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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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:
Yes
A lot of good short stories and one or two that I wasn't that interested with. Overall a great collection.
Got through The Mist. A fun tale about some scrappy apocalypse survivors and the crazy antics they get up to.
The ending is actually pretty good but the film ending might be better... Definitely way darker. Worth reading this first and then watching the film as the film ending is actually referenced in the book. Don't spoil the endings.
On to the rest of the stories...
The ending is actually pretty good but the film ending might be better... Definitely way darker. Worth reading this first and then watching the film as the film ending is actually referenced in the book. Don't spoil the endings.
On to the rest of the stories...
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