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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
As usual I only liked a few of the stories in this short story collection:
Autopsy Room 4
LT's Theory of Pets
The Road Virus Heads North
1408
Riding the Bullet
Autopsy Room 4
LT's Theory of Pets
The Road Virus Heads North
1408
Riding the Bullet
Similar to what I said in my Night Shift review, I recognize that ranking a collection of short stories (and technically a few novellas) alongside a bunch of actual novels is a bit strange and arbitrary. Like, are my feelings on Everything's Eventual as a whole just an aggregate of what I think of each individual story? I guess, kind of. I don't know, really. I still feel kind of weird taking that approach because there are stories that I both like and dislike from this collection, but I guess that's not really avoidable when making this type of list. They were all released together as one cohesive product, so I suppose that's how I'm going to look at it.
So with that being said Everything's Eventual is an interesting collection I think. In comparison with Night Shift (the only other King short story collection I've read) there are some immediately noticeable differences. It's much less campy, and less "pulpy" than those stories; this time, I didn't feel like Stephen King was setting out specifically to disgust or upset me. There are still some scary moments obviously, but it's definitely a more... I guess you could say "mature" collection overall. And while that definitely pays off in some places, it also doesn't pay off in others. I sort of respect the sheer gall of a lot of the stories in Night Shift, even if it didn't always pay off.
In this collection, when the stories don't pay off, it's just because they're kind of boring or confusing. This is especially true of the first half of this thing. I really enjoyed the direct creepiness of The Man in the Black Suit, but other stories like All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, The Death of Jack Hamilton, and In the Deathroom made the first half of this drag. There are some other stories scattered throughout that I didn't care much for either, but in general I think this collection has a stronger second half. I really enjoyed The Little Sisters of Eluria (the entire reason I'm even reading this collection in the first place), I loved being back in the vivid strangeness that is Mid-World and it was great to see Roland show up in here. And just to shout out the other stories I really loved in this collection: That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French is an existentially strange and horrifying take on a Groundhog's Day time loop, The Road Virus Heads North is one of the most through-and-through creepy things here and is absolutely classic Stephen King in its "haunted painting" concept, 1408 is wonderfully unsettling and gets into the kind of unexplainable, reality-breaking, psychological horror that I love, and Rising the Bullet is extremely touching and is clearly a very personal, introspective story about family and death that made me cry and want to call my mom.
So again, there is good stuff on here, and I would even go so far as to say there is more good stuff than bad stuff. Some parts definitely bring down the average a bit, but to keep up with the Night Shift comparisons, I would say that that book had both higher highs, and lower lows. Everything's Eventual is pretty inoffensive in that regard. I liked a lot of it, thought a lot of it was average, but it was definitely an overall positive experience, and there is without a doubt some essential King stories scattered throughout here.
So with that being said Everything's Eventual is an interesting collection I think. In comparison with Night Shift (the only other King short story collection I've read) there are some immediately noticeable differences. It's much less campy, and less "pulpy" than those stories; this time, I didn't feel like Stephen King was setting out specifically to disgust or upset me. There are still some scary moments obviously, but it's definitely a more... I guess you could say "mature" collection overall. And while that definitely pays off in some places, it also doesn't pay off in others. I sort of respect the sheer gall of a lot of the stories in Night Shift, even if it didn't always pay off.
In this collection, when the stories don't pay off, it's just because they're kind of boring or confusing. This is especially true of the first half of this thing. I really enjoyed the direct creepiness of The Man in the Black Suit, but other stories like All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, The Death of Jack Hamilton, and In the Deathroom made the first half of this drag. There are some other stories scattered throughout that I didn't care much for either, but in general I think this collection has a stronger second half. I really enjoyed The Little Sisters of Eluria (the entire reason I'm even reading this collection in the first place), I loved being back in the vivid strangeness that is Mid-World and it was great to see Roland show up in here. And just to shout out the other stories I really loved in this collection: That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French is an existentially strange and horrifying take on a Groundhog's Day time loop, The Road Virus Heads North is one of the most through-and-through creepy things here and is absolutely classic Stephen King in its "haunted painting" concept, 1408 is wonderfully unsettling and gets into the kind of unexplainable, reality-breaking, psychological horror that I love, and Rising the Bullet is extremely touching and is clearly a very personal, introspective story about family and death that made me cry and want to call my mom.
So again, there is good stuff on here, and I would even go so far as to say there is more good stuff than bad stuff. Some parts definitely bring down the average a bit, but to keep up with the Night Shift comparisons, I would say that that book had both higher highs, and lower lows. Everything's Eventual is pretty inoffensive in that regard. I liked a lot of it, thought a lot of it was average, but it was definitely an overall positive experience, and there is without a doubt some essential King stories scattered throughout here.
This is a book of 14 short stories. Of course, some are better than others. One actually seriously creeped me out, which is rare for any book . If you like King, you will like this book.
Jeden z najlepszych zbiorów opowiadań Kinga jaki czytałam :)
Can't remember much of the stories but I do remember where I was reading it. Hot summer day on the garden swing with no breeze of wind and the creepy feeling down in my spine.
This was the next book in my quest to read The Dark Tower series, as a couple of the stories in here are related to that series. These are "The Little Sisters of Eluria" and "Everything's Eventual." The rest of the stories were kind of just a bonus related to my issues with completionism, I guess. Here are my thoughts on each story:
"Autopsy Room Four" - This one was a really good story to start the collection with. It pulled me right in and kept me reading until the end. 3.5 stars.
"The Man in the Black Suit" - I thought that this one was a bit weaker. It was well-written, as are all the stories, but I felt like I could easily put it down and walk away. I think that I just didn't care for the randomness of it. Why does it happen? What's the reason behind it? You won't find out, and I think that knowing would have made it easier for me to enjoy. 3 stars.
"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" - This was one of my favorites in the collection. I really liked the main character and felt a lot of sympathy for him. I didn't really mind the ambiguous ending, as it lets me imagine what I would like to happen, rather than being forced to deal with what probably does happen. 4 stars.
"The Death of Jack Hamilton" - This would be a great story for fans of westerns, but it wasn't so much for me. I didn't feel much sympathy for the characters, and I just didn't really care about the plot. It wasn't a bad story, and I didn't hate reading it, but it wasn't exciting for me either. 3 stars.
"In the Deathroom" - Another story I felt a bit neutral about. I liked some of the twists that King puts in, and I actually appreciated the way that things ended in a pretty unrealistic manner, but it wasn't really subject matter that I care about, so I had a harder time being drawn into it. 3.5 stars.
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" - I had read this story ages ago and didn't really like it, so I was a bit apprehensive about it going in. However, I ended up liking it a lot more the second time around. I think it helped that I know Roland a bit better now. I felt like it gave some good depth to Roland's character, and even though it wasn't an action-packed story, it kept my attention the entire time. It was also pretty interesting to read so close to The Gunslinger and see the marked difference in King's writing skills. 4.5 stars.
"Everything's Eventual" - Another of my favorites from the collection. I really enjoyed the main character in this one, Dink, as well as the Death Note-esque vibe to it. It's another story where not a lot happens, but I found myself drawn into it regardless. 4.5 stars.
"L.T.'s Theory of Pets" - This features a fun premise, but I thought that it led to a simplistic story. The twist didn't really add a lot to the story for me, although I did feel bad for the main character. 3 stars.
"The Road Virus Heads North" - This felt like a very traditional horror story to me, but in a good way. The painting was legitimately creepy, and I liked that the main character wasn't terribly stupid, as sometimes happens in horror movies. I had some moments of genuine worry for the characters in this one. 3.5 stars.
"Lunch at Gotham Cafe" - This is one of those stories that was probably a ton of fun to write, but isn't as much fun to read. I didn't have a lot of sympathy for the main character, and the villain felt kind of out of nowhere and random. This was probably my least favorite of the collection. 2.5 stars.
"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What it is in French" - Meh. This plays with the idea of déjà vu, and while I can see that it would be terrible for the main character, reading about it was just kind of irritating. 3 stars.
"1408" - Another story that felt quite traditionally horror, in a good way. It features a haunted hotel room, and is probably the scariest story in the collection. I'm told that there's a movie of this one, which I will have to watch, as it seems like the story would be truly fantastic in a cinematic form. 4 stars.
"Riding the Bullet" - I really liked the moral issues that this story addresses. Again, it's a pretty traditional horror concept, but I enjoyed the way that King played with the idea and turned things on their heads. 4 stars.
"Luckey Quarter" - I liked the way that this one played with my perceptions. For a good stretch of this story, you don't really know what's going on and what is real, which I liked. 3.5 stars.
"Autopsy Room Four" - This one was a really good story to start the collection with. It pulled me right in and kept me reading until the end. 3.5 stars.
"The Man in the Black Suit" - I thought that this one was a bit weaker. It was well-written, as are all the stories, but I felt like I could easily put it down and walk away. I think that I just didn't care for the randomness of it. Why does it happen? What's the reason behind it? You won't find out, and I think that knowing would have made it easier for me to enjoy. 3 stars.
"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" - This was one of my favorites in the collection. I really liked the main character and felt a lot of sympathy for him. I didn't really mind the ambiguous ending, as it lets me imagine what I would like to happen, rather than being forced to deal with what probably does happen. 4 stars.
"The Death of Jack Hamilton" - This would be a great story for fans of westerns, but it wasn't so much for me. I didn't feel much sympathy for the characters, and I just didn't really care about the plot. It wasn't a bad story, and I didn't hate reading it, but it wasn't exciting for me either. 3 stars.
"In the Deathroom" - Another story I felt a bit neutral about. I liked some of the twists that King puts in, and I actually appreciated the way that things ended in a pretty unrealistic manner, but it wasn't really subject matter that I care about, so I had a harder time being drawn into it. 3.5 stars.
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" - I had read this story ages ago and didn't really like it, so I was a bit apprehensive about it going in. However, I ended up liking it a lot more the second time around. I think it helped that I know Roland a bit better now. I felt like it gave some good depth to Roland's character, and even though it wasn't an action-packed story, it kept my attention the entire time. It was also pretty interesting to read so close to The Gunslinger and see the marked difference in King's writing skills. 4.5 stars.
"Everything's Eventual" - Another of my favorites from the collection. I really enjoyed the main character in this one, Dink, as well as the Death Note-esque vibe to it. It's another story where not a lot happens, but I found myself drawn into it regardless. 4.5 stars.
"L.T.'s Theory of Pets" - This features a fun premise, but I thought that it led to a simplistic story. The twist didn't really add a lot to the story for me, although I did feel bad for the main character. 3 stars.
"The Road Virus Heads North" - This felt like a very traditional horror story to me, but in a good way. The painting was legitimately creepy, and I liked that the main character wasn't terribly stupid, as sometimes happens in horror movies. I had some moments of genuine worry for the characters in this one. 3.5 stars.
"Lunch at Gotham Cafe" - This is one of those stories that was probably a ton of fun to write, but isn't as much fun to read. I didn't have a lot of sympathy for the main character, and the villain felt kind of out of nowhere and random. This was probably my least favorite of the collection. 2.5 stars.
"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What it is in French" - Meh. This plays with the idea of déjà vu, and while I can see that it would be terrible for the main character, reading about it was just kind of irritating. 3 stars.
"1408" - Another story that felt quite traditionally horror, in a good way. It features a haunted hotel room, and is probably the scariest story in the collection. I'm told that there's a movie of this one, which I will have to watch, as it seems like the story would be truly fantastic in a cinematic form. 4 stars.
"Riding the Bullet" - I really liked the moral issues that this story addresses. Again, it's a pretty traditional horror concept, but I enjoyed the way that King played with the idea and turned things on their heads. 4 stars.
"Luckey Quarter" - I liked the way that this one played with my perceptions. For a good stretch of this story, you don't really know what's going on and what is real, which I liked. 3.5 stars.
I ADORE Stephen King, I'm just not a big fan of short stories...
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dear Stephen, I adore you! But not because of these five stories.
A decent short-story collection. The scariest part was seeing in GR that I had already listened to Riding the Bullet in December 2019 and remembered almost nothing about it.