Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Personal ranking of the four novellas:
1. The Langoliers
Eerie story that had a unique premise and a reveal that genuinely got under my skin. I loved the cosmic horror/cosmic horror-adjacent feeling the whole thing had.
2. The Library Policeman
A slow burn to be sure. It took a while to get me invested but once it got me, it had me. Some very unsettling imagery in this one. Avid reader’s of King’s work will also appreciate the pretty heavy reference to his greater universe in this one.
3. The Sun Dog
This one took even longer to get me invested. Payoff was good and I’m glad I read it, overall. Not much to write home about otherwise. There was a Cujo reference that made me smile, as well as a reference to Lovecraft’s Dunwich Horror which made my night.
4. Secret Window, Secret Garden
What can I say? I much prefer stories that have a supernatural/paranormal bent to them. This didn’t really have that. The “twist” was cool, but kinda obvious after a while and felt kind of played out as a trope in King’s work (The Dark Half, anybody?). Again, I’m glad I read it but definitely the most bland of the four in my opinion.
This was a very solid story collection on the whole! Took me a while to get through because I find big books to be very intimidating. If you like the *very* particular flavor of King’s storytelling, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy Four Past Midnight.
1. The Langoliers
Eerie story that had a unique premise and a reveal that genuinely got under my skin. I loved the cosmic horror/cosmic horror-adjacent feeling the whole thing had.
2. The Library Policeman
A slow burn to be sure. It took a while to get me invested but once it got me, it had me. Some very unsettling imagery in this one. Avid reader’s of King’s work will also appreciate the pretty heavy reference to his greater universe in this one.
3. The Sun Dog
This one took even longer to get me invested. Payoff was good and I’m glad I read it, overall. Not much to write home about otherwise. There was a Cujo reference that made me smile, as well as a reference to Lovecraft’s Dunwich Horror which made my night.
4. Secret Window, Secret Garden
What can I say? I much prefer stories that have a supernatural/paranormal bent to them. This didn’t really have that. The “twist” was cool, but kinda obvious after a while and felt kind of played out as a trope in King’s work (The Dark Half, anybody?). Again, I’m glad I read it but definitely the most bland of the four in my opinion.
This was a very solid story collection on the whole! Took me a while to get through because I find big books to be very intimidating. If you like the *very* particular flavor of King’s storytelling, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy Four Past Midnight.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
This was a slog, and it never grabbed me. With anthologies, at least there's the chance that starting a new story will revive my interest, but I found these all about equally lackluster.
So, The Langoliers. I have incredibly vague memories of watching the TV-movie adaptation in my teens, but all I really remembered was the antagonist and his paper-tearing glee. I was hoping the story itself would be more substantial, but surprise surprise, it felt to me like half the scenes were just this one mentally unhinged dude and his nervous habit.
Secret Window, Secret Garden was billed in King's brief introductory comments as "what if I did The Dark Half over again but slightly different?" And seeing as how my review of The Dark Half was "there's a good novel hiding somewhere inside all of this inane repetition," I had higher hopes for this novella. I was disappointed. It was not better, and in some ways it was definitely worse. I knew what was going on long before the reveal (and I'm pretty sure I was supposed to) yet there wasn't a lot of factual detail to support my (correct) assumption, and the explanation after the fact was tedious.
The Library Policeman tried my patience even more, because the word/phrase repetition that irks me so much in general, and specifically in "bad" Stephen King writing, was even more on display here than in the previous two novellas. Dude could not go two pages without obsessing about the freaking suspended ceiling in the library. And I didn't find Ardelia Lortz the sort of creepy-compelling character you want in a villain, and the whole thing was just a mess to me.
...I didn't finish The Sun Dog, which technically makes this a DNF review, but I was just out of interest at this point, and I want to read other things. Even other Stephen King, I've got The Regulators lined up before the end of the year. I've long since accepted that while I admire King as a person in many ways and love many of his books, he's also written SO MUCH and some of it is just not very good. This is one of those collections for me.
So, The Langoliers. I have incredibly vague memories of watching the TV-movie adaptation in my teens, but all I really remembered was the antagonist and his paper-tearing glee. I was hoping the story itself would be more substantial, but surprise surprise, it felt to me like half the scenes were just this one mentally unhinged dude and his nervous habit.
Secret Window, Secret Garden was billed in King's brief introductory comments as "what if I did The Dark Half over again but slightly different?" And seeing as how my review of The Dark Half was "there's a good novel hiding somewhere inside all of this inane repetition," I had higher hopes for this novella. I was disappointed. It was not better, and in some ways it was definitely worse. I knew what was going on long before the reveal (and I'm pretty sure I was supposed to) yet there wasn't a lot of factual detail to support my (correct) assumption, and the explanation after the fact was tedious.
The Library Policeman tried my patience even more, because the word/phrase repetition that irks me so much in general, and specifically in "bad" Stephen King writing, was even more on display here than in the previous two novellas. Dude could not go two pages without obsessing about the freaking suspended ceiling in the library. And I didn't find Ardelia Lortz the sort of creepy-compelling character you want in a villain, and the whole thing was just a mess to me.
...I didn't finish The Sun Dog, which technically makes this a DNF review, but I was just out of interest at this point, and I want to read other things. Even other Stephen King, I've got The Regulators lined up before the end of the year. I've long since accepted that while I admire King as a person in many ways and love many of his books, he's also written SO MUCH and some of it is just not very good. This is one of those collections for me.
Unpopular opinion… I did not like The Langoliers. Like at all. It’s everyone’s favorite of the collection and I’m just floored by that. Despite that, I found a boarding pass from the 80s or 90s in my used book and that actually kind of freaks me out a little bit now that I’m reflecting on the subject…
Aside from the first story, I really enjoyed this collection. Secret Window, Secret Garden was both different and similar to the movie version. I loved the paranoia, the plagiarism, and the fear. I love the movie and I’m glad to finally get the original story.
I really thought The Library Policeman would be dumb. I mean, the library police? Come on, is this Goosebumps? Scary librarians demanding books be returned? But it was honestly my favorite story in this bunch because it was so terrifying. Now that I’m trying to write a review, I realize it’s hard to explain, but trust me, it’s scary. On so many levels. Dave’s story just had me shivering with both fear and disgust.
I also enjoyed The Sun Dog. It was simple, but effective at being scary and it bridges the gap with the other Castle Rock books.
My favorite thing about the collection is that each story had a short introduction by King about why he wrote it. I don’t know why I enjoy his introductions so much, but they make the story better when I can understand what may have been going through his mind and they are what I remember when the real terror starts happening.
Aside from the first story, I really enjoyed this collection. Secret Window, Secret Garden was both different and similar to the movie version. I loved the paranoia, the plagiarism, and the fear. I love the movie and I’m glad to finally get the original story.
I really thought The Library Policeman would be dumb. I mean, the library police? Come on, is this Goosebumps? Scary librarians demanding books be returned? But it was honestly my favorite story in this bunch because it was so terrifying. Now that I’m trying to write a review, I realize it’s hard to explain, but trust me, it’s scary. On so many levels. Dave’s story just had me shivering with both fear and disgust.
I also enjoyed The Sun Dog. It was simple, but effective at being scary and it bridges the gap with the other Castle Rock books.
My favorite thing about the collection is that each story had a short introduction by King about why he wrote it. I don’t know why I enjoy his introductions so much, but they make the story better when I can understand what may have been going through his mind and they are what I remember when the real terror starts happening.
The Langoliers and Secret Window, Secret Garden make this book my favorite collection of his shorter works, aside from the Bachman Books. The Sun Dog is also a good story.
mysterious
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder
Four novellas, each creepier than the last. The Langoliers is still a fun(?) favorite and Sun Dog is a terrific little prelude to Needful Things. Find and heed content warnings for The Library Policeman.
The Langoliers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Secret Window, Secret Garden ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Library Policeman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sun Dog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Langoliers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Secret Window, Secret Garden ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Library Policeman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sun Dog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really really solid novella collection from top to bottom. It is also Stephen King writing pure horror stories that take influence from things like Tales from the Darkside or The Twilight Zone. All 4 stories have that type of feel to them.
It's hard to pick a favorite out of the 4 because for both The Langoliers and Secret Window Secret Garden I had watched the adaptions first and they're both very faithful so the twist impact of the stories was lost on me. My personal favorite of the 4 is probably The Library Policeman, but I can recognize why a lot of folks might say Secret Window Secret Garden is probably the best story. The Langoliers has many elements that I like in storytelling like great unique characters, mystery, a good human antagonist, but honestly the reveal at the end leaves a little to be desired. The Sun Dog is maybe the weakest story of the 4, but I felt the ending was really good so even it was very entertaining.
A lot of people have this as their favorite of King's novella and short story collections, and I can absolutely see why. Unlike Different Seasons this is King really working in his wheelhouse that is horror. If you want classic King these are 4 stories that deliver that. Also each story packs a punch in different ways. Whether it's mental or physical trauma or brutality each story here has it in abundance. These aren't for the weak of heart, but they are definitely for the Constant Reader.
It's hard to pick a favorite out of the 4 because for both The Langoliers and Secret Window Secret Garden I had watched the adaptions first and they're both very faithful so the twist impact of the stories was lost on me. My personal favorite of the 4 is probably The Library Policeman, but I can recognize why a lot of folks might say Secret Window Secret Garden is probably the best story. The Langoliers has many elements that I like in storytelling like great unique characters, mystery, a good human antagonist, but honestly the reveal at the end leaves a little to be desired. The Sun Dog is maybe the weakest story of the 4, but I felt the ending was really good so even it was very entertaining.
A lot of people have this as their favorite of King's novella and short story collections, and I can absolutely see why. Unlike Different Seasons this is King really working in his wheelhouse that is horror. If you want classic King these are 4 stories that deliver that. Also each story packs a punch in different ways. Whether it's mental or physical trauma or brutality each story here has it in abundance. These aren't for the weak of heart, but they are definitely for the Constant Reader.