Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Buyer's note: This is a long short story, not a full novel (or even a novella). Consider this before spending your $4.99. I used a gift card because I was curious to see how the second King/Hill effort shook out. Plus the title is just plain interesting. What could be in the tall grass? The mind boggles at the endless list of awful things that could be there.
Spoiler note: I'm spoiling the story. If you want a quick take, read the rest of this paragraph then skip the rest: "In the Tall Grass" is much like the other father/son collaboration King and Hill did ("Throttle") in that it's a solid, entertaining read, but nothing more than that. There is no re-inventing the wheel, no characters that will stay with you for days or weeks after reading. It's a tight horror story that preys on a fear most of us have: getting lost.
Specifically, the people in the story get lost in a huge field of tall grass that grows next to a creepy church somewhere out in Kansas. Brother and sister Cal and Becky are driving cross-country so Becky can carry her giving-up-for-adoption baby to term with at their aunt and uncle's home. The journey is unremarkable until they approach the grass and hear a boy calling out for help. Being good sorts of people, they park and separately enter the grass to find the boy. For a time they hear what may be the boy's mother warning them to stay away but of course it is too late by then, for the mother and, well, everyone.
The field and the grass seem to shift, creating an ever-changing maze where escape can be only feet away yet still impossible. Eventually Cal is found by the boy, who leads him to a strange, large rock in a clearing. Touch the rock and you suddenly know your way out but never want to leave because that rock is crazy and it loves spreading the crazy around.
It all ends horribly for everyone and the postscript has an RV full of potheads (the pot aspect is emphasized to a strange and almost absurd degree, maybe for comedic effect?) being lured in like Cal and Becky, suggesting the grass will continue to feed for some time to come. Or at least until winter, because a lush field of tall grass in the middle of a Nebraska winter is bound to draw a little attention from people maybe not so willing to dive in feet-first.
Oh, and don't ask what happens after Becky gives birth in the field to her three-month premature baby. You don't want to know, especially if you're pregnant. Or eating. Or sane.
"In the Tall Grass" does a nice job of playing on a fear many might have--wading into a large field of grass or some other maze-like structure, becoming lost, and realizing we have no reliable way to navigate out. Then comes the crazy and cannibalism. Well, or maybe you just use your cell phone to call for help--except that doesn't work, of course. And other than being decent but not compelling, that's probably my only other nitpick with the story. Everything that might help the doomed siblings is waved away. Of course the cell phone loses its signal. Of course they immediately separate instead of heading into the grass together. It's convenient but feels a little lazy. I'm not asking for Cal to have loaded a flamethrower in the trunk of his Mazda. I suppose I'm just not fond of watching helpless victims be helpless as they march to their inevitable demise. It's more depressing than horrifying.
Well, except for the baby. That was definitely horrifying.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend dropping five bucks on "In the Tall Grass" but if it shows up in a collection it will make a fine addition. It's a classic horror tale, just one that does nothing new or extraordinary.
Spoiler note: I'm spoiling the story. If you want a quick take, read the rest of this paragraph then skip the rest: "In the Tall Grass" is much like the other father/son collaboration King and Hill did ("Throttle") in that it's a solid, entertaining read, but nothing more than that. There is no re-inventing the wheel, no characters that will stay with you for days or weeks after reading. It's a tight horror story that preys on a fear most of us have: getting lost.
Specifically, the people in the story get lost in a huge field of tall grass that grows next to a creepy church somewhere out in Kansas. Brother and sister Cal and Becky are driving cross-country so Becky can carry her giving-up-for-adoption baby to term with at their aunt and uncle's home. The journey is unremarkable until they approach the grass and hear a boy calling out for help. Being good sorts of people, they park and separately enter the grass to find the boy. For a time they hear what may be the boy's mother warning them to stay away but of course it is too late by then, for the mother and, well, everyone.
The field and the grass seem to shift, creating an ever-changing maze where escape can be only feet away yet still impossible. Eventually Cal is found by the boy, who leads him to a strange, large rock in a clearing. Touch the rock and you suddenly know your way out but never want to leave because that rock is crazy and it loves spreading the crazy around.
It all ends horribly for everyone and the postscript has an RV full of potheads (the pot aspect is emphasized to a strange and almost absurd degree, maybe for comedic effect?) being lured in like Cal and Becky, suggesting the grass will continue to feed for some time to come. Or at least until winter, because a lush field of tall grass in the middle of a Nebraska winter is bound to draw a little attention from people maybe not so willing to dive in feet-first.
Oh, and don't ask what happens after Becky gives birth in the field to her three-month premature baby. You don't want to know, especially if you're pregnant. Or eating. Or sane.
"In the Tall Grass" does a nice job of playing on a fear many might have--wading into a large field of grass or some other maze-like structure, becoming lost, and realizing we have no reliable way to navigate out. Then comes the crazy and cannibalism. Well, or maybe you just use your cell phone to call for help--except that doesn't work, of course. And other than being decent but not compelling, that's probably my only other nitpick with the story. Everything that might help the doomed siblings is waved away. Of course the cell phone loses its signal. Of course they immediately separate instead of heading into the grass together. It's convenient but feels a little lazy. I'm not asking for Cal to have loaded a flamethrower in the trunk of his Mazda. I suppose I'm just not fond of watching helpless victims be helpless as they march to their inevitable demise. It's more depressing than horrifying.
Well, except for the baby. That was definitely horrifying.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend dropping five bucks on "In the Tall Grass" but if it shows up in a collection it will make a fine addition. It's a classic horror tale, just one that does nothing new or extraordinary.
Read this because I wanted to watch the Netflix movie after. A small quick read. More like whatever, but still entertaining. It was OK, but nothing of it surprise me or made me excited. It’s just entertaining, because it lacks the element of surprise, it felt so flat.
Still the idea was good and well executed. I was excited because it is a collaboration between Stephen King and Joe Hill, which was OK. Now I just need to read Sleeping Beauties to see his collaboration with Owen King.
I do recommend this, it is entertaining and a quick read, but it’s not the best that I’d read.
Still the idea was good and well executed. I was excited because it is a collaboration between Stephen King and Joe Hill, which was OK. Now I just need to read Sleeping Beauties to see his collaboration with Owen King.
I do recommend this, it is entertaining and a quick read, but it’s not the best that I’d read.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.75⭐️?
This is a short story I wanted to read for a long long time but just didn't find the time for it (even tho it's only 75-80 pages).
Premise is: Brother and sister pull up on a parking lot beside a BIG field of tall grass (6-7ft) when they hear a boy's voice: "Help! Help, I'm lost!". So they enter the field and the show begins. Things are not what they seem to be.
It's a good and interesting concept, but idk, it just wasn't it. I didn't really enjoy the writting. The tension was there but it just didn't do it me. At one point there was a shift in story and I was just wondering "WTF is happening...", and the writing didn't help it.
Also, there is a Netflix movie from 2019 that I'll be checking out (hopefully soon). When I saw it in 2019 I was already familiar with the short story but as I've said I just didn't found the right time to read it. Tbh, the movie seems more appealing than the story from what I've seen in the trailer.
Fingers crossed it's good
This is a short story I wanted to read for a long long time but just didn't find the time for it (even tho it's only 75-80 pages).
Premise is: Brother and sister pull up on a parking lot beside a BIG field of tall grass (6-7ft) when they hear a boy's voice: "Help! Help, I'm lost!". So they enter the field and the show begins. Things are not what they seem to be.
It's a good and interesting concept, but idk, it just wasn't it. I didn't really enjoy the writting. The tension was there but it just didn't do it me. At one point there was a shift in story and I was just wondering "WTF is happening...", and the writing didn't help it.
Also, there is a Netflix movie from 2019 that I'll be checking out (hopefully soon). When I saw it in 2019 I was already familiar with the short story but as I've said I just didn't found the right time to read it. Tbh, the movie seems more appealing than the story from what I've seen in the trailer.
Fingers crossed it's good
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No