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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
The Langoliers first scared me when I was still a child and had stumbled upon the movie. I had walked into the living room at my grandparent's house and my grandfather was watching the not-so-famous film adaptation and I remember being mind-blown and terrified at the same time by these little brown monsters that eat away at everything . I used to actually think those little brown, spiky balls that littered your backyard were them secretly, but let's not dive too deep on that fear.
As a librarian, The Library Policeman had an amazing, simple concept: bring back your library books on time, otherwise the Library Policeman will come for you. This just made me laugh but once I got into the story, it truly became insidious and downright scary. Ardelia Lortz officially goes up there with Annie Wilkes for me in terms of terrifying, innocent-seeming villains.
As a librarian, The Library Policeman had an amazing, simple concept: bring back your library books on time, otherwise the Library Policeman will come for you. This just made me laugh but once I got into the story, it truly became insidious and downright scary. Ardelia Lortz officially goes up there with Annie Wilkes for me in terms of terrifying, innocent-seeming villains.
“Why, what happens to today when it becomes yesterday, what happens to the present when it becomes the past. It waits - dead and empty and deserted. It waits for them.”
Four Past Midnight is King at his best in my opinion. He is a master storyteller and that is so evident in these four novellas. It is easy to become enveloped and lost in his tales.
The Langoliers and Secret Window, Secret Garden were by far my favorites. Each had such rich, real characters (real as in believable, not actual, ahem, John Shooter). The Langoliers was storytelling magic. There was actually nothing I did not like about it. I loved the connections made to The Dark Half in Secret Window, Secret Garden. I realize I am a huge fan of King writing about writing. It always feels so personal.
I was dazzled by the first two novellas and then along comes The Library Policeman. This story was anything but bad but it was just too long. In true King style why say something in a few words when many will do. The length didn't bother me near as much as a particular scene towards the end...I would have dealt with it had the situation been left implied (even when it was just being hinted at, it was understood) but to see it played out was just disconcerting and uncomfortable.
The Sun Dog was a slow burn. There was a lot of build up to finally arrive at the crazy and creepy conclusion. I loved The Sun Dog because it's a Castle Rock story. Unpopular opinion - I love Castle Rock more than Derry. Derry is so synonymous with It that it doesn't lend itself easily to other story lines whereas Castle Rock is definitely not right, there are hundreds of different avenues just waiting to be explored; and don't mind if I do.
Four Past Midnight is King at his best in my opinion. He is a master storyteller and that is so evident in these four novellas. It is easy to become enveloped and lost in his tales.
The Langoliers and Secret Window, Secret Garden were by far my favorites. Each had such rich, real characters (real as in believable, not actual, ahem, John Shooter). The Langoliers was storytelling magic. There was actually nothing I did not like about it. I loved the connections made to The Dark Half in Secret Window, Secret Garden. I realize I am a huge fan of King writing about writing. It always feels so personal.
I was dazzled by the first two novellas and then along comes The Library Policeman. This story was anything but bad but it was just too long. In true King style why say something in a few words when many will do. The length didn't bother me near as much as a particular scene towards the end...I would have dealt with it had the situation been left implied (even when it was just being hinted at, it was understood) but to see it played out was just disconcerting and uncomfortable.
The Sun Dog was a slow burn. There was a lot of build up to finally arrive at the crazy and creepy conclusion. I loved The Sun Dog because it's a Castle Rock story. Unpopular opinion - I love Castle Rock more than Derry. Derry is so synonymous with It that it doesn't lend itself easily to other story lines whereas Castle Rock is definitely not right, there are hundreds of different avenues just waiting to be explored; and don't mind if I do.
You can see my full review and discussion in my September 25th, 2020 Friday Reads.
I enjoyed the Langoliers. It was easy enough and fun. I always loved the tv movie even tho it's really bad. 3/5
Secret Window, Secret Garden was a solid story. It appears entirely natural but still delightfully unnerving. The main character makes some dumb decisions, but it comes together in the end. 4/5 stars
The Library Police was fun. It was the perfect example of King turning an absurd premise into a terrifying reality. In the end, it fell flat. The monster felt like a rehash of others he has made. 3/5
The Sun Dog is a story I knew nothing about coming in, and I was presently surprised. It was a dark fun ride, and I think just good enough to bump up this collection above a 3 star. 4/5 star.
This collection was a lot fun, even the stories I gave 3 stars. I love the Langoliers even if I think its nothing special. Sometimes, I just want a bit of mindless fun, and this it just that.
3.5/5 stars
I enjoyed the Langoliers. It was easy enough and fun. I always loved the tv movie even tho it's really bad. 3/5
Secret Window, Secret Garden was a solid story. It appears entirely natural but still delightfully unnerving. The main character makes some dumb decisions, but it comes together in the end. 4/5 stars
The Library Police was fun. It was the perfect example of King turning an absurd premise into a terrifying reality. In the end, it fell flat. The monster felt like a rehash of others he has made. 3/5
The Sun Dog is a story I knew nothing about coming in, and I was presently surprised. It was a dark fun ride, and I think just good enough to bump up this collection above a 3 star. 4/5 star.
This collection was a lot fun, even the stories I gave 3 stars. I love the Langoliers even if I think its nothing special. Sometimes, I just want a bit of mindless fun, and this it just that.
3.5/5 stars
When I realized that King had more than one set of the four-novella novels (Different Seasons, Four Past Midnight, and Full Dark, No Stars) I was excited after I enjoyed Different Season so much. But with Four Past Midnight, I was disappointed. It felt slightly uninspired, to me. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the different stories - with Secret Window, Secret Garden and Library Policeman being the standouts for me, but somehow they felt lacking. Perhaps that has to do with the quality of King I'd been reading lately (Misery, Night Shift). As ever, it's a solid entry, and I'd recommend it to a King fan.
Actual rating 3.25
The Langoliers ⭐️⭐️
Secret Window, Secret Garden ⭐️⭐️
The Library Policeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The SunDog ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed SunDog the most as I enjoy the Castle Rock stories and all the familiar characters.
The Langoliers ⭐️⭐️
Secret Window, Secret Garden ⭐️⭐️
The Library Policeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The SunDog ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed SunDog the most as I enjoy the Castle Rock stories and all the familiar characters.
I really enjoyed this whole book, save for "The Library Policemen", but I've reviewed audio copies of the first three tales separately. I picked up an old, battered copy of Four Past Midnight from a charity shop just for "The Sun Dog", which is the story for which my audio copy was broken. And it was genuinely scary! I'm not too bad with dogs - my brother is comparatively petrified of them - but the gradual progression of the dog in the Polaroids, as each shot brings it a little closer, a little more ferocious, was delightfully horrible to read in the early hours. The segment where Pop Merrill tries to sell the camera on dragged a bit - none of the potential buyers he visited held my attention much - but he was a good, memorable character, and I'm looking forward to delving into Needful Things in the near future.
To be clear, I did enjoy this book, in all it's facets. The rating (3*) is a combination rating, based on an average of the four works within.
The Langoliers: 4*
Secret Window, Secret Garden: 3*
The Library Policeman: 4*
The Sun Dog: 2*
I tried not to compare this to Kings' other novella collection, [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329662611s/39662.jpg|2248680], for two reasons. 1) They're very different types of stories. 2) It's a bit unfair, because they're so great - but in saying that and because of it, I couldn't help compare, a little.
The Langoliers: 4*
Secret Window, Secret Garden: 3*
The Library Policeman: 4*
The Sun Dog: 2*
I tried not to compare this to Kings' other novella collection, [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329662611s/39662.jpg|2248680], for two reasons. 1) They're very different types of stories. 2) It's a bit unfair, because they're so great - but in saying that and because of it, I couldn't help compare, a little.
The Langoliers ★★★★★
Secret Window, Secret Garden ★★★★
The Library Policeman ★★★★★
The Sun Dog ★★★★
Secret Window, Secret Garden ★★★★
The Library Policeman ★★★★★
The Sun Dog ★★★★
Four killer novellas in one. Simply fantastic. All of them are horrifying in their own ways. Though "The Library Policeman" is totally my favourite since it made a nightmare of one of my favourite places. "Secret Window, Secret Garden" is a close second. "The Sun Dog" was probably the weakest one but even that one managed to keep me gripping the book in suspense.
I quit. The first story was pretty good, but they got successively worse after that.