My first hardcover edition of Full Throttle, signed by Joe Hill, is among the treasures of my personal library.
I utterly adore Joe’s writing and have yet to come away disappointed. Full Throttle is no exception. I enjoyed every tale in this collection, but especially fell in love with By the Silver Waters of Lake Champlain. It is a take on Bradbury’s The Foghorn. It may arguably stand the test of time on its own literary merits, much like its predecessor.
Dark Carnival is also excellent, as is Faun, a Hemingway-esque safari tale which turns into an otherworldly fantasy, a la C.S. Lewis. In the Tall Grass, co-written with Stephen King, perfectly blends Joe and Stephen’s writing styles, producing one effectively creepy hybrid.
Out of everything in this fine collection, what sticks with me (though not quite as much as “Lake Champlain”) is a tale called Late Returns. I identified completely with the narrator’s voice, finding his encounters with ghostly book readers to be thrilling, intriguing, and more than a touch creepy.
In summary, all I want to say is — Great work, Mr. Hill. I can’t wait to read the next!
Thanks for reading.
Your friend and fellow book-dragon,
Tylor James.
Tylor James 