April 25 - "You Will Hear the Locust Sing"

“You Will Hear the Locust Sing”
by Joe Hill
20th Century Ghosts (2007)

* * * * (Great) Science Fiction

Francis woke up one morning to find that he had shed his human skin for a more insect existence. Terrified of people’s reaction to his transformation, Francis hides to plan his next move.

When I read the blub for this story on the back of the collection I immediately pictured a B-movie bug terrorizing some small town in the 1950’s. While I wasn’t far off in my imagination, the story ends up being better than that, better than I expected, really. Tales from the monster’s point-of-view are nothing new, and there have been many great ones (i.e. Grendel), so what sets this story above the merely mediocre? The character of Francis, bug boy, is expertly crafted. He’s given the backstory and development that allows us to care about his metamorphosis and eventual rampage. Throw in some mighty fine writing and all the elements of an entertaining read are present.