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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a collection of "scary" short stories. I'm not a big short story fan, but I did enjoy reading a few of these. My favorite was the scariest one I've ever read, "1408," which is actually the plot of a recently released movie. It's not particularly gory or bloody, but as a psychological thriller, it's intense!
5 tales, not all of them ghastly. 2 were great, 2 were good, 1 was lame. King is at his best with short stories like these. My favorite was Everything's Eventual, with The Road Virus Heads North as a close second.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
it’s not a bad book, i just have a really short attention span and the stories blended into eachother nearer to the end of it.
I've read this collection more than once, but I think this is the first time I read it in true adulthood (where true adulthood is after graduating college, after growing into myself).
In order of rating:
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away: One of my favorite short stories ever for its humor and poignance. I was much sadder a couple years ago and I wrote a thing on my neglected blog. It's wild how I never noticed the story takes place during winter. It makes me think of BTS' "Spring Day," or Lana Del Rey's "Ride" monologue where she was in the winter of her life and that the men on the highway were her only summer. Alfie Zimmer has no one. As Stephen King ends the chapter, "we could all say a prayer for the Alfie Zimmers of the world." 5/5.
The Man in the Black Suit: I love the image King painted of the devil, and the words he gave him: “Oh, bad!” he cried. “Lovely-bad!” And then he chanted: “Opal! Diamond! Sapphire! Jade! I smell Gary’s lemonade!” 4.5/5.
Lunch at the Gotham Cafe: Like the man in the black suit, the wild maitre'd was a pleasure to read. The chants and phrases King comes up with are breathtaking. I just want to grab a pencil and sketch out the more memorable moments of this story. Diane though? Total bitch. 4/5.
Everything's Eventual: Really cool systems of magic (or science, whatever this is) and their universe get to me. I was surprised by how political this was, too. 4/5.
1408: I can forgive Stephen King for writing his protagonists as the same person simply because no one writes madness like him. 4/5.
The Road Virus Heads North: I got spooked. Weird, because the previous times I read it, I didn't really care. Huh. 4/5.
Riding the Bullet: Could be tighter, but I love the personal details and flourishes King added to Alan Parker's backstory. 3.5/5.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets: There was a thread of something I was grasping for, but it was too restrained in this work. 3/5.
The Death of Jack Hamilton: 3/5.
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French: "Jangle-tangle jingle-bingle, I saw daddy's great big dingle." There he goes again. 2.5/5.
Autopsy Room Four: 2.5/5
In the Deathroom: Reading this short story reminded me how Stephen King's character's are all the same person (except for standouts like Gary from "The Man in the Black Suit," Alfie Zimmer and Dinky). 2/5.
Luckey Quarter: 2/5.
The Little Sisters of Eluria: Didn't bother reading since this is part of his Dark Tower series, which I haven't read.
AVERAGE: 3.38/5
TLDR: Half of the stories are great, half are meh. I bought the ebook at full price, and I think the great half is worth it.
In order of rating:
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away: One of my favorite short stories ever for its humor and poignance. I was much sadder a couple years ago and I wrote a thing on my neglected blog. It's wild how I never noticed the story takes place during winter. It makes me think of BTS' "Spring Day," or Lana Del Rey's "Ride" monologue where she was in the winter of her life and that the men on the highway were her only summer. Alfie Zimmer has no one. As Stephen King ends the chapter, "we could all say a prayer for the Alfie Zimmers of the world." 5/5.
The Man in the Black Suit: I love the image King painted of the devil, and the words he gave him: “Oh, bad!” he cried. “Lovely-bad!” And then he chanted: “Opal! Diamond! Sapphire! Jade! I smell Gary’s lemonade!” 4.5/5.
Lunch at the Gotham Cafe: Like the man in the black suit, the wild maitre'd was a pleasure to read. The chants and phrases King comes up with are breathtaking. I just want to grab a pencil and sketch out the more memorable moments of this story. Diane though? Total bitch. 4/5.
Everything's Eventual: Really cool systems of magic (or science, whatever this is) and their universe get to me. I was surprised by how political this was, too. 4/5.
1408: I can forgive Stephen King for writing his protagonists as the same person simply because no one writes madness like him. 4/5.
The Road Virus Heads North: I got spooked. Weird, because the previous times I read it, I didn't really care. Huh. 4/5.
Riding the Bullet: Could be tighter, but I love the personal details and flourishes King added to Alan Parker's backstory. 3.5/5.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets: There was a thread of something I was grasping for, but it was too restrained in this work. 3/5.
The Death of Jack Hamilton: 3/5.
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French: "Jangle-tangle jingle-bingle, I saw daddy's great big dingle." There he goes again. 2.5/5.
Autopsy Room Four: 2.5/5
In the Deathroom: Reading this short story reminded me how Stephen King's character's are all the same person (except for standouts like Gary from "The Man in the Black Suit," Alfie Zimmer and Dinky). 2/5.
Luckey Quarter: 2/5.
The Little Sisters of Eluria: Didn't bother reading since this is part of his Dark Tower series, which I haven't read.
AVERAGE: 3.38/5
TLDR: Half of the stories are great, half are meh. I bought the ebook at full price, and I think the great half is worth it.
This really is an excellent combination of short stories!
I loved everyone of them, with the exception of "The Death of Jack Hamilton"
And if you are a 'Tower' fan remembered to read "The Little Sisters of Eluria"
I loved everyone of them, with the exception of "The Death of Jack Hamilton"
And if you are a 'Tower' fan remembered to read "The Little Sisters of Eluria"
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Yes