Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

5 reviews

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Skeleton Crew is another fun collection by Stephen King in the classic era. But this time the stories are either VERY long and very short, and there's little inbetween.

The Mist - This one kicks off the collection for good reason: it's the longest by far. King does a great job at thrusting normal people with normal thoughts into this impossible situation. 8/10.

Here There Be Tygers - Alright. 4/10.

The Monkey - A nice take on the classic haunted doll story. 7/10.

Cain Rose Up - Unsettling in the idea that such an idea was so fantastical back then. A grim precursor to King's Rage. 7.5/10.

Mrs. Todd's Shortcut - King always surprises me with the less scary stuff. This one was sweet with the perfect touch of magic. 8.5/10.

The Jaunt - Yeah. Very nice. 9/10.

The Wedding Gig - A fun setting, but a rather straightforward plot keeps it from sticking out in memory. 6.5/10.

Paranoid: A Chant - Well done poem. 6.5/10.

The Raft - Disgusting, awful, excruciatingly detailed in the worst ways. 8.5/10.

Word Processor of the Gods - I think King mentioned this one was the earliest that he wrote, and you can tell. But it's a fun idea treated like nothing more. 7.5/10.

The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - I liked this one! I wasn't exactly sure what was going on until the end. 8/10.

Beachworld - Love love love when King does the weird-space-horror. The vibes of this one are so strange yet serene. Madcap yet cozy. 9.5/10.

The Reaper's Image - Classic concept and well done, but fairly short. 7/10.

Nona - I couldn't place the meaning of a certain furry element of the story, but otherwise enjoyed it. 7.5/10.

For Owen - A cute message to his son, preceding a story about cannibalism. 7/10.

Survivor Type - Disgusting. 7.5/10.

Uncle Otto's Truck - King loves his murderous vehicles, and for some reason so do I. 8/10.

Morning Deliveries - bad milk man. 6.5/10.

Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game - They did my car guy dirty, but that's all I remember. 7.5/10.

Gramma - An unexpected surprise, considering I'd never heard of it. 8.5/10.

The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - ANOTHER surprise. This one takes its time, but I found myself very invested in this paranoia-driven recounting that uneasily mirrors some modern day fears. 9.5/10.

The Reach - Very nice. 8.5/10.

Overall, a few more misses than Night Shift, but the stories that are good are still great. 7.5/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Death, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Confinement, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Child death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Sexism, Death of parent, and Mental illness

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Infidelity

daisymaytwizell's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Kind of a mixed bag, but for the most part King's talent for writing tension pulls the stories through even if the individual concept doesn't hook you. "The Mist" is obviously phenomenal, and some of my other favourites were "The Raft", "Mrs Todd's Shortcut", and "Word Processor of the Gods". The Milkman mythos intrigued me and "Survivor Type" disgusted me, which probably means it was good.

Would trigger warning "The Monkey" specifically for racially insensitive language, "Survivor Type" for drug abuse, "Cain Rose Up" for a school shooting, and a confusing majority of these stories for drink-driving.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Cannibalism, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Racism

Minor: Cancer and Car accident

ripxw's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Violence, and Gore

Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Child death

jakobvongunten's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Suicide, and Child death

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Misogyny

Minor: Pedophilia

_penny_'s review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Car accident, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt