As you know by now, I’m a sucker for Uncle Stevie. Anything he writes, I’ll read. Novel, short story, op-ed, tweets, collaborations…I’m there. That’s why I’m a Constant Reader. This isn’t the first collaboration with another author that I’ve read by King. He wrote a few short stories with his son, Joe Hill that were pretty good (In the Tall Grass was legitimately terrifying). His book with Stewart O’Nan, Faithful, is probably my favorite non-fiction book of all time. So, even though I had never […]
I Might Be in the Minority Here, But I Wasn’t Really Feeling This One
What a contrast to go from a book that I gave 5 stars to something that I’m not sure ever fully engrossed me. While the odd story here or there within the collection peaked my interest, overall something was missing here. I have previously read Joe Hill’s sublime graphic novel series Locke & Key –which was absolute breathtaking– and therefore had some high hopes with this short-story collection. This, unfortunately, led to some disappointment on my part. 20th Century Ghosts is a collection of short […]
We don’t need no water
I need to preface this by saying outright: I wasn’t disappointed by this book. But damn, if you’re looking for escapism from the current political climate (which I kind of was) this is not the story to read right now. Our hero Harper is our guide through the dawn of the probable extinction of man. A virus called dragonscale is causing people to spontaneously combust. A former school nurse volunteering at a hospital when skilled professionals become scarce, she makes an ally of the titular […]
Joe Hill is the Best Thing Stephen King Has Created
After reading the underwhelming Rooms, and with the real life horror of the inauguration yesterday, I needed a sure thing to scratch my supernatural itch. Enter Joe Hill. Ever since Locke and Key, I’ve been a fan, and this is from someone who read too much of his dad’s coke-fueled 80s novels to be charitably inclined toward the family. Joe Hill had to win me over at first, but there’s no true believer like a convert. 20th Century Ghosts didn’t disappoint; a collection of short […]
“There’s something horribly unfair about dying in the middle of a good story, before you have a chance to see how it all comes out.”
I have to wonder how long it would have taken the general public to figure out that Joe Hill was, in fact, Joe King, if the news hadn’t come out on its own. I feel like — and this is not necessarily a bad thing — Joe Hill exists as the world’s greatest Stephen King impersonator. Hill shares many literary strengths with his old man. They are both great at creating a community of real characters, and bringing small, New England towns to life. They both thrive when […]
A Worthy Tribute
I’m a huge fan of Ray Bradbury, but I actually found this in the process of hunting down a copy of Joe Hill’s By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain, which is included in this collection. Pretty much every story here is a winner, though, and definitely worth reading for Bradbury fans. Here’s a full list of everything included. I particularly enjoyed Lee Martin’s Cat on a Bad Couch, Jacqueline Mitchard’s Two Of A Kind, Charles Yu’s Earth: (A Gift Shop) and Julia Keller’s Hayleigh’s Dad. Overall, though, there aren’t any duds. And I really liked […]
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