20th Century Ghosts
Ratings63
Average rating3.7
More or less a fan, had a lot of up and down, either loved or didn't jive. 20th Century Ghosts was probably my favorite short.
I think this was Joe Hill's debut collection of short stories, and it shows. Some feel unfinished. You can see what he's working toward though, considering the depth and breadth of human experience he writes (Pop Art is an amazing story for instance). I would start with Full Throttle if you're just discovering Hill's stories though.
Enjoyed most of these (in particular: 20th Century Ghosts, The Black Phone) - and a couple I'm still thinking of several days later (Voluntary Committal, My Father's Mask, Better Than Home).
She is saying something about home. She is saying something everyone knows.
This has been on my TBR for years so I'm disappointed that I wasn't a huge fan of it. Joe Hill is one of my favorite authors, but this was his first book and it just didn't hit like I had hoped it would. The fatphobia in this is absolutely rampant and really destroyed my interest in a few of the stories. The f-slur and the n-word were also both used at some points. As for the stories themselves, a lot of them didn't do much for me. I'll include my full ratings here:
Best New Horror - ⭐⭐⭐
20th Century Ghost - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pop Art - ⭐⭐⭐
You Will hear the Locus Sing - ⭐⭐
Abraham's Boys - ⭐⭐
Better Than Home - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Black Phone - ⭐⭐
In the Rundown - ⭐⭐⭐
The Cape - ⭐⭐
Last Breath - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dead-wood - ⭐⭐⭐
The Widow's Breakfast - ⭐⭐⭐.5
Bobby Conroy Comes Back From the Dead - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Father's Mask - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Voluntary Committal - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Scheherazade's Typewriter - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A few of them were hard-hitting in the best of ways, but overall I found the collection somewhat forgettable. I do think My Father's Mask and Voluntary Committal both could be expanded into novels or series and make for a good time. I'm also very intrigued to see how they adapted The Black Phone because it didn't feel to me like something that could be expanded into a full-length film. Overall, probably wouldn't recommend this collection highly, but it's probably worth reading if you want to see Hill's earlier works.
Meh. This took me awhile because I couldn't get into it. Nothing about this collection was scary. At least not to me. I was disappointed by The Black Phone as well. I expected more. There are 3 stories I enjoyed, but only a little bit. Good writing though so I'll give him another chance.
Joe Hill is one of my favorite authors and I have been wanting to read some of his shorter stories. With The Black Phone becoming a movie, my friend and I decided to snag 20th Century Ghosts and have a listen.
First, the narrator is fantastic which made for a hard to put down audiobook. I usually don't want to keep listening to books but David LeDoux is great.
I don't usually read short stories either, but there is something about the weird and scary that make them fun for me. Joe Hill is great. He can spin a tale whether it's creepy, eerie, spooky or just down right scary. This is a great mix of all that.
Out of all the stories, my favorite is The Button Boy. Just woah. Haha I did also enjoy The Black Phone and can't wait to see that on film.
If you're looking for a little strange and sometimes spooky, this is a great one. The music also keeps the eerie factor alive between chapters. Perfect one for Spooktober.
Kind of hit or miss for me. Some of the stories were creepy good and some were just meh.
I was told this was an extraordinary collection of short stories. The reviews here and the appraisal on the cover and inside the book all say so. But this book was instead a huge dissapointment.
This isn't a collection of horror stories. Mostly... There are some at the beginning but it's more of a collection of weird stories. Period.
Most of them aren't even that much interesting. I'd compare this book to King's Skeleton Crew - mostly a collection of writing exercises that somehow got at least 20 pages long.
Of course, there are some good stories here but if I don't count the first one “Best New Horror” I had to wait for them till the end of the book.
“The Widow's Breakfast” “The Last Breath” and “Bobby Conroy Comes Back From The Dead” are probably the best ones. But not because of their story but because of their characters. Joe Hill once again proves that if he wants to, he can create very relatable characters in both extraordinary and, as Bobby proves, also ordinary situations.
Most of the short stories weren't interesting and bored me, though.
P.S: If you're bigger insectophobic than me, feel free to skip “You Will Hear The Locusts Sing”. It's a horror version of Kafka's Metamorphosis and the toughest read I've ever experienced:)
Expectations ARE everything... The first time I read this book I was stunned with the surprises the stories brought. Had no idea Hill was SK's son and enjoyed it immensely. Thus, chose it for this Horror month... And it dragged on and on! I liked some of the stories, such as the one at the Rosebud or the Black phone with the kidnapped child. But was bored and disgusted with many others, from the locust one to the movie dead guy. Sigh.
This was an interesting collection of short-stories by Joe Hill, some sad (“Pop Art”), some downright creepy (“Best New Horror”). Highly enjoyable.
Some of the stories didn't capture my attention like I hoped they would. I skipped quite a few because they didn't grip me in the first couple of pages. My favourite, and arguably the best of the collection, is the title story - 20th Century Ghosts, the second story in the collection - and I hoped for more like it. Hill is an amazing horror writer but some of these stories were not made to be read back to back, but more in a monthly publication. I'll stick to his longer novels in future.
One of the finest short-story collections I've ever read. I am a better person, in some small way, for having read it.
