Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945. . . .Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town. . . .
Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot-tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .
John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .
Synopsis
A dazzlingly original, award-winning collection of visions and nightmares from the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box.
Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon on an afternoon in 1945...Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town...Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing...John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead...
The past isn't dead. It isn't even past...
The Washington Post - Elizabeth Hand
20th Century Ghosts, the melancholy and very fine story collection by Joe Hill, comes with an impeccable literary pedigree and a great backstory. Hill was born Joseph Hillstrom King, son of the writers Tabitha and Stephen King, and developed his chops the old-fashioned way, publishing work in literary magazines and anthologies here and in England. When he began shopping his first collection around, it was turned down in the United States and finally appeared in 2005 from a small British press. That edition garnered numerous awards, including the William Crawford Award for best first fantasy book, and won its author a contract at Morrow, which earlier this year published his bestselling horror novel, Heart-Shaped Box. Now Americans finally get a chance to see what all the noise was about: This new edition of 20th Century Ghosts includes a previously unpublished story, and the collection should establish its author as a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction.
Editorials
Terrence Rafferty
There are…fine stories in 20th Century Ghosts. "Pop Art," "You Will Hear the Locust Sing" and "Voluntary Committal" are all terrific, and the rest are, at a minimum, solid, swift and craftsmanlike. But "Best New Horror" seems to me the most thrillingly original of Hill's weird tales, a daredevil performance that keeps some complex ideas suspended in the air along with, of course, our usual disbelief. It's brave and astute of Hill to acknowledge that some part of the appeal of horror fiction—of any genre fiction, really—is its very predictability: the comfort of knowing, at least, what kind of story we're reading.—The New York Times
Elizabeth Hand
20th Century Ghosts, the melancholy and very fine story collection by Joe Hill, comes with an impeccable literary pedigree and a great backstory. Hill was born Joseph Hillstrom King, son of the writers Tabitha and Stephen King, and developed his chops the old-fashioned way, publishing work in literary magazines and anthologies here and in England. When he began shopping his first collection around, it was turned down in the United States and finally appeared in 2005 from a small British press. That edition garnered numerous awards, including the William Crawford Award for best first fantasy book, and won its author a contract at Morrow, which earlier this year published his bestselling horror novel, Heart-Shaped Box. Now Americans finally get a chance to see what all the noise was about: This new edition of 20th Century Ghosts includes a previously unpublished story, and the collection should establish its author as a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction.—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
After the release of Hill's acclaimed novel Heart-Shaped Box, this collection of his short fiction, originally published in Britain two years ago made its way to the United States. Hill, the son of horror master Stephen King, runs a diverse gamut that includes some unapologetic chillers along the lines of the book's title story. Yet the essence of his material could best be described as a hybrid that connects the ironic twists from episodes of The Twilight Zonewith the angst and vulnerability of childhood and adolescence. David LeDoux, whose previous audiobook credits include Douglas Coupland's Hey Nostradamus!and Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, demonstrates an especially keen knack for capturing the cadence of teen and young adult male speech patterns, with equal parts deadpan cool and quivering tension. Hill's novella "Voluntary Committal" provides a sublime experience of jarring suspense and compelling family drama. Admittedly, a few of the briefer works may leave listeners longing for more fully developed story lines, but Hill consistently manages to evoke emotional responses and provoke unsettling questions, which makes for a worthwhile experience. Simultaneous release with the Morrow hardcover. (Nov.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationLibrary Journal
When Hill's first novel (Heart-Shaped Box) was published, there was much buzz when it was revealed that he was the son of Stephen King. Before that was widely known, however, Hill published a collection of short stories in Britain, which won the Bram Stoker Award, and his novella Best New Horrorbeat out his father's "The Things They Left Behind" in the Long Fiction category. Ghosts, which had a limited print run in Britain, is finally being released here, and it is astounding. Though most of the stories have elements of horror, the overall mood of the collection is one of heartbreaking wonderment, especially evident in the beautiful story "Pop Art" about a young delinquent's friendship with an inflatable boy. Other standouts are "In the Rundown," a Raymond Carveresque tale about a loser who peaked in high school; "Better Than Home," about a disabled boy's relationship with his father; and "Voluntary Committal," in which a child's cardboard fort becomes a solution to his big brother's problems. This edition includes the new story "Scheherezade's Typewriter" hidden in the acknowledgments. Highly recommended for short story and horror fiction collections.-Karl G. Siewert, MLIS, Tulsa City-Cty. Lib., OK
—Karl G. Siewert
School Library Journal
Adult/High School-This collection of short stories will appeal not only to fantasy and horror fans, but also to those who appreciate drama and suspense. The book was originally published in the United Kingdom in 2005; the U.S. edition contains 14 short stories, two of which are new to it, and a novella. Selections vary from "My Father's Mask," a bone-chilling tale of a family on the run, to "The Widow's Breakfast" and the kindness of a stranger. Perhaps the most powerful aspect of this anthology is the author's ability to engage readers by eliciting a broad spectrum of emotions, in many cases all within the same story. Teens will find themselves disturbed, amused, and touched by the various conclusions to these tales. And while the plots and characters vary greatly, each story challenges readers to use their own imaginations while appreciating the tales' twists and turns. With their cliff-hanger endings, quick pacing, and three-dimensional characters, many of these selections will spark interesting classroom and book-club discussions. Recommend this title to teens looking for a book that will both challenge and entertain.-Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information