Book Review: Strange Weather by Joe Hill

Name:  Strange Weather
Author:  Joe Hill
Number of Pages:  432 (Hardback)
Published: November 2nd 2017 by Gollancz
Genre:  Short Stories

A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.
“One of America’s finest horror writers” (Time magazine), Joe Hill has been hailed among legendary talents such as Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and Jonathan Latham. In Strange Weather, this “compelling chronicler of human nature’s continual war between good and evil,” (Providence Journal-Bulletin) who “pushes genre conventions to new extremes” (New York Times Book Review) deftly expose the darkness that lies just beneath the surface of everyday life.    – from Goodreads

My Rating:

 

My Thoughts:

Strange Weather is a collection of four short novels. I read and enjoyed The Fireman by Joe Hill earlier this year, so I wanted to pick up his next read.
I don’t usually read many short story collections, but I was glad I gave this book a try. It was so varied and unusual that I’m sure there’s at least one story most people will love.

Snapshot sees a young man take on a formidable adversary in the form of The Phoenician, a sinister character with an apparently memory-stealing Polaroid camera.

Loaded deals with a shooting in a shopping mall where a security guard is hailed a hero, but following him further he becomes increasingly disturbed, especially when journalist Aisha Lanternglass becomes interested in his past and bringing the reality of this ‘hero’ to light.

Aloft features Aubrey, a young man willing to undertake a skydive to impress a girl, even though he’s absolutely terrified and tries to back out. Circumstances mean he is forced to jump anyway, so imagine his surprise when he finds himself stranded on a cloud that is more than it first appears. This was such an unusual and memorable story.

And now for my favourite – Rain. This story offers a post-apocalyptic scenario as a storm of nails pours down in Boulder, killing thousands of people, and leaving Honeysuckle Speck determined to go and visit her girlfriend’s father, to tell him what happened to his daughter.
From the comet cultists across the street, to the young boy whom Honeysuckle sometimes looks after, and Honeysuckle’s risky journey to deliver a heartbreaking message, Rain is definitely the story that will stick in my mind for the longest now I’ve finished the book.

Strange Weather was a varied and enjoyable read, and I’m now wondering which Joe Hill book I should try next.

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