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 comes packaged in the form of a glossy mail order catalog, complete with product illustrations, a home delivery order form, and a map of Orsk’s labyrinthine showroom. It’s “a treat for fans of The Evil Dead or Zombieland, complete with affordable solutions for better living.”—Kirkus Reviews.
I was completely taken by the Ikea catalogue parody design of Horrorstör and that counted for a lot. I enjoyed this a lot although once the shit hit the fan it seemed a bit rushed. Grady Hendrix can be very scary but in this case didn't quite make it. The ending however did not cop out. I recommend this if you're looking for something light and fun in between horror reads.
3.5
I really love the concept. I'm a sucker for isolated horrors/thrillers and using such a unique setting was the draw for me, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed? I kind of felt a bit disconnected from the characters tbh. Because it's fairly short you never get to really know them and the whole book takes place over a 24hr period. There's also a little bit of dumb decision-making throughout, which is frustrating, but fairly forgettable once you're pulled into whatever is going on.
It was a lot gorier than I was expecting and gore is kind of whatever to me. Personally I find it kind of boring? And a lot of the descriptions were so overdramatic that it would ruin the immersion for me. I would have enjoyed the book way more if it focused more on the creepy, paranormal aspects rather than devolving into gore …
3.5
I really love the concept. I'm a sucker for isolated horrors/thrillers and using such a unique setting was the draw for me, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed? I kind of felt a bit disconnected from the characters tbh. Because it's fairly short you never get to really know them and the whole book takes place over a 24hr period. There's also a little bit of dumb decision-making throughout, which is frustrating, but fairly forgettable once you're pulled into whatever is going on.
It was a lot gorier than I was expecting and gore is kind of whatever to me. Personally I find it kind of boring? And a lot of the descriptions were so overdramatic that it would ruin the immersion for me. I would have enjoyed the book way more if it focused more on the creepy, paranormal aspects rather than devolving into gore constantly. I would say this book is more 'Saw' than the Infinite Ikea SCP. I would have preferred the latter, but that's just my personal taste.
Overall I still had a reasonably fun time. I can't say I got scared or even creeped out, but there are enough concepts in here to enjoy and some really great social commentary sprinkled throughout. If you have ever worked a shitty retail job then you will feel very seen by this book lol
