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2.01k reviews for:
Night Shift: Excursions into Horror by the Author of Carrie and The Shining
Stephen King
3.91 AVERAGE
2.01k reviews for:
Night Shift: Excursions into Horror by the Author of Carrie and The Shining
Stephen King
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Probably my second favorite King book I’ve read. Some really great short stories in this like “The Mangler” or “Sometimes they Come Back” with a few mediocre ones thrown in as well. That being said, I think a majority of these short stories are great and intriguing. King continues to prove himself to be a master at tension and mystery.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
1. "Jerusalem's Lot" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Not what I was expecting!
2. "Graveyard Shift" - read 11/17/24. 1 stars: Not for me, not the kind of horror I like. Usually anything animal and mutated animal-like is not scary or enjoyable to me.
3. "Night Surf" - read 11/17/24. 2 stars: There was no reason for Bernie to be so mean to Susie.
4. "I Am the Doorway" - read 11/16/24. 3.5 stars: I wasn't sure where this was going, but the ending saved it. Felt Lovecraftian in a way.
5. "The Mangler" - read 11/16/24. 3 stars: Ummm, okay, this one was just a kind of silly and weird body horror/possession thing. Like it wasn't bad? Fine?
6. "The Boogeyman" - read 11/16/24. 5 stars: No notes, this was solid! Billings is an ass, but his narration and characterization was so well done, especially for a short-story.
7. "Gray Matter" - read 11/16/24. 3 stars: It was alright, don't have much to say.
8. "Battleground" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Oh, this was fun and light(er) hearted. It reminded me of some "Twilight Zone" episodes.
9. "Trucks" - read 11/17/24. 1 stars: Unfortunately, the first dud for me. DNF'ed.
10. "Sometimes They Come Back" - read 11/17/24. 3 stars: It was alright. Don't have more to add.
11. "Strawberry Spring" - read 11/16/24. 5 stars: Yet again, the ending saved this. SpoilerI honestly did not see the twist coming! Was not expecting this to be about a serial killer.
12. "The Ledge" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Unique premise, and again, great characterization. King is demonstrating he can pull a lot off in a short story, a sign of a master!
13. "The Lawnmower Man" - read 11/17/24. 3 stars: Hahaha lol WTF.
14. "Quitters, Inc." - read 11/17/24. 3.5 stars: Interesting premise!
15. "I Know What You Need" - read 11/16/24. 4.5 stars: I didn't love the ending but overall enjoyed this exploration of obsession by a creepy guy who tries to manipulate a girl into a relationship with him - not a topic I was expecting from King.
16. "Children of the Corn" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: I had no idea King wrote this, haha. Classic creepy kids with a folk-horror spin. Maybe next time listen to your wife!
17. "The Last Rung on the Ladder" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Well damn, this one was sad.
18. "The Man Who Loved Flowers" - read 11/16/24. 5 stars: Not what I was expecting at all. The ending made it a 5 instead of a 4 for me.
19. "One for the Road" - read 11/16/24. 3 stars: SpoilerI didn't expect this to be set in the same world as Salem's Lot with vampires. It was fine .
20. "The Woman in the Room" - read 11/17/24. 2.5 stars: Eh, it was fine.
Overall: 3.4 rounded to a 4. To date, I'm pretty sure this is the most successful short story collection I've ever read. King certainly has a wide imagination, and there is quite a range of topics in this collection. I recommend this if you are new to King and want to get a taste of his work, or if you, like me, are continuing along on your King journey.
2. "Graveyard Shift" - read 11/17/24. 1 stars: Not for me, not the kind of horror I like. Usually anything animal and mutated animal-like is not scary or enjoyable to me.
3. "Night Surf" - read 11/17/24. 2 stars: There was no reason for Bernie to be so mean to Susie.
4. "I Am the Doorway" - read 11/16/24. 3.5 stars: I wasn't sure where this was going, but the ending saved it. Felt Lovecraftian in a way.
5. "The Mangler" - read 11/16/24. 3 stars: Ummm, okay, this one was just a kind of silly and weird body horror/possession thing. Like it wasn't bad? Fine?
6. "The Boogeyman" - read 11/16/24. 5 stars: No notes, this was solid! Billings is an ass, but his narration and characterization was so well done, especially for a short-story.
7. "Gray Matter" - read 11/16/24. 3 stars: It was alright, don't have much to say.
8. "Battleground" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Oh, this was fun and light(er) hearted. It reminded me of some "Twilight Zone" episodes.
9. "Trucks" - read 11/17/24. 1 stars: Unfortunately, the first dud for me. DNF'ed.
10. "Sometimes They Come Back" - read 11/17/24. 3 stars: It was alright. Don't have more to add.
11. "Strawberry Spring" - read 11/16/24. 5 stars: Yet again, the ending saved this. SpoilerI honestly did not see the twist coming! Was not expecting this to be about a serial killer.
12. "The Ledge" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Unique premise, and again, great characterization. King is demonstrating he can pull a lot off in a short story, a sign of a master!
13. "The Lawnmower Man" - read 11/17/24. 3 stars: Hahaha lol WTF.
14. "Quitters, Inc." - read 11/17/24. 3.5 stars: Interesting premise!
15. "I Know What You Need" - read 11/16/24. 4.5 stars: I didn't love the ending but overall enjoyed this exploration of obsession by a creepy guy who tries to manipulate a girl into a relationship with him - not a topic I was expecting from King.
16. "Children of the Corn" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: I had no idea King wrote this, haha. Classic creepy kids with a folk-horror spin. Maybe next time listen to your wife!
17. "The Last Rung on the Ladder" - read 11/16/24. 4 stars: Well damn, this one was sad.
18. "The Man Who Loved Flowers" - read 11/16/24. 5 stars: Not what I was expecting at all. The ending made it a 5 instead of a 4 for me.
19. "One for the Road" - read 11/16/24. 3 stars: SpoilerI didn't expect this to be set in the same world as Salem's Lot with vampires. It was fine .
20. "The Woman in the Room" - read 11/17/24. 2.5 stars: Eh, it was fine.
Overall: 3.4 rounded to a 4. To date, I'm pretty sure this is the most successful short story collection I've ever read. King certainly has a wide imagination, and there is quite a range of topics in this collection. I recommend this if you are new to King and want to get a taste of his work, or if you, like me, are continuing along on your King journey.
Stephen King coming up with a new story idea: “how messed up would it be if machinery came to life and killed us?”
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"There are spiritually noxious places, buildings where the milk of the cosmos has become sour and rancid. This church is such a place; I would swear to it."
Stephen King's first short story collection and what a collection it is. Starting out you get a back story to 'Salem Lot and the Marsten House. You are then treated to a story of a few people as they are dealing with the effects of Captain Tripps. So right away pulling from two well know stories.
From there you get various different stories and types, like the Lovecraftian "I am the doorway" where after a fly by of Venus a man finds he has a few more eyes than he once had. You get Battleground where a toy exec gets a new shipment of army men toys that come to life and uses all the weapons they have against him. The story Trucks which I believe became the basis for the movie Maximum Overdrive where the patrons of a dinner deal with sentient trucks. You also get a follow up to 'Salems Lot in the story One for the road where in a snow storm a young couple get trapped outside of the lot two years after it burned down and find out what is going on.
The most famous of the stories of course is Children of the Corn. Nothing creepier than a town full of religious children bent on human sacrifice.
My favorite was Sometimes they Come Back. This one follows a young teacher as he gets a few new students who couldn't possibly be who they appear to be. These students are the same kids that stabbed and murdered the main characters older brother when they were kids. But he soon finds out that they are the same kids and has to make a deal with forces unknown to protect himself and his family.
Overall some really chilling stories in this one.
Stephen King's first short story collection and what a collection it is. Starting out you get a back story to 'Salem Lot and the Marsten House. You are then treated to a story of a few people as they are dealing with the effects of Captain Tripps. So right away pulling from two well know stories.
From there you get various different stories and types, like the Lovecraftian "I am the doorway" where after a fly by of Venus a man finds he has a few more eyes than he once had. You get Battleground where a toy exec gets a new shipment of army men toys that come to life and uses all the weapons they have against him. The story Trucks which I believe became the basis for the movie Maximum Overdrive where the patrons of a dinner deal with sentient trucks. You also get a follow up to 'Salems Lot in the story One for the road where in a snow storm a young couple get trapped outside of the lot two years after it burned down and find out what is going on.
The most famous of the stories of course is Children of the Corn. Nothing creepier than a town full of religious children bent on human sacrifice.
My favorite was Sometimes they Come Back. This one follows a young teacher as he gets a few new students who couldn't possibly be who they appear to be. These students are the same kids that stabbed and murdered the main characters older brother when they were kids. But he soon finds out that they are the same kids and has to make a deal with forces unknown to protect himself and his family.
Overall some really chilling stories in this one.
Finished Jerusalem's Lot and can now start watching Chapelwaite.
I got some Lovecraftian vibes towards the end of Jerusalem's Lot. Anyone else?
I got some Lovecraftian vibes towards the end of Jerusalem's Lot. Anyone else?
At their worst, some of these are quirky, at their best they're genuinely disturbing. Two of them in particular stuck in my mind, not due to some supernatural horror, but due to its absence. By the end of each I was waiting, hoping for some twist, some beastie to pop up and put things on somehow-easier ground but no, both drew to their close leaving the altogether more horrific conclusion that real horrors are all too natural.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
solid short story collection, and king definitely shines in his short stories. this particular book took me about six months excluding a hiatus to get through, as despite the relative medium to fast paces of the story these arent good to read all at once. they deserve to each be digested and read on their own and given the thought they deserve. i absolutely loved a few of these stories, and i personally hope that in all his short stories he writes a few more that revisit salems lot; the second to last story was extremely cool once i caught on to what was happening. favorites are night surf, i am the doorway, grey matter, i know what you need (i would read a whole novel of this), children of the corn, the last rung on the ladder, the man who loved flowers, and lastly, one for the road.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense