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    Strange Weather: Four Novellas
    Strange Weather: Four Novellas
    Strange Weather: Four Novellas
    Audiobook14 hours

    Strange Weather: Four Novellas

    Written by Joe Hill

    Narrated by Joe Hill, Wil Wheaton, Kate Mulgrew and

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.

    ""One of America’s finest horror writers"" (Time magazine), Joe Hill has been hailed among legendary talents such as Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and Jonathan Letham. In Strange Weather, this ""compelling chronicler of human nature’s continual war between good and evil,"" (Providence Journal-Bulletin) who ""pushes genre conventions to new extremes"" (New York Times Book Review) deftly expose the darkness that lies just beneath the surface of everyday life.

    ""Snapshot,"" performed by Wil Wheaton, is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by ""The Phoenician,"" a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.

    A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in ""Aloft,"" performed by Dennis Boutsikaris.

    On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. ""Rain,"" performed by Kate Mulgrew, explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

    In ""Loaded,"" performed by Stephen Lang, a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

    With an afterword from Joe Hill, read by the author.

    Masterfully exploring classic literary themes through the prism of the supernatural, Strange Weather is a stellar collection from an artist who is ""quite simply the best horror writer of our generation"" (Michael Kortya).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 24, 2017
    ISBN9780062694447
    Strange Weather: Four Novellas
    Author

    Joe Hill

    Joe Hill is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Fireman, NOS4A2, Horns, and Heart-Shaped Box; Strange Weather, a collection of novellas; and the acclaimed story collections Full Throttle and 20th Century Ghosts. He is also the Eisner Award–winning writer of a seven-volume comic book series, Locke & Key. Much of his work has been adapted for film and TV, including NOS4A2 (AMC), Locke & Key (Netflix), In the Tall Grass (Netflix), and The Black Phone (Blumhouse).

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    Reviews for Strange Weather

    4/5

    516 ratings49 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Loaded was too real and too dark to be enjoyable to read.

      The rest of the stories were decent and fictional enough to not be such a struggle. Aloft was... Odd.

      None of this is a criticism, mind you. Loaded wouldn't have been such a difficult read if it was poorly written.
    • 4/5
      Joe Hill is a good author, this is a collection of short stories, so in no way are they connected. Each individual story was great, some were better than others, and one I didn’t really understand it (the cloud mothership) or what it was really about.
    • 5/5
      Awesome accumulation of stories and I definitely would listen to it again
    • 5/5
      This was a very creative bunch of separate stories all coming together to form one big story. I really love Joe Hill's creativity and writing style, and this is another great to go in his list of greats. Definitely worth a read.
    • 5/5
      Gripping stories and excellent narration. Although the stories were not quite a disturbing as Will Wheaton's awful awful awful barest no-eye-contact nod at a vague attempt at a South African accent, which sounded like an ancient Pakistani man trying to imitate an Aussie-Irish-Scot with his jaw wired shut and a severe head cold. How a director and producer could let that through is beyond me.
    • 1/5
      Truly, one of the worst books I have ever read. I was looking for horror stories but got a series of poorly written ramblings from an author clearly suffering from a raging case of TDS. Each story is cliched & does not even bother trying to hide it’s purpose: feed into the nightmares of wOkE SJWs & their very odd obsession with the former president.
      So, if you hate DJT & spend more time irrationally obsessing over him than could possibly be healthy, Joe Hill is your guy.
    • 4/5
      Great stories, way better than his brother Owen King books
    • 5/5
      Good book from another author with disagreeable political views. The little tid bits aren’t TOO annoying.
    • 1/5
      Too much woke. It was not needed for the stories.
    • 5/5
      A very enjoyable book. I like the way the book flowed and while a horror book it did make me laugh. I will read more books by Joe Hill
    • 5/5
      5 stars for Snapshot and Loaded!! Snapshot reminds you of Stephen King, Hill's father. VERY WELL DONE.

      Loaded is plausible, timely, and disturbing. You will continue to think about it after it's over. Excellent!!

      The 3rd story is quirky, but not bad..

      I skipped the last one halfway through. Save yourself.
    • 1/5
      Typical liberal bullshit, don’t waste your time on this drivel.
    • 3/5
      I liked the first of these four novellas, "Snapshot" and the last, "Rain" but not the other two.
    • 4/5
      I read one story a year on Halloween as tradition. The first story is quite excellent, the second is good but is a tenuous tie in to the theme of the collection. Pretty much everything of Joe's I've read has been gripping though. He's one of the few authors where I will always buy his next (horror) book on release
    • 5/5
      I love short stories and this is an especially good collection. Creative, but still connectable to anyone’s life experience. The performances on the audiobook were also fabulous. Excellent read
    • 4/5
      This was an interesting collection and, I would suggest, serves as a really good primer for the best and the worst of Joe Hill.

      Overall, I'm a big fan of Hill, having really enjoyed 20th Century Ghosts, Heart-Shaped Box, Gunpowder (from a smaller boutique publisher), N0S4A2 and its follow-up, Wraith, and, of course, his brilliant Locke & Key series.

      At the same time, I count Horns and The Fireman as big fat misses.

      And when we come back around to Strange Weather, I found some great stories, and at least one big fat miss.

      Starting with Snapshot, I enjoyed the story quite a bit. It's the most Stephen King-style story of the four, and I think Hill wears his admiration loud and proud on his sleeve here. It's a fun story, but it lingers just a bit too long, overstaying its welcome just a bit. Mostly a hit, though. Four stars.

      Next comes the ferocious Loaded where, I feel, Hill is firing on all cylinders. This is a brutal, ugly story, and a very good one. Perfect from beginning to end. All the stars.

      Third, we have Aloft which, at its heart, is the heartbreaking story of a man trying to get over an unrequited love. But love is where Hill seems to be on shaky ground. He handled it so well in N0S4A2, a so bloody poorly in Horns. When Hill gets goopy, he gets really goopy, and he slides into this strange, whimsical wilderness where everything is magical and coated in a sickly-sweet fairy dust. It's the treehouse in Horns and it's everything that happens on the cloud in this story. For me, I simply couldn't buy into any of it, found it all insufferably stupid, and I despised the story. Loved the central theme, hated the story. Total miss. No stars.

      And then, we end it on Rain, the cousin to his novel The Fireman. Don't get me wrong, they are in no way connected, but they feel similar: disaster strikes, we take to the road, we look for salvation. That's an oversimplification, and it doesn't do the story justice. Overall, I liked this one (maybe a hair less than Snapshot), but it seemed like the bulk of the story was taken up by a big detour to the girlfriend's father's house and back again, only then to tackle the central mystery. Still, for all that, some interesting characters and situations along the way. 3.5 stars.

      So really, I do see this as the perfect intro to Joe Hill if you haven't read him up to now. You get the father's Kingian influence. You get Hill at his uncompromising best. You get the whimsical shit. And you get a hint at some of what his novels tackle.

      Not a bad collection.
    • 4/5
      This is a good, page turning quartet of novellas. The first, "Snapshot", is the weakest (and the one that reminds me the most of Hill's father--a comparison I try not to make too often). The other 3 are stronger and for the most part, tightly plotted, fitting well into the novella length. "Loaded" is the most explicitly political, a story about gun violence, masculinity, and racism, but it's well done. "Aloft" takes on the "friend zone" (not in those words), and "Rain" is a story about apocalyptic terror (with a Trumpian note).
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed all of these.

      No question about Hill's political opinions when you're through.
    • 4/5
      I've been reading a lot of Joe Hill lately. I've decided that, like his dad's work, I seem to prefer his shorter stories to the longer ones. As Hill himself said in the Afterword to Strange Weather, if all you ever write are epics, you risk becoming the bore at the dinner party.

      I listened to the audiobook edition of Strange Weather. Hill regulars Wil Wheaton, Stephen Lang, and Kate Mulgrew narrate "Snapshot," "Loaded," and "Rain" respectively. Dennis Boutsikaris narrates "Aloft," which turned out be my favorite of the four short novels in this collection.

      "Aloft" is about a man in love who does a tandem skydive in order to be close to the object of his affection. He's stopped mid-way down by a cloud that isn't really a cloud. Like the skydiver, the cloud is lonely and wants companionship. When it becomes clear that the cloud would rather allow the fellow to die of starvation and thirst than set him free, things get complicated. What I love about this story is how the main character's personality and life choices are so connected to what eventually happens to him.

      My second favorite tale in the tome is "Rain." One day the sky opens up and pours crystalline shards instead of water, killing people and destroying life as we know it. This piece has a Cold War quality to it that manages to come off as both original and familiar.

      If you're old enough to remember the magic you felt watching a picture from a Polaroid Instant Camera develop before your eyes, you'll enjoy "Snapshot." There's something ethereal about the experience in the first place, but Hill manages to take that further when thug The Phoenician takes photos using a Polaroid-like device called a Solarid. It takes photos, but it also takes sanity.

      Of the three short novels, the only one I couldn't connect with was "Loaded," in which a mall security guard becomes an alt-right hero by stopping a mass shooting (only... did he?). I enjoyed the story, but it felt a little too plausible at times in this age of cognitive dissonance and alternative facts. It's possible that years from now I'll be able to reread this story with some distance and enjoy it more.

      Overall, Strange Weather is packed with stories that pack a punch, and I'm glad I picked it up.
    • 3/5
      Four short(ish) stories:Snapshot - A camera that takes more than pictures. Quite good.Loaded - A depressing tale of gun violence with zero character arc and very little in the way of plot.Aloft - A man gets stuck on a cloud. Decent.Rain - A rain of needles kills a whole lot of people. I couldn't finish it. It was a miserable tale of death and grief, and when it came time to kill the cat, I quit.
    • 4/5
      Four /fantasy/horror/strange/weird novellas or long short stories. Some better than others; but each showcased the author's imagination. "Strange weather" was a component of each in some form but that wasn't always the main focus of the stories."Snapshot": a special Polaroid-type camera erases memories of human subjects whenever it takes pictures of them."Loaded": Through the story of a mall shooting, the author emphasizes the power and good or bad features of guns. The author wrote this one, according to him, after the massacre of children in Newtown, Connecticut."Aloft": a parachutist is stranded on a cloud 10,000 feet above the earth. First it fulfills his every wish but won't let him leave."Rain": a satire on the end-of-the-world novel. A rain of crystal killer nails and what happens afterwards .I liked them all, but thought "Loaded" mediocre and heavy-handed. Hence my rating.
    • 4/5
      This was about 1/2 and 1/2 for me. Out of the 4 stories, the two that stood out for me were Snap Shot and Aloft. The other two were ok, didn't really hold my interest as much as Snap Shot and Aloft.
    • 4/5
      “Snapshot” - the Phoenician and his white Caddy and Solarid that takes thoughtographs. A good story that brought back a lot of 80’s memories for me. My problem was the ending. I felt like the story was drawn out too far. It should have ended, in my opinion, after chapter 18 or 19.“Loaded” - intertwining stories about guns, and ultimately, the descent of Rand Kellaway into madness. This is an awesome story, with an awesome ending! Really top notch! “Just think. If you had a gun,” ... “Aloft” was terrible. Not much more to say about it.“Rain” - has a great quote in it -“VOTING IS LIKE DRIVING: R GOES BACKWARD, D GOES FORWARD” The story is pretty good too, and pretty freaky considering what "rains" down. Story female lead character!So three outta four in this collection! And the illustrations are pretty sweet! Skip "Aloft", and you have a good read!
    • 4/5
      There is no doubt that Joe Hill is the descendent of Stephen King. His ability to suck you into a story is mesmerizing. This collection of 4 tales is another triumph overall. There is no doubt that Loaded and Rain are the two highlights given their political content and how that is currently reflected in America. Snapshot and Aloft are also entertaining, but serve as more of a relief from the devastation of the other two stories. A must read for all fans of good fiction.
    • 4/5
      This is a collection of four short horror novels which are well-written and generally entertaining. I found "Loaded" to be the best, mainly because it ended in the worst possible way. Authors will rarely take this tack when ending a story, but I really appreciate it when they have the guts to do it.
    • 3/5
      SnapshotPerformed by Wil Wheaton.This story features a creepy man (The Phoenician) with a Polaroid camera that steals memories. A teenage boy stumbles across the man and becomes tangled up in his plan.The story is told from Michael’s memories of what happened. The narration is excellent; it was fun to listen to “Wesley Crusher” perform the story. The idea of a camera that steals memories by taking pictures is frightening. Hill relates it to Alzheimer’s in the way the Phoenician takes away pieces of the older woman’s memories and gradually destroys who she is. I liked that there wasn’t a simple fix. But I kept thinking the story was over and waiting for something cool to happen, and that was a bit of a letdown. (3 stars) LoadedPerformed by Stephen LangWith all the gun violence in our country, this one was hard to listen to. The story follows a mall shooting and how it affects the security guard involved. I liked the reporter character who helped figure out what really happened in the mall that day. But the story was a bit too dark for me and the ending didn’t help. (2 stars) AloftPerformed by Dennis BoutsikarisThis is a quirky story about a guy on his first skydiving excursion who somehow lands on a sentient cloud that doesn’t want to let him go. I have an open mind and appreciate fantasy as much as the next reader, but I didn’t love this story. The main problem was I couldn’t stand the main character. (2 stars) RainPerformed by Kate MulgrewIn this story, one day instead of water, it rains crystal nails that shred anyone who is left out in the open. Honeysuckle tries to find her girlfriend’s father and, in the process, finds clues leading to the cause of the deadly rain. I liked following Honeysuckle’s journey and her interactions with other survivors, but there were too many coincidences and the final conclusion seemed highly unlikely. I did enjoy the narrow scope of the story and how it focused on Honeysuckle’s journey as opposed to the effects of the overall apocalypse. I must say that I love Kate Mulgrew and will h
    • 5/5
      I agree with what Hill writes in his afterword about short novels: I am drawn to them more and more, especially in the horror genre, as they seem to be just the right length for a scary tale, with space for characterization but also not losing their punch. This is a collection of four novellas by Hill. I'll review them in the order with which I liked them."Loaded": A gut punch of a story. There is nothing supernatural about it, yet it is the most horrific story in the collection. It's about the out-of-control spiral that can happen when a gun seems like the answer to every problem, and it's also a searing indictment of my country's love affair with guns."Rain": A chilling and unique end-of-the world scenario. What I really liked about this story was its narrative voice and also all the crazy characters that live on the narrator's street. "Snapshot": Isn't it funny that Stephen King also has a story about a supernatural Polaroid camera? This was an interesting concept, but I was left wanting something. I just didn't feel like the supernatural element was well enough explained for me to fully buy into it. Well-written, though."Aloft": Okay, this one was just weird. A guy who is sky-diving lands onto a sentient cloud, which then tries to keep him as some kind of pet. Bizarre.Overall, this was a great collection that I really enjoyed.
    • 3/5
      Joe Hill’s Strange Weather is a collection of four short novels with diverse narrators, themes, and settings that might appeal to readers preferring light thrillers or science fiction. The first story, Snapshot, takes place in the 1980’s, and is told from the point of view of Michael, a thirteen-year-old boy. He is approached outside his home by a woman who used to babysit and clean for his family. She seems disoriented and lost, fearfully telling Michael to not to let his picture be taken. He is puzzled by her warning until he later encounters a menacing stranger with a Polaroid camera who seems to have some evil intent. This tale is one of the stronger ones in the book, exciting and reminiscent of some of his famous father’s earlier works. Loaded, the second novella, is very different in tone and takes place in the current day. It explores the timely topics of gun violence, police brutality and racial profiling. The story describes what can happen when an overzealous security guard with a propensity toward violence makes a huge error based on his own biases. While the plot is gripping and contains an unexpected twist, the story seems a bit overly ambitious as it attempts to make several political statements at once. The third tale is Aloft, and it is probably the weakest of the four. Aubrey, the main character finds himself in a unique situation after agreeing to participate in a sky-jumping tribute in memory of a friend. The story has science fiction elements combined with allusions to a well-known fairy tale. The final offering in Hill’s collection is Rain. Told from the point of view of a woman named Honeysuckle, it also combines science fiction with a well-known reference-this time a children’s book (and movie). This last story includes a bizarre weather catastrophe, a cult, and terrorism. Hill proves he is a talented and versatile writer, with a good grasp of the hot button topics of our time. Despite the varying strength and success of the four novellas, each was entertaining and thought-provoking in their own way.
    • 3/5
      Strange Weather by Joe Hill is a book I got from the library. I really didn't care for two of the four stories. I enjoyed the creepy and strange story called "Snapshot". A man with a odd camera that steals memories from those that he takes pictures of. The middle two stories I didn't care for. The last story called "Rain" was fairly good. It had rain with nails made of crystals coming down and killing and destroying portions of Colorado. Life gets real strange after that.
    • 5/5
      Generally, books don't make me uncomfortable. Scary movies can scare me, creepy TV shows can make me creepy, but generally books don't have that affect. However...All four stories in Joe Hill's Strange Weather made me uncomfortable, each in their own specific, and different, ways. "Snapshot" creeped me out: a young boy is trying to find out why his elderly neighbor is losing her memories, only to discover that it is a tattooed man with a memory stealing camera to blame. The final confrontation, and what was discovered in the camera and its eventual use, will make you rethink today's technology. In "Loaded," a mall security cop stops a mass shooting, or does he? This one hits a little too close to home, given the current national crisis with gun violence. "Aloft" will make you look at clouds in a decidedly different light (are they watching back?). And finally "Rain," a terrorism story of a different kind, but one that again hit too close to home with too much death during a time period of my own personal loss over my mother and dogs. These stories left me uncomfortable in a variety of ways, but they also made me think, and both are signs of excellent writing. Hill continues to prove that he is just as adept a writer as his father, and in some ways he may be a stronger writer. King's short stories often hit with scare factor in overdrive, and while Hill's stories also do, they continue to have a heart and soul that I don't always find in King's work. (Hill's "20th Century Ghost" remains one of my all time favorite short stories.) While Hill gave himself more room to work in by writing novellas instead of short stories, he still manages to pack a remarkable amount of feeling into these stories. I honestly can't recommend this book more.