Four short novels from the author of THE FIREMAN and HORNS, ranging from creepy horror to powerful explorations of our modern society.
One autumnal day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails, splinters of bright crystal that tear apart anyone who isn't safely under cover. 'Rain' explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as clouds of nails spread out across the country and the world. Amidst the chaos, a girl studying law enforcement takes it upon herself to resolve a series of almost trivial mysteries . . . apparently harmless puzzles that turn out to have lethal answers.
In 'Loaded' a mall security guard heroically stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun movement. Under the hot glare of the spotlights, though, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it...
'Snapshot, 1988' tells the story of a kid in Silicon Valley who finds himself threatened by The Phoenician, a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid that can steal memories...
And in 'Aloft' a young man takes to the skies to experience parachuting for the first time . . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero's island of roiling vapour that seems animated by a mind of its own.
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[SHELLY BEUKES STOOD AT THE bottom of the driveway, squinting up at our pink sandstone ranch as if she had never seen it before (SNAPSHOT)]***
(Gollancz, 7 November 2017, ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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Novellas included
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I'm a huge fan of Joe Hill and have read and loved all of his books. Getting an ARC of his latest was like winning three numbers on the lottery. Seriously.
I loved the novellas in this collection. I do wonder why it's called Strange Weather though as only two feature weird weather phenomena.
My favourite tale was Rain. It reminded me a lot of the story The Mist by hill's father, Stephen King. The apocalyptic events in both are different by the reactions and behaviour of the survivors are chillingly similar. Rain is dark at times but brilliant.
My second favourite tale was Aloft. I loved the bizarre-ness of it. This tale is quite funny at times and a bit strange, even when things start to get dark and creepy. Aloft is a great tale.
My next favourite was Loaded. I thought this was an excellent piece of writing and loved the way it shines a light on the use of guns for self-defence and law enforcement. The story is chilling at times but great.
Snapshot, 1988 comes bottom four but not because I didn't love it. I loved all the novellas in Strange Weather, the other three slightly more than this tale which was the most unsettling of all.
