[Books] Joe Hill

[Funky Dredd]

Anyone else here a Joe Hill fan? I sent Joe my "Heart Shaped Box" book to get it signed and I got it back today! When I am done reading "20th Century Ghosts" I am going to send it to him to have that one signed as well. For those that don't know who Joe Hill is, he is Stephen King's son and a really good writer.

http://joehillfiction.com/

[Jibgolly]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

we all doubt it.

[feather]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Never heard of the guy, I'm more of a fantasy / sci-fi reader (going through Spook Country and Forest Mage at the moment) reader. But it's great that he lets you send books to him for signing, very cool.

[nick007]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

good quote, not so sure of the spelling

[Funky Dredd]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Never heard of the guy, I'm more of a fantasy / sci-fi reader (going through Spook Country and Forest Mage at the moment) reader. But it's great that he lets you send books to him for signing, very cool.

I was shocked when I was told I could send it in! You should check this out, you might just like it!

[Funky Dredd]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

good quote, not so sure of the spelling

I think he does that on purpose, I have seen others that he has signed almost the same way but with different quotes.

[nick007]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Good to know... wasn't ragging him just different. Glad to see authors taking time to sign books not just at malls etc... may just check out his books, just finished the Thomas Covenant series recently by Stephen Donalson, is it that kind of storyline or does he lean more towards his dad's stuff?

[feather]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

I've only read the first chronicles, but Thomas Covenent is good shit.

[Funky Dredd]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Good to know... wasn't ragging him just different. Glad to see authors taking time to sign books not just at malls etc... may just check out his books, just finished the Thomas Covenant series recently by Stephen Donalson, is it that kind of storyline or does he lean more towards his dad's stuff?

Here is a review over at amazon.

The set-up for Joe Hill's novel, Heart-Shaped Box, is appealingly simple. Jude Coyne, an aging rock star, buys himself a dead man's suit. He acquires it online, lured by the promise that the dead man's ghost will be included in his purchase. Jude thinks this is a joke, of course. He also assumes the seller is a stranger. We soon discover that he's wrong on both counts, however, and from this point on the story moves with an exhilarating urgency. Jude wants the ghost gone; the ghost wants Jude dead. We watch, chapter-by-chapter, as they battle for survival. "Watch" is the appropriate word, too, because this is an extremely visual book. Hill's prose is lean and precise, and he renders Jude's world with impressive confidence. It feels solid, every detail both correct and fresh. And this physicality provides a firm platform for the book's otherworldly happenings, which seem all the more frightening for being so securely grounded. Hill has a flawless sense of pacing. His narrative never flags, nor does it ever move so quickly as to outrun itself. And one can sense his literary ambition pushing at the margins of the genre. There are times when his writing, for all its spare efficiency, seems to jump away from him, stopping one small step short of poetry. An e-mail to Jude from the ghost (trust me, it's not as absurd as it sounds) could even pass for something ee cummings might've written, in an especially morbid mood. And toward the end of the book, when Hill describes a trip down death's "night road" in a '65 Mustang, the passage has a startlingly lyrical beauty.
The story's horror ultimately has as much to do with Jude Coyne's past--his mistakes, abandonments and betrayals--as with anything supernatural. Jude has caused a lot of pain over the years, moving through life with a carelessness that verges on the callous. His battle with the ghost brings this behavior into sharp relief, forcing him to reflect upon his own capacity for cruelty. This dawning self-awareness leavens the book's bleakness and gore (and it is delightfully gory in places) with an unexpected sweetness. Despite our initial impression, Jude is gradually revealed--both to himself and the reader--as an essentially decent, even kind man. It's this kindness, this fledgling ability to love and be loved, that will ultimately be of crucial consequence in his death struggle with the ghost. And it's what makes Hill's debut not only well-written and terrifying, but also--as it draws to its close--surprisingly moving. So go ahead, take a chance, and open his Heart-Shaped Box. I think you’ll be happy you did. --Scott Smith

I thought this book was great, but I am used to horror because I read a lot of Stephen King, but this book is to me in know way horror. It's just a damn good story and very visual!

[fonk]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Recently read Heart Shaped Box, found it quite good. Very dark and atmospheric kind of horror. There are some genuinely outstanding hair-raising (as in hairs on your neck) moments. Very good writing.

Haven't read any of his other books but have not read great reviews.

[Funky Dredd]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

20th Century Ghosts is really good, along the same lines of Heart Shaped Box.

[nick007]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

I've only read the first chronicles, but Thomas Covenent is good shit.

Feather you got to read his second chronicles, it is worth ever page. i rate him above tolkien.

[Funky Dredd]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Jude Confronts Global Warming

Pretty funny.

[Homegrove]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

Great fucking book. Still haven't gotten around to buying the short story-collection.

[Funky Dredd]

Re: [Books] Joe Hill

You won't be disappointed when you do (imo)!