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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
10 am people was my favorite story in this collection
Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King
I love Stephen King's short story collections simply because if you don't like one, you know that it'll be finished soon and you can move onto the next, not that this happens very regularly! My favourite stories in this collection were The Moving Finger, which was insanely creepy! I had to search my bathroom every time I went in there; The House On Maple Street where the kids get one up on their stepfather and The Ten 'O' Clock People, which is a genius piece of observation. Umney's Last Case, The Doctor's Case and Sorry, Right Number were also brilliant. The only story I didn't really like, and it was more of an essay anyway was Head Down. I'm British, have never seen a game of baseball ever played and don't know anything about it, so for most of that story I was lost!
Otherwise, an excellent collection, as always, from the master that is Stephen King!
I love Stephen King's short story collections simply because if you don't like one, you know that it'll be finished soon and you can move onto the next, not that this happens very regularly! My favourite stories in this collection were The Moving Finger, which was insanely creepy! I had to search my bathroom every time I went in there; The House On Maple Street where the kids get one up on their stepfather and The Ten 'O' Clock People, which is a genius piece of observation. Umney's Last Case, The Doctor's Case and Sorry, Right Number were also brilliant. The only story I didn't really like, and it was more of an essay anyway was Head Down. I'm British, have never seen a game of baseball ever played and don't know anything about it, so for most of that story I was lost!
Otherwise, an excellent collection, as always, from the master that is Stephen King!
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
Complicated
Technically I'm cheating a little bit, because I stopped at 48%. I need to shelve this book for now. I hope to get back to it in the future someday but I can tell you that's going to be a good long while yet. This book has been intimidating me just being in my Current Reads pile because of its girth, and because honestly, I've not been enjoying most of the stories. While Night Shift was mostly enjoyable, I think this collection is reinforcing what I've felt for a long time, which is that I prefer King's longform writing to his short stories.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
dark
tense
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
dark
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
Another fun collection of stories (and one nonfiction piece on Little League baseball). Here are the standouts for me in this collection:
1. "Crouch End." A story that takes place in London. Another one of King's "thin place" stories, but I liked the tone of this one. Thin places come across very differently in the spiderweb of London streets than they do in the small towns of Maine, and I think this one was deftly executed.
2. "Dolan's Cadillac." A pure revenge story. Not as good as, say "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" but meticulous and satisfying.
3. "Umney's Last Case." King nails the voice of the hard-boiled protagonist in this story of a fictional detective encountering his creator. Shades of [b:The Dark Half|11597|The Dark Half|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430122353s/11597.jpg|1316297] lurk in this one.
4. "Sneakers." Who hasn't walked into a public restroom and noticed the shoes peering out from under the stalls and wondered about them. King turns that scenario into ghost story in this one.
5. "The Doctor's Case." King playing Doyle in this piece on Sherlock Holmes, with Doctor Watson (the doctor of the title) taking the lead on solving a mysterious murder.
6. "It Grows on You." I liked this story for the writing, the setting, and the background on Castle Rock.
7. "You Know They've Got a Hell of a Band." A couple accidentally end up in a town haunted by dead musicians. But what really grabbed me about this story is the wrong turn the couple takes down a country road, and their refusal to turn around, despite the road steadily narrowing. I've been there, and King captures the feeling perfectly.
8. "Night Flyer." Richard Dees (who makes an appearance in [b:The Dead Zone|11573|The Dead Zone|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1283509622s/11573.jpg|2745957] is featured in this story of a reporter chasing a vampire pilot serial killer.
1. "Crouch End." A story that takes place in London. Another one of King's "thin place" stories, but I liked the tone of this one. Thin places come across very differently in the spiderweb of London streets than they do in the small towns of Maine, and I think this one was deftly executed.
2. "Dolan's Cadillac." A pure revenge story. Not as good as, say "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" but meticulous and satisfying.
3. "Umney's Last Case." King nails the voice of the hard-boiled protagonist in this story of a fictional detective encountering his creator. Shades of [b:The Dark Half|11597|The Dark Half|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430122353s/11597.jpg|1316297] lurk in this one.
4. "Sneakers." Who hasn't walked into a public restroom and noticed the shoes peering out from under the stalls and wondered about them. King turns that scenario into ghost story in this one.
5. "The Doctor's Case." King playing Doyle in this piece on Sherlock Holmes, with Doctor Watson (the doctor of the title) taking the lead on solving a mysterious murder.
6. "It Grows on You." I liked this story for the writing, the setting, and the background on Castle Rock.
7. "You Know They've Got a Hell of a Band." A couple accidentally end up in a town haunted by dead musicians. But what really grabbed me about this story is the wrong turn the couple takes down a country road, and their refusal to turn around, despite the road steadily narrowing. I've been there, and King captures the feeling perfectly.
8. "Night Flyer." Richard Dees (who makes an appearance in [b:The Dead Zone|11573|The Dead Zone|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1283509622s/11573.jpg|2745957] is featured in this story of a reporter chasing a vampire pilot serial killer.