Discovering Joe Hill: A New Year, A New Favorite?

It was the last week of December 2024 when I first stumbled upon Joe Hill’s Ushers. The year was going to end soon and in a desire to increase my ‘read’ count, I was devouring a series of Amazon Original Stories on Kindle. It also helped that many of these authors were new to me and I was reading a variety of stuff without investing myself for a longish time in any one work. (God knows how many unread books have piled up in my list in the past few years.) Hill’s name had floated into my periphery before, often with whispers of “Stephen King’s son” trailing behind it. But Ushers wasn’t an introduction to the son of a legend; it was a revelation of a storyteller in his own right. (Also didn’t know that the Netflix show Locke & Key is based on his work. Had enjoyed season 1, will get back at it again now I know the writer behind the series.)

Ushers as a story gripped me from the start. Martin Lorensen, the young counselor with a talent for cheating death, and those eerie “ushers” created a perfect blend of the strange and philosophical. By the time I swiped to the end, I was a little rattled and entirely sold on Joe Hill.

Fast forward to mid-Jan. 2025, and my year has begun with another of his shorter works: The Pram. (I’m also halfway through Ann Pratchett’s ‘These Precious Days - hoping it doesn’t end up in the ‘unfinished’ books pile!) Okay, coming back to The Pram. Here, Hill’s knack for layering human grief with the uncanny shines again. This time, it’s Willy and Marianne—two hearts weighed down by loss—trapped in a Maine farmhouse where an old baby stroller carries echoes of something both tender and terrifying. Hill doesn’t just tell a ghost story; he tells our ghost stories—the ones we carry in our hearts, the ones we don’t quite know how to set down.

It’s safe to say Hill is growing on me. Two stories in, and I’m already eyeing his longer works. Should I dive into NOS4A2 next? Or maybe The Fireman? If you’ve read his novels, I’d love your recommendations. Which of his works has left a mark on you?

For now, though, I’ll carry the lingering chills of Ushers and The Pram. Here’s to discovering new voices, new stories, and new favorites in the year ahead.