Coming to this book, I did have somewhat mixed feelings about whether or not to pick it up. Some people seem to love it and others seem to hate it. Having read it, I find that I'm somewhere in the middle. So the basic idea is that there is an American knock-off IKEA that sells cheaper products. In Ohio the is a particular IKEA that has some strange things happen with increasing frequency while the store is closed. As a result, one of the managers gets some "volunteers" together to see who is breaking in at night and catch them. Needless to say, ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties ensue.
So here's the bad. First, the characters are mainly okay. They aren't too deep and anyone who works retail could easily put themselves in their shoes. The limited cast only really sees the main two characters getting any sort of development or really any page time. The extras, after being introduced, don't really appear much after the chaos ensues except for a few pages where something bad can happen to them. I also didn't like how these extras stories didn't really get resolved although this could be explained over easily if a sequel were to explore this. As for the story, it starts out strongly, but then kind of just drops off and feels rushed. The reveal of the terror is great and the portion with the main character being restrained to the chair is chilling. The author does a good job getting into the psyche of someone not able to move. But after that, it's just kind of a race to escape the store, try to get others out, and a little bit of exposition about why the store is haunted and a glimpse at the other side. The amount of building up didn't match the juice yielded from the squeeze. Not to mention the villain just kind of gets "dealt" with and there is never any explanation of how he and is insane domain led to him and it having supernatural ghost powers.
However, these negatives are what hold it back from greatness and this is a greatness that certainly could have been achieved. This is probably why it was an award nominee after all. While the characters and story are just okay, the setting and premise is where this story really shines. Admit it after all, the concept of a Haunted IKEA is what drew you to this story in the first place. At the beginning of each chapter there's an advertised Swedish product. Once the haunting begins these products take on a sinister tone and look like medieval torture devices. The reader can easily imagine themselves in the story simply because many of us have been in an IKEA, which is pretty uniform in appearance across the country. Whereas other horror stories have to describe the setting to you and might succeed in allowing you to insert yourself if they have a great author, this one simply requires you to imagine the IKEA that you've actually been in.
I will also point out that this story does make a great commentary on modern labor and the differences and impacts of hourly and salaried work. It also features commentary on both the effort put for to succeed in life as well as how many people in life are trying to overcome a very difficult position despite exerting themselves. For every successful person there are hundreds supporting them to get to that level of success and trying to make it themselves to varying levels of exertion and success based on their circumstances. This book will make you see your own life in a different perspective and appreciate what you have if only for a moment.
So in the end, it's a decent enough story that you shouldn't get your expectations up for too much. If you can come to it seeking a moderate, novel horror thrill, then it will serve you just fine.
I'd recommend reading this story for those that like stories with ghosts, the paranormal, or the supernatural in general.
Rating:
Story: 3 Stars
Characters: 3 Stars
Settings: 4 Stars
Literary Quality: 3 Stars
Overall Quality: 3 Salmon
Nerdy Details:
Author: Grady Hendrix
Publisher: Quirk Books
Published: 23 Sep 2014
Page Length: 240
Genre: Horror
Sub-Genre: Ghosts
Awards and Nominations:Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Horror (2014)
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