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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Mostly a miss for me, if it hadn't been for The Library Policeman, I wouldn't have liked this collection much at all. Secret Window, Secret Garden is good, unfortunately I saw the movie version before I read the novella and the adaptation follows the novella closely enough that there were no surprises. The Langoliers was a complete miss for me and The Sun Dog was alright. At least in the middle part of his career, SK has a thing for baddogs. Back to The Library Policeman, definitely was the highlight of this collection, as I knew nothing about it. Creepy little story all around, with a pretty great villain, some nice depth to it and a nice little romance to top the whole thing off. Generally when I love a story by SK, all of those things are boxes that he checks and when he checks them, well, there's no one better.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Langoliers and Sun Dog were awesome. Library policeman was good but very uncomfortable because of SA. It was particularly graphic.
Really good collection and a nice horror antithesis to Different Seasons' more dramatic tones. My thoughts on each novella in order of favorite to least favorite:
The Langoliers - While I'll be the first to admit it is probably not the best "written" story of the bunch, it just spoke so clearly to my specific sensibilities that I couldn't help but love it.
The Sun Dog - A really cool premise that goes with a slow build intrigue rather than outright scary plot device. I'm bummed this is apparently the only story featuring Pop Merrill in King's written oeuvre, but impressed nonetheless at how fun and duplicitous he is.
The Library Policeman - Really eerie and unsettling. It take a very dark turn I wasn't expecting but feel that King wrote it spectacularly well. Disturbing.
Secret Window, Secret Garden - Enjoyed the escalating threat posed by John Shooter and the descent to madness of Mort Rainey. Very solid thriller.
The Langoliers - While I'll be the first to admit it is probably not the best "written" story of the bunch, it just spoke so clearly to my specific sensibilities that I couldn't help but love it.
The Sun Dog - A really cool premise that goes with a slow build intrigue rather than outright scary plot device. I'm bummed this is apparently the only story featuring Pop Merrill in King's written oeuvre, but impressed nonetheless at how fun and duplicitous he is.
The Library Policeman - Really eerie and unsettling. It take a very dark turn I wasn't expecting but feel that King wrote it spectacularly well. Disturbing.
Secret Window, Secret Garden - Enjoyed the escalating threat posed by John Shooter and the descent to madness of Mort Rainey. Very solid thriller.
Honestly while I like all the stories, each one of them took a bit to grip me, which seems like it shouldn't for a short story collection.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
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 the last King collection of novellas I needed to read. You know that saying, ‘Save the best for last’? Well if this isn’t the best King novella collection, then it’s pretty damn close! King really found a groove here. I’d say it is some of his best storytelling. Let us visit each individual story before I give my overall rating.
The Langoliers - It can sometimes take a bit for a story to really keep my mind from wandering. This was not the case with ‘The Langoliers’. The concept was so unique. Everything about this story screamed originality. This might be the most impressed I’ve been with King after having finished one of his stories
5/5
Secret Garden, Secret Window - I had gone into this one having already been familiar with the movie. Another unique concept, but what was really impressive was how King was able to write Shooter and Mort. I won’t go too much into detail, but what King set off to do with these characters, he accomplished perfectly.
4/5
The Library Policeman - Oh man! This story was something else. This was the story in the collection where I had to keep going. If it was a tv show, it would be LOST. You just had to continue on to the next section after one ended. It did drag at points and there was one extremely disturbing scene; one of those scenes that leave you saying maybe King had gone too far by writing it. Still, this was one powerhouse of a story.
4/5
The Sun Dog - This was the weakest of the four stories. Took a long time to grab my attention. I kept finding myself spacing out and loosing track of what was going on. It did get somewhat interesting eventually, but then fizzled out. It just failed to get me to connect with the characters and the climax is a blur to me now. Some great Easter eggs, though, being a Castle Rock story!
3/5
I can’t recommend this collection enough. It’s the only novella collection that gives ‘Different Seasons’ a run for its money. They should tell you how good it was!
4.5/5
dark
emotional
medium-paced
6 months later and this short story collection is finished 🎉
Four Past Midnight is a short story/novella collection that includes 4 stories - “The Langoliers,” “Secret Window, Secret Garden,” “The Library Policeman,” and The “Sun Dog.”
Secret Window, Secret Garden was my favorite story in this collection while The Library Policeman was the most chilling. I found The Sun Dog to be a bit of a slog even for it being so short, but the story was quite good, especially if you like the Castle Rock stories. The Langoliers is wacky, weird, creepy, and may make you rethink boarding a flight. King always surprises me in some way with everything of his that I’ve read. It feels very fitting that I finished this last nights after coming home from Bangor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Sexual assault