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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
This was my first venture into the world of King, and although a book of short stories probably wasn't the best choice for a first timer, I can't say I'm disappointed, and I fully intend on picking up one of his better known, full-length novels. His dedication to continuity was 10/10 while his descriptions of women (always described by their breast/butt/waist size or level of attractiveness and not much else), in every single story, felt tired as hell.
The Langoliers: ⭐️⭐️
A very cool concept that was executed well. Atmospheric af. Some very creepy vibes at different times throughout. I didn't care much for the characters which made the story feel long as hell, but my rating would have been a solid three stars if the ending wasn't so blah and confusing as well.
Secret Window, Secret Garden: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The strongest story in the book, by far. Spooky af. Had me hooked from beginning to end. Again, I couldn't care less about the characters, but the plot made up for it.
The Library Policeman: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another one with solid spooky vibes. Loved the twists and turns. Got a little bored during the parts where some of those twists and turns were revealed thanks to King's love of going on and on and on.... but still overall a solid story.
The Sun Dog: ⭐️
Had this been a standalone, I would have DNFed it. Didn't care about the story. Didn't care about the characters. It just wasn't for me.
The Langoliers: ⭐️⭐️
A very cool concept that was executed well. Atmospheric af. Some very creepy vibes at different times throughout. I didn't care much for the characters which made the story feel long as hell, but my rating would have been a solid three stars if the ending wasn't so blah and confusing as well.
Secret Window, Secret Garden: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The strongest story in the book, by far. Spooky af. Had me hooked from beginning to end. Again, I couldn't care less about the characters, but the plot made up for it.
The Library Policeman: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another one with solid spooky vibes. Loved the twists and turns. Got a little bored during the parts where some of those twists and turns were revealed thanks to King's love of going on and on and on.... but still overall a solid story.
The Sun Dog: ⭐️
Had this been a standalone, I would have DNFed it. Didn't care about the story. Didn't care about the characters. It just wasn't for me.
Four novellas that aren't related stories - as King says in the introduction; too long to be short stories, not long enough to be novels. There's only one here that I thought didn't make the grade. Secret Window, Secret Garden was disappointing; quite predictable when it got going, and when you've pretty much worked out what's coming, it feels overlong. The others were good, though, even if not everything was explained ...
These are pretty average Stephen King stories. I think I read a different review that likened them to previous SK works and I would have to agree. I think my favorite was the Library Policeman just because of the similarities to IT. The Sun Dog was interesting too in that it seemed like SK doing a Goosebumps book almost.
This is a rare book by Stephen King. He has compiled a novella and three short stories in a collection of horror stories. They are all in line with his regular products, but just shorter.
The first story The Langoliers is the weirdest and maybe the most interesting of the four. It has also been captured as a TV miniseries in 1995. Passengers travelling on a long night trip (the "red-eye" flight) wake up to find that most of the passengers and all of the crew have disappeared and the plane running on autopilot to go to Los Angeles Airport. An off-duty pilot tries to make sure the plane is flying fine while trying to make sense of the disappearances. The rest of the story includes a very creative treatise on the near future, the near past and the universe trying to make sense of the transition from the past to the present on to the future. King plays with our primal fears as usual and weaves his threads around a quite complex but appealing story line.
The second story is named Secret Window, Secret Garden where an author is accused by a strange man to have stolen his book and he starts getting harassed while trying to prove that he did not actually steal the book. Fiction and fact getting mixed together, fictional creations taking control of their creator and such themes....
The third story is The Library Police I did not find it as effective, but it is a twist on vampirism and plays on fears of little children in libraries.
The last story is The Sun Dog and I really did not like it, although the theme of a mad dog getting ready to attack through a Polaroid camera taking pictures sounds interesting...
All in all, it is an acceptable book but not the best of King's works.
The first story The Langoliers is the weirdest and maybe the most interesting of the four. It has also been captured as a TV miniseries in 1995. Passengers travelling on a long night trip (the "red-eye" flight) wake up to find that most of the passengers and all of the crew have disappeared and the plane running on autopilot to go to Los Angeles Airport. An off-duty pilot tries to make sure the plane is flying fine while trying to make sense of the disappearances. The rest of the story includes a very creative treatise on the near future, the near past and the universe trying to make sense of the transition from the past to the present on to the future. King plays with our primal fears as usual and weaves his threads around a quite complex but appealing story line.
The second story is named Secret Window, Secret Garden where an author is accused by a strange man to have stolen his book and he starts getting harassed while trying to prove that he did not actually steal the book. Fiction and fact getting mixed together, fictional creations taking control of their creator and such themes....
The third story is The Library Police I did not find it as effective, but it is a twist on vampirism and plays on fears of little children in libraries.
The last story is The Sun Dog and I really did not like it, although the theme of a mad dog getting ready to attack through a Polaroid camera taking pictures sounds interesting...
All in all, it is an acceptable book but not the best of King's works.
Two stories from this book have made it to pictures.
The Langoliers was a mini-series. It was ok, but the creatures didn't look as good on screen as they did in my imagination. And I wanted to smack the crap out of most of the characters.
Secret Window, Secret Garden was a Johnny Depp movie. It's more mystery than horror, and despite Johnny Depp's involvement, I didn't like the movie. The story was creepier by far, and the movie should have been creepier.
By far, my favorite story is The Sun Dog. Steve carefully crafted an air of inevitability into a novella. The story is unstoppable, even when it ends.
The Langoliers was a mini-series. It was ok, but the creatures didn't look as good on screen as they did in my imagination. And I wanted to smack the crap out of most of the characters.
Secret Window, Secret Garden was a Johnny Depp movie. It's more mystery than horror, and despite Johnny Depp's involvement, I didn't like the movie. The story was creepier by far, and the movie should have been creepier.
By far, my favorite story is The Sun Dog. Steve carefully crafted an air of inevitability into a novella. The story is unstoppable, even when it ends.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I just had to read 'The Library Policeman' again. It was as horrible and terrifying as I remember. That person doesn't exist at my library, as long as I have any say.
- Never believe a writer. Listen to them, by all means, but never believe them.
- While the road of good intentions might end in hell, the people who tried to fill the potholes along the way deserved at least some credit.
- Factual mistakes usually result from a failure to ask the right question and not from erroneous information.
- It was as black as an elephant’s asshole in here.
- the real opposite of fear might be honesty.
- While the road of good intentions might end in hell, the people who tried to fill the potholes along the way deserved at least some credit.
- Factual mistakes usually result from a failure to ask the right question and not from erroneous information.
- It was as black as an elephant’s asshole in here.
- the real opposite of fear might be honesty.
It pains me to not enjoy any of Mr. King's works, but these four are my least favorite reads of his to date. I love the cross-over of characters from other King stories; his universe is vast and that element pleases me so much! I remain a constant reader and am excited to move on to another!
Four "novelettes" in one book. I'm afraid I only read the first one and then I got a strong case of the "Ho Hums". The first story, Langoliers, was interesting enough and a fun read, but I would not say this is one of Stephen King's best.