Challenge Corner discussion

In this masterful collection of short fiction, Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in thirteen relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In The Tall Grass,” one of two stories co-written with Stephen King, basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.

A little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns.” In “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” two young friends stumble on the corpse of a plesiosaur at the water’s edge, a discovery that forces them to confront the inescapable truth of their own mortality . . . and other horrors that lurk in the water’s shivery depths. And tension shimmers in the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert as a faceless trucker finds himself caught in a sinister dance with a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in “Throttle,” co-written with Stephen King.

Featuring two previously unpublished stories, and a brace of shocking chillers, Full Throttle is a darkly imagined odyssey through the complexities of the human psyche. Hypnotic and disquieting, it mines our tormented secrets, hidden vulnerabilities, and basest fears, and demonstrates this exceptional talent at his very best.

I am going to try to join you ladies if I can get the book today or tomorrow.

yay!!! I figured we'd just update after each short story!
Has anyone watched In the Tall Grass on (I think) Netflix?!?! (or maybe Hulu?)

it's a story in this book! EEE! I've been waiting to watch it until I got this book :D

I have not watched it yet either for exactly that reason.

Full Throttle

I really liked this story, co-written with his father Stephen King. I like the ending a lot (view spoiler)[ where the two Vietnam vets wait for the police while sending off one of their sons so he can escape, and as they're smelling the fire burning, they say it reminds them of Nam. Loved that scene. (hide spoiler)]

I can't get this one until 12/19 unless I pay $14.99. I'll jump in later this month.

That's cool. I'll keep most of my comments that focus on endings or other secrets in spoilers :)

Thank you, Jenny.

Full Throttle

I agree, love the ending
and I like how the story(view spoiler)[ ties in to both the memories that Joe has of his father and their stories from his youth
but there is a similar story from Stephen King but, for the life of me, I can't remember the title. (hide spoiler)]

Tribe(view spoiler)[ I also liked how quickly you got how close the tribe was but how the son was pulling them apart, splitting them with the violence from the hotel room. (hide spoiler)]
so well told

Dark Carousel

I love the (view spoiler)[ theme. very Something Wicked This Way Comes mixed with Joyland

I love the idea of the ride coming to life. Those flying animals are seriously frightening to look at! (hide spoiler)]

and(view spoiler)[ the deaths were absolutely horrible Yikes. I can't imagine being trampled to death or stomped through a windshield! UGH (hide spoiler)]

good, ugly fun

Dark Carousel

I agree! (view spoiler)[ I used to have nightmares about that happening...
(hide spoiler)]

That would be a bad way to go!! (view spoiler)[I loved this story because it reminded me of the nightmares I used to have as a kid (hide spoiler)]

Wolverton Station

ha(view spoiler)[ I love the idea of americans smelling like cheeseburgers and entitlement
or money ugh. horrible but kind of funny (hide spoiler)]

I also(view spoiler)[ like the idea of a big bad wolf sitting next to you. I have no idea what i'd do. lol (hide spoiler)] cute short story

Yes can you imagine? I love that at first he thought he was (view spoiler)[hallucinating from all the trippy stuff he'd done while following the Grateful Dead around and searching for his mantra (hide spoiler)]

By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain

ugh gut-wrenching(view spoiler)[ this one made me so sad
two kids - just wanted to be famous
(hide spoiler)]

Yes I agree on that one...(view spoiler)[it was so sad hearing the mom calling for Gail and Gail calling for her friend (hide spoiler)]

The next story I think reflects the author's views on hunting and guns in general...

Faun

Ha! I loved it!
Have to agree it shows a certain slant in hunting lol

loved(view spoiler)[ that the things were mythical creatures and they got revenge (hide spoiler)]

Late Returns

I love the idea(view spoiler)[ of getting to hang around long enough to finish one last story. (hide spoiler)]

Book mobiles(view spoiler)[ definitely seem like a dying trend. Hopefully not though (hide spoiler)]

All I Care About is You

Wow, that got dark quick lol

Iris(view spoiler)[ wasn't she an awful thing. hidden behind a pretty face (hide spoiler)]

Chip(view spoiler)[ he was sweet. I liked him and I'm sad she obliterated him after so many years of him bringing a smile to so many others (hide spoiler)]

Hey girls, I got an audio book of this but no physical copy. Do you think this book is easily understood on only audio or is it more complex?

I'm actually doing the audiobook and the only thing you need to catch is the title of each short story. It's very easy to follow on audiobook as each chapter is its own story.

Re Faun - it's always fun when (view spoiler)[the underdogs get revenge (hide spoiler)]

Re Late Returns & All I Care About is You - I agree with you!

Thanks, Jenny.

Mums

Jack (view spoiler)[Woah! I didn't see him going so psycho near the end and actually butchering his friend Beth!! (hide spoiler)]

Thumbprints

So sad and bleak- the ugly side of war
I liked it but it made me sad

I know :(

In the Tall Grass

This kind of reminded me of Children of the Corn. Good sci-fi mixed with horror. Co-written with his dad...

Finished!

There were some really good short stories in this book. Some of my favorites were In the Tall Grass, Faun, Mums and Dark Carousel. I'd give all of those five stars. Really good anthology of horror with some humor in some of the stories. Two of the stories were co-written with his father.

The Devil on the Staircase

I loved(view spoiler)[ the idea of singing birds pointing out liars
a play on pretty words covering bad intentions (hide spoiler)]

I also liked the funky lay out of this one and how it changed when he was on the stairs
probably not something you'll notice with the audio book, but for the book, the story is typed on the page to form staircases...it's kind of cool :)

That is cool Totally missed that in the audio version.

I love formatting like that in books! Cool & crafty!

Mums

Jack(view spoiler)[ I agree!! I had no idea he'd get so mad and just starting killing (hide spoiler)]

and(view spoiler)[ I'm still not 100% sure if the plants were showing heads under the soil or if he imagined all that, since when he killed her, the plants he pulled up didn't show them
part of this sleep walking/night terrors and his mind finally coming to terms with what they'd done to his mom? (hide spoiler)]

I love(view spoiler)[ that grandma was sitting a there at the end and we still aren't sure if she's real or not (hide spoiler)]

In the Tall Grass
I agree, very Children of the Corn vibe...but that's one I haven't read yet

Cal(view spoiler)[ poor guy was the first to succumb to the grass (hide spoiler)]

but(view spoiler)[ the eating. that was just....gross (hide spoiler)]

Phew, finally done

that last story was scary but also really interesting

I really loved this one!

I really liked this anthology of stories too. If you haven't read Strange Weather I'd recommend that collection too.

Finished

Am I the only one who LOVED the first part of the book prior to the stories? The background info was really cool.

Dark Carousel (view spoiler)[I completely agree, and the detail was so good and really enabled me to visualize the horribleness of the entire thing. (hide spoiler)]

Wolverton Station (view spoiler)[Hahaha! This completely reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood. (hide spoiler)]

By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain (view spoiler)[I love the title of this one. But yeah, anything that involves kids and the destruction of their dreams or being put into bad situations, being trafficked or killed or abused in any way is a hard pill to swallow. (hide spoiler)]

Faun (view spoiler)[I'm not into hunting so that aspect didn't interest me, but I do love mythology so from that standpoint it was good. (hide spoiler)]

Late Returns (view spoiler)[I really liked the revenge aspect. I always would like to get revenge on really bad things that happen, but I'm not that person to go out and get it. (hide spoiler)]

All I Care About is You (view spoiler)[ I agree with you Trisha, and that's a really good point about Chip. Who wouldn't like him! And we all know how evil can look so beautiful. (hide spoiler)]

Mums (view spoiler)[I wasn't expecting what he did either. But it kind of made sense to me because of what he experienced.(view spoiler)[

The Devil in the Staircase (view spoiler)[ This is another title I really liked. But it also freaks me out. The format of the poem reminded me of one I used to teach, but I can't remember the title. I think it was MEDICINE. It was formed like a braid and the male talked about how his wife's braided hair was like medicine to his soul. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]