I've been starring at my computer screen for several minutes pondering whether or not I bought Joe Hill's Stranger Weather last year or early this year at my local library for $2. I guess the older I get the more my memory starts to disappear. Or I might just need some more sleep!
Stranger Weather contains four short novels by Joe Hill (a.k.a. Stephen King's son) - Snapshot, Loaded, Aloft, and Rain.
Set in 1988, Snapshot centers around Michael Figlione, a kid who finds himself crossing paths with the "The Phoenician" who uses a Polaroid Instant Camera to erase his victim's memories.
Loaded centers around a mall security guard named Kellaway, a racist who's down on his luck. Then one morning a shooting incident occurs at the mall that will change his life forever.
Aloft centers around a group of friends going skydiving. After something goes wrong with their plane, they have to jump out sooner than expected, which leads to a bizarre trip through the clouds.
Rain takes place in Boulder, Colorado and centers around a storm that rains splinters (or needles).
Final Thoughts
I've enjoyed reading almost all of Joe Hill's works so naturally I've been wanting to read Stranger Weather for awhile now. It's been sitting on my "Halloween reads" shelf for several months and there were several times that I almost picked it up during the summer but I controlled my urges and saved the read for October.
Overall, Stranger Weather is a mixed bag of weirdness for me. Out of the four stories, I only really liked Snapshot, which reminded of a Goosebumps book "Say Cheese and Die!," where an evil camera makes people vanish. Yes, it has a slightly different plot but it still feels too much like Goosebumps for me. (Which isn't a bad thing! I love Goosebumps!) Loaded is well-written but features a political message about gun control, which is something I don't need in my reads. Aloft has a few fun moments but feels a little uneven. Lastly, Rain has an interesting premise but I got bored with it pretty quickly.
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