Review: A solid, intriguing thriller that gives you the best of both authors
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2013
Co-authoring is always a fascinating, risky idea; there's always the chance that instead of getting something more than the sum of its parts, you lose the personality or strengths of the authors. But in the case of father-son team Stephen King and Joe Hill, that issue never comes up. Their first collaboration, Throttle, finds them pitting a motorcycle gang against a murderous truck driver in a road battle that's brutal, tense, and horrifying. It's an acknowledged tribute to Richard Matheson's Duel, but by giving a window into the purpose behind the driver's rage, Hill and King transform the story from a horror tale into a suspense piece, one that's driven as much by family and character as anything - a fitting change, given Hill and King's strengths as writers. Throttle absolutely flies, and it's a joy to find King and Hill playing with an intriguing batch of characters and turning it into fantastic suspense. It's well worth the low cost for such an enjoyable piece of storytelling.