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swampsounds's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Had me in the first half, lost me so bad in the second half. Just read a few stories and tuck this one away, you're not missing any gold.
protoman21's review against another edition
5.0
What an entertaining set of short stories! I'm not generally a fan of short stories, but King is a master and he does a brilliant job of creating characters and situations that immediately catch your attention and hold it. The format is perfect for some of his quirky plots and he paces them perfectly. I enjoyed almost every story in the collection, which in a volume this large, is saying a lot!
imchrissohi's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
lieve678's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rkking's review against another edition
4.0
As most anthologies go, there are hits and misses in this collection. I'll give a little blurb on each, but know that overall I rate Nightmares & Dreamscapes as second best collection (that I've read), just after Night Shift. Also, while most of these stories aren't exactly horror, most barely even borderline frightening, that's because this collection was presented as more of a 'fairy tale' approach. Stories of the strange and unusual instead of outright terror. Though there are some spooky ones too.
Home Delivery -- When presented with the idea of George Romero's 'of the living dead' universe; Night Of, Dawn Of, Day Of, King wrote his take on what that world would be like in a small Maine town
Rainy Season -- A peculiar short story involving another small town and a strange event that occurs every few years. Borderline silly, but balanced with the body horror that happens at the end.
My Pretty Pony -- A more literary story, some might find this one boring. Well written and sentimental.
Sorry, Right Number -- One of my favorite stories in this collection, though written as a teleplay for the Tales From The Darkside TV show. I loved the ending twist.
The Ten O'Clock People -- While a great seed of an idea, and leads to a power-packed ending, I felt it dragged on a little long.
Crouch End -- An ode to Lovecraft, and feels really like one. Perfect for Lovecraft fans.
The House on Maple Street -- A good 'kids vs authority' story, though I got a little confused by the house itself.
The Fifth Quarter -- A crime caper that feels more like a Richard Bachman story. Well done in that flavor.
The Doctor's Case -- A Sherlock Holmes story through and through. Well-written, but if you're not a Holmes fan it might not be for you.
Umney's Last Case -- A cool meta-style fiction story. The approach to it makes it perhaps my favorite story in the collection.
Head Down -- Not a story per say, more of an essay on little league baseball in the Maine area. Quaint, with some real heart to it.
Brooklyn August -- A poem, also based on baseball.
Dolan's Cadillac -- Another Bachman-feeling tale. A good caper story with a great villain punishment sequence. I see there is a movie adaptation which I've never seen so I'd better check that out.
The End Of The Whole Mess -- A great technique was used in this story to convey the failing of the narrator's cognizance. Actually quite sad.
Suffer The Little Children -- Classic King, like it could have been in the ?Nightshift collection. I won't spoil anything, but I do wonder if most teachers feel this way sometimes...
The Night Flier -- Another favorite of this collection, I was impressed with the final scene and some... mechanics... King came up with regarding Vampires.
Popsy -- Another great one, which I have to agree with King in his end notes; that perhaps this and Night Flier are tied together...
It Grows On You -- Elements of this story reminded me of the Rose Red tv miniseries, and wonder if they are indeed connected?
Chattery Teeth -- Wasn't a fan of this one personally. Just a little too silly for my liking.
Dedication -- Another literary short, but an eyebrow raiser of one too.
The Moving Finger-- Another Nightshift style story which doesn't explain the why of things happening, just a strange and macabre tale.
Sneakers -- A neat ghost story, with a great way of describing the actual ghost. Totally knew the ending payoff too early though.
You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band -- Starts out unnerving, gets kind of whimsical, ends as a slightly weak horror tale. This feels like something that deserved to be on The Twilight Zone, and am conflicted on whether I really liked it or not...
So yes, overall this is a great collection which I recommend, even if only for a handful of them.
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
Home Delivery -- When presented with the idea of George Romero's 'of the living dead' universe; Night Of, Dawn Of, Day Of, King wrote his take on what that world would be like in a small Maine town
Rainy Season -- A peculiar short story involving another small town and a strange event that occurs every few years. Borderline silly, but balanced with the body horror that happens at the end.
My Pretty Pony -- A more literary story, some might find this one boring. Well written and sentimental.
Sorry, Right Number -- One of my favorite stories in this collection, though written as a teleplay for the Tales From The Darkside TV show. I loved the ending twist.
The Ten O'Clock People -- While a great seed of an idea, and leads to a power-packed ending, I felt it dragged on a little long.
Crouch End -- An ode to Lovecraft, and feels really like one. Perfect for Lovecraft fans.
The House on Maple Street -- A good 'kids vs authority' story, though I got a little confused by the house itself.
The Fifth Quarter -- A crime caper that feels more like a Richard Bachman story. Well done in that flavor.
The Doctor's Case -- A Sherlock Holmes story through and through. Well-written, but if you're not a Holmes fan it might not be for you.
Umney's Last Case -- A cool meta-style fiction story. The approach to it makes it perhaps my favorite story in the collection.
Head Down -- Not a story per say, more of an essay on little league baseball in the Maine area. Quaint, with some real heart to it.
Brooklyn August -- A poem, also based on baseball.
Dolan's Cadillac -- Another Bachman-feeling tale. A good caper story with a great villain punishment sequence. I see there is a movie adaptation which I've never seen so I'd better check that out.
The End Of The Whole Mess -- A great technique was used in this story to convey the failing of the narrator's cognizance. Actually quite sad.
Suffer The Little Children -- Classic King, like it could have been in the ?Nightshift collection. I won't spoil anything, but I do wonder if most teachers feel this way sometimes...
The Night Flier -- Another favorite of this collection, I was impressed with the final scene and some... mechanics... King came up with regarding Vampires.
Popsy -- Another great one, which I have to agree with King in his end notes; that perhaps this and Night Flier are tied together...
It Grows On You -- Elements of this story reminded me of the Rose Red tv miniseries, and wonder if they are indeed connected?
Chattery Teeth -- Wasn't a fan of this one personally. Just a little too silly for my liking.
Dedication -- Another literary short, but an eyebrow raiser of one too.
The Moving Finger-- Another Nightshift style story which doesn't explain the why of things happening, just a strange and macabre tale.
Sneakers -- A neat ghost story, with a great way of describing the actual ghost. Totally knew the ending payoff too early though.
You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band -- Starts out unnerving, gets kind of whimsical, ends as a slightly weak horror tale. This feels like something that deserved to be on The Twilight Zone, and am conflicted on whether I really liked it or not...
So yes, overall this is a great collection which I recommend, even if only for a handful of them.
Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes
etivepmc's review against another edition
3.0
After struggling to read Misery, I thought that I'd tuck into some short stories by King to try and kickstart my love for him again - and for the most part, it worked! As I was reading I rated each story out of 5 stars.
5⭐️
-Dolan's Cadillac - Such an amazing way to kickstart a short story anthology. I was transfixed the whole way through, thoroughly convinced by the grief that Robinson felt after his wife was murdered - going so far as to join a high-way maintenance team in order to learn how to essentially get away with murdering the man that murdered his wife.
4⭐️
-The Night-Flier and Popsy - I'm just a sucker for anything Stephen King involving vampire-like creatures.
-Dedication - Nothing more haunting and nightmarish than a woman hypnotically ingesting her employer's semen... creepy, gross, weird.
- The Moving Finger - I loved how gory this one ended up being, and I was genuinely convinced that Mitla was going insane from the tapping/scratching of the humongous finger that was creeping out of his kitchen drain, trying to kill him. The ending was pretty spooky.
- Sneakers - I loved the mystery of this one, and it transported me back into the world of pre-00's New York (I've just finished Debby Harry's autobiography 'Face It' so I was just excited to be back in that world.
- You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - Loved the relationship between Clark and Mary, they are the epitome of a couple that bicker and grate on each other, despite loving each other a lot. Just loved that people had been trapped in a small town that forces them to watch the concerts of tragic musicians for all-eternity.
- The House on Maple Street - I love the deep relationship between the Bradbury family as they try to come to the conclusion of what's happening to their house, whilst dealing with the violence/emotional abuse of their step-father Lew. Very mysterious, loved the sci-fi element.
- The Doctor's Case - Just a really really nice break from the constant supernatural occurences within the book with a Sherlock/Watson/Lestrade short story. Wish he did more of these...
- Umney's Last Case - Again, something quite different and less of the supernatural. Loved the commentary of an author's world being overrun by the characters that they've created and becoming jealous of the perfect world/lives that they've created, as well as these characters having sentience and wanting to get their sense of familiarity back.
- Crouch End - I think this was more spooky for me as I do live in London.
3⭐️
- Suffer Little Children - Could've done with some more world-building, did like the premise though.
- Chattery Teeth - Fun but somewhat unbelievable.
- Home Delivery - Love a good zombie/end of world moment, wish there was more lore.
- Rainy Season - What could go wrong with flesh-eating toads?
- Sorry, Right Number - Loved the script format, also really loved the time-illusion element.
- The Ten O'Clock People - Wish wish wish there was more lore! I liked this one but couldn't really get attached to the characters as there wasn't a lot of exposition.
- The Fifth Quarter - Another one that needed more lore and exposition.
2⭐️
- The End of The Whole Mess - Good premise, again, more exposition needed. Couldn't get too attached to the brothers as there wasn't that much to know other than their scientific exploits.
- It Grows on You - Tale of a small town with a strange house on a hill overlooking it, I could definitely get into it more if I had more to work with. More strange things would've made it at least a 3⭐️ for me.
- My Pretty Pony - Had absolutely no idea what was going on really but was nice-enough to see a healthy grandfather-grandson relationship.
1⭐️
- Head Down - I know nothing about baseball and don't want to read an essay on it.
- Brooklyn August - Felt quite random? Like made no sense at all to me.
- Notes - Ruins the magic!
- The Beggar and the Diamond - Felt quite random, very out of place for this anthology.
5⭐️
-Dolan's Cadillac - Such an amazing way to kickstart a short story anthology. I was transfixed the whole way through, thoroughly convinced by the grief that Robinson felt after his wife was murdered - going so far as to join a high-way maintenance team in order to learn how to essentially get away with murdering the man that murdered his wife.
4⭐️
-The Night-Flier and Popsy - I'm just a sucker for anything Stephen King involving vampire-like creatures.
-Dedication - Nothing more haunting and nightmarish than a woman hypnotically ingesting her employer's semen... creepy, gross, weird.
- The Moving Finger - I loved how gory this one ended up being, and I was genuinely convinced that Mitla was going insane from the tapping/scratching of the humongous finger that was creeping out of his kitchen drain, trying to kill him. The ending was pretty spooky.
- Sneakers - I loved the mystery of this one, and it transported me back into the world of pre-00's New York (I've just finished Debby Harry's autobiography 'Face It' so I was just excited to be back in that world.
- You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - Loved the relationship between Clark and Mary, they are the epitome of a couple that bicker and grate on each other, despite loving each other a lot. Just loved that people had been trapped in a small town that forces them to watch the concerts of tragic musicians for all-eternity.
- The House on Maple Street - I love the deep relationship between the Bradbury family as they try to come to the conclusion of what's happening to their house, whilst dealing with the violence/emotional abuse of their step-father Lew. Very mysterious, loved the sci-fi element.
- The Doctor's Case - Just a really really nice break from the constant supernatural occurences within the book with a Sherlock/Watson/Lestrade short story. Wish he did more of these...
- Umney's Last Case - Again, something quite different and less of the supernatural. Loved the commentary of an author's world being overrun by the characters that they've created and becoming jealous of the perfect world/lives that they've created, as well as these characters having sentience and wanting to get their sense of familiarity back.
- Crouch End - I think this was more spooky for me as I do live in London.
3⭐️
- Suffer Little Children - Could've done with some more world-building, did like the premise though.
- Chattery Teeth - Fun but somewhat unbelievable.
- Home Delivery - Love a good zombie/end of world moment, wish there was more lore.
- Rainy Season - What could go wrong with flesh-eating toads?
- Sorry, Right Number - Loved the script format, also really loved the time-illusion element.
- The Ten O'Clock People - Wish wish wish there was more lore! I liked this one but couldn't really get attached to the characters as there wasn't a lot of exposition.
- The Fifth Quarter - Another one that needed more lore and exposition.
2⭐️
- The End of The Whole Mess - Good premise, again, more exposition needed. Couldn't get too attached to the brothers as there wasn't that much to know other than their scientific exploits.
- It Grows on You - Tale of a small town with a strange house on a hill overlooking it, I could definitely get into it more if I had more to work with. More strange things would've made it at least a 3⭐️ for me.
- My Pretty Pony - Had absolutely no idea what was going on really but was nice-enough to see a healthy grandfather-grandson relationship.
1⭐️
- Head Down - I know nothing about baseball and don't want to read an essay on it.
- Brooklyn August - Felt quite random? Like made no sense at all to me.
- Notes - Ruins the magic!
- The Beggar and the Diamond - Felt quite random, very out of place for this anthology.
jb_slasher's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0