This one had such a great hook I couldn’t resist picking it up, and mostly it’s a good bit of page-turning fun. It falls more on the thriller side (whThis one had such a great hook I couldn’t resist picking it up, and mostly it’s a good bit of page-turning fun. It falls more on the thriller side (whereas I was hoping for more horror), and the plot elements will topple over like a deck of cards if you stare at them too hard. Still, for a quick summer read and a tall tale of revenge, you could do a lot worse than this one....more
This was "meh" for me unfortunately -- I was expecting a kickass, feminist version of Deliverance and what I ended up with was a lukewarm, trashy, womThis was "meh" for me unfortunately -- I was expecting a kickass, feminist version of Deliverance and what I ended up with was a lukewarm, trashy, woman-in-peril scenario that never quite grips hard enough. It's ho-hum, pedestrian writing, and the lead characters are all fairly cardboard cutouts, shallow and mostly dislikeable.
It also looks like Eli Roth is set to adapt this for the big screen. Yeah, that sounds about right. There's just enough "murderous hillbilly" and potential for torture porn here to appeal to his sensibilities....more
I hate to fly (HATE). I am the textbook white-knuckle flyer who really believes gripping the seat rests and concentrating really hard is what keeps thI hate to fly (HATE). I am the textbook white-knuckle flyer who really believes gripping the seat rests and concentrating really hard is what keeps the plane from plummeting 40,000 feet straight into the ground or ocean (or into the side of a mountain). It hasn't gotten easier over the years, to the point where I have considered hypnotherapy -- but the woo-woo of hypnosis and the dreadful doors THAT could open also doesn't appeal to me.
So because flying is one of my lizard brain primal fears, it's no surprise an anthology wholly dedicated to this insane thing humans do thousands of times a day all over the world (let ourselves be hurtled through space defying gravity at crazy speeds in an object that weighs on average 87 tons) would have its dark, mesmeric appeal.
And it's an okay collection. I wish I could give it a more expansive, enthusiastic recommendation, but it's really just okay. King and Joe Hill fans will be pleased that there's new material here but even their contributions aren't anything to flip out over. Both men have written MUCH stronger short stories in the past. This isn't in league with their best work so curb your expectations going in.
Some stories are reprinted classics like Matheson's excellent Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, the source material for one of the best Twilight Zone episodes (it's always fun to re-visit that one). There's also an Arthur Conan Doyle entry that's a sharp departure from his Sherlock Holmes stuff and ventures into Lovecraftian territory.
My favorite entry comes from Dan Simmons called Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds. It's short, plays with time travel and packs a darkly fun punch that's very Twilight Zone, Night Gallery. And bonus -- I found it online for free if you want to read it without tracking down a copy of this collection.
Ooops! Made a mistake here that I have to fix - got my stories mixed up. My favorite is actually Lucifer! by E.C. Tubb available for free here. It's this classic short story (not the one by Dan Simmons) that plays with time travel and is very Twilight Zone, Night Gallery.
So make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright positions. Keep those seat belts fastened as we will be flying through some heavy turbulence. And whatever you do, do not look out the window. Happy flying!...more
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