021
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?
Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized–someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.
But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.
Jessica’s Review:
Despite not really being a Grady Hendrix fan, in the spirit of Halloween I gave the audiobook a listen, but like his others, it did not agree with me. The premise has something to it: What happens to ‘final girls’ after the headlines end? All the final girls are reminiscent of final girls from the slasher movies of the 1980s and 1990s.
For me, what happens with these final girls is that they are all beyond messed up! I did not form any attachment to any of the final girls, so when things happened to them, I did not really feel anything. We do get details of what Lynnette survived and it is very brutal in a jaw dropping way.
This novel did get me thinking about Neve Campbell’s character Sydney in the Scream movies: She survived multiple attacks by multiple killers so how messed up would she be in ‘real life’??? Also Jamie Lee Curtis in the Halloween movies, yep, she’s a total Final Girl! And we get new movies in both of those series relatively soon.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
Author: Grady Hendrix
Published: September 23, 2014
248 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.
To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.
A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve.
Kim’s Review:
Holy cow. I’ve read Hendrix’s other books and loved them, so I’ve had my eye on this book for a long time. I read it in one sitting and it’s easily my favorite of this quarter, so far! He describes it as “horror parody” and that’s so accurate! So many times throughout the book, I felt both creeped out and amused. The book is in a catalog-ish format, so there were furniture illustrations. So many times, I had to stop reading so I could giggle! Yet I was still scared! How he managed that, I’m not sure, but he did!
The story itself is unique and engaging. Hendrix loves a good metaphor and of all his books, this one is the most obvious, so I didn’t feel quite so stupid after I finished it. Overall, I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone! I think even those who don’t really like horror would like this book. But those who love horror will adore this book!! I thought it was brilliant!!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
