What are you currently reading?

[Martin]

Okay, so some thoughts on Joe Hill's KING SORROW, a book that has received a great deal of praise from critics and fans, but one that I find myself struggling to connect with:

I'm 200 pages in, and am taking the next day or two to reevaluate if I continue on. It's an odd place to be, since -- with the notable exception of THE FIREMAN -- I've been a big Joe Hill fan ince day one. But at 200 pages, I'm faced with a cast of characters that aren't particularly likeable or interesting, one that feels a bit Young Adult horror in which attitude and scrappiness substitute for personality. There is a semi-auto pistol scene that has three significant errors in it...I'm surprised that scene got through a cast of proofreaders and editors...you'd think someone, anyone who's actually fired a gun, would catch these glaring issues. Then there are pages upon pages of italics...any scene where the characters "see" through the eyes of King Sorrow when he hunts prey are italicized, so three, four, etc. subsequent pages of italicized print in multiple scenes. This has always been a particular pet peeve of mine, I've always really, really disliked this hard-to-read, stylistic design choice, and typically just set a book back on the store shelf when I see its prevalent use when flipping through it. Then he namedrops a bunch of side characters with names of his author friends -- Bracken MacLeod, Catriona Ward, Sarah Pinborough, et al. Between this and the italics and whatnot, it feels like Hill's authorial self-indulgence is a bit too apparent. So with all of these things inherently kicking me out of the story, reminding me that these are simply words on a page and keeping me from really submerging myself into the tale, I'm struggling with staying engaged. Perhaps I'm being overly critical and small annoyances are keeping me from seeing the bigger picture that many others seem to see and enjoy, so I'm going to give it a break for a day or two and see if it calls my name again...but at the moment, it's not looking particularly good.

Overall

I generally liked King Sorrow, but understand your points. The italics were not an issue for me as I do not have a problem reading them and I understood the reason for them. Every aspect of the story, section names, characters, etc. are a large nod to his family and friends. In a few cases it caught me by surprise and there are probably some I missed. That also did not bug me that much. Overall, I put this one place higher than The Fireman, which is the only Joe Hill Novel I really did not care for. The good news is that Mr. Hill stated that this would be his last long novel in a while as he has embarked on a goal of a book a year for a decade. He also stated that his 2026 release "The Hunger" was turned given the publisher before this one hit stores. I am hoping he is able to strike gold like he did with "Heart Shaped Box" and "Horns" again!

[sholloman81]

Overall

I generally liked King Sorrow, but understand your points. The italics were not an issue for me as I do not have a problem reading them and I understood the reason for them. Every aspect of the story, section names, characters, etc. are a large nod to his family and friends. In a few cases it caught me by surprise and there are probably some I missed. That also did not bug me that much. Overall, I put this one place higher than The Fireman, which is the only Joe Hill Novel I really did not care for. The good news is that Mr. Hill stated that this would be his last long novel in a while as he has embarked on a goal of a book a year for a decade. He also stated that his 2026 release "The Hunger" was turned given the publisher before this one hit stores. I am hoping he is able to strike gold like he did with "Heart Shaped Box" and "Horns" again!

Glad to see at least one sort of positive review in the forum! Haven't purchased this one yet but had planned to do so sometime soon. All of these lukewarm reviews are giving me pause but I can't imagine myself not giving a Joe Hill book a try.

Be honest, if this were to be released as a limited, how many of you would still purchase it, even with the lukewarm reviews, if only to maintain your Joe Hill LE collection?

[Martin]

Glad to see at least one sort of positive review in the forum! Haven't purchased this one yet but had planned to do so sometime soon. All of these lukewarm reviews are giving me pause but I can't imagine myself not giving a Joe Hill book a try.

Be honest, if this were to be released as a limited, how many of you would still purchase it, even with the lukewarm reviews, if only to maintain your Joe Hill LE collection?

For me it was worth the read but does not compare with his shorter novels. Will I buy the limited, yes if it is not cost prohibitive or from a publisher I avoid.

[TacomaDiver]

For the most part, I enjoyed King Sorrow, but I also struggled to find the characters likeable.

Current read is Stephen Graham Jones's The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

I think I've seen the man in person more than the number of books I've read by him. His writing has always proven challenging to me - something about the cadence it seems. But the man is an amazing speaker. Probably why I keep going to his events - plus the fact he's local to me helps out a bit.

Only about 100 pages in so far, and I am enjoying it. Took a bit to get into, but now I have the taste and am looking forward to reading more. My wife is interested in this one too so it'll depend on what I think of it before I'd recommend it to her.

[Martin]

For the most part, I enjoyed King Sorrow, but I also struggled to find the characters likeable.

Current read is Stephen Graham Jones's The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

I think I've seen the man in person more than the number of books I've read by him. His writing has always proven challenging to me - something about the cadence it seems. But the man is an amazing speaker. Probably why I keep going to his events - plus the fact he's local to me helps out a bit.

Only about 100 pages in so far, and I am enjoying it. Took a bit to get into, but now I have the taste and am looking forward to reading more. My wife is interested in this one too so it'll depend on what I think of it before I'd recommend it to her.

I attempted to read one Stephen Graham Jones novel, do not even remember the title but I had a visceral response to the writing style and I bailed. The only other writer that I had that type of response to was Ann Rice. I tried several of her books and could never get more than halfway through any of them. That experience has kept me from trying again. The outline of The Buffalo Hunter intrigues me, but I am fairly certain I would not be able to finish it. Glad he as having great success but clearly not for me. Hope it works for you and your wife!

[dannyboy121070]

I attempted to read one Stephen Graham Jones novel, do not even remember the title but I had a visceral response to the writing style and I bailed. The only other writer that I had that type of response to was Ann Rice. I tried several of her books and could never get more than halfway through any of them. That experience has kept me from trying again. The outline of The Buffalo Hunter intrigues me, but I am fairly certain I would not be able to finish it. Glad he as having great success but clearly not for me. Hope it works for you and your wife!

I've read several of his novellas and short stories, and I usually struggle to understand what he is trying to convey, and I'm always disappointed by the endings. A friend on Goodreads reviewed THE BUFFALO HUNTER, didn't like it, and has hundreds of responses basically saying they all couldn't get through the book. I guess he'll be chalked up as another newish-to-me author that I just don't connect with.

[sholloman81]

For the most part, I enjoyed King Sorrow, but I also struggled to find the characters likeable.

Current read is Stephen Graham Jones's The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.

I think I've seen the man in person more than the number of books I've read by him. His writing has always proven challenging to me - something about the cadence it seems. But the man is an amazing speaker. Probably why I keep going to his events - plus the fact he's local to me helps out a bit.

Only about 100 pages in so far, and I am enjoying it. Took a bit to get into, but now I have the taste and am looking forward to reading more. My wife is interested in this one too so it'll depend on what I think of it before I'd recommend it to her.

I love me some Stephen Graham Jones. As you mention, his writing style is unique compared to others. It usually takes me a few chapters for it to click, but once it does, his stuff usually floors me. I haven't read the The Buffalo Hunter Hunter yet as I'm waiting for the SST LE to be published but expect to love it!

[RonClinton]

I'm a pre-hype avoidant of S. G. Jones' work. I tried to read a couple of his books a decade or so ago, and they just didn't click with me. I'm pleased to see him receive this relatively recent acclaim since I can objectively see why people could enjoy and appreciate his work, but I'm unfortunately among those that don't quite get it, so I've been able to sit out this recent hype and SST's limited-edition offerings. I almost weakened with a serious case of FOMO with BUFFALO HUNTER HUNTER, but ultimately held fast, with a TBR pile that's already overwhelming, to the point where I don't need to get into reconsidering authors who've already proved not to work for me.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm LE of Mona Kabbini's "They're Already Here", a collection of three novellas. Have never read anything by this author before and really ended up enjoying these novellas, especially the last one, For You. Each story had a really unique voice, and the plots felt very fresh, even when mixing in traditional horror elements. In terms of favorites, I would probably rank them as follows: For You, Vanilla, & The Bell Chime. Very glad to have taken a chance on this book and will be on the lookout for more from this author in the future.

Am now reading the Lividian LE of Justin Cronin's "The Ferryman", a first time read for me. With my love of The Passage trilogy, I have been trying to temper my expectations for this one. Hope I end up loving it too!

[RonClinton]

With my love of The Passage trilogy,

Interesting...you don't hear that often. Usually folks say something along the lines of, "The first one was great and the series went downhill from there." I'm afraid I have to count myself among that crowd, which is why I sat out on THE FERRYMAN.

[sholloman81]

Interesting...you don't hear that often. Usually folks say something along the lines of, "The first one was great and the series went downhill from there." I'm afraid I have to count myself among that crowd, which is why I sat out on THE FERRYMAN.

Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love The Passage more than The Twelve & City of Mirrors, but I also enjoyed the other books as well and the trilogy as a whole. My main gripe with the trilogy was always the amount of time between each book but never the quality of the writing or where the story went. I also think it didn't help that the 2nd book was the weakest of the bunch IMO. After the wait between the first book and the second, I think a lot of people had way to high of expectations and may have enjoyed the 2nd book a bit more if it had arrived sooner. But I could also be totally wrong about that!

[Sock Monkey]

Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love The Passage more than The Twelve & City of Mirrors, but I also enjoyed the other books as well and the trilogy as a whole. My main gripe with the trilogy was always the amount of time between each book but never the quality of the writing or where the story went. I also think it didn't help that the 2nd book was the weakest of the bunch IMO. After the wait between the first book and the second, I think a lot of people had way to high of expectations and may have enjoyed the 2nd book a bit more if it had arrived sooner. But I could also be totally wrong about that!

I have yet to finish The Passage trilogy, so I can't speak to it as a whole. However, I have read the first book three or four times and the second book at least twice. I think The Passage is a fantastic book and feels like it while one is reading it. The second book does stumble as a middle chapter, but is much better on a reread when those pesky preconceived "way too high expectations" are out of the way. I will also add that, at least for me, the books are best read with little time between them because various characters or plot points are brought up with little help from Cronin to re-establish them, leading to a less than satisfactory experience when there is too much time between reads. This is what has stalled me out on the series every single time I've tried to tackle them. All that being said, one of my goals this year is to do a full and complete readthrough of the the whole series...or die trying!

[brlesh]

I have yet to finish The Passage trilogy, so I can't speak to it as a whole. However, I have read the first book three or four times and the second book at least twice. I think The Passage is a fantastic book and feels like it while one is reading it. The second book does stumble as a middle chapter, but is much better on a reread when those pesky preconceived "way too high expectations" are out of the way. I will also add that, at least for me, the books are best read with little time between them because various characters or plot points are brought up with little help from Cronin to re-establish them, leading to a less than satisfactory experience when there is too much time between reads. This is what has stalled me out on the series every single time I've tried to tackle them. All that being said, one of my goals this year is to do a full and complete readthrough of the the whole series...or die trying!

I hold The Passage trilogy in the highest regard. For me it’s right up there with King’s The Stand and McCammon’s Swan Song.

I think all three books are great. The first tells a great story while establishing the characters for the rest of the trilogy.

The second book, IMO, is the darkest of the three. Cronin gets into some seriously heavy shit in The Twelve.

And City of Mirrors is the perfect conclusion. The third book was the only time, I won’t say I got bored, but I definitely got impatient with Zero’s backstory. But then you finish the backstory, and it’s like holy shit!, that just explained the whole story of The Passage.

The ending beyond that I thought was perfect, heart breaking in so many ways (poor Alisha, who literally went through hell in the entire trilogy), yet still ultimately hopeful.

The Passage will always be an all time favorite for me!

B