Listening to Grady Hendrix’s Horrorstör it dawned on me that the book format can really make a difference.
Not too long ago I listened to Paperbacks from Hell (Grady Hendrix), and someone asked a question that made me realize that I had missed out on something; the paperback version had pictures of all of those fabulous old paperback covers. This was completely lost with the Audible version of the book.
Well, Horrorstör, on the other hand, lends itself perfectly to the Audible format. Tai Sammons with a little help from Bronson Pinchot lend their talents to enhance a fun, creepy, and captivating story.
Each chapter begins with a quick interlude/commercial narrated by Bronson (I know him from Perfect Strangers – we are on a first name basis), these interludes were very reminiscent of something Philip K. Dick did in Ubik: fun, and ingenious commercials for Orsk products (Orsk is the Ikea knockoff store where Horrorstör takes place), these interludes get more horrific as the story goes on. Having Bronson do these interludes while letting Tai do all of the heavy lifting gave great emphasis to them.
What would a Grady Hendrix Audible be without some great nostalgia; between each chapter there is a little “Briiingg.” For those of you born before a certain date it will bring back all of those memories of read-along stories. For those of you born after that date, once upon a time you could buy a record that came with a book, you would play the record on your record player while you read along; every now and then you would hear a ringing chime, like a “Briiingg” to let you know it was time to turn the page. An ingenious concept for the stone age, isn’t it?
I had a great time with Horrorstör and that really is what I am looking for in a book. I’m sure that the text format is fabulous, I would, however, highly recommend the Audible.