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 Lethem. In Strange Weather, this “compelling chronicler of human nature’s … 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.
“Snapshot” is the disturbing 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 takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by 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 the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.
Masterfully exploring classic literary themes through the prism of the supernatural, Strange Weather is a stellar collection from an artist who is “quite simply the best horror writer of our generation” (Michael Kortya).
more
I usually don’t like collections of short stories but this one is crazy good. The endings are so unexpected. One of the best books I have read.
First story- I could not really get into it.
Second story-Well written, very tragic but is based on the events that happen often in this crazy world. Second best !
Third story-I enjoyed the main character typical nerdy young guy, creative story, but thought the cloud sex was a bit much.
Fourth story- Best of the four, original in a strange sort of way, loved the main character. Has domestic terrorism. cults, crazy drug dealer and inept officials. Sounds like things that happen all the time, Right?
Unique and twisted, these novels read like short stories with the fast-paced get-to-the-meat style I’ve come to love in Joe Hill’s work. I’ll never listen to the rain quite the same way again. If you enjoyed Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk or King’s Full Dark, No Stars, Strange Weather is for you.
I loved it,it was different
/ 5
Strange Weather by Joe Hill is a collection of four short stories that range from extremely disturbing and violent, to more on the tame side with an otherworldly quality. I haven’t read many short stories, but this collection will certainly stay with me.
My favorites of the four were definitely Snapshot and Rain. Snapshot was by far the least violent and gruesome of the four stories, and I was quite intrigued by the concept of a Polaroid Instant Camera being able to take away memories. Rain had an ending that I rather liked, and I really enjoyed the humor in it. Loaded is the story about a mall cop and it definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. It was very disturbing and graphic, and it ended too abruptly for my tastes. I thought Aloft was very interesting, but I was confused when towards the end the audio changed narrators then went back to the original narrator. Not sure what happened there, but I didn’t understand the effect it was supposed to have.
This was my first time actually finishing a Joe Hill book and I’m happy that I know what to expect from his writing now. I listened to Strange Weather as an audiobook on Libro.fm and it was definitely an experience. Sounds like I did miss out on some graphics that the book had, but I think listening to this really painted a clear picture of what was going on for me. Not sure I could handle looking at any graphics relating to Rain or Loaded!
Final Thought: If you are looking for horror and a dose of the supernatural you will find it in Strange Weather. I really enjoyed listening to it as an audiobook and the narrators (Wil Wheaton, Kate Mulgrew, Stephen Lang & Dennis Boutsikaris) were all very talented and easy to listen to. Like I said, this is a gruesome and bloody book, but if you can handle that I definitely recommend either reading or listening to it.
omgosh it was the best! my first joe hill book.
Loved this book couldn’t put it down!
Very entertaining large variety of subject matter broaches several genre in one package I give 4 stars
My chosen adjectives seem to contradict, but the 4 stories are very different. I enjoyed each one for the different reaction one feels while reading. LOADED gives the strongest reaction and stimulates an attempt to understand the thought processes of others and how these processes can be directed.
Pretty much anything that has Joe hills name on it will be quite a read
Excellent book!!
In Strange Weather, Joe Hill has offered up four twisty (and twisted) short novels. I like the way Mr. Hill writes his characters; they are both sympathetic and flawed. He doesn’t use the short format as an excuse to scrimp on character-building. I enjoyed each of the stories, with their individualized plays on the “weather” theme, but I have to say, the ending of Loaded left me with my jaw hanging. I can easily see me going back to read this book again.
Have enjoyed all of Joe Hill’s books.