20th Century Ghosts

Hill, Joe

3.9

45,178 ratings by Goodreads

ISBN 10: 0061671363 ISBN 13: 9780061671364

Publisher: Harperaudio, 2008

A dazzlingly original, award-winning collection of visions and nightmares from the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box.

Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon on an afternoon in 1945 . . . Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town . . . Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing . . . John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead . . .

The past isn't dead. It isn't even past . . .

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Review:

"Irresistible stories." -- Evening Herald (Ireland)

"Subtle and disturbing in equal measure." -- Coventry Telegraph on 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS

Irresistible stories. --Evening Herald (Ireland)

"Subtle and disturbing in equal measure."--Coventry Telegraph on 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS

"[O]ne of the best [horror] collections of the year. Hill is a relative newcomer who consistently creates creepy, very disturbing stories."--Locus

"This solid, inventive, scary collection of stories reveals a writer who has thought hard about the problematics of horror."--New York Times on 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS

"[A] new take on the fantasy-horror genre...Highly recommended."--The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia)

"[An] inventive collection . . . brave and astute."--New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)

"Each tale is unique, and the collection proves that Hill's talent is not limited to horror, but extends well into the mainstream."--Denver Rocky Mountain News

"Irresistible stories."--Evening Herald (Ireland)

From the Publisher:

Dear Readers

Every once in a while, a book -- and, indeed, a writer -- comes along that takes the wind right out of your sails: and I mean that in the most pleasant way possible. 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS is that book, as fine a collection of ghost and horror stories as you could ever wish to read. And Joe Hill is that writer.

Although some of these stories have appeared elsewhere, in various (albeit obscure or very low circulation) magazines, Joe has appeared on the scene pretty much fully-formed. Every one of these tales could be mistaken for the output of a writer well into his or her career. But don't take my word for it -- evidence of his skill as as a storyteller is already there . . . with Joe being a past winner of the Ray Bradbury Fellowship and the A.E. Coppard Long Fiction Prize, as well as a nominee for the Pushcart Prize. And now he's got TWO stories in the five-story shortlist for this year's British Fantasy Awards. I suspect more nominations will follow. Don't say you weren't warned.

And we're putting our money where our mouth is on this one. We've got three editions instead of our usual two: a slipcased edition with extra material and signed by Joe and Introducer Chris Golden; a regular trade hardcover edition, signed by Joe and a trade paperback edition, unsigned.

Believe me, this one's a winner. And while you're at it, check out our website pspublishing.co.uk -- for many other titles from the cream of today's practitioners in SF, Fantasy and Horror . . . new talents and household names alike, and from both sides of the Atlantic.

Happy reading!

Pete Crowther

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