Full Throttle - Joe Hill

Horror (Short Stories)

Rating: 8/10

All storytellers love to read, but not all readers have the gift of storytelling. I have often asked myself, where do these guys get these ideas?  How do they take a glimmer of a thought and turn it into an intricate story?  How is it that they leave you torn and ragged and filled with dread? Envy is one of the seven deadly sins, but it has been in my heart since I became a devout fan of horror fiction.

This author describes this collection as a road trip.  While each night is a separate stop, the road remains the same and connects one to another. Take the journey if you dare.

Without question my favourite of these twisted tales is Late Returns. A story that poses, “What if I die before I finish this book?”  A truly nightmarish thought for booklovers everywhere! The driver of a bookmobile crosses paths with some unexpected borrowers. As the patrons make their returns, they are looking for another book to take out. Readers will ask themselves; how might that change the future? Can someone who died in 1950 borrow Harry Potter?  Maybe so…

More Fav’s

Dark Carousel – What if the horrible creatures spinning endlessly came to life to seek revenge? 

In The Tall Grass – A twist (and twisted) take on, if you build it, they will come. Hint, don’t go!

Twittering From The Circus Of The Dead – Social Media isn’t going to save us from Zombies, it’s going to make us Zombies!

Throttle – A biker gang at the mercy of a big rig driver without any apparent reason.  There is always a reason!

The introduction, titled “Who’s your daddy?”, is a lovely ode to the author’s father, Stephen King. He has come to embrace that at least a portion of his own gift is an act of literary mimicry.  I for one am grateful to have two such spectacular writers’ creating ingenious realms I get to immerse myself in.

Footnote: Great line; “And you’re not an envoy from the lord? You’re not an angel?  Nope. Just a librarian.  Ah, well.  That’s close enough for me.”  Amen!