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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
“Nightmares and Dreamscapes” is a collection of short stories, including a tale of revenge that sees a car disappear into the Nevada desert, a set of novelty teeth that turn out to be more useful than they appear and a trip back to Castle Rock.
I went into this set pretty much blind. There’s no big name stories in this collection so I didn’t really know anything about any of them.
There’s some really excellent stories here. Some that are perfect for the short story format and others I would have loved to see expanded upon. The collection starts strong with “Dolan’s Cadillac”. I absolutely love a good revenge story and this is definitely a case of revenge being a dish best served cold. “Chattery Teeth”, “Popsy”, “Sneakers”, “Rainy Season” and “The Ten O’Clock People” were all also stand outs for me.
I did, unfortunately, feel that towards the end of the collection the stories were tailing off a little, including a slightly indulgent account of Owen King’s winning season in Little League baseball that I struggled to get through. The beauty of a short story collection though is that I can just re-read the ones I enjoyed when I next pick this one up.
I’m still amazed at how King can write just as well in the short story format as he does in some of his epic novels. The sharp, snappy writing in this shorter format works really well and there really isn’t a single word wasted. Everything adds to the story in some way.
Overall, I’d say there were more good than bad and with a collection of this size you’re never going to please everyone with every story.
Some stories are pretty awsome, others are fairly boring
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Definitely not the strongest short story collection of King's, but like all the collections there are some which just stand out so much better than others and vary enough that there's something here for everyone. Personal favourites? Umney's Last Case, and probably also The 10 O'Clock People.
Overall, a good book. Clearly from back when Stephen King wrote good stuff (he seems to have fallen a bit with the later stuff).
Nightmares and Dreamscapes and a rather bloated collection.
There were a few goods stories but too many that could have been left out or edited further which made this a lengthier read than was necessary.
There were a few goods stories but too many that could have been left out or edited further which made this a lengthier read than was necessary.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is kind of a bizarre collection of short stories, etc. It feels like Uncle Stevie just dug around in some old files and unearthed some oddities, polished them up, and <i>voila</i>! Super long collection to publish! They were mostly fun to read, though, so that's cool.
As usual, the stories here vary. Not in quality, exactly, but in content... some of the premises are just dumb. And I know others have liked them, but the finger in the drain and the chattery teeth? Nah. But even the ones that I thought were just dumb still have that same King flair. The writing is spot on.
I'm just glad he wrote "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" about Rock & Roll Heaven, Oregon well before 2017 struck.
I'm just glad he wrote "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" about Rock & Roll Heaven, Oregon well before 2017 struck.
My second volume of King short stories and it was a behemoth of a book. I did enjoy most of the stories a lot even though at times I feel like it was a slog to get through. Unlike Everything’s Eventual, where I got something out of all of them, Nightmares and Dreamscapes either had me captivated or bored.
My favorites were: Dolan’s Cadillac, You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, The Ten O’Clock People, and The House on Maple Street.
The only one I didn’t finish was King’s famous nonfiction essay about baseball: Head Down. Even as a baseball fan, I thought it horrible dry.
Overall I’d still give it 4/5 stars. Even the not so great stories were made better by King’s writing.
My favorites were: Dolan’s Cadillac, You Know They Got a Hell of a Band, The Ten O’Clock People, and The House on Maple Street.
The only one I didn’t finish was King’s famous nonfiction essay about baseball: Head Down. Even as a baseball fan, I thought it horrible dry.
Overall I’d still give it 4/5 stars. Even the not so great stories were made better by King’s writing.
Probably the weakest of the short story collections? I won’t commit to that statement fully yet but “Dolan’s Cadillac” is definitely the highlight of the book