Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing waste of real potential
Review: The Store represents my first encounter with Bentley Little, and while he is clearly a talented writer who never allows the story to sag or slow down at all, what I viewed at first as a terrific book began to fall apart as more and more unlikely events occurred, and then the ending really disappointed me. The central theme of the book, the danger of corporate power run amuck doing much more than destroying Mom and Pop businesses, is a good one, but Little does not know when to stop, pushing the story far beyond credibility and then obviously finding himself at a loss as to how to conclude it. Horror writers in particular must beware of cowardly endings, yet the ending of The Store is, in my opinion, a cowardly one. The totally unnecessary epilogue is incredibly stereotypical of this type of fiction, but the real damage is done by Little's refusal to offer any real explanations and to confront one very important plot twist that stopped me dead in my tracks when it first appeared.Juniper, Arizona is a nice, quiet, idyllic town out in the middle of nowhere, the perfect place for Bill and Ginny Davis to settle down and raise a family. Then The Store comes to town. At first, Bill is upset by the fact that The Store was allowed to build on the most beautiful nature spot in the town, but unsettling, unexplainable things begin to happen immediately upon construction. Animals of all sorts drop dead on the premises every day for no apparent reason, giving rise to a sense of menace. Then Bill discovers that the town council has made one exception after another to attract the big retail chain to build there. The Store's increasing expansion into all sorts of products and industries, backed up time and time again by an obsequious mayor and town council, soon begins driving local businessmen out of business. As unemployment rises, the town becomes increasingly dependent on The Store as its major job provider, and the fact that so many people work there helps the town leaders to forestall financial bankruptcy by privatizing even the most basic of community resources - fire, police, education, etc. The Store graciously offers to begin funding all of these programs, eventually securing a firm grip on the entire community which is soon augmented by their newly acquired control of the local media outlets. The efforts of Bill and his friends to stop The Store's usurpation of power comes to naught, and Bill's horror is only increased by the fact that both of his daughters work there. People begin disappearing or dying, and the inhuman characteristics of The Store's CEO Newman King and the dangerously mysterious Night Managers sparks such a fear in Bill's heart that he resorts to drastic measures. The novel really took a bad turn for me at this point, as I lost all respect for a character I had been championing up to this point. The Store never takes on a frightening "it can't happen here" atmosphere, unfortunately, because the job requirements and special training provided by The Store for its new employees is completely unbelievable. There is no way anyone would subject themselves to the things the god-like Newman King requires of his cultish employees, nor do I believe a town would give in to such wild and obviously illegal and unconstitutional moves as The Store makes rather easily. This only neutralizes the novel's valid point that people can lose control of their own towns and ways of life if they take no interest in local government. By the mid-way point of the novel, the story was becoming ridiculous to me, and even though it kept my interest at a high level until the highly disappointing ending, The Store proved incapable of winning me over.
Rating: 
Summary: I would like to say I didn't love it
Review: I usually would not go for a book with such a far-fetched and weird storyline. First of all because - this is one of the only books that you really can not put down if u tried since it is very very addictive and leaves you wondering from one chapter to another. It also pretty well developed and likable characters. and 3 - I have read many horror masters from Bram to Stephen King, as great as they are, no author scares me like Bentley Little. His work is really freaky although it is weird and nearly does not make sence - like some silly nightmare we might have that makes no sence but still manages to scare you each time you remember it. - Start from the first page, and you'll be hooked. A very entertaining and creepy novel!
Rating: 
Summary: Not Little At His Best...
Review: I was kind of disappointed in this novel. The first Bentley Little that I read was The Collection, a group of short stories by this Lovecraftian author. I was QUITE impressed by the collection with some of the stories being bizarre but fun, and others being creepy and ooky, and still others being scary and a little bit TOO believable (like The Washingtonians and Colony). Then I picked up The Association at a used bookstore. I wasn't too terribly disappointed (except for the ending, the novel was quite entertaining) and it was a good two dollar investment. So, I went ahead and purchased The Store, thinking of all of the fun that Little could have with Wal-Mart combined with some satanic dictatorial CEO or living toys or something. I was quite disappointed. I don't know offhand which he wrote first, but I am surprised that the editors didn't point out to him that he had written the same story twice. This book (or The Association) is merely a rehash, the same plot, the same characters, the same evil villains (or at least close enough that they seem a bit alliterative), and in the end, you are left thinking that you read the same book twice. Of the two, Association was better. Don't get me wrong, there are positive aspects. The complacent acceptance and participation in their own destruction and the destruction of their town is entertaining, in both novels. However, here is an example of the similarities: Both feature an adult married male protagonist who is not particularly religious, but stands by his convictions. Both are writers (one is a novelist I believe, a la The Shining by King, and the other is a technical writer working from home telecommuting). Both protagonists hate the Force of Evil in the book (The Store or the Homeowners Association). Both find few allies (although they do find a couple). Both have wives who are passive and relatively unimportant to the story. Both lose friends to the Force of Evil. Both confront the Force of Evil (which is headed up, both times, by an aged man who looks quite strange and whose most notable features are his eyes, which, coincidentally enough, are the only part of his face which look real). The Store does have a more nuclear-esque family for its protagonist, but that is likely only due to the nature of the book requiring that the man's family members work for The Store. In addition, both have an ending that is rather anti-climactic, and poor resolution. I can get past those things with enough story to support the rest of the book, or a justification for this, but it simply isn't here. In short, I wasn't terribly impressed with this book. It isn't as good as The Collection, and it isn't even as good as The Association. I don't know if I will ever purchase another Little book (unless he puts out some more short stories - I LOVED those), but I won't buy another for quite some time at least. If you feel the need to read it, or if you enjoy the way it sounds, or thought that The Association was worth another, similar story, pick it up. Otherwise, go ahead and rent it from the library for a rainy afternoon, just don't expect too much.
Harkius
Rating: 
Summary: Far fatched.
Review: This is truly very unconvincing book I ever read. The store is discribed as if it is an alien invading. Comon, may impress people who used to scare when ad for 'mars attacks' was on Radio! not now. The writing style is good but in the end you wish to go out of your house to the store of your town and return the book! May be good read for 3rd world country people who have no consept of chain-store! In USA, even kids know how good stores are! Yes, I do agree that horror has very limited scope and field for writing but then dont write instead of writing unconvince book.
Rating:
Summary: Five Stars from Germany!
Review: This is the first book of Bentley Little I've read - and I simply loved it! Playing with the great idea that an omni-potential chain store could take over the lives of us all, the authors grabs you and guarantees sleepness nights en galore.
Definitely no novel for slightly paranoid people ... but it can happen even to you, that after you read this masterpiece, you've become one ...
I suggest take a closer look at your butcher, next time you go shopping!
Thumbs up for a brilliant horror-writer!
Rating:
Summary: The Creeping Consumerism
Review: With THE STORE, Bentley Little uses his typically smooth prose to deliver a white-knuckle horror story that works on two levels. First and foremost, it serves as a frightening commentary on how consumer thirst for convenience and immediate accessibility is allowing big-chain department stores to permeate all aspects of the middle-class lifestyle in the U.S. And secondly, it is a bitingly funny--and more than a little creepy--satire of the tactics and business practices of Wal-Mart. (For obvious reasons, Little might try to publicly deny that Wal-Mart was his model for the titular department store, but the similarities are definitely not subtle.) Of course, Little exaggerates reality to drive his points home, and he throws some supernatural elements into the stew to help cook up a really spooky horror yarn. Bentley Little is one of the great contemporary horror authors working today--even the venerable Stephen King calls him a "Master of the Macabre"--and THE STORE is definitely one of his best works.
Rating:
Summary: Little gives it to us and is he GOOD...
Review: Little is GOD!!! This master storyteller writes an interesting tale about a man who is amazed that a chain store has been built in his small-town Arizona community. Little writes about social issues here and how the local economy will be affected. He gives us all insight to his own beliefs through Bill, who has relocated from California and is a technical writer who telecommute's from home. This story could only be written by Little, who has an abundance of talent and skill. He is the heir apparent to King, now that he is retired. Little has a unique voice and is quite a literary force to be reckoned. While Little uses gross-out violence often in his writing, I think he could write without it just as well. He uses it to make a point and to remind us just what horror can do. He is old school splatterpunk at it's finest and knows how to shock and sicken. Any true horror fan would do well to read Little!
Rating:
Summary: A Good Societal Horror Story
Review: This book would have been better if Little had dropped the supernatural elements of the story. The story of a corporate power taking over people's lives is frightening enough without adding the superfluous horror elements.
Having said that, I still think that the book is worth reading, not so much as a 'horror' story in the traditional sense but more as an Orwellian nightmare of what our society is turning into. Little is very effective in relating how a corporation can take over society. The attitudes of the town people in dealing with this ring all too true. The destruction of the other businesses by the store in this story has happened repeatedly throughout the country. The sell out of the politicians also rings all too true. It is a bitter story in this sense because the horror has already happened to us and there is no happy ending.
The ending of the story with all of the horror elements lacked sense and diminished the effectiveness of the book. I got the feeling that Little was desperately trying to find a way out of the nightmare and came up with a totally implausable finish. Not all novels need 'happy' endings.
Rating: 
Summary: Delivers the Goods - Mostly...
Review: This novel is an incredible read as far as horror novels go, yet it stumbles a bit towards the end because of Mr. Little's desire to comment on society while trying to scare the reader to shreds. Fact is that the balance is struck well for the first half of the book, but then the horror aspect is overblown (which is fine for horror) but it leaves the comment part out to dry. So if you are planning on picking this up and enjoying a moody, shocking horror book, then by all means do. Just don't get too caught up in Little's comment on how big corporations are running/changing our lives, or you'll be laughing out loud by the end of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy
Review: I read this book a while back and was generally impressed by it. Actually, I believe it was the first book of Bently Little's that I read. Knowing firsthand how isolated some of these Arizona towns can be, I can believe that a store can become such a focal point of things in a town. And while I joke around that one day everything is going to be owned by a single company, "The Store" takes that to a frightening extreme. I agree with one of the earlier reviewers that certain things, like the origin of the Store's owner, don't get explained. However, I don't think that those elements prevent this from being a good read. I just wish that some of his other books, like "The Town" and "The Association," were as good.
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