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A review by nikki_in_niagara
Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
4.0
A collection of four unrelated novellas. The first three are okay but the last one is excellent. Set in Castle Rock and features Pops Merrill, Ace Merrill's (from The Body) uncle. It has a feeling of nostalgia since we're familiar with the setting. This is a good, creepy story that is classic King.
1. The Langoliers - Ten people on a plane make the realization that all the other passengers and crew of their flight have disappeared. I'm not crazy about King's science fiction. This is a fairly slow story until the end when it picks up and the action happens. A unique take on this trope. I enjoyed the ending. (3/5)
2. Secret Window, Secret Garden - A popular author receives a visit from a man who claims he stole a story from him early in his career. The author denies this and the man starts to threaten him. I must admit this bored me at first but it got better in the middle and had a creepy fast-paced ending. (4/5)
3. The Library Policeman - A man goes to the library for the first time and finds an old-fashioned rude librarian who demands the books back on time or she'll sick the Library Police on him. Turns out no one knows who this lady is and he starts to dream of the library Police. This one felt like a King story. Going back to the past when he was a kid to unlock how to rid the town of the monster. Great stuff. (4/5)
4. The Sun Dog - This is classic King. A coming of age story. A boy gets a Polaroid camera for his birthday and it takes the same picture over and over. Eventually, it starts to change ever so slightly, a scruffy dog in front of a run-down house. A creepy story with great characters set in Castle Rock. (5/5)
1. The Langoliers - Ten people on a plane make the realization that all the other passengers and crew of their flight have disappeared. I'm not crazy about King's science fiction. This is a fairly slow story until the end when it picks up and the action happens. A unique take on this trope. I enjoyed the ending. (3/5)
2. Secret Window, Secret Garden - A popular author receives a visit from a man who claims he stole a story from him early in his career. The author denies this and the man starts to threaten him. I must admit this bored me at first but it got better in the middle and had a creepy fast-paced ending. (4/5)
3. The Library Policeman - A man goes to the library for the first time and finds an old-fashioned rude librarian who demands the books back on time or she'll sick the Library Police on him. Turns out no one knows who this lady is and he starts to dream of the library Police. This one felt like a King story. Going back to the past when he was a kid to unlock how to rid the town of the monster. Great stuff. (4/5)
4. The Sun Dog - This is classic King. A coming of age story. A boy gets a Polaroid camera for his birthday and it takes the same picture over and over. Eventually, it starts to change ever so slightly, a scruffy dog in front of a run-down house. A creepy story with great characters set in Castle Rock. (5/5)