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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I don’t think short stories are for me. 2.5 or 2.75.
Overall: 3.5 to a 4. I liked enough of the stories to round it up to a 4. The individual story ratings and my thoughts are as follows:
1. Dolan’s Cadillac – (4/5) good story of revenge; draggy in the middle, but overall a good story
2. The End of the Whole Mess – (3/5) good concept, but boring in the beginning (all about how genius his brother is) and depressing in the end
3. Suffer the Little Children – (4/5) I’d totally love a whole book about what those kids are! Definitely creepy.
4. The Night Flier – (4/5) Loved it, the main character was a dick though so I was kind of hoping he’d be eaten in the end.
5. Popsy - (4/5) – Kind of a companion to the Night Flier. Fun and creepy.
6. It Grows On You – (3/5) So-so story. Didn’t love it didn’t hate it.
7. Chattery Teeth – (4/5) Nice and creepy with a twist. Classic Stephen King.
8. Dedication – (3/5) kind of a weird one, but pretty good
9. The Moving Finger – (5/5) I remember watching a TV show or something based on this and it gave me nightmares. The story is really good and I love the ending.
10. Sneakers – (4/5) a good story but an anticlimactic end
11. You Know They Got a Hell of a Band – N/A couldn’t get into it so I DNF
12. Home Delivery – (4/5) pretty good story; resilient heroine which is always nice
13. Rainy Season – (4/5) nice and creepy but…toads seemed a little odd to me
14. My Pretty Pony – (3/5) okay but got draggy for me; kind of felt like I missed the point so maybe I’m just not getting the message?
15. Sorry, Right Number – (3/5) love the concept; less thrilled about the screenplay style
16. The Ten O’Clock People – (5/5) kind of reminded me of that movie where the dude can see the aliens when he wears special glasses and stuff? I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me but yes, it is a good story and I liked it a lot
17. Crouch End – (4/5) maybe more of a 3.5 but I like it enough to round up; very Lovecraftian story; some nice creepy moments; little draggy when it’s at the police station; ending felt a tad rushed and more of an “okay here’s how everyone winds up”
18. The House on Maple Street – (5/5) Probably my favorite out of the whole book; love that he got the idea from the Chris Van Allsburg book because I remember LOVING that as a kid and making up all kinds of stories for the pictures!
19. The Fifth Quarter – (3/5) so-so; not bad but not great; no real opinion tbh
20. The Doctor’s Case – (5/5) really enjoyed it! A great homage to Sherlock Holmes/Conan Doyle and Watson finally gets to figure out the whole case himself!
So the last three stories (Umney’s Last Case, Head Down, and Brooklyn August which is technically a poem not a story) I DNF’d. Umney’s Last Case started out kind of interesting but I just couldn’t get my mind to focus on it after the first part. It’s kind of an homage to Raymond Chandler but I don’t know it just didn’t seem to get the right tone? Head Down is a sports essay thing and I’m just not interested in that at all so I skipped it. Brooklyn August just isn’t my style of poetry so I skimmed it but it didn’t really jump out at me but I don’t feel fair giving it an actual rating.
1. Dolan’s Cadillac – (4/5) good story of revenge; draggy in the middle, but overall a good story
2. The End of the Whole Mess – (3/5) good concept, but boring in the beginning (all about how genius his brother is) and depressing in the end
3. Suffer the Little Children – (4/5) I’d totally love a whole book about what those kids are! Definitely creepy.
4. The Night Flier – (4/5) Loved it, the main character was a dick though so I was kind of hoping he’d be eaten in the end.
5. Popsy - (4/5) – Kind of a companion to the Night Flier. Fun and creepy.
6. It Grows On You – (3/5) So-so story. Didn’t love it didn’t hate it.
7. Chattery Teeth – (4/5) Nice and creepy with a twist. Classic Stephen King.
8. Dedication – (3/5) kind of a weird one, but pretty good
9. The Moving Finger – (5/5) I remember watching a TV show or something based on this and it gave me nightmares. The story is really good and I love the ending.
10. Sneakers – (4/5) a good story but an anticlimactic end
11. You Know They Got a Hell of a Band – N/A couldn’t get into it so I DNF
12. Home Delivery – (4/5) pretty good story; resilient heroine which is always nice
13. Rainy Season – (4/5) nice and creepy but…toads seemed a little odd to me
14. My Pretty Pony – (3/5) okay but got draggy for me; kind of felt like I missed the point so maybe I’m just not getting the message?
15. Sorry, Right Number – (3/5) love the concept; less thrilled about the screenplay style
16. The Ten O’Clock People – (5/5) kind of reminded me of that movie where the dude can see the aliens when he wears special glasses and stuff? I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me but yes, it is a good story and I liked it a lot
17. Crouch End – (4/5) maybe more of a 3.5 but I like it enough to round up; very Lovecraftian story; some nice creepy moments; little draggy when it’s at the police station; ending felt a tad rushed and more of an “okay here’s how everyone winds up”
18. The House on Maple Street – (5/5) Probably my favorite out of the whole book; love that he got the idea from the Chris Van Allsburg book because I remember LOVING that as a kid and making up all kinds of stories for the pictures!
19. The Fifth Quarter – (3/5) so-so; not bad but not great; no real opinion tbh
20. The Doctor’s Case – (5/5) really enjoyed it! A great homage to Sherlock Holmes/Conan Doyle and Watson finally gets to figure out the whole case himself!
So the last three stories (Umney’s Last Case, Head Down, and Brooklyn August which is technically a poem not a story) I DNF’d. Umney’s Last Case started out kind of interesting but I just couldn’t get my mind to focus on it after the first part. It’s kind of an homage to Raymond Chandler but I don’t know it just didn’t seem to get the right tone? Head Down is a sports essay thing and I’m just not interested in that at all so I skipped it. Brooklyn August just isn’t my style of poetry so I skimmed it but it didn’t really jump out at me but I don’t feel fair giving it an actual rating.
While there are a few gems in this collection, I thought the majority were quite average. This is definitely not my favourite King short story collection I’ve read so far. A few stories really had me wrapped around their finger and flipping the pages furiously to find out what would happen. Sadly those were in the minority though and a few were even quite forgettable. I also may or may have not skipped the one about baseball, that’s just not my bag!
Really liked:
Suffer the Little Children
The Night Flier
Popsy
Chattery Teeth
The Moving Finger
Home Delivery
Rainy Season
Sorry, Right Number
The Ten O'Clock People
Crouch End
The Doctor's Case
Umney's Last Case
Suffer the Little Children
The Night Flier
Popsy
Chattery Teeth
The Moving Finger
Home Delivery
Rainy Season
Sorry, Right Number
The Ten O'Clock People
Crouch End
The Doctor's Case
Umney's Last Case
Like always, some of these stories work and some don't, but I prefer the shorter pieces to his novels, at least lately.
Short story collections are so difficult to review and rate, especially King’s, as the stories are usually hit-or-miss. Nightmares and Dreamscapes was a very entertaining collection, and most of the stories were very good or at least memorable.
"Nightmares and Dreamscapes" is an okay collection at best, when taken as a whole. There is the occasional gem in here, as usual, but most of the tales in here are forgettable and even the highs in here never reach the level of the best stories in Skeleton Crew or Night Shift. Here are a few stories that stood out to me (whether that be positive or negative):
"Umney's Last Case" - easily the best thing in here. A great concept and great execution.
"You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band" - this one appears to be a fan favorite from this collection, and I can definitely see why. Like with Umney's, it's a great execution of a great premise.
"The Moving Finger" - I liked this one especially because it feels like something right out of Night Shift; just a good old horror story with no real deeper meaning, just a creepy situation.
"The Night Flier" - was a total waste of an absolutely off-the-wall concept that is very disappointing.
"It Grows On You" - somehow I made my way through this one without falling asleep. If there is a good idea in there, it is deeply, deeply buried.
"Dedication" - this story was gross and - what's even worse, considering the content - perfectly pointless.
"Chattery Teeth" - more Night Shift vibes in this one. It's a dumb concept, but somehow King pulls it off wonderfully and it's one of my favorites here.
"Rainy Season" - another favorite. Very bizarre but really enjoyable.
"Head Down" - I decided to skip this one after reading the first couple pages.
"The Doctor's Case" - proves that King isn't all that great when doing an Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie type mystery.
"Sorry, Right Number" - one of my favorite short story titles, possibly ever, and one of the best in here too.
"The House On Maple Street" - finally, this story's ending was sort of hilarious to me, and I don't think it's supposed to be.
All in all, while nothing in here is painfully bad (except maybe It Grows On You - I don't feel I'm justified to judge Head Down, purely because it's an essay on a sport I don't care about), this is far from what King can do at his best. I'm giving this one 2.5 stars, like Skeleton Crew, although I do think that the strong stories in that one are stronger than the ones here; but unlike with Nightmares and Dreamscapes, there are absolutely some bad stories in Skeleton Crew.
"Umney's Last Case" - easily the best thing in here. A great concept and great execution.
"You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band" - this one appears to be a fan favorite from this collection, and I can definitely see why. Like with Umney's, it's a great execution of a great premise.
"The Moving Finger" - I liked this one especially because it feels like something right out of Night Shift; just a good old horror story with no real deeper meaning, just a creepy situation.
"The Night Flier" - was a total waste of an absolutely off-the-wall concept that is very disappointing.
"It Grows On You" - somehow I made my way through this one without falling asleep. If there is a good idea in there, it is deeply, deeply buried.
"Dedication" - this story was gross and - what's even worse, considering the content - perfectly pointless.
"Chattery Teeth" - more Night Shift vibes in this one. It's a dumb concept, but somehow King pulls it off wonderfully and it's one of my favorites here.
"Rainy Season" - another favorite. Very bizarre but really enjoyable.
"Head Down" - I decided to skip this one after reading the first couple pages.
"The Doctor's Case" - proves that King isn't all that great when doing an Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie type mystery.
"Sorry, Right Number" - one of my favorite short story titles, possibly ever, and one of the best in here too.
"The House On Maple Street" - finally, this story's ending was sort of hilarious to me, and I don't think it's supposed to be.
All in all, while nothing in here is painfully bad (except maybe It Grows On You - I don't feel I'm justified to judge Head Down, purely because it's an essay on a sport I don't care about), this is far from what King can do at his best. I'm giving this one 2.5 stars, like Skeleton Crew, although I do think that the strong stories in that one are stronger than the ones here; but unlike with Nightmares and Dreamscapes, there are absolutely some bad stories in Skeleton Crew.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
Some of these were interesting, some were plain bizarre and others were terrifying yet above all, I did not expect Stephen King to write a Sherlock Holmes story!