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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Just wasn’t holding my attention but may come back to it
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
You Like It Darker by Stephen King
A diverse collection of stories written by Stephen King to tease our horrified taste buds. Displaying various moods and settings, surely a story for everyone to enjoy. Is this group of tales worth your time?
Contrarian: a person who takes an opposing view, especially one who rejects the majority opinion. I will be that person, and I am OK with it.
After scouring through tale after tale, I was about 75% done and realized, Is this it? This is what the hype has been about? I completely understand we are talking about “THE” horror icon that is Stephen King, but never once did I feel blown away by this 500+ page endeavor. That isn’t to say it is not worth an avid fan's time and effort; as I stated before, there will be something in here for everyone. Perhaps in my case Stephen King is a victim of his own popularity; maybe I am grading him on an unfair scale. That is a valid point, for he is the gold standard in the horror genre, and I might be seeking more from him than other authors. Truth be told, I was itching to read this. I wanted to get my grubby little hands on it and devour it. Upon finishing, I was left satisfied and yet let down in my lofty expectations. My favorites were undoubtedly "The Answer Man," "Rattlesnakes," and "The Turbulence Expert" out of the whole. "Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream," while interesting, seemed to linger a tad too long. The rest didn’t resonate, and for me that is about a 25% success rate of entertainment in my book.
Reading about ghostly twins wishing to be pushed around in a pram with squeaky wheels, I had some hope. Skipping ahead nicely into a story that touched upon a real fear of mine, flying. Terrifying me to the core and had me reconsidering vacation flight plans for next summer. The wittiness of The Answer Man had me chuckling at the dialog between him and “Just Phil.”
All in all, it was fine. I accept the fact I am in the minority, but in this case I can’t be persuaded to give it any more than 3.25 out of 5 stars, rounding down to a modest 3 stars.
A diverse collection of stories written by Stephen King to tease our horrified taste buds. Displaying various moods and settings, surely a story for everyone to enjoy. Is this group of tales worth your time?
Contrarian: a person who takes an opposing view, especially one who rejects the majority opinion. I will be that person, and I am OK with it.
After scouring through tale after tale, I was about 75% done and realized, Is this it? This is what the hype has been about? I completely understand we are talking about “THE” horror icon that is Stephen King, but never once did I feel blown away by this 500+ page endeavor. That isn’t to say it is not worth an avid fan's time and effort; as I stated before, there will be something in here for everyone. Perhaps in my case Stephen King is a victim of his own popularity; maybe I am grading him on an unfair scale. That is a valid point, for he is the gold standard in the horror genre, and I might be seeking more from him than other authors. Truth be told, I was itching to read this. I wanted to get my grubby little hands on it and devour it. Upon finishing, I was left satisfied and yet let down in my lofty expectations. My favorites were undoubtedly "The Answer Man," "Rattlesnakes," and "The Turbulence Expert" out of the whole. "Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream," while interesting, seemed to linger a tad too long. The rest didn’t resonate, and for me that is about a 25% success rate of entertainment in my book.
Reading about ghostly twins wishing to be pushed around in a pram with squeaky wheels, I had some hope. Skipping ahead nicely into a story that touched upon a real fear of mine, flying. Terrifying me to the core and had me reconsidering vacation flight plans for next summer. The wittiness of The Answer Man had me chuckling at the dialog between him and “Just Phil.”
All in all, it was fine. I accept the fact I am in the minority, but in this case I can’t be persuaded to give it any more than 3.25 out of 5 stars, rounding down to a modest 3 stars.
Sometimes, when I think I don't like short stories, I just need to read some good ones (except the snake one. that one was terrifying)
nothing wrong with it it just didn't make me want to read it
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
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
Great short story collection, all of them were good, two or three were great. A good mix of lengths as well
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.25⭐️ I feel gaslit by all of these 5 star reviews.
Okay, so this might be a weird complaint, but Stephen King could barely get through a single story without bringing up the male anatomy… and honestly, it was just weird. Add to that the fact that I’m not really an anthology person to begin with, and this collection just didn’t do it for me. Most of the stories felt like random ideas he had that never fully came to fruition.
Don’t get me wrong—he’s still the King of creepy, which is the only reason I stuck it out. Plus, it’s the start of fall and I was craving something spooky to set the mood.
Also - possible unpopular opinion… I could not stand how much he brought up Covid. I read fiction to escape real life, not be reminded of it. Please and thank you.
In the end, I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I’d recommend it either. I only kind of liked one story, and even that one was almost a DNF.
Okay, so this might be a weird complaint, but Stephen King could barely get through a single story without bringing up the male anatomy… and honestly, it was just weird. Add to that the fact that I’m not really an anthology person to begin with, and this collection just didn’t do it for me. Most of the stories felt like random ideas he had that never fully came to fruition.
Don’t get me wrong—he’s still the King of creepy, which is the only reason I stuck it out. Plus, it’s the start of fall and I was craving something spooky to set the mood.
Also - possible unpopular opinion… I could not stand how much he brought up Covid. I read fiction to escape real life, not be reminded of it. Please and thank you.
In the end, I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I’d recommend it either. I only kind of liked one story, and even that one was almost a DNF.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes