Joe Hill writes in Strange Weather that the beauty of the novella is in its 'all killer, no filler' length, and certainly he makes the most of that mantra in four tightly told tales ... The Weather quartet unleashes a perfect storm of styles, from a slow-burn thriller to ethereal sci-fi, all told with a consistently strong voice ... Hill takes on police brutality and America’s passion for guns in an insightful way here [in 'Loaded'], leading up to a gut punch that will stick with you as you move to the other stories ... Hill’s Strange Weather is an intriguing companion of sorts to his father's Different Seasons. And while there’s no obvious thematic ties among his genre mash-up, Hill whips up emotional moments in all four that strike like lightning and thunderously rumble your soul.
These tales are terrifying and compelling, filled with intense anxiety throughout, but it is that final story, set entirely in the real world, that is the most menacing of the bunch. After getting two 700-plus-page novels in a row, fans will be thrilled to take in Hill’s malevolent mind through these masterfully crafted single-sitting reads reminiscent of the very best of the short works by giants of the form like King, Gaiman, and Miéville. Hill is not only maturing as a writer of relevantly chilling tales but he is also emerging as a distinct voice for our complicated times.
A striking selection of novellas ranging from the playfully apocalyptic to the wickedly political ... It’s telling that 'Aloft' and 'Loaded' are Strange Weather‘s strongest stories: their ambiguous endings allow them to live past their last pages. That one is wacky and wonderful while the other’s twisted tragedy proves all too easy to believe evidences the tremendous diversity of this collection. If NOS4A2 and The Fireman were Hill’s Salem’s Lot and The Stand, then this, dear readers, is his Different Seasons: a demonstration of his range and readiness to tell the hell out of any tale, be it supernatural or straight, silly or completely serious.
In fiction and film, horror can be cautionary (Don’t go in the basement!) and even oddly comforting (Bad as things are, they’re even worse on Elm Street). But in times like these, when real-world terrors outstrip our night terrors, how can a novelist possibly compete? Joe Hill rises to this challenge in Strange Weather, a striking if sometimes uneven collection ... Like our own national reports, Strange Weather leaves readers with a scant chance of hope on the horizon.
[in 'Snapshot'] Mr. Hill tells a tale of great heart, a story of nostalgia and of forgetting ... [in 'Loaded'] Mr. Hill is able to take these somewhat stock character types and imbue them all with empathetic humanity, even when the reader is appalled by their actions ... Within the context of this fantastic premise [in 'Aloft], Mr. Hill provides a meditation on loneliness, wish fulfillment and how sometimes the images we create in our own minds prevent us from seeing reality ... Joe Hill has given us long novels and short stories. It’s good to see him flex his authorial muscles with a different form. Weather changes and we never know what to expect. The same is true for great writers.
...[a] sparkling collection ... 'Aloft' is a pitch-perfect fable that blends Ted Chiang and Aristophanes into an eerie delight. Worth waiting in line for, if you’re a Hill fan. If you’re not, this is the book to turn you into one.
