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hollsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
alexandrabree's review against another edition
3.0
Best New Horror 5/5
20th Century Ghost 4/5
Pop Art 2/5 (boring)
You Will Hear the Locust Sing
Abraham's Boys
Better Than Home
The Black Phone (5/5)
In the Rundown
The Cape
Last Breath
Dead Wood
The Widows Breakfast
My Father's Mask
Voluntary Commital
S. Typewriter
20th Century Ghost 4/5
Pop Art 2/5 (boring)
You Will Hear the Locust Sing
Abraham's Boys
Better Than Home
The Black Phone (5/5)
In the Rundown
The Cape
Last Breath
Dead Wood
The Widows Breakfast
My Father's Mask
Voluntary Commital
S. Typewriter
mischievous_monkey's review against another edition
3.0
Reread of Pop Art on 2/7/24:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a perfect short story. It had been 10 years from my first read and I never forgot the sweet melancholy it left me in. I revisited it last night and was pleased to find it just as beautiful as the first time that I read it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a perfect short story. It had been 10 years from my first read and I never forgot the sweet melancholy it left me in. I revisited it last night and was pleased to find it just as beautiful as the first time that I read it.
bobbiecabrera's review against another edition
4.0
Gory, upsetting, and provocative.
Pop Art, however, was divine.
Pop Art, however, was divine.
kaceylaine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
merkatt's review against another edition
2.0
Gonna put as much effort in to my review as it felt Joe Hill did in these stories.
Negatives:
- More baseball references than ghosts
- Many stories had no ending
- Many stories either were not horror, or required the audience to make huge, unaided leaps in logic for them to become horror
- Absolutely unacceptably frequent use of the “R” word (once is too much, and it was almost once or more per story)
- Does Joe Hill have an issue with women? I think Joe Hill has an issue with women. Yes I know this is *supposed* to be a horror book so the characters are supposed to be bad, and a writer’s characters do not always have to perform actions condoned by the writer, but when every story features misogyny and other grossness with how women are written and characterized and discussed and treated, you start to notice the pattern
- Does Joe Hill have an issue with people who experience neurodivergent disabilities? See: previous two points
Positives:
- A couple of the stories were interesting, well written, and contained almost no baseball references
Joe Hill is probably not for me.
Negatives:
- More baseball references than ghosts
- Many stories had no ending
- Many stories either were not horror, or required the audience to make huge, unaided leaps in logic for them to become horror
- Absolutely unacceptably frequent use of the “R” word (once is too much, and it was almost once or more per story)
- Does Joe Hill have an issue with women? I think Joe Hill has an issue with women. Yes I know this is *supposed* to be a horror book so the characters are supposed to be bad, and a writer’s characters do not always have to perform actions condoned by the writer, but when every story features misogyny and other grossness with how women are written and characterized and discussed and treated, you start to notice the pattern
- Does Joe Hill have an issue with people who experience neurodivergent disabilities? See: previous two points
Positives:
- A couple of the stories were interesting, well written, and contained almost no baseball references
Joe Hill is probably not for me.
aylincoolcat's review against another edition
4.0
Eine schöne, abwechslungsreiche Kurzgeschichtensammlung. Mal skurril, mal beängstigend und immer wieder auch menschlich berührend. Es gibt so viele Ängste, die uns Menschen umtreiben und nicht immer haben alle mit Monstern und Blutvergießen zu tun. Oft sind die Ängste vor Dingen, die wir nicht sehen oder verstehen können am größten. Und genau da setzt Joe Hill mit seinen Geschichten an.
jeanne_i_d's review against another edition
5.0
Originally published as “20th Century Ghosts”, the collection was reissued in anticipation of the release of the movie adaptation of one story, “The Black Phone”
Solid assortment of stories here, ranging from slightly creepy to downright terrifying with even a touch of Ray Bradbury thrown in. In several of the stories, you may not be sure what you are dealing with until the very end. This was part of the joy of reading this collection… starting off each story with “I wonder what Joe has up his sleeve here?”
As with most collections, there will be favorites and others that may miss the mark (slightly!) for you but overall, I highly recommend this collection.
I would like to thank the publisher William Morrow for providing a giveaway copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Solid assortment of stories here, ranging from slightly creepy to downright terrifying with even a touch of Ray Bradbury thrown in. In several of the stories, you may not be sure what you are dealing with until the very end. This was part of the joy of reading this collection… starting off each story with “I wonder what Joe has up his sleeve here?”
As with most collections, there will be favorites and others that may miss the mark (slightly!) for you but overall, I highly recommend this collection.
I would like to thank the publisher William Morrow for providing a giveaway copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
the_vvorst's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
An uneven but enjoyable short story collection, worth reading alone for the wonderful story “Pop Art”