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Fiction. Horror. Literature. Thriller. HTML: In this hard-rocking, spine-tingling supernatural thriller, the washed-up guitarist of a '90s heavy metal band embarks on an epic road trip across America and deep into the web of a sinister conspiracy. Grady Hendrix, horror writer and author of Paperbacks from Hell and My Best Friend's Exorcism, is back with his most electrifying novel yet. In the 1990s, heavy metal band Durt Wurk was poised for breakout success-but then lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career and rocketed to stardom as Koffin, leaving his fellow bandmates to rot in obscurity. Two decades later, former guitarist Kris Pulaski works as the night manager of a Best Western-she's tired, broke, and unhappy. Everything changes when a shocking act of violence turns her life upside down, and she begins to suspect that Terry sabotaged more than just the band. Kris hits the road, hoping to reunite with the rest of her bandmates and confront the man who ruined her life. It's a journey that will take her from the Pennsylvania rust belt to a celebrity rehab center to a music festival from hell. A furious power ballad about never giving up, even in the face of overwhelming odds, We Sold Our Souls is an epic journey into the heart of a conspiracy-crazed, pill-popping, paranoid country that seems to have lost its very soul ... where only a lone girl with a guitar can save us all..… (more)
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It’s the 90s and heavy metal rules the rock and roll music machine.
Dürt Würk is right on the cusp of fame when suddenly their singer, Terry Hunt, pulls out, goes solo, changes his name and becomes a mega-superstar. He leaves
Decades pass, and Dürt Würk’s guitarist, Kris Pulaski, is barely scraping by, working as the night manager at a Best Western motel. Her dreary, miserable days suddenly explode into a fight for her very soul when she makes a shocking discovery about Terry’s meteoric rise to fame. It is imperative she reconnect with her former bandmates and get the band back together.
Meanwhile, Terry, aka, ‘Koffin’, is headlining a massive rock show in Las Vegas with record breaking crowds expected to attend. If Kris doesn’t get there in time, many more souls may be lost.
Full disclosure- I read Grady Hendrix’s ‘Paperbacks from Hell’ and loved it. The book highlighted pulp horror novels from an era I was familiar with, and it was done with humor, and intelligence. So, when I saw this book by Hendrix, I couldn’t resist. The thing is I don’t read horror novels a lot, except around Halloween, and I was never into the type of metal featured in this story, but…
I have a son who was just at the right age to appreciate pure metal and I heard my fair share of it bleeding through his bedroom walls. The 'nu-metal' was also in the house, which is, evidently, according to this novel- frowned upon by purists. Anyway, my point is, I am familiar enough with the culture to recognize the bands and understood most of the references.
At the end of the day, the story is one that has endured for ages- the classic myth of selling one’s soul for fame and fortune, with the devil getting the last laugh. Except in this case, souls were sold without their knowledge, and they are desperate to free themselves from the contract which has sealed their fate. This is a nice twist, and I loved that Kris is a kick-butt female guitarist in an overwhelmingly male dominated environment.
Of course, this is a cautionary tale and there is a moral to the story. I love that about this book. It’s a gory, supernatural, futuristic horror story, featuring hardcore metal music, but there is still message and a lesson to be learned from it. While the legend of ‘selling one’s soul’ conjures up woo-doo, a thing about chickens, and visions of crossroads, and is often taken in the literal sense, I think it’s allegorical and yes, many a musician has fallen into the trap.
There are other points the author zooms in on, that while not entirely original, will still make you think. The one downside was the ending. I was expecting a huge, epic showdown, but it ended up being a whimper instead of a roar. Other than that, this story is an homage to heavy metal, to rock and roll, and horror novels. It’s a little tense, has some gross out gore, but also a healthy dose of humor and satire. It will also give you nightmares about UPS trucks, but overall, this is rip-roaring, spine-tingling tale of horror, but was also a whole lot of fun to read!
I loved the chapter titles and the metal songs for which they are named. They weren't random either, they tied perfectly into what happened during each chapter. Especially appropriate were "Destroy Erase Improve" and "At the Night-side Eclipse." The horrors described were especially terrifying. I discovered that I have a bit of claustrophobia from reading this book. The chapter where Kris is trying to escape from Black Iron Mountain had me squirming and cringing, yelling "No!" at the book. I would not have been able to do what Kris did, but she's a badass, and I'm not. Another horrible event was the rest stop scene. This scene was part zombie horde attack, horrific body mutilation, and voyeurism. And afterwards, a healthy dose of gaslighting, media dismissal, and apathy. Poor JD, he went down like a champ. I can't believe this book got me to root for conspiracy theorists, but I think that's part of the appeal of conspiracy theories: Its actually kind of fun, but also addicting, to believe in them. Its fun to look for "secrets." After all, that's why mysteries are so popular. People also like to feel like they are special, or have special knowledge, so when you combine the thrill of mystery with special knowledge, no wonder conspiracy theories are popular. But I digress again. Metal music is full of conspiracy theory lyrics, and going against the grain, and questioning power, so its natural for that mentality to be a theme of this book.
I can't wait to go back and re-read this one. I'm sure there were plenty of easter eggs that I missed as I sped through it. But overall I loved it.
We Sold Our Souls is sort of like a heavy metal concept album in novel form, but that doesn’t mean it’s the kind of slapdash narrative you would normally find on a long-player. Instead, it’s a propulsive read that rides on
The author of that lost album, Kris Pulaski, is a washed-up former rock guitarist riding the desk at a Best Western. She’s stuck in that customer-service wasteland because Terry Hunt, the lead singer of her old band, Dürt Würk, sold her out, stole her music, and sued her into oblivion. It doesn’t help that the rest of the band hates her because of something terrible she did on “contract night” – the night the band fell apart in spectacular fashion.
When Kris sees a billboard for Koffin, Terry’s sell-out cash-grab nu metal band formed in the ashes of Dürt Würk, she’s at absolute rock bottom. She’s broke, friendless and soon-to-be homeless after her brother kicks her out of her dead mother’s house.
The billboard is the catalyst that sets off a bottomless store of anger she’d kept tamped deep down inside. She decides that it’s time to confront the former members of Dürt Würk and ask them why the events of contract night don’t line up in her memory.
This is a horror novel called We Sold Our Souls, though, so I’m sure it isn’t surprising to learn that something bizarre is going on behind the scenes and Kris gets caught up in its wake as soon as she gets back in touch with her old band.
I was so caught up in this book that I read the last 2/3rds in one marathon sitting, which I think is a pretty resounding endorsement. There are also two harrowing set-pieces that kept me on the edge of my seat and wincing.
I’ve read a few of Grady Hendrix’s novels now, and although this one isn’t as good as My Best Friend’s Exorcism, it delivers some solid scares while also painting a compelling picture of how music can save your life.
First, for those of you who sample books before purchasing, be aware that the first chapter might give you the wrong
The pace starts quite slow. We have bursts of action, then more slow spots, going on this way through much of the book.
The content tries hard, perhaps too hard, to send a message about how we've become complacent sheep being led by our masters. While there are some thoughtful nuggets, as a whole it's way too clear that this is the intent, and so it feels a little preachy.
My biggest problem is that the characters and the plot take themselves too seriously for the way its written. Some scenes have a lot of violence and gore, and there are other scenes that are intense, but rather than feeling on edge I really just wanted to laugh. I couldn't buy into any of it because it was too ridiculous.
And, finally, the entire story pushes us toward a confrontation between Kris and Terry. We have bloodshed and rage leading us to what should have been an explosive ending. Instead, it's like they both just shrug their shoulders and walk away.
A word of caution: If you're a fan of "nu-metal" and bands such as Korn and Slipnot, you probably don't want to read this book. These bands are insulted and ridiculed throughout the story.
*I received an advance copy from Amazon Vine in exchange for my honest review.*
We Sold Our Souls mixes a deal with the devil, a Lovecraftian cult, and a scrappy metal band to create its weird and wonderful mythology. It all starts with Kris moldering at the Best Western, struggling to deal with naked, deranged patrons. Because of Terry and his contracts, Kris has no prospects or real future. I am completely on board with her when she sets out to rebuild her band and face Terry. The situation is all the more heartbreaking when their relationship is shown. She and Terry grew up together, mourned legends, traded tapes, learned music, and finally founded Durt Wurk together. He threw it all away to become the Blind King and head Koffin, the most commercially successful and soulless metal band. It merges the commercial nature of Kiss mixed with Nickelback, only with metal music. Melanie is a huge fan of their music who is disillusioned and drowning in college debt. She proves to be significant to the story in surprising ways.
I love the way Hendrix talks about music. Kris started out as a kid in a basement struggling to make music with hurting hands and strings only to transcend the pain and frustration when she finally plays the opening chords of Iron Man. The same music heard by thousands finally came out of her own guitar. Later on, Durt Wurk played for a different crowds (hostile and not) and succeeded in transforming them with their music and energy. Melanie and Kris bond over their shared love of Dolly Parton (after butting heads over their differing views of Koffin) and pass the time singing her music all the way to Vegas. The manufactured to appeal to the widest audience type of music fro Koffin is described very differently than Durt Wurk's earnest and heartfelt but imperfect songs. The way music is described borders on magical but feels accurate. It has a way of bonding lovers of the same music and transforming listeners and performers alike.
The horror elements took me by surprise. I thought it would be similar to The Devil's Candy or something more straightforward. The creatures that gave Terry the contracts are bigger and more monstrous than our perception allows us to see. They never communicate directly because they don't even speak the same language. The minions are only aware that they know human greed and feast on souls. Their main minions are cookie cutter UPS drivers that aren't much more than automatons. In addition, all the followers of Koffin act as their eyes and ears. When enough followers gather, they stop truly being individuals and answer commands to destroy. Kris isn't safe anywhere. The creatures have already gotten to anyone that might matter to her and every person is a potential informant or attacker. The eldritch nature of the villains plus their far feaching eyes and ears keeps the suspense and sense of danger high as the novel moves along.
We Sold Our Souls is a treat to read. There are so many different elements that Hendrix melds together to make this unique novel. I loved everything from the music to the characters to the villainous monsters. The story is a love letter to metal music that still critiques the negative things about it like how women can be harassed at concerts. I have no issues with this book and I loved how it ended like it started. I highly recommend this and any other Grady Hendrix novel.
by Grady Hendrix
2018
Quirk Books
4.0 / 5.0
1990ś metal band, Durt Wurk, from Pennsylvania, were a good band on the verge of greatness when their lead singer, Terry splits the band and begins performing as Koffin. Koffin become known popular and Terry is living the life. Kris,
Will she reap her revenge?
I love how Grady Hendrix captured the energy of rock n roll, the spirit of rock musicians and fans and melded it to a horrific crime.
The references to bands, musicians and guitars was excellent-esp the Runaways and the song ¨Dead End Justice¨
Original and engaging, this was fun and a look at the morality of a lifestyle and an era in music.
The cover and black edged pages are awesome.
Kris is an absolute kick-ass lead character, the story is fantastic, the pacing perfect.
If I thought about
Rock on.
In true Hendrix fashion though, We Sold Our Souls puts a unique twist on the whole selling your soul gig. In his world, you can sell the souls of others to obtain your desires, which, when you wrap your head around it, leads to all sorts of ramifications. Does it seem like you can never catch a break? Blame someone else for selling your soul.
To make things more interesting, selling your soul does not actually mean communing with the devil and signing your name in blood. In the Hendrix world, all it takes is something as simple as signing up for a new phone plan that comes with the best and latest phone. When you wish for something material and end up obtaining that object, chances are you sold your soul to get it. It is a fascinating approach to Faustian deals.
This is all information she discovers as she tries to reconcile her lack of success in anything versus that of her former bandmate. But the horror doesn’t stop there. In fact, Kris uncovers an entire demonic dimension in which we are just the cogs in a wheel. As she takes steps to bring that wheel to a halt, she discovers that is easier said than done. What follows is a brutal, gory, and a bit too on-the-nose race to stop certain powers from taking over the world.
We Sold Our Souls is exactly what you hope a Grady Hendrix novel will be. Not only is it intense and gory, befitting a good horror story, but it also shifts your perception of the world just enough so that his explanations of what is wrong with it seem plausible. I wouldn’t rank We Sold Our Souls as among his best, but it certainly fits the mood of 2020, with just enough hope at the end to lead us into 2021.
Forty-six year old Kris Pulaski is the co-creator and guitarist of the now defunct heavy metal band Dürt Würk. She, along with Terry Hunt, formed the band while they were still
Kris is just going through the motions as she works the overnight shift at Best Western. Learning about Terry's farewell tour is the catalyst Kris needs to reclaim her life. She is also very curious about why their final album has never seen the light of day. Scottie is the first bandmate she contacts and she is shocked by the changes in him. When tragedy strikes, Kris finds herself on the run as she continues trying to stop Terry before he carries out a diabolical plan.
With plenty of action, scary encounters and heavy metal references, We Sold Our Souls is a fast-paced and compelling novel. The storyline is unique and quite imaginative. Kris is a feisty protagonist who refuses to back down despite facing some very daunting and life-threatening obstacles. Kris absolutely shines as her story arc comes to a glorious denouement but the novel's conclusion is a bit ambiguous. Old and new fans of Grady Hendrix will love this homage to heavy metal music.
Every once in a while, I'll read a book and not be able to put it down.
Every once in a while, I'll read a book and absolutely love it.
And then, every once in a while, I'll read a book and think, damn, that's exactly the kind of book I want to
This book sits very firmly, and very comfortably in that last category.
It hits all the notes (pardon the pun) and it hits them perfectly. The almost rockstar, now working the dead end job. The mostly talentless bandmate that went on to make billions. The dropping of all the famous metal bands' names.
But it's so much more than that (of course, it has to be, because it's Grady fucking Hendrix). There's soul-sucking demons. There's conspiracy theorists. There's shadowy henchmen in innocuous garb. There's...
Oh fuck it. If you like rock, and you like horror, then read this. Period.
Hendrix manages to bring the same feel of those forgotten horror stories, including all the nostalgia I can stand... and he gets it right. Every single time, he gets it right.
Overall, another entertaining read by