Reviews

Night Shift by Stephen King

gavinr2's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

the_dave_harmon's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

andydrew2's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

What a great collection of stories! I think my top 5 from this collection are: 
1. Battleground
2. Sometimes They Come Back
3. The Lawnmower Man
4. Grey Matter
5. Quitters Inc.

captlychee's review against another edition

5.0

Early Stephen King is the best Stephen King. Horror stories that are actually scary, and the beginnings of the quality of writing you can see in [b:Skeleton Crew|13440|Skeleton Crew|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271861632s/13440.jpg|1814][b:Skeleton Crew|13440|Skeleton Crew|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1271861632s/13440.jpg|1814]. Worth re-reading.

pipernme's review against another edition

I love SK. I just wasn't in the mood for short stories.  

a_solemn_snail's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

eburgardt's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

• Short story collection, honestly kind of an exploration of fear itself, what we fear and why
• That said, “Battlefield” was literally what if a pack of green army guys came to life and waged war against you in the middle of your living room
• Not a bad read but ultimately short stories are kind of a punchy medium and King is at his best when he has us sit in small towns, old traumas, lonely childhoods. Maybe he was still finding his voice, maybe the short story format just doesn’t play to his strengths
• My favorites were about loss of childhood innocence, like “Sometimes They Come Back,” “Children of the Corn,” “The Last Rung on the Ladder”
• Ultimately none of these hold a candle to “The Green Ribbon” and nothing ever will

svnsn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

What a ride. I really enjoyed this book in all it's weirdness. Each story is very unique, dealing with a great variety of topics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Violence

Moderate: Stalking, Terminal illness, Suicide, Cancer, Ableism, Gun violence, Child death, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Addiction

goldendemonreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

kcarys31's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

3.5

I think I prefer some of his later short story collections, but there was some really interesting ones in here.

My favourites were Sometimes They Come Back, Strawberry Spring, and Children of the corn. (Honourable mentions: The Ledge, I Know What You Need)