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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
This is a short story compilation book, with a great variety of different themes, settings and genres. I'd say most of the stories here are well worth reading, and even the ones I cared less about, I could at least find a few things I really liked about them. All the stories had either creative settings, ideas or even were just very well writen. Some of the highlights, for me, were Lunch at the Gotham Café, 1408 and Road Virus Heads North.
If you're interested in short stories, this book is a great choice with good variety.
If you're interested in short stories, this book is a great choice with good variety.
This collection of short stories was a bit hit and miss for me. I really enjoyed a few of them, in particular 'The Road Virus Heads North', but otherwise I didn't enjoy this book anywhere near as much as normally do with Stephen King stories.
The Man in the Black Suit" - (9/10) This story was terrifying to me. The voice of The Man, as read by John Cullum, was equal parts goofy — almost like Willoughy (Of Fox and Hounds) — and Dracula. His dialogue was that of someone who didn’t need to say menacing words because his aura was unsettling. But then, when he does start talking… oh, mommy! Wonderfully encapsulated a kid who both wants his dad to beat up the bad man, but also recognizes… the bad man might eat him alive.
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French (8/10): I wanted more of this one but thought it was clever and interesting. Loved the descriptiveness of her observations though and didn’t mine the looming threat of the ending.
Riding the Bullet (/10): I loved the philosophical aspect to this story, and thoroughly enjoyed the honesty within the piece. The supernatural element, for me, didn't come across as creepy/scary as I think the story was intending though.
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French (8/10): I wanted more of this one but thought it was clever and interesting. Loved the descriptiveness of her observations though and didn’t mine the looming threat of the ending.
Riding the Bullet (/10): I loved the philosophical aspect to this story, and thoroughly enjoyed the honesty within the piece. The supernatural element, for me, didn't come across as creepy/scary as I think the story was intending though.
I skipped around…
I enjoyed 1408 the most. Overall tho I found this to be a slog. Love the concepts but the execution could be more brief.
I enjoyed 1408 the most. Overall tho I found this to be a slog. Love the concepts but the execution could be more brief.
Autopsy Room Four: 3 stars. I liked the tension of “will they-won’t they” discover the guy’s still alive before cutting him open, but otherwise this story was fair, instead of scary.
The Man in the Black Suit: takes place by a stream on a farm, in 1914 Maine. I expected much more from this story than I received. 2.5 stars.
All that you Love will be Carried Away: I get what King was saying with this story, but I wasn’t affected by Alfie. 2 stars.
The Death of Jack Hamilton: 4 stars. I liked this one. It’s got some eeeeewww moments, but there’s a good sense of camaraderie, and time ticking down for Johnnie.
In the Deathroom: Tense, but a little too many “steenkin batches”. 4 stars.
The Little Sisters of Eluria: 4.5 stars. This was terrific! I really enjoyed this long short story/novella that picks up somewhere between young Roland in Wizard and Glass and when we first see him, pursuing the man in black in the Gunslinger. The wistfulness for a dying world, its inhabitants and horrors (sometimes the same thing), come through beautifully here, as well as Roland’s grief for Susan Delgado. Now why couldn’t Wizard and Glass been so moving and evocative of the world, instead of the tedious, overly long and the super-boring thing that it was?
Everything’s Eventual: DNF. Could not get into this story at all. 1 star.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets: 3.5 stars. I wonder if he was the Axe Man?....And poor Frank.
The Road Virus Heads North: 3.5 stars. creepy! Nice sense of dread building about the scary guy in the painting, even though I knew how this story would end.
Lunch at the Gotham Cafe: Not sure if the husband-wife pair in the story shouldn’t have been killed. 2.5 stars.
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French: 2.5 stars. I got the point, but was bored getting it.
1408: too verbose, though creepy. 3 stars.
Riding the Bullet: 3 stars. This was ok, but I think I was not as moved by this story as the author intended.
Lucky Quarter: This was a 2-star story for me till right to the end, when the comment by the main character about buying her thirteen-year-old daughter colourful "... Underwear that would make her feel funny and sexy,..." that made me super uncomfortable. So minus 1 star, bringing this story to 1 star.
Total: 2.5 stars.
The Man in the Black Suit: takes place by a stream on a farm, in 1914 Maine. I expected much more from this story than I received. 2.5 stars.
All that you Love will be Carried Away: I get what King was saying with this story, but I wasn’t affected by Alfie. 2 stars.
The Death of Jack Hamilton: 4 stars. I liked this one. It’s got some eeeeewww moments, but there’s a good sense of camaraderie, and time ticking down for Johnnie.
In the Deathroom: Tense, but a little too many “steenkin batches”. 4 stars.
The Little Sisters of Eluria: 4.5 stars. This was terrific! I really enjoyed this long short story/novella that picks up somewhere between young Roland in Wizard and Glass and when we first see him, pursuing the man in black in the Gunslinger. The wistfulness for a dying world, its inhabitants and horrors (sometimes the same thing), come through beautifully here, as well as Roland’s grief for Susan Delgado. Now why couldn’t Wizard and Glass been so moving and evocative of the world, instead of the tedious, overly long and the super-boring thing that it was?
Everything’s Eventual: DNF. Could not get into this story at all. 1 star.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets: 3.5 stars. I wonder if he was the Axe Man?....And poor Frank.
The Road Virus Heads North: 3.5 stars. creepy! Nice sense of dread building about the scary guy in the painting, even though I knew how this story would end.
Lunch at the Gotham Cafe: Not sure if the husband-wife pair in the story shouldn’t have been killed. 2.5 stars.
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French: 2.5 stars. I got the point, but was bored getting it.
1408: too verbose, though creepy. 3 stars.
Riding the Bullet: 3 stars. This was ok, but I think I was not as moved by this story as the author intended.
Lucky Quarter: This was a 2-star story for me till right to the end, when the comment by the main character about buying her thirteen-year-old daughter colourful "... Underwear that would make her feel funny and sexy,..." that made me super uncomfortable. So minus 1 star, bringing this story to 1 star.
Total: 2.5 stars.