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victoriabot 's review for:
20th Century Ghosts
by Joe Hill
Best New Horror - 3.5/5. This being Joe Hill's first short story in his first published book is everything you need to know about Hill's pedigree. Only someone with the depth of his literary inheritance could come to the genre on day one with a character like Eddie. He is a deeply cynical editor who finds horror to be stuffed with too many cheap thrills and derivative scares. That mindset, the driving to the final sequence, and his reaction upon finding the genuine horror article reminded me of King's "The Road Virus Heads North." This isn't quite as good as that but it does get you into the story.
20th Century Ghost - 4/5. The adoration of an old school movie theater feels very King as well. This felt very romantic if that adjective could be allowed, sort of a timeless love of both cinema and between the ghost and main character. The musing on mortality coupled with the early death of the girl who becomes the ghost make it more interesting. Feels like a classic ghost story.
Pop Art - 5/5. This story has everything. Heart, humor, sadness. It's the perfect premise for a short story: with its absurdist angle, and you can't spend more than the length of a short story on it without losing the audience. I was completely taken by the relationship between the main character and Art. There was just the right amount of character development, conflict, and climax. It has a great title and a great ending. Just perfect execution all around. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 1)
You Will Hear The Locust Sing - 3.5/5. Interesting idea and angle. Okay from an execution standpoint. Like the government testing/giant bug terrorizing the town elements. Ramps up maybe a smidge too fast. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 2)
Abraham's Boys - 4/5. Works as an expression of generational trauma and your parent becoming the evil they wish to protect you from in some ways. Worse less well as Dracula fan fiction.
Better Than Home - 3/5. This is ok. Not sure I fully understood the main character and his relationship with his dad. I also don't care this much about baseball.
The Black Phone - 4/5. It all worked for me but I wish I hadn't been reading it for the movie. It felt too short and like there was more to be examined in the story overall. But I guess that means I like the premise if I wanted more? The themes I like here are definitely the seeds that became NOS4A2.
In The Rundown - 3.5/5. I was like 75% of the way through this story before I realized it wasn't part of The Black Phone which may be why I'm rating it lower. Oops. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 3)
The Cape - 5/5. Again, great premise. Well created characters. Dark and sinister protagonist. Interesting mediation on superpowers, how we shape our lives, and brotherhood. Feels like the seeds that became Horns. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 4)
Last Breath - 4/5. Chilling and peculiar kind of horror. Finale is obvious but fitting.
Dead-Wood: 3/5. A palette cleansing interlude.
The Widow's Breakfast - 3/5. Meh story. Feels entirely like a long setup to the last line.
Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead - 4/5. Humorous. Involves Pittsburgh (ok Monroeville). Good characters. Also feels like a setup for the last few lines.
My Father's Mask - 4.5/5. Perhaps the most eerie. Very Poe kind of horror. Nothing grisley but all very unsettling as it goes on. Not perfect but works on many levels.
Voluntary Committal - 3.5/5. Mostly made me sad as the story went on. Feels unfortunate Hill is continuing the "idiot savant" trope as an element of horror or narrative that I've seen from King. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 5)
Scheherazade’s Typewriter - 4/5. I found this endearing and cute. Like would be adorable to write about your dad sort of way.
20th Century Ghost - 4/5. The adoration of an old school movie theater feels very King as well. This felt very romantic if that adjective could be allowed, sort of a timeless love of both cinema and between the ghost and main character. The musing on mortality coupled with the early death of the girl who becomes the ghost make it more interesting. Feels like a classic ghost story.
Pop Art - 5/5. This story has everything. Heart, humor, sadness. It's the perfect premise for a short story: with its absurdist angle, and you can't spend more than the length of a short story on it without losing the audience. I was completely taken by the relationship between the main character and Art. There was just the right amount of character development, conflict, and climax. It has a great title and a great ending. Just perfect execution all around. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 1)
You Will Hear The Locust Sing - 3.5/5. Interesting idea and angle. Okay from an execution standpoint. Like the government testing/giant bug terrorizing the town elements. Ramps up maybe a smidge too fast. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 2)
Abraham's Boys - 4/5. Works as an expression of generational trauma and your parent becoming the evil they wish to protect you from in some ways. Worse less well as Dracula fan fiction.
Better Than Home - 3/5. This is ok. Not sure I fully understood the main character and his relationship with his dad. I also don't care this much about baseball.
The Black Phone - 4/5. It all worked for me but I wish I hadn't been reading it for the movie. It felt too short and like there was more to be examined in the story overall. But I guess that means I like the premise if I wanted more? The themes I like here are definitely the seeds that became NOS4A2.
In The Rundown - 3.5/5. I was like 75% of the way through this story before I realized it wasn't part of The Black Phone which may be why I'm rating it lower. Oops. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 3)
The Cape - 5/5. Again, great premise. Well created characters. Dark and sinister protagonist. Interesting mediation on superpowers, how we shape our lives, and brotherhood. Feels like the seeds that became Horns. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 4)
Last Breath - 4/5. Chilling and peculiar kind of horror. Finale is obvious but fitting.
Dead-Wood: 3/5. A palette cleansing interlude.
The Widow's Breakfast - 3/5. Meh story. Feels entirely like a long setup to the last line.
Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead - 4/5. Humorous. Involves Pittsburgh (ok Monroeville). Good characters. Also feels like a setup for the last few lines.
My Father's Mask - 4.5/5. Perhaps the most eerie. Very Poe kind of horror. Nothing grisley but all very unsettling as it goes on. Not perfect but works on many levels.
Voluntary Committal - 3.5/5. Mostly made me sad as the story went on. Feels unfortunate Hill is continuing the "idiot savant" trope as an element of horror or narrative that I've seen from King. (Angry disaffected male youth count: 5)
Scheherazade’s Typewriter - 4/5. I found this endearing and cute. Like would be adorable to write about your dad sort of way.