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A review by johnsnowwasright
Just After Sunset by Stephen King
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Not King's best outing. Generally, the longer stories were of better quality than the shorter ones.
Willa: King doesn't like this one per the notes in the back of the book but I found it nicely atmospheric and bittersweet.
The Gingerbread Girl: my 2nd favorite. With 60 pages, King gives us a compelling female lead and a tense stand off with the villain. The ending was cathartic and earned. Our villain veered into being cartoonish but I'm willing to forgive that in a short story.
Harvey's Dream: Meh. I can see what King was trying to do but it just wasn't interesting.
Rest Stop: Honestly, kind of an offensive depiction of domestic violence. I like the idea of the pen name being a separate persona from the author. I just wish King had explored that in literally any other way.
Stationary Bike: I'm still undecided on this one because I'm not entirely sure what King was trying to say with it? Is it a commentary on restricting oneself too much in the name of health or something else? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Things They Left Behind: So this one is about a man suffering survivors guilt as he played hooky from work on 9/11 and he worked in the twin towers. I think this was a bit in poor taste.
Graduation Afternoon: Another bland story that I'm not sure what the point of it was.
N.: My favorite story in the book. There are neat references to the Dark Tower series and King does an excellent job channeling Lovecraft. Your mileage may vary on whether or not this makes light of those who suffer from OCD.
The Cat From Hell: Super creepy and packs a punch. But seriously, what does King have against cats?
The New York Times....: Not reinventing the wheel by any means but still a decent story.
Mute: Another decent story that isn't groundbreaking. I did enjoy a confessional being the setting as our main character wrestles with the morality of his actions and role in what happened.
Ayana: This story was dumb, full stop. It shouldn't have been included.
A Very Tight Place: (TW: casual homophobia). A good choice to end the book, it was satisfying and funny while still having tension.
Willa: King doesn't like this one per the notes in the back of the book but I found it nicely atmospheric and bittersweet.
The Gingerbread Girl: my 2nd favorite. With 60 pages, King gives us a compelling female lead and a tense stand off with the villain. The ending was cathartic and earned. Our villain veered into being cartoonish but I'm willing to forgive that in a short story.
Harvey's Dream: Meh. I can see what King was trying to do but it just wasn't interesting.
Rest Stop: Honestly, kind of an offensive depiction of domestic violence. I like the idea of the pen name being a separate persona from the author. I just wish King had explored that in literally any other way.
Stationary Bike: I'm still undecided on this one because I'm not entirely sure what King was trying to say with it? Is it a commentary on restricting oneself too much in the name of health or something else? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Things They Left Behind: So this one is about a man suffering survivors guilt as he played hooky from work on 9/11 and he worked in the twin towers. I think this was a bit in poor taste.
Graduation Afternoon: Another bland story that I'm not sure what the point of it was.
N.: My favorite story in the book. There are neat references to the Dark Tower series and King does an excellent job channeling Lovecraft. Your mileage may vary on whether or not this makes light of those who suffer from OCD.
The Cat From Hell: Super creepy and packs a punch. But seriously, what does King have against cats?
The New York Times....: Not reinventing the wheel by any means but still a decent story.
Mute: Another decent story that isn't groundbreaking. I did enjoy a confessional being the setting as our main character wrestles with the morality of his actions and role in what happened.
Ayana: This story was dumb, full stop. It shouldn't have been included.
A Very Tight Place: (TW: casual homophobia). A good choice to end the book, it was satisfying and funny while still having tension.