Full Throttle : Stories
Author(s): Joe Hill
A New York Times Bestseller
Thirteen relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In the Tall Grass,” one of two stories cowritten with Stephen King and the basis for the terrifying feature film from Netflix.
A little door that opens to a world of fairy-tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns.”
In “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain”—now an episode on Shudder TV’s Creepshow—two young friends stumble on the corpse of a plesiosaur at the water’s edge, a discovery that forces them to confront the inescapable truth of their own mortality. And tension shimmers in the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert as a faceless trucker finds himself caught in a sinister dance with a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in “Throttle,” cowritten with Stephen King.
Replete with shocking chillers, including two previously unpublished stories written expressly for this volume (“Mums” and “Late Returns”) and another appearing in print for the first time (“Dark Carousel”), Full Throttle is a darkly imagined odyssey through the complexities of the human psyche. Hypnotic and disquieting, it mines our tormented secrets, hidden vulnerabilities, and basest fears, and demonstrates this exceptional talent at his very best.
Review(s):
“The poet laureate of everyday terrors returns with a baker’s dozen of deliciously sinister tales. . . . Miniature masterworks of modern horror, proving that life is hard, weird, and always fatal.”
“In his new collection of short stories, Joe Hill shows how insanely good he is at shocking, terrible, whoa, cover-your-mouth-and-gasp endings . . . . Seamless and finely crafted work.”
“This collection cements Hill’s reputation as a versatile master of scares both subtle and shocking.”
“Hill’s latest collection of short stories is compulsively readable. Thirteen stories weave in and out of gritty realism, whimsical folklore, and futuristic sf, flowing from one to the next in a fast-paced journey through the surreal. Hill fills each story with shocking plot twists, excellent worldbuilding, and satisfying kismet.”
" Hill is a versatile talent, and this kaleidoscopic collection whirls from crime premises that sound like they could be out of a hardboiled noir, to lyrical and magical-realist works dripping with atmosphere and impressive visuals, to midwestern gothic nightmares straight out of the ’70s horror heyday. Across them all, Hill’s clear voice and talent rings through loud and clear."
“Hill calls to mind Harlan Ellison at his absolute best, with a penchant for cruel characters learning hard truths.”
“Full Throttle is a great collection and just more proof that Hill is one of the great storytellers of the early 21st century. Highly recommended.”
“This new collection of short fiction by acclaimed horror and suspense writer Joe Hill proves that Hill can do it all.”
“A four-pack of mayhem in this sparkling collection of short novels. . . .Worth waiting in line for, if you’re a Hill fan. If you’re not, this is the book to turn you into one.”
“Every piece is driven by anxiety and unease and feature Hill’s trademark characters who feel absolutely real. But it is also the sense of place that dazzles, whether it’s a sinister version of Narnia in ‘Faun,’ on a coastal pier in ‘Dark Carousel,’ or on a plane as WWIII breaks out in ‘You Are Released.’ Hill lulls the reader into deep enjoyment, even as the terror lies just around the corner.”
ISBN: 9780062970190