Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Strange Weather by Joe Hill

8 reviews

francosteen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Holy shit.

This might be the most intense and thrilling book (no matter that they’re four short novels) I have ever read.

I’m already a big fan of his, and I’ve been doing my creepy/spooky reading for October, but this was an unexpectedly insane way to end the month.

In his afterword, Hill writes “short novels are all killer, no filler,” and that could not be more true of this collection. And literally, killer. I couldn’t put this book down, even though all the stories were immensely sad and depressing in very different ways. HOWEVER, he writes the (good guy) characters with such detail and incredibly sweet, sincere relationships, that you immediately FEEL for these characters. I loved the kind relationships he wrote about, amid all the death and destruction.

“Loaded” was incredible, but the scariest and saddest because, unfortunately, it’s happened and is still happening. Prepare yourself.

Related note: I read this after reading his dad’s latest, You Like It Darker, and wheeeww two incredibly short story collections that I tore right through and am astounded by how fantastic they are.

Now I need a complete palate cleanser after my October reads. Something happy and charming 😁.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and War

lancemama's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

delaneybull's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

With the hard exception of Aloft I found the worlds really engaging and the characters interesting and complex. Loaded was A LOT and definitely the one that lingers for me. Short story is a good format for Joe Hill.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

steveatwaywords's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I like Joe Hill's horror for its earnestness and earthy modern headspace. His protagonists are largely losers who have no guarantees to emerge from injustice or horror successfully. Hill has few qualms about making anyone suffer quickly, horribly, often without warning. At his best, the supernatural horrors they encounter merge in challenging parallels to the cultural politics we inhabit. Other times his stories are settled plots probable and tense. 

Strange weather is strong for its four tightly-plotted works, weaker for its thoughtful ties between the natural and supernatural. His characters sometimes emerge with needful growth, but sometimes they just emerge. This is realistic, but--as too often with his works--not as satisfying to a reader. It forces readers to find the joy of the tale elsewhere, and here--because the stories are so brief--there is too little time to allow the terror to fully develop. 

Most unsettling for me was the work "Loaded," which is better described as political horror than supernatural. "Aloft" and "Rain" do better in character development, though the conceit of the horror premise is too obscure or too neat. Short fiction is hard, and maybe Hill requires more space to flesh out his stories suitably (i.e. Horns or Heart-Shaped Box or The Fireman). So while this read was satisfying, each story left me wanting more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mondovertigo's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Addiction and Car accident

dale1997's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Mental illness