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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
It's most likely me, BUT
This was a hard to get short story collection. Most were just chapters torn out of a bigger story and the guys who tore these chapters were pretty insensitive or dumb. They sure were not being nice to the ones who picked up the pieces coz none looked complete.
They didn't conform to the original concept of a short story. A beginning, a middle and the end.
Some were better reads than others, many were left to imagination and/or closure and then some were abrupt.
The style was impeccably him tho. It's the stories that didn't carry me through.
Of course, am hugely aware that this was written by Mr. King. The Stephen King. I love his novels and I love his style of writing and he remains one of my favorite authors, but unfortunately this set/collection didn't do much for me.
HOWEVER, I must add that the highlight of the book was his notes preceding each story. LOVED them all. They provided insight into the birth of the story or the triggers that led to writing them or the situations and premise that they provided.
This was a hard to get short story collection. Most were just chapters torn out of a bigger story and the guys who tore these chapters were pretty insensitive or dumb. They sure were not being nice to the ones who picked up the pieces coz none looked complete.
They didn't conform to the original concept of a short story. A beginning, a middle and the end.
Some were better reads than others, many were left to imagination and/or closure and then some were abrupt.
The style was impeccably him tho. It's the stories that didn't carry me through.
Of course, am hugely aware that this was written by Mr. King. The Stephen King. I love his novels and I love his style of writing and he remains one of my favorite authors, but unfortunately this set/collection didn't do much for me.
HOWEVER, I must add that the highlight of the book was his notes preceding each story. LOVED them all. They provided insight into the birth of the story or the triggers that led to writing them or the situations and premise that they provided.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
A pretty solid mix of shorts. There’s a recurring theme of mortality and death in this collection—not dissimilar to many of King’s longer works, but also not entirely the same. I particularly enjoyed the short about the Kindle with glimpses of alternate realities and the one about a couple debating beating a child on video for money.
dark
mysterious
tense
dark
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Some short stories are weaker than others, but what a collection overall! Many of these have stuck when I first attempted and failed a read a significant while ago. Death, comedy and King - the best combination.
Well, I finally plowed through this long-awaited SK short story collection. It was brilliant. Only 3 out of all the stories failed to captivate me, and mostly just for personal reasons. The two that stood out the most as an absolutely brilliant piece of SK work would be Ur & Under the Weather. The rest were absolutely fantastic as well (like the Bone Church - who saw that coming? Just awesome). But Ur was so captivating as a vintage king story but with newer concepts (kind of how I felt about Revival). And Under The Weather just sort of .. stuck with me, you know? Surprisingly for such a long book I flew through it (when I had the time) and it will definitely be a book I reread. The only reason it's not getting 5 stars is because of the final story. I couldn't get through it. I didn't want to get through it , and not because it wasn't well written but because, well, I'm sensitive to the deaths of animals (sorry, spoiler alert). Kill off any human in a story and I'm like whatever. An animal, especially a dog.. Well ... I'm wreck. Chose not to put myself through that and closed the book haha . 4 out of 5! Brilliant king !
Read harder challenge: read a horror book!
my first Stephen King! I tried reading "Dreamcatcher" before but failed! I liked this collection of stories though the horror wasn't enough for me, most of the stories were harsh but so stuck in the real world that it took me by surprise that the author is King. I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
1- (Mile 81) - 3 stars: First of all, the reference to his son's book (Locke and Key) was amusing.
The idea of a "good samaritan" is the focus here. It has been the focus of many stories and movies, but this take is definitely bizarre, but not that new.
2- (Premium Harmony) - 2 stars: The intro before every story -giving background and whatnot- has to be one of the best things about this book. As for this story, there was no horror, only cruelty. I didn't like that much.
3- (Batman and Robin have an altercation) - 3 stars: Another not scary story. I hate reading a book labeled "horror" to find stories about Alzheimer's and life disturbances. It's not a bad story, but not what you'd expect from a horror book.
4- (The Dune) - 5 stars: LOVED THIS! creepy and engaging, knowing of death ahead of time is always interesting as a plot.
5- (Bad Little Kid) - 4.5 stars: This sent chills down my spine. typical horror yet extremely unique. I like how the horror stories in this aren't your typical ghosts and demons stories, he mixes it with the ordinary in a brilliant way.
6- (A Death) - 4 stars: This collection consists of either horror stories or real-life cruel stories, as I've come to realize. This is a cruel murder story, not terrifying, but definitely interesting.
7- (The Bone Church) - 1 star: A story told in poem-like verses. It's not a poem nor a story. I didn't like it, the way it was constructed puzzled me and made me lose sight of the story. He should stay away from poetry!
8- (A morality) - 2.5 stars: These were some big consequences for a moral act that's not that effective, I mean King's intro before this story would've made a better story than this.
9- (Afterlife) - 4.5 stars: A new imagination of the afterlife, and it makes me want to read more afterlife imaginations by King. I really enjoyed this one.
10- (Ur) - 5 stars: A story of books and alternate worlds? I DIG THIS. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me want to have a kindle of my own.
11- (Herman Wouk is still alive) - 3 stars: That's quite a harsh look on life, and it includes a car accident. I'm starting to believe the short stories in this collection are either cool horror stories or depressing stories about life, not that's a bad thing, but I was expecting more horror than this.
12- (Under the Weather) - 4.5 stars: Is it a good or a bad sign that I figured the ending and plot just 2-3 pages into the story? I'm becoming scared of how easily I'm able to predict horror stories. But I liked the chilliness of this.
13- (Blockade Billy) - 1 star: A story about baseball, which I didn't care for. The bad thing is that he didn't make it relatable to those who aren't fans or know nothing about the sport.
14- (Mister Yummy) - 4 stars: This was both sweet and creepy.
15- (Tommy) - 1 star: Another poetry-like thing I didn't like!
16- (The little green god of agony) - 4 stars: A different take on exorcism that I really liked!
17- (The bus in another world) - 3 stars: It's amazing how selfishness and cowardliness go hand-in-hand in this story. I enjoyed the everyday aspect of it with a tinge of terror.
18- (Obits) - 4 stars: Classic!
19- (Drunken Fireworks) - 3 stars: what a weird story - about fireworks rivalry.
20- (Summer Thunder) - 4 stars: A dog named Gandalf and a good old story about a post-apocalyptic world.
my first Stephen King! I tried reading "Dreamcatcher" before but failed! I liked this collection of stories though the horror wasn't enough for me, most of the stories were harsh but so stuck in the real world that it took me by surprise that the author is King. I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
1- (Mile 81) - 3 stars: First of all, the reference to his son's book (Locke and Key) was amusing.
The idea of a "good samaritan" is the focus here. It has been the focus of many stories and movies, but this take is definitely bizarre, but not that new.
2- (Premium Harmony) - 2 stars: The intro before every story -giving background and whatnot- has to be one of the best things about this book. As for this story, there was no horror, only cruelty. I didn't like that much.
3- (Batman and Robin have an altercation) - 3 stars: Another not scary story. I hate reading a book labeled "horror" to find stories about Alzheimer's and life disturbances. It's not a bad story, but not what you'd expect from a horror book.
4- (The Dune) - 5 stars: LOVED THIS! creepy and engaging, knowing of death ahead of time is always interesting as a plot.
5- (Bad Little Kid) - 4.5 stars: This sent chills down my spine. typical horror yet extremely unique. I like how the horror stories in this aren't your typical ghosts and demons stories, he mixes it with the ordinary in a brilliant way.
6- (A Death) - 4 stars: This collection consists of either horror stories or real-life cruel stories, as I've come to realize. This is a cruel murder story, not terrifying, but definitely interesting.
7- (The Bone Church) - 1 star: A story told in poem-like verses. It's not a poem nor a story. I didn't like it, the way it was constructed puzzled me and made me lose sight of the story. He should stay away from poetry!
8- (A morality) - 2.5 stars: These were some big consequences for a moral act that's not that effective, I mean King's intro before this story would've made a better story than this.
9- (Afterlife) - 4.5 stars: A new imagination of the afterlife, and it makes me want to read more afterlife imaginations by King. I really enjoyed this one.
10- (Ur) - 5 stars: A story of books and alternate worlds? I DIG THIS. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me want to have a kindle of my own.
11- (Herman Wouk is still alive) - 3 stars: That's quite a harsh look on life, and it includes a car accident. I'm starting to believe the short stories in this collection are either cool horror stories or depressing stories about life, not that's a bad thing, but I was expecting more horror than this.
12- (Under the Weather) - 4.5 stars: Is it a good or a bad sign that I figured the ending and plot just 2-3 pages into the story? I'm becoming scared of how easily I'm able to predict horror stories. But I liked the chilliness of this.
13- (Blockade Billy) - 1 star: A story about baseball, which I didn't care for. The bad thing is that he didn't make it relatable to those who aren't fans or know nothing about the sport.
14- (Mister Yummy) - 4 stars: This was both sweet and creepy.
15- (Tommy) - 1 star: Another poetry-like thing I didn't like!
16- (The little green god of agony) - 4 stars: A different take on exorcism that I really liked!
17- (The bus in another world) - 3 stars: It's amazing how selfishness and cowardliness go hand-in-hand in this story. I enjoyed the everyday aspect of it with a tinge of terror.
18- (Obits) - 4 stars: Classic!
19- (Drunken Fireworks) - 3 stars: what a weird story - about fireworks rivalry.
20- (Summer Thunder) - 4 stars: A dog named Gandalf and a good old story about a post-apocalyptic world.
A solid collection of short fiction as well as a couple of poems by the ever prolific Mr. King. I especially enjoyed experiencing his poetry for the first time, and more than a few of the stories in this collection warranted palpable reactions.