3.5 out of 5
Contrary to the title of this book, it's very light on ghost stories. Out of the 16 stories, including the hidden one in the Acknowledgments, only three were about ghosts.
The book was interesting and although I struggle to find contentment with short stories, as I've mentioned before, I enjoyed them and wanted to know more. Joe Hill is particularly good at adding insult to injury for me by ending some of the tales rather abruptly and in an odd manner.
Also, his writing style reminded me a lot of Neil Gamon; main characters of young boys, frightening father figures, sexual honesty that I can't relate to, and an air of creepiness that leaves me grateful that I am only reading about such situations.
I really enjoyed the story
Pop Art even though it had such a strong vein of sadness. As with many of the titles,
Pop Art is a sneaky, misleading title. At least three of the stories involved baseball. which I always enjoy. There were tales of supposition of Bram Stoker's sons, the manager of a major league baseball team, and even the filming of a George Romero movie. The mention of Lovecraft caught my attention early on in the book and easy comparisons could be made.
My favorites where
Pop Art,
20th Century Ghost, The Cape, Voluntary Committal, and
Scheherazade's Typewriter. All in all, the book had interesting characters with intelligent writing squeezed into brief packets of ghastliness.
I'm not sure I can give this book the rating it deserves since I find myself so irritated with short stories. :(
