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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this and it definitely wasn’t a slow read. Looking forward to seeing how close the movie is!
3.5 Stars. It was good but I just needed it to be longer. I was left unsatisfied with so many questions.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
What would you do if you heard a small kid crying for help in a field of grass? Well after reading this I think I would call the police and keep driving, screw that kid.
In the tall grass is a short story by father and son team Stephen King and Joe Hill. It is gory, creepy and the right amount of suspense. But...this is my problem with short stories, I want more! I'm just greedy and want to know more about the grass.
In the tall grass is a short story by father and son team Stephen King and Joe Hill. It is gory, creepy and the right amount of suspense. But...this is my problem with short stories, I want more! I'm just greedy and want to know more about the grass.
The premise of the story is simple and classic King: two siblings, driving across the country, hear a lost child calling for help from within a field of tall grass. They decide to investigate, but there's something supernatural and malicious going on in this particular field. It's a nasty story, suspenseful and gruesome, and though not the most offensive stuff King's ever written, it's close. Of course, that's exactly the kind of story most people would hope for from these two authors. It's definitely worth the read, just not over lunch.
Now, you know who Stephen King is, but you might not already know that his son, Joe Hill, is following in dad's footsteps and is already an accomplished horror author. It's my personal opinion that Hill has already shown the potential to overtake his father very soon, in skill if not in notoriety. In addition to three fantastic novels (NOS4A2 is a must-read), a book of chilling short stories, and arguably the best graphic novel series in existence, he has also been credited with providing King with a superior ending to his recent time-travel book, 11/22/63. King fans know that his books tend to be long and engaging, but his endings are very hit-or-miss, so Hill's contributions are incredibly valuable in this regard, and father-and-son collaborations like this one can only help both authors hone their craft further.
Regarding the narration of the audiobook by Stephen Lang, it's tolerable at best. He's not a very good actor, nor does he pull off female or child voices at all, and every bit of dialog is read in the same slow and plodding manner that he reads the narration; no emotion, no urgency, just reading words on a page rather than trying to bring a story to life. Luckily the story itself is good enough to let this slide.
Now, you know who Stephen King is, but you might not already know that his son, Joe Hill, is following in dad's footsteps and is already an accomplished horror author. It's my personal opinion that Hill has already shown the potential to overtake his father very soon, in skill if not in notoriety. In addition to three fantastic novels (NOS4A2 is a must-read), a book of chilling short stories, and arguably the best graphic novel series in existence, he has also been credited with providing King with a superior ending to his recent time-travel book, 11/22/63. King fans know that his books tend to be long and engaging, but his endings are very hit-or-miss, so Hill's contributions are incredibly valuable in this regard, and father-and-son collaborations like this one can only help both authors hone their craft further.
Regarding the narration of the audiobook by Stephen Lang, it's tolerable at best. He's not a very good actor, nor does he pull off female or child voices at all, and every bit of dialog is read in the same slow and plodding manner that he reads the narration; no emotion, no urgency, just reading words on a page rather than trying to bring a story to life. Luckily the story itself is good enough to let this slide.
3,6/5
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 3
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of reading: 4
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 3
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of reading: 4
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this in two parts in Esquire. Excellent premise and early buildup--standard King. Brother and sister stop along the road to help a child calling from the titular flora. They soon lose their way, and each other, only to discover the grass is more alive than they thought. Great tension in Part 1, like Open Water meets The Ruins.
And then Part 2 happened. That may be as precise as I get since the story devolved into something about an alien rock turning people into cannibals that I don't understand at all. It gets real gory, unnecessarily and schlockily so. Did I mention the sister is pregnant? Yeah, that gets resolved.
And then Part 2 happened. That may be as precise as I get since the story devolved into something about an alien rock turning people into cannibals that I don't understand at all. It gets real gory, unnecessarily and schlockily so. Did I mention the sister is pregnant? Yeah, that gets resolved.