We Sold Our Souls

We Sold Our Souls is one HELL of a ride. Grady Hendrix, King of horror at Quirk Books, has written a heavy metal masterpiece with a female lead guitarist, Kris Pulaski, as its star.
Less classic horror this time (his previous books are Horrorstr, and My Best Friends Exorcism), Hendrix has laden Souls with conspiracy theory and real life horrors.

Kris Pulaski was in a heavy metal band called Drt Wrk two decades ago and they were on the brink of success when the lead singer Terry Hunt ripped the band apart and left to start his solo career. And it seems Terrys rise to success was at the cost of selling the bands souls.
Thats right, he sold their souls for rocknrollor in this case, heavy metal.

Kris pitiful present day existence is working at the reception of a Best Western, and if you can stomach the Welcome To Hell chapter (good horror always comes at the cost of reading things that make your stomach turn), then you can follow Kris on her journey as she gets whisked from Pennsylvania to a Satanic rehab center, and then across the country again to grimy Las Vegas. Years of grueling, crazy, exciting, challenging (to say the least), and often nasty experiences on the road with the band, were nothing compared to this trip, and it seems like all Kris heavy metal years were preparation and toughened her up. The journey to Las Vegas is overwhelming, but Kris has a mission she cant ignore. Theres also a whole host of colorful characters along the way, but I do have to wonder if Hendrix has a thing against UPS (you will see what I mean when you read the book).

The greatest thing about this book is that Hendrix has chosen to write Souls with a female protagonist. Not just that: a kickass, middle-aged (even though I hate that word, because thats what I am now, I suppose), female as its lead. And she plays the guitar like a certain other Hendrix. She doesnt take any bull from anyone and doesnt stop fighting back once she starts on her new road trip.

While it seems as though she has given up with her hotel job, the revelation that she must stop her old bandmate Terry Hunt, lights a fire in Kris, and the book has that vibe of dont give up, dont let the system win, dont let the bullies push you. Thats highly clear in the messages of conspiracy theory, our paranoia-laden country, and how culture is selling itself (its soul) particularly out to cell phones and shallow marketing. Reading the book will give you a greater sense of the way the conspiracy theory works in Souls – Im kind of at a loss as how to explain the genius behind how its woven in – but Hendrix has cleverly used snippets of radio and newspaper to show how news travels and information spreads. This has always been the way conspiracy theories spread and this underbelly of the book is fascinating.

If you dont know all the music in the book, this may be a little daunting, as there are a lot of heavy metal and music references, but I think if you have even the remote interest in or knowledge of decades old music such as Black Sabbath and Slayer, and remember the days when everyone thought that heavy metal listeners were devil worshipers, you will appreciate what Hendrix is doing here (and no you dont have to actually like the music). Trigger warnings for sexual assault and creepy crawlies; this is definitely rated R.

Hendrix is an undeniable force in pop culture literature and has written an unforgettable book, one thats not for everyone, but will be a cult classic, but not like any of the schlock he writes about in his awesome Paperbacks from Hell. No one writes like this guy; We Sold Our Souls is funny, gross, complex, and a wonderful blend of horror, pop culture, conspiracy theory, and is infused with a heavy dose of music history. Only Grady Hendrix could have done that.

In her youth, Kris Pulaski was the lead guitarist for a heavy-metal band called Drt Wrk (slang for gravedigging, plus umlauts added for the heck of it); now, 20 years later, shes a put-upon night clerk in a run-down motel. Seeing billboard advertisements for a farewell concert tour by the only member of the band to achieve fameTerry, who now calls himself the Blind King and his current band Koffinbrings back her anger at his betrayal of her and the band, including his burying of their final album, Troglodyte, which contained her best songwriting work. She also has questions about what happened during the contract-signing night that broke up Drt Wrk forever. Wanting both revenge and answers, she looks up the other band members and tries to persuade them to go with her to confront Terrywith mixed, and often horrific, results. The final meeting with their nemesis takes place during an apocalyptic version of Burning Man.

I liked Horrorstr, Hendrixs earlier horror fantasy set in an Ikea-imitation big box store, a lot, and I liked this one even more. The quirky (to say the least) characters are well developed, and the horror is suspenseful and, in places, definitely gory. Hendrix has a wonderful eye for detail in describing both characters and settings. The idea of building a horror story around a heavy-metal band seems natural given their lyrics, but this goes beyond what if the Satanism stuff is real and brings up some interesting ideas about who the true devils are these days. Best of all, music is the heart and soul of the story, and it’s easy to revel in that even if youve never been a metalhead (as I certainly havent). I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes dark/horror fantasies centered on music or on the arts in general.

The hype around this book was so intense that I couldn’t wait to read it. It was supposed to be this awesome horror story about the left-behind members of a rock band who seek out the now-famous lead singer who dumped them.
I didn’t find the story particularly exciting or scary. It didn’t make me nostalgic for the old days of rock and roll. In all honestly, it was really a letdown.

Pretty different, not what I expected. The characters are great and you get to feel for them. The story is crazy, but crazy good. A nice bittersweet ending.

Great fun horror tale set in the world of metal. Not amazingly original, but characters you care about, and a fast pace keep you gripped the whole way through

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