Joe Hill (1) (1972–)

Although I haven't read everything published by Joe Hill, I have enjoyed all the books I have read. Unfortunately, all streaks have to end sometime, and that particular streak ends with KING SORROW. It isn't so much that I did not enjoy Mr. Hill's latest novel as it is that there are enough flaws in it that prevented me from enjoying it more than I did.

Mr. Hill's writing remains brilliant. There is not a scene in the story that is not evocative and emotionally fraught. The main issue with show more KING SORROW, then, is that it drags on much longer than necessary. There is one section that takes up at least a quarter of the book and passes at a glacial pace. By the time that scene finally comes to a close, you almost forget how it started and why. The importance of the scene, e.g., what you discover about certain characters, is not as great as the amount of time you spend with it.

The same can be said about the story's finale. By the time you finally arrive at the final battle with King Sorrow, you have forgotten why they first summoned the dragon. The story takes many turns, frequently flipping between narrators, decades, and locations, sometimes within the same scene. The path from beginning to end is circuitous and long, something I have no problem with, but slow. Each action requires too much setup, while the action is "blink and you miss it" fast.

As I said, though, there are parts of KING SORROW I enjoyed a lot. The entire story spans my formative years into my middle adulthood, and I appreciated everything about the nostalgia factor. While the characters in the story are about eight years older than I am, I still understand what it felt like to grow up in the 90s with its slow entry into the technology age. Some of the best scenes are Colin's throwaway lines about emerging tech and the Luddite responses he receives from his friends. At least, they were enjoyable to me because, like Mr. Hill, I lived it. That first email account, the cell phone that no one knew what to do with, the "Crackberry" craze, it's all there.

While Mr. Hill waxes nostalgic with his characters, he also provides a clear picture of the journey from the hopefulness of the late 80s and the end of the Cold War to the rise in nationalism now. This is something he doesn't spend a lot of time doing, as he provides such details in context with what the characters are doing, but there is a clear connection between Oklahoma City and Iraq I and II, with its supposed weapons of mass destruction. Equally subtle is his criticism of the blind following of technological advances and the faith we had that these companies would not do anything nefarious with our data. These are all ideas he does not directly state, but there is an implied criticism there that is, quite frankly, warranted. I appreciate the way Mr. Hill lays out his argument and presents it without commentary, letting his characters do all that for him.

KING SORROW is a book I liked but couldn't love. There was nothing about it that made me want to read it; I would have to force myself to do so every day. It does't help that several of the characters are terrible people. I never wanted to spend time with these characters and felt a little sick whenever I finished with one of the sections with them as the narrator. I know this is on purpose, but it doesn't make KING SORROW readable at times. When you add characters you want to avoid with the slow pacing of most of the story, the novel becomes something of a slog rather than tense and exciting. Mr. Hill is an excellent writer, and I will gladly read any of his future novels. Unfortunately, KING SORROW did not impress me as much as his other books. show less

For a few years now, I have been avoiding big books even though I used to love them, but it's the beginning of summer so I decided to pick this one up just to see if I could get through a doorstopper again. I'm so glad I did. This book is the bomb. I loved the characters, I loved the action, I loved the twists. And I loved that smart-ass, bad-ass, very scary dragon, King Sorrow. I appreciated how Hill paid homage to his dad throughout--as a lifelong constant reader of Stephen King, I could show more see his influence all over this work. But there's a lot of other stuff packed in here, too: recent history, ancient legends, secret government agencies, bizarre occult rituals, and an awesome library. This was just the book I needed at this time, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a big, immersive, summer reading adventure. show less

The coils of the plot tighten with a dreadful inevitability as the kids are beset by the attacks of the Dark lady from the outside and their own mistakes and uncertainties on the inside, not to mention the insidious Zack. Ty Kinsey and Bode are stronger than they know, however, even when n the dark, and they're slowly putting the ices together. Will they be in time. The horror mounts, the brilliant baroque fantasy of the powered keys set against the claustrophobic sense of pitiless and show more manipulative forces and the uncontrollable urges and pains of teenage emotions - or the absence of them, in Kinsey' case, which is even worse. Amazing writing and art create a compelling, driving, twisting narrative. show less

This was a very creepy short story and only my second Joe Hill reading. As much as I love his father's (Stephen King) writing, this guy is starting to move him over a bit in my favorites category. Both writers use terrifying imagery, great character development, and super scary stories, which keep me turning pages late into the night, but King continues to be verbose in his writing and Hill is not. I don't skip over any of his words, sentences or pages, because I am never "bored" while show more reading his works. All of his words are necessary, King's are not. But the other thing that has turned me into a fan is how he deals with negative emotions/feelings. He explores the complexity of grief, fear, loneliness, anger, jealousy and all the other sad or loathsome feelings we would like to just wish away.
He writes on them in a way that just pulls me in and has me nodding my head in complete understanding and agreement. He obviously learned a great deal from his father, and I look forward to reading everything else he has written. show less