From the Bookshelf of RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off)…

Strange Weather: Four Short Novels

Joe Hill

Start date: October 1, 2018

Finish date: October 31, 2018

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Discussion leader: Cheryl

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Oct 31, 2018 Heena Rathore Rathore-Pardeshi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, short-stories, dark-fiction, supernatural

This book turned out to be an okay read. I had a lot of expectation from this one, mostly because I had heard a lot about Joe Hill's writing but also because he is one of the offsprings of my favourite writer. Overall, I liked the concepts of the stories, but what I did not like was the way they started to feel "lost" after a good beginning. The writing was good, no doubt, but the narration seemed to have faltered a lot as the story reached a certain point and then it went downhill from there at ...more

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Jan 02, 2018 Albert rated it really liked it

Strange Weather is the newest offering from Joe Hill and for fans this will be a treat! But more importantly, for readers who have not read Joe Hill as of yet, this may be the best book to start with. Strange Weather is a collection of novellas, not short stories, that are not quite horror tales but would be better said to be fantasy/sci-fi/dramas. They are, despite their settings, visions of the human condition. Humans cast into incredible circumstances.

This collection contains four tales -

"Sn Strange Weather is the newest offering from Joe Hill and for fans this will be a treat! But more importantly, for readers who have not read Joe Hill as of yet, this may be the best book to start with. Strange Weather is a collection of novellas, not short stories, that are not quite horror tales but would be better said to be fantasy/sci-fi/dramas. They are, despite their settings, visions of the human condition. Humans cast into incredible circumstances.

This collection contains four tales -

"Snapshot" is a coming of age story where a young outcast boy finds himself waging a battle for the soul of his nanny against a tattooed creep with a Polaroid Instant Camera that can rob the memories of those it takes photos. The power of this camera is something the boy himself finds alluring.

"Aloft" is the story of a young man who, despite massive anxiety attempts his first parachute jump. A jump that lands him on a cloud that is somehow solid and has the power to turn its rolling mists into all the man desires, if only he would stay in the clouds forever.

"Loaded" is the poignant tale of a mall shooting and the aftermath of all that take part. From the killer, to the hero, to the police and reporters. It is troubling and tragic and horribly human. It will be a tale that regardless of your politics, will not leave you untouched by its drama.

My favorite of this group is "Rain". On a ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the skies open up and rain crystal nails, impaling and killing thousands. What follows is a journey of pain and love as a young woman named Honeysuckle finds herself a survivor of the strange event. But dead is the woman she loves and now she must travel on foot to give the news of her lover's death to her father. But what she finds on the way is danger and dark humanity as the city tries to survive this apocalyptic event. This short tale is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It is deep and introspective as well as a comment on our current social and political condition.

Novellas are terrific forms of story. Long enough to develop the characters and background, but short enough to keep the story moving at a quick pace. This is perfect for Hill whose characters are very often his calling card, whether they are vampires or human beings caught in the circumstances so quickly spiraling out of their control. The stories themselves are enticing and the reader will find themselves delving into this world of shape shifting solid clouds to the horror of a man with a gun and a bellyful of anger.

For some, the comparison of Joe Hill to his father will also be the measuring stick. That's okay. Hill can handle that. With Strange Weather, he brings us four tales that are as good as any his father has produced in his collections of short novels.

If you have never read Joe Hill, his novels Fireman and NOS4A2 may be daunting as they are large books in scope and size. Horns is shorter and very good, do not judge by the crappy movie version and my first taste of Hill was The Heart-Shaped Box which made me swear that Edgar Allan Poe had been reincarnated. So the newbie, this collection may be perfect and if it is your first introduction to Joe Hill, I envy you the beginning of a wonderful journey.

A really great read!

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Jun 15, 2018 Cyndi rated it it was amazing

Beautiful pieces! Excellence in craft and pacing. Profound, real characters. Perfection Thank you Joe Hill for sharing your calling.

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Jul 17, 2018 Cherylcali "turn the page" rated it it was ok

Shelves: king

Short Stories written about some strange topics. Snapshot is the first one and is rather more of the kind of "Outer Limits" style. Loaded is ode to the typical NRA liberal view of a gun owner. Typically abrasive ex-marine type that has a drive to use their guns for retribution. Another King getting political about how they feel about guns.
Aloft, is very strange and whimsical about being stuck in a UFO cloud. Not as good as I thought it could be but, even coming up with a UFO cloud is something u ...more

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