Reviews

Four Past Midnight by Stephen King

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sarkenobi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

nikki_in_niagara's review against another edition

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4.0

A collection of four unrelated novellas. The first three are okay but the last one is excellent. Set in Castle Rock and features Pops Merrill, Ace Merrill's (from The Body) uncle. It has a feeling of nostalgia since we're familiar with the setting. This is a good, creepy story that is classic King.

1. The Langoliers - Ten people on a plane make the realization that all the other passengers and crew of their flight have disappeared. I'm not crazy about King's science fiction. This is a fairly slow story until the end when it picks up and the action happens. A unique take on this trope. I enjoyed the ending. (3/5)

2. Secret Window, Secret Garden - A popular author receives a visit from a man who claims he stole a story from him early in his career. The author denies this and the man starts to threaten him. I must admit this bored me at first but it got better in the middle and had a creepy fast-paced ending. (4/5)

3. The Library Policeman - A man goes to the library for the first time and finds an old-fashioned rude librarian who demands the books back on time or she'll sick the Library Police on him. Turns out no one knows who this lady is and he starts to dream of the library Police. This one felt like a King story. Going back to the past when he was a kid to unlock how to rid the town of the monster. Great stuff. (4/5)

4. The Sun Dog - This is classic King. A coming of age story. A boy gets a Polaroid camera for his birthday and it takes the same picture over and over. Eventually, it starts to change ever so slightly, a scruffy dog in front of a run-down house. A creepy story with great characters set in Castle Rock. (5/5)

caitlinn_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

randomreader41's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

hkaradus's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

fr_eddie's review against another edition

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3.0

3,5 una storia interessante, uno stile di scrittura molto scorrevole, ma nulla di troppo memorabile. (non so che mi fumavo perché sto continuando a pensarci, nulla di troppo memorabile sto cazzo)

Ho amato il personaggio frastagliato di Craig, finché è durato, e ho apprezzato il gesto di Dinah, molto inaspettato, e, pur amando l'incipit, la storia mi è sembrata abbastanza dimenticabile, come anche i mostri presenti: una palla aliena piena di denti non è il massimo dell'originalità, ecco.