My review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Full Throttle by Joe Hill is a book of short stories by the son of Stephen King! And Stephen King collaborates on one of the stories!

These are gripping stories, with a mix of thriller and horror. I really enjoyed reading them, and learning more about Joe Hill as he writes about his career and how he became a writer.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Gollancz.

This genuinely has taken me forever to read and I still have one or 2 stories to go, to be honest. Overall, this is a bit like 20th Century Ghosts. There is a fine mix of stories but some are really excellent and others just end up with a sense of disappointment. I think Joe Hills work is better suited to longer length prose so I'd end up calling this good, but not wholly essential.

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

This book was provided by Netgalley in return for an honest and fair review.

This collection of short stories holds both excellent and mediocre stories.

Joe Hill sticks to the stuff he knows best; fast-paced, thrilling, white knuckle stories. The first story (the books namesake) Full Throttle, started the book off in the right tone. The suspense, and darkness, throughout was amazing and really set the scene. I’ll leave the rest of the stories for you to read!

All of the stories were strong, but some more than others. Overall, the collection was good, and I’d definitely recommend to anyone interested in thriller/horror!

I enjoyed this book so much

I don’t usually like short stories and this is a collection but they were just long enough to keep me interested

A couple of the stories were written with the Authors Father Stephen King and all the stories were usually a bit spooky in true King style

Would recommend

I do like Joe Hill. Where is father has struggled in recent years to remain inventive, Hill has some of the wildest ideas out there. I'd read In the Tall Grass a while ago and loved it's dark, hopeless weirdness, the Netflix movie is different, not always in a bad way. The strongest story is "Faun" about privilege and a hunting trip. Throttle, the first and one of the longest stories (written with King) is the weakest.

A diverse anthology of horror containing some fantasy and thriller aspects. Each story differed and some I liked and others not as much so but each certainly thought provoking.
I dipped in and out of this book around my others and that worked well so I didn't feel bogged down reading one after another. I think everyone will find something there like in this well rounded collection.

This was quite a disappointing read for me. I adore Joe Hill and every book he's written but this one for some reason just didn't do it for me. The stories were good but not as compelling as usual which was a shame.

In early reviews I wouldn't mention Joe Hill's dad, reasoning that since he'd gone to such lengths to obscure the connection, it was only polite to play along. These days, the ruse is comprehensively blown, and he's open about the influence. The introduction here talks about coming to terms with his lineage, and the book includes two father-son collaborations – of which I already read and reviewed In The Tall Grass back when it was released as its own thing. The other, though, is the book's opening and title-ish story, Throttle. On one level a simple (and pretty much literal) collision of Duel with Sons Of Anarchy, at its core is an uneasy father-son relationship, a recurring feature in early Hill, and all the more unsettling when it really is the pair of them working together on it. Still, you can see why the two of them would harmonise so well; they have a similar gift for marrying an observation of everyday life, and particularly everyday life in the vast reaches of non-metropolitan America, with sudden or subtle irruptions of darkness from another world lurking at the reverse of it.

Elsewhere...well, there's no grand theme here, and I have no particularly acute observations, no further claims to have found the pattern in Hill's carpet; he compares an anthology to a road trip, which is a very him analogy. As with a Stephen King collection, the dominant mood is horror, or at least dark, though there are moments of consolation to be found too. The story of the nightmarish carousel horses is probably the one I could most easily picture slipping into one of his dad's anthologies unremarked; it's very good, though occasional false notes when the protagonist comes to Britain (does anyone really refer to the 'University of London'?) confirm my feeling that the BBC were right to reject his Doctor Who overtures. The excellent By The Silver Water Of Lake Champlain pivots through four or five genres in 20-odd pages, much like life; Faun is a pointed Hemingway pastiche which also prods at a founding assumption of portal fantasy; whoever finds the door between worlds first, the way of the world is such that it's unlikely to stay in the hands of the pure for long, not in a land where money talks loudest. Late Returns is a lovely, eerie story about getting to find out how it ends, which I think will touch any reader. But if you also have formative memories of a mobile library, or if you've ever returned a deceased parent's library books, then even more so. For me, both are true, so this one had quite the impact, in a good way.

'Horror' is of course a somewhat awkward name for what was perhaps better served by older names like 'weird tales'; for me, crime and thrillers are much more likely to genuinely horrify than the average ghost or beastie. So too here, where the entirely human horrors of Abu Ghraib, and the way an environment like that wrecks the gaolers as surely as it destroys the victims, are the dark heart of the most sickening story, Thumbprints. There's also one science fiction story – something where King too makes only occasional brief forays; it's called All I Care About Is You, and for me would have been successful even without a detail at the vaguest hint of which I'd be spoiling it.

A couple of times – in the story about staircases, and the one told in tweets – I got the impression that the Netgalley ARC was maybe fouling up some of the very deliberate formatting, and thus denting the impact. Despite which, both certainly still work: the former may be a little pat in its moral, but the latter does a great job of digging into the usual cliches about the young people and their screens, unpicking the vast knots of confused and jealous bullshit tangled around the tiny seed of a real concern. The last stories – or at least the last advertised stories – aren't the strongest; Mums, set on the separatist militia scene, is hampered by every development being guessable in advance, while for You Are Released the problem is that it hinges on an apocalyptic scenario which, given how hard imminent ends of everything press on each other's heels these days, feels distinctly season-before-last. But that aside, it's excellent, a tense ensemble piece set in a passenger plane facing a sudden change to the world below, which as such I could easily imagine as a Twilight Zone episode.

After which it's exit via the gift shop, or rather the notes on each story which most collections now seem to include (a development I applaud). The family business is in good hands.

“Her hair is all worms; fat, glistening earthworms that flex and squirm”. One of the many , brilliant parts that has been taken from this wonderful world of fairy tale, creepy wonders.
Joe hill brings us a collection of thirteen tales, each one beautifully written, depicting human struggles and maximising fear with each terrifying story that will leave you wanting more.
Wolverton Station, is my stand out favourite story of the book, a very thought provoking, haunting story that would make you think twice about ordering a double steak, yet the ending was tremendous.
My other favourites was In the Tall Grass, co-written with the wonderful Stephen King, which is absolutely brilliantly terrifying and chilling. A brother and a sister trying helplessly to find a boy that is calling for help in a vast amount of tall grass as far as the eyes can see, yet the nearer they get to him, the further out they go from the road and survival. Yet his voice his heard from their left, their right, and they shout and shout and hours and hours go by, no food, no water........I could not wait to find out if they would find this little boy, it will be a twist when you find out too.
The wonderful story of Late returns, that is a beautiful, woven tale of a grief-stricken librarian that climbs into another world when he receives his late returns, where he travels on a haunting journey, and I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this story, but I was so drawn to this tale and the character. And many more that is full of suspense, terror, excitement and tension.
If your a fan of horror, you will absolutely love this book, it has everything in it from things that go bump in the night, to blood curdling shocking chillers. Each story has something a little different and I enjoyed every single one. I am a life long horror fan and this is this is amazing, looking forward to another instalment.

Unfortunately this just wasn’t for me, the supernatural elements were too much. I don’t think that I’m the target audience for Joe Hills work.

Overall Rating: 3.5 rounded down.

Full Throttle is a collection of thirteen short stories by Joe Hill which I quite enjoyed reading. A few stories I liked a lot but the rest felt mediocre to me. Here are the individual ratings and a few lines of description for each:

Throttle (3 stars): This was a story written with Stephen King about a group of bikers who find themselves in a death chase. Sadly, it failed to impress me. I guess when I saw that Stephen King was a contributor, I had higher expectations.

Dark Carousel (3.5 stars): This was a story about four teenagers who get caught up in some regrettable deeds at the carnival carousel and are subsequently haunted.

Wolverton Station (3.5 stars): Wolves.

By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain (1.5 stars): Weird water monster stuff that I did not enjoy.

Faun (4 stars): I really liked this one. Narnia-like story with an unexpected twist!

Late Returns (5 stars!!!): LOVE this one. I think everyone who reads this book will love it. As Hill himself writes in the Story Notes at the end of the book, <i>I hate the idea of dying when I'm only halfway through a book.</i> Late Returns is the story of a bookmobile that can travel through time. It isn't the classic time-travel that we are used to hearing about, but a much more subtle concept that stays with you long after you've finished reading.

All I Care About Is You (3.5 stars): It was difficult to understand what was happening at the start. This story takes place in the future where Iris, a sixteen-year-old girl is hoping to celebrate her birthday in the grandest way possible. Her family has recently suffered financial losses and due to this she can't afford the luxuries that she was hoping to. She befriends a Clockwork (robot) who spends an hour with her and tries to help fulfil her wishes for the day.

Thumbprint (1.5 stars): This was weird and annoying. An ex-military woman finds letters with thumbprints being sent to her by a stalker. None of the characters were likeable and the story was very…meh.

The Devil on the Staircase (2 stars): Stairs lead to hell. I think this is supposed to be one of those stories that makes you think but I just didn't feel it.

Twittering from the Circus of the Dead (3 stars): This was interesting. A girl keeps posting updates about her family road trip on Twitter and continues to do so after she finds herself in a circus of zombies.

Mums (3 stars): Thirteen-year-old Jack's mother is mentally ill and an alcoholic and she dies after a drunken accident or so he is told. An old lady sells him seeds for a plant that are in no way ordinary and he starts to question his own sanity.

In The Tall Grass (3 stars): This was the second story written with Stephen King. Brother and sister hear a child calling out to them for help from inside a field of tall grass. They get trapped.

You Are Released(4 stars): With all the international tension and the WW3 articles and memes on the internet in the past week, this story felt all too real. War has been declared and the sky is filled with nuclear missiles. The story is told from the perspective of multiple passengers on a plane that prepare themselves for the imminent apocalypse.

[I'd like to thank NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and Joe Hill for this ARC.]

My first read by Joe Hill, but not my last. While, I didn’t enjoy all the stories, I did enjoy most of them, especially the more disturbing ones. I think that it was well written, fun, and chilling. Some were more dark and scary than others, but being they were a collection of short stories, I could quickly bypass the ones that didn’t interest me. Recommend to fans of scary short stories, looking for some chills!
Will make sure I buzz this up on different platforms!

An entertaining, diverse and at times, disturbing set of short stories. The two co-writes with Stephen King are amongst the highlights, with 'Throttle' easy to imagine as a film with a Blue Oyster Cult soundtrack, perfect! The collection's real stand out 'Late Returns', a ghostly tale with a sentimental edge to it.

Joe Hill is adept at the short story, with plenty of ideas and 'Full Throttle' is one to enjoy and savour.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love Joe Hill’s writing I’m currently reading NOS4A2 and my god his writing is addictive.

This short story collection is (from what I can think of) is my only short story collection that isn’t connected to another series.

These stories are interesting and amazing and full of WTF moments that I love.

The only reasons it’s not 5 for me is because some stories just weren’t for me but writing was still on point and some I felt didn’t wrap up nicely or feel complete.

This is definitely great for those who want to have a little taster of his writing.

One of the best short story collections I have ever read.
Each story is so different in plot yet so similar in tone. I think if you like one story in this collection you will like them all.
Each short story is unsettling in their own way.

This book was unputdownable.

My second foray into Joe Hill's writing and currently working my way through his back catalogue - that should tell you all you need to know. He's a master of the short story format, packing an incredible amount into such compressed spaces. The title of the book is spot on, as I raced through this in a few sessions.

I love Joe Hill, but I think I love his full length novels best. There are a couple of great stories in here but there are some that I struggled with.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a new full length novel sometime soon.

I am so incredibly grateful to have recieved a copy of this book - I adore Joe Hill, so this has been one of my most exciting finds on Netgalley. Thank you so much to the publishers for granting my wish.

On the book itself, all I can really say is that this is another great collection of short stories from Joe. I loved how different each of the stories was (although it's clear that they all came from the same crazy, warped mind!)

All of Joe's writing is great, but I think he's at his best when writing short stories and these are some of his best yet. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a short story with a creepy/twisted edge.

Another fantastic book of short stories from the wonderfully warped imagination of Joe Hill. He is one of my favourite authors and never disappoints. I am now re-reading his amazing anti-Christmas novel, NOS4R2.