The Black Phone and Other Stories: Previously published as 20th Century Ghosts

A very enjoyable collection of stories , from joe hill rivels some of the best collections of his dad Steve king

This has been placed highly on my TBR pile when I saw the movie trailer for "The Black Phone" and discovered that it was a short story written by Stephen King's Son, Joe Hill.This is a collection of short stories, with no corollation or connection to each other. Some stories are short, some are very short, and some are a little longer. The confusing title of 20th Century Ghosts may be a little confusing as not all the short stories are traditional ghost stories. However, they are still beautifully written short horror stories.This is my first dive into the work of Joe Hill, and although some of the earlier short stories in this book didn't quite grip me straight away, the writing style was solid and definitely set a dark, traditional/modern crossover style that is continued throughout the collection of stories. I really enjoyed Joe's writing and will definitely be reading more of his work.Special mention to some of the amazing stories in this book, such as "The Black Phone," which is the only downfall for me personally, is that it could have been longer."Voluntary Committal" is the final and longest story in the collection, which was just pure excellence, and I loved it."Abraham's Boys" is a new twist or sequel to a classic tale."My Father's Mask" could easily be the next new creapy horror film, which was weird and wonderful."The Last Breath" is one of the most intriguing short stories that I have read, but I craved to be longer!Overall, I really enjoyed this book and Joe Hill's writing style and format for a story, yes I was upset that some of the stories were shorter than I wanted, but also sometimes that is the point of a short story. To get you to have questions in your head and screaming for more.Fan of well written short horror? Read this book!

A collection of short stories that play with you imagination leaving you with unanswered questions and wonderment.Joe Hill at his best.

I bought this book as have not been able to see the film. I was disappointed that The Black Phone wasn't longer, as it's the lead title. It's not even at the beginning. A bit disappointing. However, it has got me intrigued in this writer. A bit like Stephen King.

Its easy to say 'Like Father, Like Son' and to be honest it's true in this case. I grew up reading the greatest Horror/supernatural stories, from the great writers! In my teens, I discovered Stephen King (before his books were murdered into movies), and found myself gripped by well thought out story lines, where the author knew the ending before he started writing, and led us on a journey there patiently and with as many shocks and scares as possible!This collection of Short Stories, could easily come from Stephen King's mind, so it's not surprising that they do come from his son Joe Hill. Each story could easily be an episode of The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt or Tales of the Unexpected!My only gripe about the book is that there is only one ghost story, and that is the best story of the book. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the stories, they are weird and wonderful, that make you think about the human psyche, Not a single story disappoints in the collection, which in itself is unique!The first story (not including the hidden story), 20th Century Ghost is an amazing story which left me speechless and I sat on the underground for ages thinking about what I had just read!

I approached this book with some caution as my only experience of Joe Hill was when I picked up Heart Shaped Box and then left it aside unfinished. But all in all I found this collection of fifteen short stories to be well written and interesting. Who knows, on the basis of my enjoyment of these I might just go back and pick up Heart Shaped Box again and give it another GO.I prefer novels but this collection has some solid meat on its bones. The stories were short, but not too short, and I found them imaginative and entertaining. Only four of these tales were ghost stories in the proper sense and most, but not all of the rest, were straightforward horror, both real life and supernatural. A few others were somewhat surreal, one being definitely Kafkaesque.In other hands we’d probably have some of these stories stretched out to novel length – some have that potential - but the impulse to do so, if ever it existed, was sensibly quashed. They’re tighter and tauter as they are.

I began reading this one too-hot, sticky summer's night, just after I had given up on the idea of sleeping at all. I started around 1am, and at 8am, realised that I simply couldn't put it down. I gladly sacrificed sleep and read right through until evening...each story compelling, fascinating, and as perfectly haunting in its own right as I had dared to hope, when I started the collection. I would be lying if I said I hadn't felt a frisson of familiarity, there are genetics here from one of the finest writers of all time, of course (Stephen King's son has inherited the writing gene!) but Joe Hill has his own voice, his own unique style, and is already a master of his chosen genre. I personally hope he will be as prolific a writer as his father.

A good collection fit for the son of Stephen King. I would not call this book "a book of ghost stories", it is certainly more than that.I gave it four stars because some stories just didn't falk, I couldn't understand what they were trying to communicate to me (The Widow's Breakfast and the Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead). On the other hand, there are absolutely fantastic quality stories as well.I was particularly touched by the one about inflatable people, so strange and beautiful. To me this is what stayed after I closed the book.Another superb story is about a boy building alternative universes with empty cardboard boxes. It is not only very well written, it is sad and full of love at the same time. Deeply emotional without being sweet and cloying.Give it a try, see what the stories will tell you.

Das Buch ist toll,müsste es nur auch auf deutsch geben.

Book was excellent, as expected. Love Joe Hill, writes very much like his father whom I also love. Vendor was excellent. Book arrived in good shape and on time.

Los cuentos están bien, hay algunos muy buenos, otros no tanto.Lo que si mi e-book trae incompleto el cuento DeadWood

Il libro è arrivato nei tempi stabiliti in ottime condizioni. Storie molto belle, ma bisogna conoscere bene sintassi e terminologie dell'ainglese americano per apprezzarle al meglio.

Menos entretenido que lo esperado, aunque con algunas historias interesantes. No se hace pesado al ser las historias relativamente cortas. Recomendable como lectura de verano