The Store

This is a great book, I've never read any of Bentley Little's books and this was the first, I can safely say that I will try his other books now and think I'll reread this one.The book works on a number of levels, there's a horror dimension which keeps the reader guessing right the way through and is never spelt out properly in black and white, although I felt it was pretty clear and didnt need to be spelt out.There's also a narrative on market power and market forces in a way also, a store rolls into small town America, before long more than 90% of the population are completely dependent upon the store for ALL their needs, then the store begins to create/encourage fresh needs, cater to unsavoury needs or vices, Store personnel move from buying of local politicians to outright seizing power and pushing a privatisation agenda that guarantees them absolute power.I've heard people complain about this book, infact its part of what inspired an interest for me, that they felt it was an anti-establishment screed and that Little was horror writer turned dystopian and couldnt quite carry it off.That's not what I thought at all, I think he carried it off well, it did make me think he was doing for retail what Orwell did for government without failing to write a pacy, engaging horror story. I know a lot of people who have entrenched views about market forces only ever being a servant, never the master, it's likely they'll hate this book or consider it too far fetched or extreme but I'd ask them to check their ideological blinkers for just a moment.I kept thinking of Needful Things the whole time that I read this book but I think that this is superior in a lot of ways to Stephen King's version of devilry and temptation. Anyone who liked Needful Things will probably like this too.The initial chapter and final page or two epilogue can be skipped and are pretty superfulous, its a narrative style or trick which diminishes an otherwise great book, there wasnt the need for the all to obvious cliff hanger.This is a small complaint though, there is a lot of bizarre, sexualised and gross out content, I think this was pretty much in tune with some of the themes of corruption, vice and temptation, in the way that sado-masochistic themes feature in the Hellraiser films and some of Barker's fiction.There's only one truly stomach churning sequence which made for difficult reading, which I seriously suspect would have shattered the psyche of anyone in real life but is quickly dealt with and doesnt halt a pretty mundane and anti-climatic beginning of the end.All in all a fantastic read, although since Little succeeded in so convincingly conjuring up insurmountable odds and dystopic developments its hard to see how he then pulls the pan out of the fire and carrys on with the story.

This is the first Bentley Little book I have read and now I will be definitely be reading more. This is more a suspense or mystery novel than horror although there are some supernatural elements to it and a little violence but no real gore. This book stirs fear for different reasons...A Store opens up in a small town and quickly begins transforming the town for the worse. The Store sets about wiping out any and all competition by any means necessary, taking over the town council, school and even the police and people who don't agree with what's happening either die or go missing. The main character is one of these dissenters. He tries in vain to release the strangle-hold The Store has over the town and also his family with little success.This book got under my skin because I only have to walk around my own town and see that the majority of stores are these huge conglomerate monsters that proffer at the expense of the smaller family shops. Where this book excels is that it makes you think about whether some of the tactics The Store uses to gain control could also be used on our very own streets. In reality, how far are we from major companies owning everything? But,in exploring this topic Bentley Little's story doesn't get bogged down in political rantings and soap-box screaming instead he takes a 'What-if?' situation and spins a terrific, solid tale that is as intellectual as it is entertaining.The only reason I'm not giving it the full five stars is because the ending didn't really answer all the questions the story posed, but maybe you'll like that. Even though the book is just over 500 pages long, it's very involving and unpredictable and I got through it quite quickly. I just hope that this book stays as fiction and not some horrible prediction of things to come. Thank you.

Creepy, atmospheric, lousy ending or it would have got five stars.

Book arrived really quickly, and in good condition. It is old but I expected that. I cannot comment on the content as I am saving it for the beach n the summer, don't like taking my Kindle there!! This book was recommended to me by an american friend who said the surreal story about a large store taking over the lives of everyone in a town was very relevant today.

A little slow starting, but when the pace picks up it does so frighteningly fast. The book is cleverly written as a metaphor for how big chain stores are killing off the high street - it's the first book I have read from this author and will definitely be reading more! Gripping stuff.

this book is ace, did read it years ago, but lost my copy was pleased to be able to replace it and have the chance to read it again, reminds me of how tesco is taking over every where

a secret massive store takes over a little town called juniper,but only one man and some of his family fight back.people go missing,little shops burn down or shut down,the locals brainwashed,can bill stop the store