Strange Weather

This is a spoiler-free review
Read on In The Sheets

I'm not normally one for short stories or compilations of short stories. I've never finished one before and, to be perfectly honest, I've never read a Joe Hill book before.

Strange Weather didn't really feel like a bunch of short stories. It felt like there was a theme and as though it was a great place to start to really get a feel for the author.

Snapshot
This was a great little into story at just 90 pages. It follows a privileged 13 year old kid who seems mostly well adjusted. His old nanny / babysitter (who essentially raised him) starts to show signs of what appears to be Alzheimer's until he realizes what's actually happening and that it'll be up to him to stop The Polaroid Man.

Who are we without our memories? Just the old shell of a house with all of the furniture moved out.

Loaded
This was the longest of the short novels included in Strange Weather and also, I think, my favorite. It's an emotional and important story that I am not going to spoil, but it's extremely relevant to the current political climate and something that everyone should read.

Aloft

After the first two novels, this was not at all what I expected to read. A man reluctantly goes sky diving and lands on a cloud that reads his mind and tries to keep him happy and trapped there. Really wild and super fun.

Rain

What if the weather was weaponized to rain razor sharp crystals over the United States? I didn't get as into this novel as I did the other three, but it was still super interesting and a ton of fun to read. 

Overall, while never a fan of short novels, I absolutely loved this collection. Each novel was fast paced, you could read it in one or two sittings, and they felt exactly as long as they needed to be. Very satisfying.