Thanks to Edelweiss and William Morrow for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: October 24th, 2017
448 Pages
Synopsis: 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.
“Snapshot” is the story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by “The Phoenician” a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories snap by snap.
A young man man takes to the skies to experience his firs parachute jump…and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems to have a mind of its own in “Aloft”.
On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. “Rain” explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.
In “Loaded”, a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for his gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.
Strange Weather is an eclectic collection of four tales which only has one theme connecting them, the weather. And this really only plays a major role in the last story, but it honestly doesn’t matter because Joe Hill’s writing is so brilliant.
Snapshot features a monstrous villain known as The Phoenician who stalks his victims with an instant camera which extracts their memories. The only one who can stop him is an eleven-year-old misfit. It’s a vintage horror story and somewhat reminiscent of Hill’s NOS4A2. I would say that out of the four stories, this was my favorite because I have a fondness for underdog kids battling evil. I give this 5 Stars.
Loaded tackles the horror of gun violence, and it a story that Hill has been mulling over in his mind since the Newtown massacre. Here, the shooter, Randall Kelloway, is a mall cop who’s been rejected numerous times from the police force because he’s psychologically unfit. He’s a gun fanatic who illegally carries one to work, which results in tragedy. Aisha is a reporter who has her own tragic history with gun violence. She’s suspicious of Randall’s account of what happened, and is determined to discover the truth. It’s a tough story to read and the ending ripped my heart out. Rather than being supernatural in nature, instead the story focuses on the real life monsters among us. I did think this went on a little too long which is why I’m giving this 4.5 Stars.
Aloft is quite different from Hill’s usual writing. It focuses on twenty-something Aubrey Griffin, who along with a small group are completing things on their friend June’s bucket list, that she was unable to do before her death from cancer. The first is a parachute jump, and Aubrey is panic-stricken, but he’s trying to impress his friend Harriet. Once they’re in the plane though, he finds he just can’t go through with it. That is until, the plane starts to lose power and everyone is forced to jump. Aubrey lands on this strange looking cloud. And of course this is not your average cloud. This isn’t a horror story per se, but instead, a quirky, poignant and thoughtful exploration of unrequited love and the question of whether it’s truly possible to have everything you want. There are some questions as to who and what the cloud is, and where did it come from, so I’m giving this 4.5 Stars.
Rain is the last story and is very reminiscent of some of Hill’s more post-apocalyptic fiction. The rain arrives in the form of crystalline needles that are capable of penetrating both objects and bodies. The heroine here is the kick-ass Honeysuckle Speck, and the journey follows her as she tries to get from Boulder to Denver to tell the father of her girlfriend and his wife’s deaths. In addition to trying to avoid further deadly outbreaks of rain, Honeysuckle also has a murderous doomsday cult after her. It’s a well-written story and the perfect way to end this anthology. I give this 5 Stars.
Strange Weather confirms why I’m such a fan of Joe Hill. Every story has characters that readers will connect with. Diverging from his more epic horror like last year’s The Fireman, this is more in keeping with his other short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts. I believe this quite literally has something for everyone and I HIGHLY recommend it to both long-time fans of Hill’s as well as new readers.
raistlin0903 said:
Oh my god, I still have to read The Fireman, but this collection of stories sounds so awesome. Especially the first and last stories. A camera that erases memories, and rain that feels like nails. Seriously wonder at times how he can come up with stories like that. This anthology sounds amazing. I’ve definitely been a fan ever since NOS4A2, and this book sounds like a musthave! Great post and wonderful review. Thanks for sharing this 😊
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Michel! The first and last were definitely my favorites. The gun control one was really interesting, but it could have been tightened a bit more, and Aloft was sweet and quirky, but I really wanted to know more about the “cloud”.This is most definitely a must have!
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beetleypete said:
This sounds great Kim, and right up my street too. Well worth your 4.5 stars, I am thinking.
Best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ooh! I’d love it if you tried this Pete!😙
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beetleypete said:
I have added it to my wish list on Amazon, Kim. But it is expensive at the moment, so I will wait to see if it reduces in price.
best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
That’s great Pete. Hopefully the price will come down soon.😊
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J.W. Martin said:
Joe Hill keeps popping up all over my radar. I just put the Fireman on my TBR, and now this? Oh, man!
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J.W. Martin said:
And he sets one in Boulder, Colorado?! That’s a nice little homage to his dad’s work. I wonder if Randall Flag is in it somewhere…
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I thought that was interesting. But alas. No sign of Randall.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ooh! I loved The Fireman! I hope you enjoy it.😊
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Carrie said:
Great review Kim! I need to pick up more by Joe Hill but never quite get around to it.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank Carrie! I think you’d enjoy him.☺️
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Carrie said:
I did love The Fireman but like King it was just so long that I can read like 4 or 5 other books in that time so it’s hard to talk myself into starting one that length.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I loved The Fireman, but as far as time wise goes, Strange Weather is much easier to read.😊
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Carrie said:
I wish there wasn’t a wait on books like this at my library all the time. There’s always those times I’m in the mood for trying one like this and have a break but it’s a long wait and by the time I’d get it I’d have a bunch of review books on hand and no time.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😔
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fragglerocking said:
Sounds like a great collection.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It’s really well done.☺️
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Raven @ Dreamy Addictions said:
I haven’t heard of this anthology but it sounds very very interesting! I’m glad you loved it! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
If you like Stephen King Raven, his son is a chip off his block!
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Such fantastic reviews you post Kim!!! I enjoyed them today😁 and well everytime! You really know how to catch the essence of the story! This sounds right up my alley so will be adding this to my TBR!!!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Dani! Joe Hill’s writing is reminiscent of his father, Stephen King’s, but he’s definitely his own man. I’ve especially loved Horns, NOS4A2, The Fireman, and now Strange Weather.😊
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Sounds fantastic! I’ve never checked out his writing but I do enjoy Mr. King’s work! That’s so awesome he has family full of talented writers!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Can you imagine what their get togethers must be like?!
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
They must be awesome!😊
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I want to go!😒
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Same here!!!
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mlbradford said:
Great review (4.5 Stars)
Found a really intriguing book @ my Library yesterday:
What Makes This Book So Great (2014), by Jo Walton.
Each chapter is devoted to a single SF/Fantasy novel, analysing how it has become an enduring classic.
Name any great author, he/she is bound to be featured, cos there are 130 chapters – yes, 130 chapters – across 465 pages
At once, it should b an intriguing history of SF, and help teach me more about th writing craft.
Cheers!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Brad. I think you’d enjoy Joe Hill. That book sounds interesting. I hope you like like it.😊
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mlbradford said:
Thanks Kim.
Who knows, u might get to see a book review on my site for once!
Cheers!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Hey Brad! That would be AWESOME!😊
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mlbradford said:
Tell u what, some time after my Ragnarok Review, there WILL b something booky.
Brad’s Books – a delightful lil establishment
Like th inside of his head, it’s small, cramped, and full of dust and good reads!
Stay tuned! 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay!😊
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KrystiYAandWine said:
This sounds pretty great! I’ve never read any of Joe Hill’s books, but I’ve wanted to for such a long time!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Do you like horror Krysti?
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KrystiYAandWine said:
I do sometimes! Sometimes I can’t handle dark stuff, and sometimes it’s totally fine. I just have to mentally be in the mood for it, I guess. 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I know exactly what you mean. I think you definitely might like this then.😊
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KrystiYAandWine said:
Awesome. I’ll have to check it out then. 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay!😊
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Zoë said:
I requested this a while ago but was denied (not being in the States and all). It looks so good! Great work Kim, and I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for it, Hill is a fantastic writer!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’m sorry to hear that Zoe. I hope you can get your hands on it.
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Jen said:
Oh goodness I’d never be able to pick up this book *shudders* but I’ll be passing the title along to my mom since this is more up her alley.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
That’s great Jen. I hope she loves it.🤗
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Lashaan (Bookidote) said:
Gosh, this is one collection that I really wanted to get my hands on too! I haven’t read any novels per say by Joe Hill, besides a comic series by him, and have been meaning to try out his books for a long time now! I really should pick something up by him. This one seems to really show why he’s such an awesome author through 4 short stories! Fantastic review, Kim! 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I LOVE the Locke & Key series! I think you would like his fiction Lashaan. If you’re interested, I’d start with either this or NOS4A2.😊
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Lashaan (Bookidote) said:
Duly noted! 😛
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lostartofreadingblog said:
I have only read Horns by Joe Hill so far, I wanted to read NOS4A2, but the length scared me off. This one seems a little less intimidating. Great review 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you! I personally loved NOS4A2, and despite the length, read it in two sittings simply because I couldn’t put it down!😊
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lostartofreadingblog said:
Holy that’s impressive, long books scare me off sometimes. But I think I’ll just have to give it a shot.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😊👏
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