Strange Weather

Written by: Joe Hill

First line: Shelly Beukes stood at the bottom of the driveway, squinting up at our pink-sandstone ranch as if she had never seen it before.

Why you should read this book: Three perfect contemporary speculative novellas featuring interesting and nuanced protagonists in strange circumstances, and one brutal non-speculative novella, "Loaded," with a horror scenario so realistic it seems surprising it hasn't actually happened yet. The technology components that make "Rain" and "Aloft" work also seem just within the realm of possibility, but it's the characters—strong, scared, scarred, and real—that drag the reader into all these worlds so close to our own. Lots to love in this fast-paced collection.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Gun violence.