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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I listened to this collection of short stories at the recommendation of my husband, who is a *huge* Stephen King fan. I've read Firestarter and Salem's Lot, and enjoyed both, as well as many film adaptations of his works (Pet Semetary, The Mist, The Shining, etc.), so I was excited to venture into his short stories. I opted to listen to this as opposed to reading it as we already had the audiobook. Unfortunately, this was a total slog and I did not enjoy the majority of it.
My biggest complaint is that in nearly every story (almost all of which are told from a male's point of view) describe the breast size, hair color and presumed intelligence of the female characters, but mention absolutely nothing about the physical appearance or intelligence of the men.
I guess you could chalk it up to "the times" as it was released in 1985, but it not only felt like King was belittling women, but also that his editors were incredibly lazy. It became so repetitive and boring to listen to - I could even predict the timing of when the mention of a woman's bust would come up.
Additionally, almost every story includes a very long, drawn out back-story that never ends up feeling relevant most of the time. Many of the stories timed out to be an hour or longer, most of which is just lead-up to an ending that falls short.
Another thing I noticed is that in most of the stories included in this book, there are often several characters, all of whom are given a first and last name. This made things unnecessarily complicated and hard to keep track of, especially with the aforementioned back-stories. I found myself continually zoning out and having to rewind (or in most cases, not even bothering to) to try and make sense of the story.
The only stories worth listening to, in my humble opinion, are:
The Jaunt
Survivor Type
Word Processor of the Gods
My biggest complaint is that in nearly every story (almost all of which are told from a male's point of view) describe the breast size, hair color and presumed intelligence of the female characters, but mention absolutely nothing about the physical appearance or intelligence of the men.
I guess you could chalk it up to "the times" as it was released in 1985, but it not only felt like King was belittling women, but also that his editors were incredibly lazy. It became so repetitive and boring to listen to - I could even predict the timing of when the mention of a woman's bust would come up.
Additionally, almost every story includes a very long, drawn out back-story that never ends up feeling relevant most of the time. Many of the stories timed out to be an hour or longer, most of which is just lead-up to an ending that falls short.
Another thing I noticed is that in most of the stories included in this book, there are often several characters, all of whom are given a first and last name. This made things unnecessarily complicated and hard to keep track of, especially with the aforementioned back-stories. I found myself continually zoning out and having to rewind (or in most cases, not even bothering to) to try and make sense of the story.
The only stories worth listening to, in my humble opinion, are:
The Jaunt
Survivor Type
Word Processor of the Gods
this collection had some of the most creepy and best King stories.
Long and long and long ago, I was a lad at camp, and one of my councillors would read The Monkey from this anthology. God, he did it well. The sinister glee with which he narrated the monkey, the relish with which he incanted the sinister "Chang...Chang...Chang" of the monkey's cymbals. No one slept. A few probably wet themselves. Perfection.
That's a great memory, but the book's better.
There are great stories. Mrs Todd's Shortcut, one of my all-time favorite stories. Word Processor of the Gods, dated but glorious. The Reapers Image, a delightful slow burn. And, of course, The Monkey which is a goddamn gem.
And there are creepy stories. The Raft, WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO FUCK, STEPHEN?!? (But still good). Uncle Otto's Truck answering the question about whether or not you could be scared of random trucks on blocks (yes, fuck yes). Gramma (fuck this story, jesus christ).
And there are other stories in this book, that I legitimately love: Here there be Tygers, The fucking MIST, and The goddamn Jaunt.
What a great anthology. If you are a fan of horror, oh, what a treat. However you feel about Stephen King, read this. It's as good as it gets.
That's a great memory, but the book's better.
There are great stories. Mrs Todd's Shortcut, one of my all-time favorite stories. Word Processor of the Gods, dated but glorious. The Reapers Image, a delightful slow burn. And, of course, The Monkey which is a goddamn gem.
And there are creepy stories. The Raft, WHY DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO FUCK, STEPHEN?!? (But still good). Uncle Otto's Truck answering the question about whether or not you could be scared of random trucks on blocks (yes, fuck yes). Gramma (fuck this story, jesus christ).
And there are other stories in this book, that I legitimately love: Here there be Tygers, The fucking MIST, and The goddamn Jaunt.
What a great anthology. If you are a fan of horror, oh, what a treat. However you feel about Stephen King, read this. It's as good as it gets.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a collection of short stories, novellas and poems, and overall, it was just terrible. There were a few alright stories and a few good ideas, one story I really enjoyed, a sprinkling of ridiculously unnecessary sex scenes, but most of all, there was a crap tonne of absolute nonsense which resulted in a complete waste of time for the most part. And most of that time was me sitting in traffic and it still felt like a waste. I can’t believe this is the same writer as my favourite ever book
Ratings & Rankings:
1) The Jaunt - 5
2) The Raft - 5
3) The Mist - 4.5
4) Nona - 4
5) Word Processor Of The Gods - 3.5
6) Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet - 3.5
7) Beachworld - 3.5
8) Here There Be Tygers - 3.5
9) Survivor Type - 3
10) The Reach - 3
11) Cain Rose Up - 3
12) Milkman 1&2 (Morning Deliveries/Big Wheels) - 3
13) Paranoid: A Chant - 3
14) The Monkey - 2.5
15) The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - 2.5
16) The Reapers Image - 2.5
17) Mrs.Todd's Shortcut - 2.5
18) The Wedding Gift - 2.5
19) Uncle Otto's Truck - 2
20) Gramma - 2
21) For Owen
1) The Jaunt - 5
2) The Raft - 5
3) The Mist - 4.5
4) Nona - 4
5) Word Processor Of The Gods - 3.5
6) Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet - 3.5
7) Beachworld - 3.5
8) Here There Be Tygers - 3.5
9) Survivor Type - 3
10) The Reach - 3
11) Cain Rose Up - 3
12) Milkman 1&2 (Morning Deliveries/Big Wheels) - 3
13) Paranoid: A Chant - 3
14) The Monkey - 2.5
15) The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - 2.5
16) The Reapers Image - 2.5
17) Mrs.Todd's Shortcut - 2.5
18) The Wedding Gift - 2.5
19) Uncle Otto's Truck - 2
20) Gramma - 2
21) For Owen
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The Mist, The Raft, Survivor Type, The Jaunt, Ms.Todd's Shortcut, Beachworld, Nona, Word Processor of Gods, Gramma, so many amazing stories, I just loved this collection. Taking away 0.5 of a star because after reading two short story collections by King in a row (Night Shift first, then this) I got over the genre a bit and didn't actually finish some stories, like Milk delivery 2, I just lost the desire to finish.
Someday I might pick up Salem's Lot or The Shinning or Misery, who knows, but I need to take a break from King for now.
Still I'd definitely recommend this book to a friend!
Someday I might pick up Salem's Lot or The Shinning or Misery, who knows, but I need to take a break from King for now.
Still I'd definitely recommend this book to a friend!