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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
This was the first King anthology I read, and every single story blew my socks clean off. Take this with a tiny grain of salt, however, as that was sixteen years ago and my 19-year-old tastes may have been a little less sophisticated than they are today. Regardless, this book cemented King as a looming patron saint of the short story in my imagination.
This starts out with what ended up being my favorite story from this collection: Autopsy Room 4. Super creepy and well done.
Then there are four stories in a row that I don't really remember. I think it's funny that three put of the four were published in the New Yorker. I did remember these feeling too long.
Then we get a story about Roland from the Dark Tower series!!! This was a great story and I think it stands alone even if you haven't read those books.
I enjoyed all of the stories after this one as well, except I was too scared to read the one with "pets" in the title. I didn't trust King to not do something awful to the animals.
The title story was really interesting and I'd like to see him revisit that story and write about some of the other trannies (not what you think it means). 1408 was a great story with about an evil place. I enjoyed Lunch at the Gotham Cafe even though we don't get any explanation, although maybe that's part of what I liked. We don't usually get explanations in real life either. The deja vu story was well written but wasn't exactly enjoyable, but it wasn't supposed to be. Finally, Riding the Bullet and Luckey Quarter were both sad.
Then there are four stories in a row that I don't really remember. I think it's funny that three put of the four were published in the New Yorker. I did remember these feeling too long.
Then we get a story about Roland from the Dark Tower series!!! This was a great story and I think it stands alone even if you haven't read those books.
I enjoyed all of the stories after this one as well, except I was too scared to read the one with "pets" in the title. I didn't trust King to not do something awful to the animals.
The title story was really interesting and I'd like to see him revisit that story and write about some of the other trannies (not what you think it means). 1408 was a great story with about an evil place. I enjoyed Lunch at the Gotham Cafe even though we don't get any explanation, although maybe that's part of what I liked. We don't usually get explanations in real life either. The deja vu story was well written but wasn't exactly enjoyable, but it wasn't supposed to be. Finally, Riding the Bullet and Luckey Quarter were both sad.
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A good variety of flat out horror and more considered stories. There's a half decent, but non-essential, Dark Tower story, and I enjoyed 1408, having long felt the film is an underrated gem. the Death of Jack Hamilton was a nice suprise. I can't remember another instance of King writing historical fiction. The stories vary massively in length, so don't expect to read each one in one sitting. King's notes on each story are as always informative and entertaining.
"...it whispers in tones of hushed greed, and all the truths of the moral world fall to ruin before its hunger."
dark
medium-paced
The wife had me watch 1408 a while back. I remembered it was in this collection but the only stories I even vaguely remember are the titular one and Little Sisters of Eluria. I figured 2017 was as good a time as any for a reread.
Even though I've been a Constant Reader for twenty years now, I always forget just how good Stephen King is at what he does until I start reading. The man knows his way around a story, though he gets a little wordy at times.
Like all short story collections, the stories vary in quality. I was surprised at how much I'd forgotten since I originally read this in 2002. Little Sisters of Eluria was better than I remembered, though Roland's story is missing something without the rest of the ka-tet. Everything's Eventual was great but since I came to it with more experienced eyes, it somewhat reminded me of [b:Time Out of Joint|698034|Time Out of Joint|Philip K. Dick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320479470s/698034.jpg|87770]. Autopsy Room was another great one. I liked The Road Virus Heads North but I feel like I read something similar a long time ago.
Some of the stories seemed a little out of place. I wasn't enamored with LT's Theory of Pets, The Death Room, or The Death of Jack Hamilton. As for 1408, the story that prompted me to pick the book back up... I actually preferred the movie. It was an okay story about a hotel room haunted by something but the movie really fleshed things out. Also, the Mike Enslin in the book is couple notches higher on the douche scale than the one John Cusack plays in the movie.
As with all short story collections, this one is a little hard to rate. Do Everything's Eventual, Little Sisters of Eluria, and Autopsy Room overcome the drag factor of the stories I didn't care that much for? At the end of the day, I'm slapping the traditional safety rating on this one. Three out of five stars.
Even though I've been a Constant Reader for twenty years now, I always forget just how good Stephen King is at what he does until I start reading. The man knows his way around a story, though he gets a little wordy at times.
Like all short story collections, the stories vary in quality. I was surprised at how much I'd forgotten since I originally read this in 2002. Little Sisters of Eluria was better than I remembered, though Roland's story is missing something without the rest of the ka-tet. Everything's Eventual was great but since I came to it with more experienced eyes, it somewhat reminded me of [b:Time Out of Joint|698034|Time Out of Joint|Philip K. Dick|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320479470s/698034.jpg|87770]. Autopsy Room was another great one. I liked The Road Virus Heads North but I feel like I read something similar a long time ago.
Some of the stories seemed a little out of place. I wasn't enamored with LT's Theory of Pets, The Death Room, or The Death of Jack Hamilton. As for 1408, the story that prompted me to pick the book back up... I actually preferred the movie. It was an okay story about a hotel room haunted by something but the movie really fleshed things out. Also, the Mike Enslin in the book is couple notches higher on the douche scale than the one John Cusack plays in the movie.
As with all short story collections, this one is a little hard to rate. Do Everything's Eventual, Little Sisters of Eluria, and Autopsy Room overcome the drag factor of the stories I didn't care that much for? At the end of the day, I'm slapping the traditional safety rating on this one. Three out of five stars.
To me, Stephen King is at his strongest when writing short stories. While his novels get ever-longer, his short fiction stays crisp. My favorite story in this book is "Everything's Eventual," but "1408" is a close second. The latter scares the bejeezus out of me every time.
To be honest I wasn't really impressed by this collection. There was nothing that I could really get into, and that included the Dark Tower story, which I thought would be really, really good. I think the two best stories in the collection are the one with the crazy maître d' and the road virus heads north. These two stories start off normal enough, and really only road virus has any supernatural element to it. I found the maître d' story horrifyingly simple and straightforward, and at the same time comic. There was just enough mystery to keep you guessing about the motives of the characters that you just want to read it again to be sure you didn't miss anything. Both of these stories have a very unique mystery and suspense about them that makes you want to zoom through to see what's going to happen. Impressive, in a very difficult format like the short story. Other than that, meh. But who am I to criticize? The worst story in here is light years better than the best of mine.
And of course, this doesn't mean I don't like King. I think the worst he can do in my mind is a three...
And of course, this doesn't mean I don't like King. I think the worst he can do in my mind is a three...
2.5⭐️ I only liked a few of the stories. The rest weren’t very interesting unfortunately.
http://frokenchristina.blogspot.se/2012/10/allt-kan-handa-14-morka-berattelser.html