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bookbelle5_17's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Review of Skeleton Crew
By: Stephen King
This is one of King’s collections of short stories, though some of them aren’t that short, starting with The Mist. Like most collections I liked some stories more than others and the collection had a mixture of creepy as well as fun concepts, but some were meh. It does demonstrate that King isn’t just a horror writer, but good character writer and is able to write in other genres. I enjoyed The Jaunt, a science fiction story, about a machine that’s like the Transporters in Star Trek, but instead of looking at as a cool advancement it shows the risks involved. Another favorite is “The Monkey” where a toy monkey decides people’s fates. I love the idea of a toy being a threat and how possibly our protagonist might be crazy. The “Word Processor of the Gods” is about a man being given a whole made word processor from his nephew, which can delete and return people. This begs the question of what you would you do this situation. “Gramma” is about a boy who fears being alone his dying his grandmother. It is relatable with the discomfort of having to taking care of your grandparents as the grow old and become cranky and irritable. Some of the stories left me confused or unsatisfied like “Here There be Tygers”, “The Wedding Gig”, and “Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game”. I must admit I had to look up other’s reviews just to see what happened in “Morning Deliveries”. “The Raft”, “Nona”, and “Uncle Otto’s Truck” were unsettling and creepy while “Beachworld” and “The Reach” were boring for me. “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet” deals with a favorite theme of mine, which is a character losing their mind. Even with the boring stories he writes authentic characters that feel real. With his shorter works King is blunt in a more instantaneous with the horror because the length of the stories is shorter, so he doesn’t take as much time to get to know the characters and build towards the horror when it’s there, though not all the stories have horror elements, or the horror is subtle. Of course, he has characters that are alcoholics, cocaine addicts, and writers. Each of these stories have something of King’s usual uncomfortable content like villains, or unlikable characters, being described as fat in a grotesque way and men with vulgar minds. And of course, the females are overly sexy, mean, or too passive, which is a downside of some of his work. This collection was just okay, but I did like some of the stories, so I’m content with my reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Addiction, Violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
jakobvongunten's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Suicide, and Child death
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, and Misogyny
Minor: Pedophilia
_penny_'s review against another edition
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
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
gwimo's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Some stories I liked, some I didn't. I understand this isn't the full audiobook - something that Libby didn't tell me about when I checked it out from the library. It consists of only 4 of the 22 stories from Skeleton Crew - something that should have been obvious when I checked out the audiobook as it was only about 5hrs long.
What gets me though, is King's use of a certain n-word. Since I normally don't read books by him, I never realized how freely he used - or still uses (like I said, he isn't an author I read often) - the word. Hearing Matthew Broderick reading it somehow made it worse for me. I guess someone could tell me that the stories were a product of their time, but most of them are about as old as I am. Doesn't make it right, does it?
"The Raft" is a personal favorite of mine, strictly because of its adaptation featured in one of the Creepshow movies, I believe the second one. It never occurred to me, though it should have, that it was written by Stephen King. This is my first "read" of the short story, and it will probably be something I revisit in the near future as I own a copy of the collection.
"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" is another story I want to revisit because the narrator's voice sort of made me want to snooze. Just wasn't feeling it, but the concept of the story seems interesting.
"The Monkey" is another favorite of mine, because I remember seeing the cover as a child and being both frightened and intrigued by the book. Funnily enough, that seemed to be its purpose. Matthew Broderick gave a wonderful presentation of the story - racist language aside, obviously - but I've been in love with the man since I can remember so I might be a little bias.
I put the next review as a spoiler because, I don't know. It might be considered one by most people.
"Gramma" gave me the chills. I related to George a little - his reluctance at giving his grandmother a hug that is; although my grandmother was sweet and loving and not at all a witch. But the idea of her passing while I was alone with her always had crossed my mind. That in itself is a terrifying concept for a child, but watching her come back? Blood chilling.
What gets me though, is King's use of a certain n-word. Since I normally don't read books by him, I never realized how freely he used - or still uses (like I said, he isn't an author I read often) - the word. Hearing Matthew Broderick reading it somehow made it worse for me. I guess someone could tell me that the stories were a product of their time, but most of them are about as old as I am. Doesn't make it right, does it?
"The Raft" is a personal favorite of mine, strictly because of its adaptation featured in one of the Creepshow movies, I believe the second one. It never occurred to me, though it should have, that it was written by Stephen King. This is my first "read" of the short story, and it will probably be something I revisit in the near future as I own a copy of the collection.
"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" is another story I want to revisit because the narrator's voice sort of made me want to snooze. Just wasn't feeling it, but the concept of the story seems interesting.
"The Monkey" is another favorite of mine, because I remember seeing the cover as a child and being both frightened and intrigued by the book. Funnily enough, that seemed to be its purpose. Matthew Broderick gave a wonderful presentation of the story - racist language aside, obviously - but I've been in love with the man since I can remember so I might be a little bias.
I put the next review as a spoiler because, I don't know. It might be considered one by most people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Misogyny
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