A review by angus_mckeogh
Strange Weather by Joe Hill

5.0

Besides the short story collaborations with his father, this was my first foray into Joe Hill. And while I’m aware this was only my first book of his, it reminded me of early Stephen King. It was phenomenal. Four short novels and I’d grade one as mediocre (Aloft) and the other 3 as exceptional. On par with some of his dad’s best work. And 3 out of 4 is an excellent ratio. Considering I’ve found the majority of King’s last decade of work as being fairly unremarkable I was very pleasantly surprised by Hill’s work. The afterward about the genesis and length of these pieces almost seemed like a tacit jab at his father’s recent bloated efforts although I don’t truly believe that’s the case (and I also think a lot of other Hill novels are likewise lengthy) I do agree with what he said. These works are the perfect length for great novels. I’m just well chuffed to have found Hill is actually a pretty great writer and not just a product of nepotism; hopefully along the lines of Amis.