"Strange Weather" by Joe Hill

Year of Publication:  2017
Number of Pages:  432
Genre:  Horror, fantasy, suspense

In the last ten years Joe Hill has established himself as one of the most original and striking writers working in the field of horror and fantasy.  This collects four short novels, written in longhand over a period of four years.  In "Snapshot", a boy and an elderly woman are stalked by a mysterious tattooed thug who owns a Polaroid camera which has the power to steal memories.  In "Loaded" a mall security guard is hailed as a hero for stopping a mass shooting, but a young journalist suspects there is more to the story than meets the eye, and as she investigates the guard begins to find it increasingly difficult to maintain control.  In "Aloft" a young musician attempts skydiving for the first time, only to find himself marooned on a bizarre floating island in the clouds.  An island that seems to have a strange life of it's own.  In the apocalyptic "Rain" a lethal rain of nails spreads across America and the world.

In the afterword to this book, Hill discusses the appeal of the short novel form (the longest story in the book is 140 pages, and the shortest is about 90 pages), describing them as combining the narrative drive of a short story, with the additional character depth of a novel, and tells us that the best are "All killer, no filler".  By and large he is right when it comes to the stories here.  The stories are full of tension and zip along at a good pace.  The characters are well drawn and believable.  Hill has always been very skilled at putting often quite surreal horror elements cheek by jowl with the mundane details of everyday life, making the horror seem almost more bizarre.  There is also a strong vein of humour and social satire here, with "Loaded", in particular, critiquing American gun culture.  "Snapshot" becomes a metaphor for ageing and resultant memory loss, which kind of gives the story a strange feel in it's final pages, and doesn't really fit with the fantasy elements.  However, this is a hugely entertaining , gruesome and funny collection.

       

"The Fireman" by Joe Hill

Year of Publication:  2016
Length:  752 pages
Genre:  Science-fiction, horror, apocalypse

The world is plagued by an incurable spore nicknamed "Dragonscale".  It initially manifests itself as beautiful, intricate tattoo-like markings in black and gold all over the host's body.  This may be all well and good, however, there is the slight problem that sooner or later the spore causes the host to burst into flame and burn to death.  With fires on every street corner, and anyone liable to burst into flame at a moment's notice, civilization collapses with the human race divided between those who are infected with Dragonscale and those terrified of infection.  Cheery school nurse Harper Grayson becomes infected with the spore at around the time that she becomes pregnant.  Knowing that there is a very real probability that the baby will not be infected with Dragonscale, Harper determines to stay alive at least long enough to give birth.  Escaping from her increasingly unstable husband, Jakob, Harper discovers a community of the infected who have discovered a way to control the Dragonscale infection.  However, as time goes on, and conditions worsen in the camp, Harper's situation becomes increasingly perilous, not least because of the constant threat of discovery by roving bands of vigilante "Cremation Squads" who hunt and execute the infected.  Harper's only hope of survival lies with the Fireman, John Rookwood, who has learned the ability to not only control Dragonscale, but to harness it's power and use it to his own ends.

The theme of the world devastated by a deadly disease is hardly new or original, but this book at least has an imaginative plague.  Joe Hill is a very talented writer and he manages the no mean feat of keeping the reader's attention over a very long novel.  That being said, it is quite flabby in places, particularly there are scenes in the infected community, which could be cut, but the characters are engaging enough that it is fun to spend time with them.  Harper is a likeable and engaging lead character who is trying not just to survive, but to retain her innate goodness and optimism in the face of the constant horror she's confronted with.  This is at times a very bloody, gruelling book, but the theme of it is essentially hope, and it has a big beating heart at it's core.  Hill has a tendency towards putting in a few too many in-jokes, there are several references, subtle and not so subtle, to amoing others The Stand by Stephen King, and the plot rides too heavily on coincidence in some places, but this is still a cut above most apocalyptic novels.  As someone who is not a particular fan of that genre, and who approached this book with some caution, I really enjoyed it a lot.  It's a big, exciting, entertaining and often powerful read about hope in the face of chaos.

      


    

"Horns" by Joe Hill

Year of Publication: 2010
Number of Pages: 437 pages
Genre: Dark fantasy, supernatural, crime, horror

Summary: Ignatius "Ig" Perrish is a very lucky man. Born into wealth and privelege, the son of a famous musician, and the brother of a rising television star, Ig has standing and respect in his community, and more importantly, he is dating beautiful, intelligent Merrin Williams, the girl of his dreams, with whom he once spent a strange afternoon of secret magic.
Until the night when Merrin is brutally raped and murdered, and Ig is the only suspect. Although the case against him is dropped, in the court of public opinion Ig is, and always will be, guilty.
With his world torn apart, Ig wakes up one morning to discover that two horns are growing out of his temples, and that he is suddenly in possession of bizarre supernatural powers, in particular the ability to make people admit their deepest desires and darkest most shameful secrets.
Now Ig sets out to use his new-found power to find Merrin's real killer and, after a lifetime spent always trying to do the right thing, he is willing to do anything to find the truth.

Opinions: This book is Joe Hill's second novel following the acclaimed Heart Shaped Box (published in 2007) and the short story collection 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and consolidates his position as one of the best writers working in the field of horror and fantasy today. As with his earlier work, Horns provides and original and contemporary take on a well-worn horror theme. The novel opens the morning that Ig discovers his new horns and moves between the "present" narrative of him discovering his new abilities and seeking revenge, and scenes from the past revealing the backgrounds of the characters and of course what happened on the fateful night. The book blends supernatural horror, crime thriller, dark comedy and coming of age narrative. It is a fairly violent book, but the violence is well handled and it isn't gratuitous. The story moves along well and remains a gripping thriller thoughout. However, one of the book's best elements is the fact that it also engages the emotions and showcases Hill's skills with character and dialogue. There's a lot of fun to be had as the story twists around the traditional figures of good and evil, and plenty of dark humour. Music and horror movie fans should also enjoy the numerous references.
Funny, dark, thrilling, frightening and moving this is a powerful and memorable book from a fine writer.