Imogene is young, beautiful, kisses like a movie star, and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead, the legendary ghost of the Rosebud Theater. Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with a head full of big ideas and a gift for getting his ass kicked. It's hard to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town. Francis is unhappy, picked on; he doesn't have a life, a hope, a chance. Francis was human once, but that's behind him now. John Finney is in trouble. The kidnapper locked him in a basement, a place stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. With him, in his subterranean cell, is an antique phone, long since disconnected . . . but it rings at night, anyway, with calls from the dead. . . Meet these, and a dozen more, in one of the most praised collections this century. 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS is irresistible, addictive fun, showcasing a dazzling new talent.
20th Century Ghosts
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"This strong, award winning collection of stories by Stephen King's son drives a stake through any cattiness that his enjoyable 2007 horror novel Heart Shaped Box was just a lucky break. The refreshing horror collection you've been looking for, even if you didn't know it. My Father's Mask is perhaps the most unsettling thing this horror reviewer has ever read." (METRO )
"Joe Hill lays to rest any doubts about one hit wonder syndrome with this unmissable bounty of short stories, all but guaranteed to add chilled spice to horror fans' spare winter evenings once the curtains have been drawn. A beast of brilliance that will swallow you whole and spit you back out again wearing a big grin." (STARBURST )
"It's wildly imaginative stuff, yet always anchored in reality. There are at least five stories here which deserve to be included in Best Of anthologies for decades to come." (Dave Golder SFX )
"Hill's shorter works have the same ingenuity as his novel 'Heart-Shaped Box' and the same populist wisdom we find in the work of his father Stephen King. What he adds is a weird poetry that is all his own." (Rox Kaveney TIME OUT )
"Even the weakest story present is fired by fierce imagination and a deceptively simple style. Joe Hill's work, while undeniably reminiscent of his father's, holds a charge and voice that is unmistakably his own. 20th Century Ghosts demonstrates this perfectly and deserves to be read." (Jes Bickham DEATHRAY )
"Joe Hill lays to rest any doubts about one hit wonder syndrome with this unmissable bounty of short stories, all but guaranteed to add chilled spice to horror fans' spare winter evenings once the curtains have been drawn. A beast of brilliance that will swallow you whole and spit you back out again wearing a big grin." (STARBURST )
"It's wildly imaginative stuff, yet always anchored in reality. There are at least five stories here which deserve to be included in Best Of anthologies for decades to come." (Dave Golder SFX )
"Hill's shorter works have the same ingenuity as his novel 'Heart-Shaped Box' and the same populist wisdom we find in the work of his father Stephen King. What he adds is a weird poetry that is all his own." (Rox Kaveney TIME OUT )
"Even the weakest story present is fired by fierce imagination and a deceptively simple style. Joe Hill's work, while undeniably reminiscent of his father's, holds a charge and voice that is unmistakably his own. 20th Century Ghosts demonstrates this perfectly and deserves to be read." (Jes Bickham DEATHRAY )
Book Description
The multi-award-winning first collection by NEW YORK TIMES bestseller Joe Hill
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Paul Bowes
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
'20th Century Ghosts' is the first collection of short stories by the young American writer Joe Hill. I came to it after reading his second book, and first novel, 'Heart-Shaped Box', which I thought was a competent piece of genre fiction but rather underwhelming. This collection of stories is better.
There are nods in the direction of Stephen King, Kafka and Lovecraft, but already here Hill is mainly his own man. If I was reminded by the end of any other writer, it was Robert Aickman. Hill's best stories have a similar slow and downbeat quality and the same looming sense of something inexplicable and relentless behind the unremarkable appearances of everyday things. In spite of the title, a couple of the stories here lack any real element of the supernatural or the horrific; they might have appeared without embarrassment in any collection of modern American fiction concerned with the deep currents that run under relationships between married couples, between parents and their children, and between children in the absence of adults.
This is a good collection of modern writing in the genre, and recommended to anybody who demands something more than clichéd gore-and-shocks.
There are nods in the direction of Stephen King, Kafka and Lovecraft, but already here Hill is mainly his own man. If I was reminded by the end of any other writer, it was Robert Aickman. Hill's best stories have a similar slow and downbeat quality and the same looming sense of something inexplicable and relentless behind the unremarkable appearances of everyday things. In spite of the title, a couple of the stories here lack any real element of the supernatural or the horrific; they might have appeared without embarrassment in any collection of modern American fiction concerned with the deep currents that run under relationships between married couples, between parents and their children, and between children in the absence of adults.
This is a good collection of modern writing in the genre, and recommended to anybody who demands something more than clichéd gore-and-shocks.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent variety of different stories, well written and well worth a read
3 Dec 2012
By james
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book expecting it to be more horror oriented, however the stories here cover a far broader spectrum from coming of age drama to ghost stories. I was not left disappointed, I felt that each story was worth a read and there was no real filler. My favourite of the stories was "Voluntary Committal", the last in the book and probably the longest.
Overall, I am happy that I read this book and will be seeking out more of Joe Hill's work in the future. Anyone looking for a collection of well written stories covering a variety of themes would not go wrong in choosing this book.
Overall, I am happy that I read this book and will be seeking out more of Joe Hill's work in the future. Anyone looking for a collection of well written stories covering a variety of themes would not go wrong in choosing this book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A.Lewis
Format:Paperback
I don't often read short story's, as they tend to have open ending which I don't much like, but having read Heart shaped box thought I would give these a go.
I found most really engaging apart perhaps '20th century ghost, which I didn't really feel went anywhere, and I didn't like 'In the rundown' due to the graphic nature of the story line, it was a bit too much for me, and I found I had to skim it just to get it over with, but the rest where really enjoyable, creepy without being obvious, and moving without the sentimentality.
I finished a couple of days ago and the story's are still popping into my head every now and again, a sign of a good read.
I found most really engaging apart perhaps '20th century ghost, which I didn't really feel went anywhere, and I didn't like 'In the rundown' due to the graphic nature of the story line, it was a bit too much for me, and I found I had to skim it just to get it over with, but the rest where really enjoyable, creepy without being obvious, and moving without the sentimentality.
I finished a couple of days ago and the story's are still popping into my head every now and again, a sign of a good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the purchase
I was told about this by a friend of mine. And I have to thank him for it. 2 exceptional stories, with the rest still on the better side of good. Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. Davies
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thorougly enjoying
A high standard quality with a confident narrative make 20th Century Ghosts an excellent read. Strange how Joe Hill had a collection of short fiction published before a novel, but... Read more
Published 1 month ago by jimmy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent collection!
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! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Zaff
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great storyteller!
This is a collection of a bunch of wonderful short stories that are scary, thoughtful and some are quite moving. I recommend it.
Published 3 months ago by Steffan markussen
1.0 out of 5 stars
What was he thinking?
Joe Hill is a very good writer.Liked heart shaped box but didn't love it, loved horns though so forked out nearly a fiver for this. Read more
Published 7 months ago by N. rees
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best stories collection I've read this year
I've read the Heart shaped box and wasn't impressed (maybe due to the Czech translation) so I didn't expect much from Joe Hill. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Daniel Klimek
5.0 out of 5 stars
The malady lingers on
Spooky, frightening, inventive, original, surprising, riveting...no words can do this collection of short stories/novellas the justice it deserves. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Acton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great series of short stories by a very talented author.
I've never read anything by Stephen King. I've seen films based on Stephen King's work, but never actually been tempted to pick up one of his novels. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Reformed Geek
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stephen King Clone
How wonderfully written this book is you cannot help but think about Stephen King. Joe has copied the childhood experience and repacked it for a new generation of reader. Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2010 by Digital Reader
1.0 out of 5 stars
hmm
I bought this book after reading the Heart Shaped Box, I just thought it was a bit nasty for nasty's sake. I got bored and didn't even finish it.
Published on 28 Mar 2010 by Baileys
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