Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstör
by Grady Hendrix
About 80% of my house is furniture from IKEA; furniture from IKEA was part of my childhood, as my family would go there often. So when I read a Squiggles Review and learned about a novel that part IKEA parody and part horror story, I knew I had to buy a copy for my parents for Christmas. And, once I had it in my hands, I knew I had to quickly read it before I wrapped it up and gave it away for Christmas.
First, the style/look of the book is so much like an IKEA catalog. Just look at the cover, for an example. Each chapter features another product, with a white-on-blue diagram of the item and descriptions like: Clear the room and clear away your worries. No matter what size your home, the LIRIPIP wardrope offers a place to store the things you need but don't want to look at every day. Available in natural beech, light maple, and gray oak. W 19 3/4 X D 15 1/4 X H 72 1/4. Item number 4356663223. The book contains a floor map of the showroom & other levels of the building, a home delivery order form, and even some info about the company, Orsk.
Though the style of the book is creative and perfect, it also ties into the story itself quite well. The big box discount furniture store comes alive in this book, with its own terminology and corporate slogans. The place feels real... and soon enough it feels scary. When employees come in one day and find one of the piece of furniture destroyed, one of the senior employees decides that several of them will stay overnight to prevent this from happening again.
The main character is Amy, one of the employees chosen. She recently failed the test to become management, but she's worked at Orsk long enough to understand its philosophy and the importance of being Store Responsible. The ragtag bunch end up encountering some would-be ghost hunting employees. Together, they get far more than they bargained for in the middle of the night in the store.
See that product number above? Notice anything demonic about it? That should give you an idea of what happens! This is a horror novel, and reads as such. There were a few icky moments and some scary ones as well. I read one review that said it was so scary and another that said it wasn't scary enough. I think it's somewhere in the middle. It was just scary enough for me; I'm not a huge fan of horror stories! There was a good amount of build-up and then the scary portions made sense. I loved the clever way they use the store to fight against the bad guy/bad guys just as the store itself is trying to fight them. Even though I had to read it quickly in order to wrap it and give it as a present, t was fun and enjoyable. I especially liked the little bonuses that made it feel like a catalog, including the ones at the end, which I can't mention for fear of spoilers.