Buddy read of Full Throttle by Joe Hill (spoiler warning)

[Mehmet]

Happy New Year to everyone. For the 13th of January me and my two friends have arranged a buddy read for Joe Hills collection of short storys Full Throttle. Everyone is welcome to join in the buddy read. Just let us know and we add your name. Please be aware while reading there may be spoilers in the discussion. As usual the rule is to use spoiler tags while discussing important parts of the story, which may ruin the fun for people yet to read. Otherwise have fun.

In the group so far we have -
Jonathan
Krystle
Mehmet
Canavan
Jeff
Sarah

[Jonathan]

Thanks for setting this up!!

[Mehmet]

No problem my friend

[Michael]

I've already read this, but I'd like to participate and share my thoughts as well as see what everyone else thought about it.

[Canavan]

I’d be interested in joining in.

[Jen from Quebec :0)]

Eek! I read this and was *super* excited to join you lot, and FINALLY read the kindle version I own of this book...then I looked more closely at my kindle books and discovered that what I *actually* own is THIS book =

Throttle


So...CRAP! --Jen from Quebec :0)

[Mehmet]

Michael you are more then welcome to join in any discussions we have.
Canavan your name is added to the list, welcome !
Jen I have noticed there is a book called Throttle, is that one story on this collection, or is it totally separate ? You could still join if you like. I been Quebec, Montreal and Quebec city lovely province and lovely people.

[Jonathan]

Welcome to all the new participants!! :-)

[Mehmet]

Jonathan do you know if the book Throttle is one story on Full Throttle or has no connection with this collection?

[Canavan]

Mehmet asked:

do you know if the book Throttle is one story on Full Throttle or has no connection with this collection?

Throttle is basically just an electronic chapbook consisting of the single novelette “Throttle” that Joe Hill co-wrote with his father. It’s the first tale in the collection Full Throttle .

[Mehmet]

Thanks Canavan :-)

[Jonathan]

Yeah. It is the centerpiece in the collection Full Throttle. Basically showcasing the team up between Stephen King and Joe Hill. If I remember correctly there are at least two short stories in this collection that are co-written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. I think the other is called Into The Tall Grass. I can’t wait to hear what you think about them. I read Into The Tall Grass last year and loved it.

[Mehmet]

Thanks Jonathan, sounds good !

[Jeff]

just finished reading the first story..moving on to "Dark Carnival", and the Ray Bradbury references...


Jeff

[Mehmet]

Jeff you reading this with us ? should i add your name ?

[Sarah]

Hi! Could you add me to the list? I'd like to read this with you guys.

[Jeff]

I'm in Mehmet..add me bud

[Jonathan]

Welcome! Thanks for joining the buddy read! We are glad to have you both! I love these stories!

[Mehmet]

No problem Jeff and Sarah I will add your names. As Jonathan has said Welcome!

[Mehmet]

Ok my friends, your names have been added, sorry about the delay, had a weird day at work. Quiet during the day but crazy in the evening. Plus had paperwork to do when got home.

[Jonathan]

No worries buddy! Nice to see so many people join the topic! I hope everyone has a good day!

[Jeff]

let me apologize...the story I just finished reading was "Dark Carousal", not "Dark Carnival"...Homer Simpson moment....


Jeff

[Mehmet]

ahhhh you cheered my night up Jeff, its ok we are but Human and prone to make mistakes

[Jonathan]

I didn’t even notice the mix up! The names are too similar in my head lol

[Jeff]

Moving right along -

Best story os far is undoubtedly"Dark Carousel"...am also impressed by Wolverton Station, where a train passenger becomes dinner for werewolf-like creatures. "Faun" also packs an unexpected ending...
Still reading "Late Returns"....am hoping to be finished with book by Monday/Tuesday...

Jeff

[Mehmet]

Wow Jeff, we planning to start buddy read on the 13th January, but looks like you be finished by then. Hope you still stick around to join in any discussions we have once more people participate.

[Mehmet]

I have just started reading the book, really enjoyed the introduction. Can start reading the stories Monday night when I finish work. Hope everyone is ok.

[Jonathan]

I am good. I love most of the stories he tells. Some of them are a tiny bit preachy, I like more nuance in some cautionary tales regarding political stuff . But I think most of it is great story telling. I do like 20th Century Ghosts better.

[Mehmet]

Will let you know my take on the stories Jonathan, just started Throttle last night.

[Mehmet]

who else has started reading ?

[Canavan]

“Throttle”, co-written with Stephen King (2009)

I read this story quite a few years ago (when it first appeared in the Richard Matheson tribute anthology, He Is Legend ), so I don’t have all that much substantive to say about it. (view spoiler)[It’s obviously an homage to Matheson’s classic 1971 story, “Duel”. My vague recollection was of slogging through this novelette, finding that it lacked the suspense and novelty of the original story. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭½

[Canavan]

“Dark Carousel” (2018)

(view spoiler)[In his author notes, Hill refers to two of his father’s stories as being sorta literary templates for “Carousel”, “The Road Virus Heads North” and “Riding the Bullet”. “Carousel” seems concerned with the idea about how “bad stuff” can sometimes happen to individuals who may not (or may?) deserve it. The story is at its best, I think, early on as the author fleshes out the four main characters — I liked how Hill deftly evokes a time when those who are still relatively young may perform petty acts of cruelty with little forethought, but also with relatively little malice. The narrator states at one point that “I’ve tried to show you that they [the narrator’s compatriots] were dangerous — but they weren’t immoral.” Hill then invites the reader to consider whether or not these four deserve the consequences of their actions.

Paradoxically, the story sort of loses steam (for me at least) once the four leave Cape Maggie’s harbor walk and are pursued by the spectral avengers. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭½

[Canavan]

“Wolverton Station” (2011)

I really liked this story, although I’m floundering a bit to figure out why. (view spoiler)[The narrator is far less interesting than the one in “Dark Carousel”; Saunders is one of those typically soulless baddies encountered in horror shorts who eventually get their comeuppance. I think I was just tickled by the idea of wolves walking around in human attire — it’s a sorta silly idea and yet, against the odds, Hill makes it work. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭✭

[Mehmet]

Still reading Throttle, just had a random thought. Meth is mentioned in the story, the drug appears a lot in American horror novels, such as Edward Lee. Even heard Brian Keene speak about it on Podcast. Its not something I hear in UK, we have drug problems, and currently serious gang violence with young Teens dying almost every day due to stabbings. Its fuelled by drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, maybe weed to a lesser degree. But not heard Meth mentioned, unless its got another name in UK. Is this mainly a American drug problem ? or is it named differently here ? anyone know ?

[Canavan]

Mehmet said (in part):

But not heard Meth mentioned, unless its got another name in UK. Is this mainly a American drug problem ? or is it named differently here ? anyone know ?

I’m certainly no expert, but my understanding is that production and recreational use of methamphetamine tends to be concentrated in North America and East and Southeast Asia.

[Sarah]

Canavan wrote: "Mehmet said (in part):


But not heard Meth mentioned, unless its got another name in UK. Is this mainly a American drug problem ? or is it named differently here ? anyone know ?


I’m certainly ..."

I believe you are correct, Canavan. Also Australia. Biker gangs are commonly associated with it, as well. Hence its mention in "Throttle."

[Mehmet]

thanks for the answers Canavan and Sarah :-)
I finished Throttle today

(view spoiler)[Maybe the premise of the story was not original, but I enjoyed the themes of father and son relationship. Plus there was generational gap and the effects of war and drugs. For a short story a lot was thrown in. I enjoyed this one, I give it 3 stars.
<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[Mehmet]

finished Dark Carousel last night. It started off really nicely, showing snap shot of early 90s life, which brought me happy feelings of nostalgia. The lead up, was great. The ending not so much. I felt this would of been better as longer novel, as I wanted to know more about why things happened. so Enjoyable but a unimpressive ending.

[Atlanta]

I put both versions on hold and will let you know when I get one.

[Jonathan]

I enjoyed the little NOS4A2 Easter egg in Dark Carousel

[Mehmet]

Ok Atl, looking forward to you join us.

(view spoiler)[I finished Wolverton Station and By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain. Wolverton Station was a very surreal story for me, not sure I understood the story. Having travelled on National rail from London to Northern cities, I could visualise the novel very easily. Was the story about the irony of a ruthless business man coming across wolves acting like humans ? He had the tables turned on him quite literally.
By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain was also a simple tale, where children find a mythical beast and are not listened to by the adults. I found it very somber.<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[♥♡¢σσкιє♥♡ (Krystle)]

Just read Throttle, and I liked it. It reminded me of a pulpy vignette from an 80s SciFi movie. I love those movies so this was a fun read.

(view spoiler)[I enjoyed Vince's revelation that he liked the trucker who had just killed most of his gang more than he liked his own son. That moment summed up the story well. I liked the trucker more than any other character in the story. Even though he had no dialogue and the whole thing was told from Vince's POV, the trucker was the real hero of the story. (hide spoiler)]

I hope I enjoy the rest as much as this one.

[Mehmet]

yeah I found the story had quite a emotional punch. I am lucky to have great relations with my father, so when I read such stories I can feel what is been said. I understand not everyone son is as lucky, or father as the story shows.
Yes I also felt sad at the tragic plot twist.

[Sarah]

Guys, I'm really behind on my reading. I'll post my thoughts as soon as I get a break at work

[Mehmet]

hey Sarah no need to panic, just read at what ever pace you like, We understand life can be hectic, which means you should read to enjoy and relax. I also reading slowly :-)

[♥♡¢σσкιє♥♡ (Krystle)]

@Mehmet, I agree. But your comment makes me wonder why they chose to write about a troubled father/son relationship when they have such a good one?

Just finished Dark Carousel, and I liked some parts of it, but didn't enjoy it as much as Throttle.

(view spoiler)[Dark Carousel was too unnecessarily bleak. It reminded me of those slasher movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer, but the kids in those movies kind of invited the terror into their lives because they did some terrible things. These kids stole $40 bucks, vandalized a "fake" horse, and tucked a drunk old man into bed. Seemed like a bit of an overreaction to kill three and spend a lifetime torturing the one who lived. I needed them to be worse kids or the ending to be better. Or maybe I just needed more than 40 pages.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Mehmet]

I guess they just like to pop over to the dark side when writing :-D

[♥♡¢σσкιє♥♡ (Krystle)]

@Mehmet, I thing you're right! 🙂

I finished Wolverton Station. Don't have much to say about it. It reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode, and I love that show so it was a fun read. It was very odd and left me feeling slightly confused and wanting more information.

[Mehmet]

me too Krystle, i was not sure what the story was about. Wondered if it was just me

[Michael]

Mehmet wrote: "me too Krystle, i was not sure what the story was about. Wondered if it was just me"

Yes, Wolverton Station is a very Twilight Zone type story. I like the way that Hill took a single scene and fleshed it out into a complete story. The way that Hill slowly fed us the background information on the main character and let us into his thoughts, feelings and actions are what made the story for me. (view spoiler)[My interpretation is that every character perished in the train crash and their ghosts are hanging around the station reliving their memories of that day. Only the main character and his fiancée are brave enough to venture beyond the train station and go into the nearby town. (hide spoiler)]