Title: Strange Weather

Author: Joe Hill

Publisher: William Morrow 2017

Genre: Horror

Pages: 448

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Reading Assignment; Popsugar - Weather

A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.

"Snapshot" is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by "The Phoenician," a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.

Thoroughly creepy story. I loved the fantastic imagery, especially the scene with the lightning storm. This story reminds a lot of NOS4A2. I definitely had a few disturbing dreams after readying this one.

A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in "Aloft."

An interesting character study of a sorts. I really loved the concept of an alien entity creating Aubry’s heart’s desires. The reveal on the cloud was perfect. And the ending was lots of fun.

On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. "Rain" explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.

My absolute favorite story from the volume. Very creepy, very suspenseful, great characters. I sped through this story not being able to wait to see what happened to Honeysuckle and assorted company.

In "Loaded," a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.

My least favorite of the bunch. I just really didn’t love the storyline or any of the characters. There have been too many mass shootings and general gun violence for me to enjoy reading this story.

Next up on the TBR pile: