We Sold Our Souls

Kris Pulaski is a burnt-out metal head, living in the middle of nowhere. Back in the 80s/90s, her band Dürt Würk was on the rise. They survived the death of metal to the popularity of grunge and after a gig opening for a big act, it looked like they were going to make it. Then their singer, Terry Hunt, went solo. Skyrocketing into fame and success, the rest of the band gets left behind. Nothing has worked out for Kris since Terry left. She's broke, alone, and hasn't picked up her guitar in years. Suddenly, a new tour sets off a spark in Kris to finally get what's hers. She sets off to regroup with the rest of the old band. However, soon she gets wrapped up in a paranoia-filled conspiracy about what brought Terry's success and the destruction of Dürt Würk. Not sure what's true and what's in people's heads, Kris must find a way to stop Terry before he finds her.

I mostly enjoyed this book. I read it in an afternoon, so I think that shows that I was pretty engrossed by the story. I did find myself thinking "What the heck is happening?" a few times, but everything sort of explains itself along the way. You really do feel like you're losing your mind right along with Kris. Occasionally, the book gets a little preachy on the negatives of material culture. I rolled my eyes, but it's not made into a huge deal. To each his own on their opinions. There are also a few points in the book where some characters know a lot about things they weren't involved in, but again, it's not a huge deal. Overall, I appreciate Hendrix's quirky style and subject matters. It's not often that I see a book like this come through. He is a bit of a cult hit around here, so I'll likely purchase this for my library. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Excellent, gripping read made even more interesting by the background story of the rock band and the implication of the "crossroads" type "Devil and Daniel Webster" undercurrent.. This is definitely pulp horror, but it's the kind of pulp horror we all cut our teeth on in the 70's and 80's and books like this one are leading the resurgence. I'd recommend it highly.

Grady Hendrix has filled a hole in my black heart yet again. I don't know how he managed to become the feel-good-book-of-my-life author when I didn't even know I needed one. And when I didn't really how utterly Satanic and metal it would be. Another winner from Quirk and Hendrix. #numetalisgarbage #downwiththeblindking

This book was surprisingly enjoyable. The element of metal brought back many fond memories from my high school days, so I highly recommend listening to a lot of the bands name-dropped. Even some of the sellouts. I've only read one other Grady Hendrix book, Horrorstör, and there were many elements similar between them. However, this book stands on its own like a tribute to the world of metal and its fight against the overwhelming enemy. Horror usually isn't my cup of coffee, but this is worth cracking open.

Remember: metal never dies.

This great Faustian horror novel features a kick-ass heroine and is packed to the bloody gills with cinematic verve.

Fresh off the huge success of his last book, Paperbacks From Hell, Grady Hendrix is back with a new novel. Kris and her band mates in Dürt Würk had slowly climbed in the music scene and their brand of metal was about to hit the big time. Then there was a betrayal. The band and the dream collapsed - for everyone except the singer, Terry. He reached mega stardom at the expense of the rest of the band. The name of the band changed to Koffin and the music style switched from metal to nu metal - truly horrifying already. Something happened the night the band fell apart but Kris and her band mates can't seem to remember.
Decades have passed and Terry and his band are going to put on a massive festival called Hellstock in Las Vegas with fans feverish to attend. Kris decides to get the rest of the band together to confront Terry. She quickly discovers not everything is as it seems and there are some very dark forces at work.
The first half of the book revolves around Kris putting the pieces together to figure out what happened to the band. Plenty of crazy things happen and it's fast paced. Around the midway point, the story really ramps up on the horror as more of the true nature of what is being dealt with is revealed. Kris is put in some extremely terrifying situations that will have the reader's heart racing. Kris is a really likable and determined character who goes through a lot. If I have one gripe, it's that Hendrix brings us some genuinely scary monsters, but I really wanted to see more of them.
As you would expect, music plays a crucial role in the story. Each chapter is a song title. Music flows throughout the book. It's like reading a metal opera, and alongside Kris, the music is the star. Hendrix does use some music related tropes from horror history, as you can see from the book title, but gives them a revitalized look. Grady has some broader statements to make about materialism and what people will do for fame.
This book is throbbing with riffs and is a joy to experience. It's a bit of a cliche, but describing the book as a tour de force is very appropriate. It's vibrant and fun and has everything you'd want in a summer read.

Twenty years ago, Kris Pulaski was a guitarist for the heavy metal band Dürt Würk, back when they were rising stars. Back before the night her bandmate, Terry Hunt, convinced the rest of them to sign away the rights to their original songs. Back before the car crash that left the rest of the band hating her, too. Back before Terry became the lead singer of Koffin, a wildly successful nu-metal band that is much more palatable to mainstream audiences.

Now, on the verge of losing both her house and her unglamorous gig as the night manager of a Best Western, Kris sees that Terry is planning a reunion tour. Finally, she decides that it’s time to try and right the wrongs of the past, contacting her former bandmates to get to the truth of what happened back on the night of the contract signing and the car crash.

From Kris’s very first stop on her apology tour, the journey proves fraught with violence, deceit, blood, and the slow revelation of a reality even darker than she suspected.

Though this isn’t quite as unsettling as Hendrix’s Horrorstor, it is still pretty creepy. It’s also a pretty compelling page-turner, and a lot of fun, especially if you have ever been particularly passionate about a niche genre of music.

If I had read this book at age eighteen, it probably would have been my all-time favorite: using music to defeat evil? Perfect. As an adult, it’s still a lot of fun - and provided some good flashbacks to my teenage punk rock years.

Now I just have to cross my fingers that Hendrix is almost finished with his next manuscript. :X

I received access to this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We Sold Our Souls doesn't have the strong sense of place of My Best Friend's Exorcism, but Hendrix knows music just as well as he knows 80s pop culture. I loved the chapter titles, which were all metal anthems, and the many references to Dead End Justice by The Runaways. I also LOVED the fact that Kris was not romantically involved with any of her bandmates- I shouldn't be so shocked, but time after time themes like friendship and creative differences are sidelined by or forced to play second fiddle to romance plots. Kris was grimy and dogged, tough but not inhumanly so. I much preferred the small plot (Kris reconnecting (or failing to reconnect) with her old bandmates) to the bigger plot (demonic entities steal souls via user service agreements) I felt like Hendrix played a little too much on the idea of a generation of 'sellouts'- I am so sick of authors/the media/everybody hating on 'Millenials'!- though I felt that Melanie's experiences with her douchebro boyfriend and predatory 'nice guy' Hunter were accurate and timely. The effect the Special Ones had on Koffin fans was similar to the effect that Pennywise has on the townspeople in IT- you never know if they are under the influence of evil or just poised to tip over the edge themselves. The villains themselves remained shadowy throughout, emphasising 'human evils' ranging from apathy to lust for fame. The plot took the form of a road trip, but some of the stops were far too brief- I felt that Hendrix sometimes used Kris' altered state (drugs- recreational or medicinal- and alcohol) to get away with hazy descriptions of people and places. Overall, it was a quick, funny, gruesome horror read that I would feel comfortable recommending to older teens. I will continue to look out for new books by Hendrix- he is becoming a master of female-led horror!

Hendrix continues his run of must read horror novels with this excellent story of heavy metal, musical redemption and supernatural terror. In the vein of George RR Martin's Armageddon Rag, with a splash of Lovecraft like mythology thrown in, it's both a loving homage to metal music and a biting comment on the soul-sucking, corporate commercialization of the genre.

Protagonist Kris Pulaski encapsulates everything about the true metal spirit, an underdog battler who lives for the music. Her story of being left behind after childhood friend and lead singer Terry Hunt dumps the group for solo success is indicative of so many real life groups and feels as if it could be actually pulled from some MTV annuals of metal history special.
Hendrix then adds a coat of mythological horror, creating a supernatural streak of darkness that twists a familiar story into something fresh and fun.
Subtle flourishes, such as the use of album titles for chapter headings, add a nice touch too.
Destined to be one of the books of 2018.

On night at midnight at the crossroads Robert Johnson sold his soul to be the greatest guitarist who ever lived. And there was born the legend of the rock star selling his soul. In this book the question is what if he sells not only his soul but everyone else in the band. And then the band break up. Rock and roll horror in a somewhat similar vein to Joe Hill's Heart Shaped Box. Well written, well paced and at times truly creepy. Well done.

I love this book. The metal references are spot on, and I do love the strong female lead, of the story and band, Kris. She never stops kicking ass and remains strong even when circumstances are against her. A must read for Metal and horror fans.

I'd read Hendrix's "Paperbacks from Hell" previously, and really enjoyed it, but this was my first of his novels. I've got to go back and read the others now, because "We Sold Our Souls" is great. I thought the story was engrossing and propulsive. And I loved our hero, the Best Western clerk and metal goddess Kris Pulaski. Some parts of the story have a great nostalgic sheen, like the story of Durt Wurk's formation, some parts are horrific (a certain car ride springs immediately to mind) and all of it is just well written. The final act has a great pace and punch, and the encore (ha, ha) is beautiful and made me a little emotional. Highly recommended.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Grady Hendrix' My Best Friend's Exorcism was one of my favourite horror novels of recent years. It was funny, scary, and touching. For his new book he's swerved into the world of heavy metal and legends of musicians selling their souls in exchange for success. The emotional core of the previous novel has been scaled right back (but it's not gone entirely) and been replaced with MASSIVE RIFFS PLAYED VERY LOUDLY. If MFBE was a sensitive singer songwriter who gets under your skin and speaks to your inner melancholy, then this is Slayer and things being set on fire and exploding. There's some excellent pulpy violence and gore, along with cosmic horror of the kind Stephen King occasionally dabbles in. It's also very good on being a jobbing musician, playing dive bar after dive bar and spending hours and hours in a cramped and shabby van. It is also important to acknowledge the shoutouts to various excellent bands (Wolves In The Throne Room! Earthless!). Ultimately, it's a story of redemption and winning against untold odds, the kind of internal fantasy played out on a hundred metal album covers.

Like all the best metal, this is deadly serious and completely daft at the same time. I'm looking at you, Manowar bandana. Hendrix' last book before this one was a nonfiction work celebrating the covers of horror paperback originals, and this one fits firmly in that lineage. Make no mistake, this is a trashy horror novel. But you know what? I love trashy horror novels, and I'm happy for Grady Hendrix to keep providing my fix.

We all have heard the legend of the crossroads and selling one’s soul for fortune and fame. This time we get a twist that takes us on a thrilling, and chilling, ride from one side of the country to the other. My music loving soul felt Kris’s pain as she fought to get back what was taken from her. Metal to the end as we raise our hand in the sign of the horns! One word of warning--If you are a bit claustrophobic like me there is a seen that will really get your heart racing.