Scan barcode
A review by etivepmc
Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King
3.0
After struggling to read Misery, I thought that I'd tuck into some short stories by King to try and kickstart my love for him again - and for the most part, it worked! As I was reading I rated each story out of 5 stars.
5⭐️
-Dolan's Cadillac - Such an amazing way to kickstart a short story anthology. I was transfixed the whole way through, thoroughly convinced by the grief that Robinson felt after his wife was murdered - going so far as to join a high-way maintenance team in order to learn how to essentially get away with murdering the man that murdered his wife.
4⭐️
-The Night-Flier and Popsy - I'm just a sucker for anything Stephen King involving vampire-like creatures.
-Dedication - Nothing more haunting and nightmarish than a woman hypnotically ingesting her employer's semen... creepy, gross, weird.
- The Moving Finger - I loved how gory this one ended up being, and I was genuinely convinced that Mitla was going insane from the tapping/scratching of the humongous finger that was creeping out of his kitchen drain, trying to kill him. The ending was pretty spooky.
- Sneakers - I loved the mystery of this one, and it transported me back into the world of pre-00's New York (I've just finished Debby Harry's autobiography 'Face It' so I was just excited to be back in that world.
- You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - Loved the relationship between Clark and Mary, they are the epitome of a couple that bicker and grate on each other, despite loving each other a lot. Just loved that people had been trapped in a small town that forces them to watch the concerts of tragic musicians for all-eternity.
- The House on Maple Street - I love the deep relationship between the Bradbury family as they try to come to the conclusion of what's happening to their house, whilst dealing with the violence/emotional abuse of their step-father Lew. Very mysterious, loved the sci-fi element.
- The Doctor's Case - Just a really really nice break from the constant supernatural occurences within the book with a Sherlock/Watson/Lestrade short story. Wish he did more of these...
- Umney's Last Case - Again, something quite different and less of the supernatural. Loved the commentary of an author's world being overrun by the characters that they've created and becoming jealous of the perfect world/lives that they've created, as well as these characters having sentience and wanting to get their sense of familiarity back.
- Crouch End - I think this was more spooky for me as I do live in London.
3⭐️
- Suffer Little Children - Could've done with some more world-building, did like the premise though.
- Chattery Teeth - Fun but somewhat unbelievable.
- Home Delivery - Love a good zombie/end of world moment, wish there was more lore.
- Rainy Season - What could go wrong with flesh-eating toads?
- Sorry, Right Number - Loved the script format, also really loved the time-illusion element.
- The Ten O'Clock People - Wish wish wish there was more lore! I liked this one but couldn't really get attached to the characters as there wasn't a lot of exposition.
- The Fifth Quarter - Another one that needed more lore and exposition.
2⭐️
- The End of The Whole Mess - Good premise, again, more exposition needed. Couldn't get too attached to the brothers as there wasn't that much to know other than their scientific exploits.
- It Grows on You - Tale of a small town with a strange house on a hill overlooking it, I could definitely get into it more if I had more to work with. More strange things would've made it at least a 3⭐️ for me.
- My Pretty Pony - Had absolutely no idea what was going on really but was nice-enough to see a healthy grandfather-grandson relationship.
1⭐️
- Head Down - I know nothing about baseball and don't want to read an essay on it.
- Brooklyn August - Felt quite random? Like made no sense at all to me.
- Notes - Ruins the magic!
- The Beggar and the Diamond - Felt quite random, very out of place for this anthology.
5⭐️
-Dolan's Cadillac - Such an amazing way to kickstart a short story anthology. I was transfixed the whole way through, thoroughly convinced by the grief that Robinson felt after his wife was murdered - going so far as to join a high-way maintenance team in order to learn how to essentially get away with murdering the man that murdered his wife.
4⭐️
-The Night-Flier and Popsy - I'm just a sucker for anything Stephen King involving vampire-like creatures.
-Dedication - Nothing more haunting and nightmarish than a woman hypnotically ingesting her employer's semen... creepy, gross, weird.
- The Moving Finger - I loved how gory this one ended up being, and I was genuinely convinced that Mitla was going insane from the tapping/scratching of the humongous finger that was creeping out of his kitchen drain, trying to kill him. The ending was pretty spooky.
- Sneakers - I loved the mystery of this one, and it transported me back into the world of pre-00's New York (I've just finished Debby Harry's autobiography 'Face It' so I was just excited to be back in that world.
- You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - Loved the relationship between Clark and Mary, they are the epitome of a couple that bicker and grate on each other, despite loving each other a lot. Just loved that people had been trapped in a small town that forces them to watch the concerts of tragic musicians for all-eternity.
- The House on Maple Street - I love the deep relationship between the Bradbury family as they try to come to the conclusion of what's happening to their house, whilst dealing with the violence/emotional abuse of their step-father Lew. Very mysterious, loved the sci-fi element.
- The Doctor's Case - Just a really really nice break from the constant supernatural occurences within the book with a Sherlock/Watson/Lestrade short story. Wish he did more of these...
- Umney's Last Case - Again, something quite different and less of the supernatural. Loved the commentary of an author's world being overrun by the characters that they've created and becoming jealous of the perfect world/lives that they've created, as well as these characters having sentience and wanting to get their sense of familiarity back.
- Crouch End - I think this was more spooky for me as I do live in London.
3⭐️
- Suffer Little Children - Could've done with some more world-building, did like the premise though.
- Chattery Teeth - Fun but somewhat unbelievable.
- Home Delivery - Love a good zombie/end of world moment, wish there was more lore.
- Rainy Season - What could go wrong with flesh-eating toads?
- Sorry, Right Number - Loved the script format, also really loved the time-illusion element.
- The Ten O'Clock People - Wish wish wish there was more lore! I liked this one but couldn't really get attached to the characters as there wasn't a lot of exposition.
- The Fifth Quarter - Another one that needed more lore and exposition.
2⭐️
- The End of The Whole Mess - Good premise, again, more exposition needed. Couldn't get too attached to the brothers as there wasn't that much to know other than their scientific exploits.
- It Grows on You - Tale of a small town with a strange house on a hill overlooking it, I could definitely get into it more if I had more to work with. More strange things would've made it at least a 3⭐️ for me.
- My Pretty Pony - Had absolutely no idea what was going on really but was nice-enough to see a healthy grandfather-grandson relationship.
1⭐️
- Head Down - I know nothing about baseball and don't want to read an essay on it.
- Brooklyn August - Felt quite random? Like made no sense at all to me.
- Notes - Ruins the magic!
- The Beggar and the Diamond - Felt quite random, very out of place for this anthology.