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The Store

168 statements
32 feature instances
2 referencing feature instances

The Store	type	TVTItem
The Store	label	The Store
The Store	page	TheStore
The Store	comment	The Store is a horror novel written by Bentley Little, and was originally published on January 1st, 1996.The small town of Juniper, Arizona is suddenly set to become the latest link in a chain of retail stores simply referred to as ‘The Store’ which results in some disgruntlement among the locals, particularly one Bill Davis, who is openly opposed to the development, not least of all because it ruins the view of his morning jog. Of course, this becomes the least of anyones worries as construction begins, and people begin to notice some discrepancies, such as how the construction site more resembles a hole in the ground, or the piles of dead animals (and one human) that seemed to have converged on this one specific spot. Nevertheless, construction finishes, and The Store ends up being a big hit with the town for the simple fact that it seems to sell everything. Everything. It gradually becomes more and more apparent that something is deeply wrong with The Store and it’s employees, and the residents of Juniper find themselves in the position of wondering just how much they’re willing to take before they break down.Or fight back.
The Store	fetched	2023-08-16T05:28:59Z
The Store	parsed	2023-08-16T05:28:59Z
The Store	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Store / int_11ad560b	type	Control Freak
The Store / int_11ad560b	comment	Control Freak: As already mentioned, Newman King chafes under any notion of human decency, and he is also shown to lose his temper when employees don’t follow his orders fast enough for his liking. As far as he’s concerned, you’re going to do things his way or he’s going to destroy you.
The Store / int_11ad560b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_11ad560b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_11ad560b
The Store / int_1484dba1	type	Foreshadowing
The Store / int_1484dba1	comment	Foreshadowing: In the middle of the book, while Bill and his wife are arguing with Sam about her outfit, the narration goes into a weird amount of detail about how Bill is uncomfortable with his daughters blooming sexuality. Bill is later tricked into having sex with Sam in Dallas.
The Store / int_1484dba1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_1484dba1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_1484dba1
The Store / int_1e584efa	type	Cruel and Unusual Death
The Store / int_1e584efa	comment	Cruel and Unusual Death: The Night Managers are all equipped with knives, and are rather partial to stabbing people all at once. Sucks to suck Newman.
The Store / int_1e584efa	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_1e584efa	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_1e584efa
The Store / int_225d8ff9	type	Ambiguously Human
The Store / int_225d8ff9	comment	Ambiguously Human: Several examples, all relating back to The Store, but especially Newman King. The Night Managers are a special case as it’s made clear to both the characters and the reader that these things, with their pale skin and complete lack of humanity, used to be people it is not clear what they are now, just that you don’t want them to get their hands on you.
The Store / int_225d8ff9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_225d8ff9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_225d8ff9
The Store / int_39b8d3d6	type	Boring, but Practical
The Store / int_39b8d3d6	comment	Boring, but Practical: The way Bill is ultimately able to take down The Store isn’t through some explosive feat of violence or an undercover expose like Ben tried, but by contacting the other store managers and coordinating them to undermine Kings policies.
The Store / int_39b8d3d6	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_39b8d3d6	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_39b8d3d6
The Store / int_3cb1d38d	type	Bad Boss
The Store / int_3cb1d38d	comment	Bad Boss: Mr. Lamb is a rude, unprofessional pervert who viciously insults his employees for infractions, is all but outright states to be sexually abusing Sam, and converts Jake Landley into a Night Manager for shoplifting.
The Store / int_3cb1d38d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_3cb1d38d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_3cb1d38d
The Store / int_40cc0c7e	type	Bittersweet Ending
The Store / int_40cc0c7e	comment	Bittersweet Ending: At the end of it all, Juniper and the whole world are free from The Store and Newman King, seemingly for good at that. However, It is not made clear if Sam remembers sleeping with Bill, something which troubles him as they await her return, and Bill had to put down his friend Ben along with the rest of The Night Managers. Of course, even with that said, a place called The Market has just opened for business…
The Store / int_40cc0c7e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_40cc0c7e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_40cc0c7e
The Store / int_4a852458	type	Big Good
The Store / int_4a852458	comment	Big Good: Bill Davis grows into this as the story progresses, being one of the only people in Juniper willing to actually stand up to The Store, ineffectual it may seem. He manages to take down the whole company from the inside.
The Store / int_4a852458	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_4a852458	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_4a852458
The Store / int_5313c266	type	Bookends
The Store / int_5313c266	comment	Book Ends: The story begins and ends with an elderly couple coming across a store in the middle of nowhere.
The Store / int_5313c266	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_5313c266	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_5313c266
The Store / int_5ca80293	type	Pragmatic Villainy
The Store / int_5ca80293	comment	Pragmatic Villainy: Surprisingly for a character so focused on human suffering, Newman King can be considered an example when he invites Bill to Dallas to both offer him a job as manager under the pretence of making friends out of enemies (something that King implies is standard practice.) and to trick him into molesting his own daughter Sam, just so he could have blackmail material (which is also probably standard practice).
The Store / int_5ca80293	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_5ca80293	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_5ca80293
The Store / int_67711aa	type	Company Town
The Store / int_67711aa	comment	Company Town: The fate of any place The Store inhabits, demonstrated to chilling effect when the Davis’ go on vacation and end up in one.
The Store / int_67711aa	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_67711aa	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_67711aa
The Store / int_6de71c57	type	Disc-One Final Boss
The Store / int_6de71c57	comment	Disc-One Final Boss: Mr. Lamb is the most active and prominent antagonist in the book for the first half, stonewalling Bills efforts and leading the takeover of the town despite ostensibly being a middle manager. Then Newman King shows up with a newly hired manager in Bill and the conflict shifts drastically after that.
The Store / int_6de71c57	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_6de71c57	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_6de71c57
The Store / int_6edc54d5	type	Here We Go Again!
The Store / int_6edc54d5	comment	Here We Go Again!!: At the end of everything The Store is reduced to rubble both financially and literally, but, up in Alaska, an elderly couple come across a place called The Market, which sends them running for the hills.
The Store / int_6edc54d5	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_6edc54d5	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_6edc54d5
The Store / int_729c69f3	type	Politically Incorrect Villain
The Store / int_729c69f3	comment	Politically Incorrect Villain: The Store, seemingly universally, sells products that both tip the line of decency (like dildos and a video game called “N*ggerkiller”, which is not censored) and are just outright illegal (like fireworks banned by the state of Arizona and Child Porn! ) Then, of course, we have their stance on homeless people… Mr. Lamb and Newman King seem to have pretty disgusting attitudes towards women, if Lambs treatment of Sam and Kings intent of putting a brothel in Juniper are anything to go by.
The Store / int_729c69f3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_729c69f3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_729c69f3
The Store / int_77ff94a2	type	Slimeball
The Store / int_77ff94a2	comment	Slime Ball: Seems to be a prerequisite for anything above grunt work, as all of the middle managers we see project an air of smug, false friendliness, with Mr.Lamb being the worst of them if for no other reason than the clear sexual bent he has to many of his scenes.
The Store / int_77ff94a2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_77ff94a2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_77ff94a2
The Store / int_7febc23b	type	Establishing Character Moment
The Store / int_7febc23b	comment	Establishing Character Moment: Bill Davis is the first character we meet outside of the couple in the cold open, and the first thing we see him do is become agitated over the idea of a nice looking patch of land being bulldozed for The Store, after which he attends a town council meeting to voice his complaints, showing the reader a trait that is going to carry on for the rest of the book. Mr. Lamb gets a really gross one when he shows a prospective employee (a teenager by the way) the security room, and then places special emphasis on the fact that some of the cameras are in the womens change room as a selling point.
The Store / int_7febc23b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_7febc23b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_7febc23b
The Store / int_851dda8f	type	Humanoid Abomination
The Store / int_851dda8f	comment	Humanoid Abomination: The Night Managers, in spite of their former status, are impossibly pale, completely silent, and move with a robotic precision that makes it abundantly clear that these are not natural creatures Newman King is described as having waxy skin and red eyes, and we later learn that he has telekinetic powers and his life force is directly tied to The Store as business. All of these reasons make it abundantly clear that he is only human shaped.
The Store / int_851dda8f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_851dda8f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_851dda8f
The Store / int_8a1215e0	type	Bratty Teenage Daughter
The Store / int_8a1215e0	comment	Bratty Teenage Daughter: Sam and Shannon Davis have shades of this, and only get worse under The Stores influence. Shannon less so, thanks to Sam in fact, who is shielding her from the worst of managements influence.
The Store / int_8a1215e0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_8a1215e0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_8a1215e0
The Store / int_8ed5c6e4	type	Asshole Victim
The Store / int_8ed5c6e4	comment	Asshole Victim: Mr. Lamb spends the whole story being a smug sexual predator, so no tears should be shed when he drops dead after being fired. Newman King is the lynchpin for everything that goes wrong in the story, even going so far as to trick Bill into sleeping with his own daughter on tape. You will cheer when The Night Managers turn on him.
The Store / int_8ed5c6e4	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_8ed5c6e4	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_8ed5c6e4
The Store / int_90d44f44	type	Karmic Death
The Store / int_90d44f44	comment	Karmic Death: Newman King spends all of his scene time being a spiteful, controlling jackass to everyone around him, so it’s only fitting that he ends up getting killed when The Night Managers, which have no autonomy of their own, reject him as their master in favour of Bill.
The Store / int_90d44f44	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_90d44f44	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_90d44f44
The Store / int_95b7c400	type	Faux Affably Evil
The Store / int_95b7c400	comment	Faux Affably Evil: Newman King seems to have a good enough public image that people don’t question much of what he does, but all it really takes is a passing glance at him to realize his true nature. It’s never made clear how he’s able to get away with so much, so it’s either supernatural in nature, or his PR team is just that good. Subverted with Mr.Lamb and his cohorts in Juniper, as while they (barely) act civil with the townsfolk, the only people who actually trust them at all are the people they’ve already brainwashed, and even then it doesn’t take much for that trust to wain.
The Store / int_95b7c400	featureApplicability	-0.3
The Store / int_95b7c400	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_95b7c400
The Store / int_970c790a	type	Big Bad
The Store / int_970c790a	comment	Big Bad: While he appears about once in the story until near the climax., Newman King is obviously the head honcho behind all the horrible shit The Store is getting up to.
The Store / int_970c790a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_970c790a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_970c790a
The Store / int_9dadfaee	type	Fetish
The Store / int_9dadfaee	comment	Fetish: Disturbingly, the uniforms for Store employees are made of pure leather, though it isn’t clear if this is the managers doing or Mr.Lambs, considering the implied power imbalance between them. Even grosser, King actually tries to make this a selling point while recruiting Bill.
The Store / int_9dadfaee	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_9dadfaee	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_9dadfaee
The Store / int_b0e8d4f7	type	Atrocity Montage
The Store / int_b0e8d4f7	comment	Atrocity Montage: The whole book can be considered one of these, as many times the actual story is ground to a halt to demonstrate just one new horror The Store is bringing upon the town, from selling illegal products to literally stealing babies out of their mothers arms because of some new “policy.”
The Store / int_b0e8d4f7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_b0e8d4f7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_b0e8d4f7
The Store / int_c67af1b0	type	Big Bad Wannabe
The Store / int_c67af1b0	comment	Big Bad Wannabe: Mr. Lamb is far more involved with the actual day to day operations of Junipers Store branch than King and seems to enjoy toying with people like he’s the one on charge despite not actually being the manager. He even has Sam murder the original manager of The Store so she can take over, which would likely just mean he has even more control. However, the moment King steps into the picture, he and his cronies are completely cow towed by his presence, and Bill ends up killing them by accident when he fires them.
The Store / int_c67af1b0	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_c67af1b0	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_c67af1b0
The Store / int_cbe687ab	type	Corrupt Corporate Executive
The Store / int_cbe687ab	comment	Corrupt Corporate Executive: Newman King promotes a work environment of utter depravity and downright vile behaviour among his employees, and gets outright angry at the notion of basic human decency.
The Store / int_cbe687ab	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_cbe687ab	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_cbe687ab
The Store / int_cdfe12c3	type	Nothing Is Scarier
The Store / int_cdfe12c3	comment	Nothing Is Scarier: As is traditional with Littles works, the reader will be left without answers to many of the questions they have, such as: Why was there a body in the construction site? How is The Store allowed to stock all of the illegal products it has? Where did The Store even come from? How much influence does The Store actually exert over people? What is Newman King?
The Store / int_cdfe12c3	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_cdfe12c3	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_cdfe12c3
The Store / int_eb8e4fa8	type	Jerkass
The Store / int_eb8e4fa8	comment	Jerkass: What The Store turns people into, and seemingly the only kind of person they employ. The overall behaviour escalates as the story goes, which may take it past this into more straightforward villainy.
The Store / int_eb8e4fa8	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_eb8e4fa8	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_eb8e4fa8
The Store / int_f91d1d4f	type	Darkest Hour
The Store / int_f91d1d4f	comment	Darkest Hour: When Bill gets back from Dallas, his plan to lessen The Stores hold on Juniper takes a drastic turn for the worst when King shows up to blackmail him with the revelation that he tricked Bill into having sex with his own daughter, and will mail a tape of it to his wife if he doesn’t tow the company line. This leaves Bill a wreck until he musters up the courage to tell his wife a half truth about what happened.
The Store / int_f91d1d4f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_f91d1d4f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_f91d1d4f
The Store / int_fe6c146e	type	The Corrupter
The Store / int_fe6c146e	comment	The Corrupter: The Store itself seems to be this to those who work there. Employees develop cultish doctrine, become blunt, rude, and perverted, and even make a sport out of hunting down and rounding up the local homeless population. Concerningly, it is not made clear if it’s actually The Store itself doing this, or just the work environment encouraging people to indulge themselves.
The Store / int_fe6c146e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Store / int_fe6c146e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_fe6c146e
The Store / int_feac0f90	type	Ephebophile
The Store / int_feac0f90	comment	Ephebophile: Mr. Lamb is pretty obviously grooming Sam throughout the book, and not just for management.
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The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_feac0f90
The Store / int_name	type	ItemName
The Store / int_name	comment
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The Store / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
The Store	hasFeature	The Store / int_name
The Store / int_name	itemName	The Store

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

	The Store	hasFeature	I Kiss Your Foot / int_a6495ffd
	The Store	hasFeature	Predatory Business / int_a6495ffd

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