Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ladiicatherine 's review for:
Four Past Midnight
by Stephen King
Four Past Midnight is a collection of four Stephen King novellas. I was able to get through three of the four compiled in this book.
1. The Langoliers
As if I needed another reason to hate flying? A group of about 9-10 individuals going from LAX to Boston wake up mid-flight to discover that everyone else has disappeared including the flight attendants and the pilots. They are forced to figure out what happened while they were sleeping and why the world below seems completely quiet, completely abandoned.
2. Secret Window, Secret Garden
A well-known writer is living in his vacation home after his divorce when he is visited by a man named Shooter who claims that he stole one of his stories. Shooter wants to know how our main character managed to steal his story and what he plans to do to make things right with events escalating into further and further violence.
3. The Library Policeman
Sam - Realtor/Insurance Agent - is called upon to give a speech to the Rotary Club after the original speaker has an unfortunate accident. He finds himself heading to the public library so he can take out some books that might help him liven up his speech, coming in contact with the strange librarian named Ardelia Lortz. Lortz encourages Sam to return the books on time or else she is going to send the Library Policeman (depicted menacingly in a poster in the kid's section of the library) to obtain them. Is there really a Library Policeman? Is there really even an Ardelia Lortz?
4. The Sun Dog
The story I decided not to read.
The three stories I did finish were average. Three stars out of five. Like most of King's work, the three novellas I read started off very strong with good characters, a tense setting, they made me feel paranoid in sections, and I found myself being really invested in what was taking place. Like most of King's work, the endings happened. They didn't pack the punch needed to support the rest of the story. The most disappointing ending of the three was The Langoliers. I spent all that time wondering what the heck The Langoliers were and was excited to find out. When I did, I had this, "Oh....really?" reaction. The one that made me most tense was Secret Window, Secret Garden. The thought of Shooter lurking outside Rainey's home or even inside his home freaked me out a little! The most disturbing one content-wise was The Library Policeman and it was because of the trigger warning that came when Sam found out who his own personal Library Policeman was (trigger warning: sexual assault). It made me uncomfortable. In the end, I decided not to read the last story because I didn't want to take the chance that it would start off strong and end up like the other three. Maybe someday I'll come back and read The Sun Dog. For now, I'm going to avoid a reading slump and try and choose a better read!
1. The Langoliers
As if I needed another reason to hate flying? A group of about 9-10 individuals going from LAX to Boston wake up mid-flight to discover that everyone else has disappeared including the flight attendants and the pilots. They are forced to figure out what happened while they were sleeping and why the world below seems completely quiet, completely abandoned.
2. Secret Window, Secret Garden
A well-known writer is living in his vacation home after his divorce when he is visited by a man named Shooter who claims that he stole one of his stories. Shooter wants to know how our main character managed to steal his story and what he plans to do to make things right with events escalating into further and further violence.
3. The Library Policeman
Sam - Realtor/Insurance Agent - is called upon to give a speech to the Rotary Club after the original speaker has an unfortunate accident. He finds himself heading to the public library so he can take out some books that might help him liven up his speech, coming in contact with the strange librarian named Ardelia Lortz. Lortz encourages Sam to return the books on time or else she is going to send the Library Policeman (depicted menacingly in a poster in the kid's section of the library) to obtain them. Is there really a Library Policeman? Is there really even an Ardelia Lortz?
4. The Sun Dog
The story I decided not to read.
The three stories I did finish were average. Three stars out of five. Like most of King's work, the three novellas I read started off very strong with good characters, a tense setting, they made me feel paranoid in sections, and I found myself being really invested in what was taking place. Like most of King's work, the endings happened. They didn't pack the punch needed to support the rest of the story. The most disappointing ending of the three was The Langoliers. I spent all that time wondering what the heck The Langoliers were and was excited to find out. When I did, I had this, "Oh....really?" reaction. The one that made me most tense was Secret Window, Secret Garden. The thought of Shooter lurking outside Rainey's home or even inside his home freaked me out a little! The most disturbing one content-wise was The Library Policeman and it was because of the trigger warning that came when Sam found out who his own personal Library Policeman was (trigger warning: sexual assault). It made me uncomfortable. In the end, I decided not to read the last story because I didn't want to take the chance that it would start off strong and end up like the other three. Maybe someday I'll come back and read The Sun Dog. For now, I'm going to avoid a reading slump and try and choose a better read!