Joseph Hillstorm King
Someone might say – the name obliges. The American novelist whose name I mentioned in the headline knew this very well. He followed in his father’s footsteps, like his brother, and tried his hand at literature. how did it go? Bad beginnings are good … Joe Hill, because this is the pseudonym adopted by Joseph Hillstorm King, is a several-time winner of the most important award in the field of literature – the Bram Stoker Award (he received it for his first book, the reviewed Phantoms of the 20th Century , now: The Black Telephone , and for his first novel heart-shaped box ). Hill has also been awarded British Fantasy Award, International Guild Award, World Fantasy Award or distinctions awarded by the British Fantasy Society and the International Horror Guild.
Black phone
In September this year Black Telephone premiered in Polish cinemas. Thanks to the script by Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill, we had the opportunity to see a pretty decent film adaptation, the atmosphere of which will stay in our memory for a long time (just like Ethan Hawke in the role of the Catcher!). Probably under the influence of this event, the Albatross Publishing House decided to publish Ghosts of the 20th Century once again, under a changed title. And actually why not! Now you, dear readers, have a choice: you can buy the “old” original cover or the “new” one featuring the Catcher, the antagonist of The Black Phone. If you had the opportunity to see the film in the cinema, the atmosphere of Hill’s stories is already familiar to you. It’s really dark, the hair stands on end, and our private nightmares are joined by new ones!
A collection of thoughts
The black phone was released in a paperback and in accordance with the aesthetics of the publishing house – colors harmonize with each other, the paper is thick, and I like the placement of the content. The book will look great on the shelf. because of the aesthetic back. A dozen stories await us inside: Best New Horror , Spirit of the Twentieth Century , Pop Art , You’ll Hear the Locust Sing , Sons of Abraham , Better Than Home , Black Phone , Between Bases , Cape , Last Gasp , Dead Tree , Widow’s Breakfast ,Bobby Conroy Returns from the Dead , My Father’s Mask, and Voluntary Shutdown . All titles are given in two languages: Polish and English. My favorites were the stories Black Phone , Voluntary Lockdown , The Dead Tree , and Sons of Abraham , least You’ll Hear the Locust Sing. Hill does not shy away from the absurd, metaphor, bizarre, and even mixes kitsch with fantasy. It tells the story of a beautiful, dead girl waiting in a certain building, a boy who turned into a giant locust, mentions breakfast at a certain widow, invites you to a mysterious labyrinth, but also encourages you to visit an unusual museum. It intrigues and encourages the reader to read on. We can read the stories many times and each time we can see different hidden meanings. However, this is not what the faithful fans of the writer’s father expect. One cannot fully agree with what Christopher Golden wrote in the introduction to the collection. Contrary to appearances, Hill has strayed a bit from the path of the horror creators. He tries to go his own way, forgetting about the reader who craves for what is new, but also remembers what is old and unique.
Summary
You shouldn’t think of Joe Hill as the son of the Master of Horror. Published short literary forms are his own legacy and this is how he builds his (?) name, and maybe an entire literary empire! He is a relatively young writer, his style will certainly change over the years, but we readers judge what is here and now. I recommend the collection to everyone who has some free time and wants to explore the world of lost dreams and longings with the writer. If you’ve read Hill’s books before and liked them, don’t wait. However, I do not recommend starting your adventure with the writer’s work from this volume – you can get discouraged too quickly due to the uneven level of the stories (it would be a pity …). For starters, it’s better to reach for Rogi , for example . Good luck.
