Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Reviewed by: Carey Gibbons, Reference Assistant
Genre: Horror
Suggested Age: Adult
What is the book about?: Amy works at ORSK, an IKEA knockoff store. She feels like her life is a mess and nothing at all goes right for her. But her life is about to get a whole lot worse. Bad things are happening in the ORSK store after hours. Merchandise gets broken and goes missing, and one morning, the staff arrives to find what looks like blood all over one of the Brooka sofas. Amy’s boss, Basil, enlists her to stay overnight at ORSK and catch whoever is breaking in. But Amy and Basil quickly realize that the terrible things happening in ORSK are way beyond your average creepy hobo.
My review: The concept behind this book is really clever. The actual book is modeled on an IKEA catalogue complete with furniture diagrams with inspirational instructions, available colors, and item ID codes. This is a horror book, but it was hard not to chuckle at the big box store, retail as religion, mockery. However, I would have liked this book a lot more if the author wasn’t constantly pointing out how clever he was. Hendrix explains every joke and reference, even the fact that ORSK is an IKEA knockoff. I feel like he doesn’t trust his readers to get even the most basic references. I was also thrown out of the narrative by Hendrix’s lack of a grasp on time. Theoretically, only 7 hours pass in the main narrative of the book but certain characters are tortured for what might pass as days. A flashlight also runs out of power in 30 minutes. These seem like little problems, but they’re constant – enough to fracture the narrative. Overall, I liked this book well enough, but it didn’t feel like a final draft. It’s definitely one to borrow instead of buy.
Rating: 3/5
About FDL Reads
Welcome to FDL Reads, weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library. Librarians (and possibly some other guest reviewers) review all types of books, from children’s picture books, young adult favorites, to the latest adult thriller, and share their thoughts each Tuesday at fondulaclibrary.org. If the book is owned by Fondulac District Library (or another local library), you’ll see a direct link to the catalog entry and whether or not it is available. If it is checked out or at another local library, you will be able to place a hold as long as you have your library card and PIN numbers. As with any book review, these are our opinions…we disagree amongst ourselves about books frequently. We all have different likes and dislikes, which is what makes the world an interesting place. Please enjoy, and keep on reading!