Reviews - Pátá čtvrtina: Noční můry a snové výjevy

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Pátá čtvrtina: Noční můry a snové výjevy

In autumn of 1994 I gave Nightmares & Dreamscapes short shrift. As a collection it is a mixed bag, the weakest of the author's publishing career. He seems to have included everything but the kitchen sink. I'll concentrate on the unread tales, or ones I do not recall reading in 1994.

"Dolan's Cadillac," "Night Flyer," and "Popsy" are three of my least favorite Stephen King stories, seconded only by "Sneakers," "Umney's Last Case," and "The Moving Finger."

("The Fifth Quarter," conversely, is Richard Starkean sublimity.)

Full:

http://jayrothermel.blogspot.com/2020/03/50-years-of-stephen-king-nightmares.html?m=1

alexanderhagen8's review against another edition

3.0

I don't know what it is about King's short stories, but they are so often a miss for me. It took me so long to get through this entire collection because for every story that I loved, i would have to sit through 2-3 where I was either bored or unimpressed. This collection only had 7 out of 23 stories that I loved, the rest were neither good nor bad... just bland for me. Regardless, the stories I was not a fan of were well written and well developed as most King stories are, they just didn't work for me personally.

Stories I loved:
Dolan's Cadillac
The Night Flier
Popsy
Chattery Teeth
Home Delivery
Rainy Season
Crouch End

angelahayes's review against another edition

4.0

4 Stars

Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen Kin

RTC

polveresucarta's review against another edition

3.0

3.5⭐️

mayastone's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous dark tense

Introduction: SK talks about his gullibility and willingness to believe in the impossible amongst other things.

Dolan's Cadillac: Revenge. A Tense story with a satisfying ending. 4/5
The End of the Whole Mess: A seemingly perfect solution to one of humanities greatest flaw. It’s strange how the catch wasn’t noticed before it was too late. 3/5
Suffer the Little Children: Creepy. 4/5
The Night Flier: The story is too long and not worth the payout. A flying vampire serial killer. 1/5
Popsy: Another vampire story. A man who kidnaps children and sells them to pay off his debts. 2/5
It Grows on You: An oddly sexual story. 3/5
Chattery Teeth: Creepy. An attempted robbery gone wrong and a “broken” set of teeth. 4/5
Dedication: N-Word. A natural father vs. A biological one. Very weird story. 1/5
The Moving Finger: Truly creepy, reminds me a bit of the plant in “Little shop of horrors” 4.5/5
Sneakers: Part spooky, part a ghost seeking a soft revenge. What is behind the sneakers that collect dead bugs around it? 4/5
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band: SK took the phrase “Rock and Roll will never die” and turned it into a story. 3/5
Home Delivery: Zombie apocalypse and an indecisive woman taking charge of her circumstances. I only wish it were longer (a surprising statement for a SK story of any kind). 4/5
Rainy Season: This reminds me of the story “Locusts.” Every seven years a couple is warned, each time they don’t listen and the ritual continues. 4/5
My Pretty Pony: I honestly feel like I didn’t quite get the point of this story. It seemed to be about the passage of time. 2.5/5
Sorry, Right Number: A cry for help heard from the phone. Who is calling and when? 3/5
The Ten O'Clock People: Bat people seen by smokers. Betrayal, a fight for survival and rebuilding. The description of the oozing fluids from the popped protrusions was especially gruesome. 3.5/5
Crouch End: Instead of platform 9¾ ’s a couple finds themselves in an odd Towen. Old Druid lingo. Beware the goat with a thousand young. 4/5
The House on Maple Street: A house with a mysterious growing metal skeleton inside the walls. A stepfather who mistreats his wife and stepchildren. This was the only story that came with a picture. 3.5/5
The Fifth Quarter: A successful money heist followed by betrayal, murder and revenge. 4/5
The Doctor's Case: Sherlock Holmes story, one solved by Watson. Money, manipulation and inheritance is at the heart of it. It’s typical for the cat to latch on to the one person trying to avoid it lol. “Say it’s dirty work undone” 3.5/5
Umney's Last Case: A switcheroo between the creator and the created, neither liking the creators place. 4/5
Head Down: Overlong story that would only be interesting to fans of baseball. As it stands I don’t even know how baseball is played and the only game I’ve seen is brief snippets in certain family movies. From my understanding baseball is a bit like rounders? Anyway 1/5
Brooklyn August: At least it’s short. 1/5

Notes: Insights to the stories. I was especially curious about the background ideas behind “Dedication,” “My pretty pony,” and “The house on maple street.” The last one offers an explanation to the picture that was included. Some of the stories tie-in to earlier works.

The Beggar and the Diamond: An interesting story.

tardycreative's review against another edition

5.0

dark funny 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

silas_rnold's review against another edition

4.0

I still think my favorite collection is Different Seasons, and the best short story collection is Night Shift to me. That said, Nightmares and Dreamscapes had some fun stories, and a few moments of total engrossment. But like any short story collection, some pieces aren't as good as others. I like the fresh ideas, even though King's notes stated that horror stories rely on a few tried and tested tropes. I really enjoyed Head Down. It may even be my favourite. I still would recommend.