Publishers Weekly
07/09/2018
Hendrix’s pulpy love letter to heavy metal music is a gloriously over-the-top scare fest that has hidden depths. Terry Hunt—aka the Blind King, the former frontman of the wildly successful Dürt Würk—ruined guitarist Kris Pulaski’s life 20 years ago. Now Terry’s on an apocalyptic farewell tour with his new band, Koffin. Kris, 47 and looking back at the shambles of her life, seeks the truth about the night Terry drew up contracts, striking a bargain with the devil that sold out Dürt Würk and doomed Kris to misery and obscurity while gaining fame and fortune for himself. She has to ward off murderous UPS men, hellish creatures, and much more on her way to the culmination of Koffin’s tour: Hellstock ’19 in the Nevada desert, where Terry will bring thousands of souls together for the devil to harvest. Undaunted, Kris unleashes her inner badass and her wicked guitar riffs to stop Terry and his evil cabal. Hendrix (Horrorstör) scatters plenty of barbed popular and consumer culture references throughout this harrowing tale of redemption in the face of powerful evil. Readers will root for Kris all the way to the explosive, poignant finale. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABerwocky Literary. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Nominated for the 2018 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel
A 2019 Locus Award finalist for Best Horror Novel
An NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour Pick
An io9 2018 Fall Preview Pick
A 2018 Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
“A good, creepy, music-tinged thriller.”—CNET
“The quintessential horror-metal novel for our times.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Kickass, horrifying, and smart as hell. It certainly earns my two horns up.”—Dread Central
“An addictive read for the metalhead and horror hound alike.”—Bloody Disgusting
“Hendrix is an indie horror legend, and We Sold Our Souls is one of his best.”—Book Riot
“Wild and fun, genuinely terrifying in places, and also somehow heartfelt.”—Tor.com
“Hendrix’s horror chops are nigh-unassailable at this point.”—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog
“A fast-paced ride, firmly rooted in the pulp horror tradition…Hendrix’s darkest novel yet will leave readers begging for an encore.”—Booklist, starred review
“Enthralling and intense...The plot goes 0 to 100 real quick, and once it does, you won’t want to put the book down.”—Sean Curry, UC San Diego Bookstore bookseller, in the San Diego Union-Tribune
“If you see me in the wild and I'm reading a book that was written by Grady Hendrix, interrupt me at your own peril.”—Sarah Gailey, Hugo-Award winning author of Magic for Liars
More praise for Grady Hendrix:
“National treasure Grady Hendrix follows his classic account of a haunted IKEA-like furniture showroom, Horrorstor (2014), with a nostalgia-soaked ghost story, My Best Friend’s Exorcism.”—The Wall Street Journal, on My Best Friend’s Exorcism
“Pure, demented delight.”—The New York Times Book Review, on Paperbacks from Hell
“Horrorstör delivers a crisp terror-tale...[and] Hendrix strikes a nice balance between comedy and horror.”—The Washington Post, on Horrorstör
“Terrific... Sharply written... [My Best Friend’s Exorcism] makes a convincing case for [Hendrix’s] powers as a sharp observer of human behavior.”—The A.V. Club, on My Best Friend’s Exorcism
“A true appreciation of the genre.”—Los Angeles Times, on Paperbacks from Hell
“Campy. Heartfelt. Horrifying.”—Minnesota Public Radio, on My Best Friend’s Exorcism
“An inventive, hilarious haunted house tale.”—Bustle, on Horrorstör
“Clever, heartfelt, and get-under-your-skin unnerving.”—Fangoria, on My Best Friend’s Exorcism
Library Journal
08/01/2018
Kris Pulaski works a dead-end job as a hotel manager, dreaming of her life two decades ago as the lead guitarist of the on-the-verge-of-success heavy metal band Dürt Würk. Their lead singer, Terry Hunt, having headed off to a fabulous solo career, left behind Kris and the rest of the band. Now it's time to face the music, and Kris is determined that Terry own up to the truth—he sold his bandmates' souls for success. As Kris begins a cross-country trip to find the rest of the group—and hopes their hatred for her may have waned with time—she discovers that the odds to reclaim what was hers may be against her, but both the journey and the destination are worth it. Drawing on the dark side of American society, laden with conspiracy theories, Satanists, pop culture, and the crushed dreams of middle age, this book takes the power of music and turns it into delightful horror. VERDICT Hendrix's (My Best Friend's Exorcism) remarkable, immersive prose will have readers recognizing pieces of themselves in the characters' flawed thoughts and actions, which is by turns disturbing and captivating.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile
Narrator Carol Monda is a perfect fit for this story of heavy metal, revenge, and redemption. Monda’s voice is gravelly and whiskey tinged as she grinds out the feelings and frustrations of Kris Pulaski, the washed-up former guitarist of Durt Wurk. She can’t see any way to get beyond the reality of her dead-end job and rotten prospects until she decides to go on an epic quest to get answers from the lead singer, who stabbed her in the back and may just have made a deal with the devil himself. This audio production is highly stylized, matching the novel’s quirky writing and tendency to riff in long passages of imagery. Monda’s growling monotone will not be to everyone’s taste, but it really sells the story’s attitude. N.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine