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A review by tani
Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
4.0
This was the next book in my quest to read The Dark Tower series, as a couple of the stories in here are related to that series. These are "The Little Sisters of Eluria" and "Everything's Eventual." The rest of the stories were kind of just a bonus related to my issues with completionism, I guess. Here are my thoughts on each story:
"Autopsy Room Four" - This one was a really good story to start the collection with. It pulled me right in and kept me reading until the end. 3.5 stars.
"The Man in the Black Suit" - I thought that this one was a bit weaker. It was well-written, as are all the stories, but I felt like I could easily put it down and walk away. I think that I just didn't care for the randomness of it. Why does it happen? What's the reason behind it? You won't find out, and I think that knowing would have made it easier for me to enjoy. 3 stars.
"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" - This was one of my favorites in the collection. I really liked the main character and felt a lot of sympathy for him. I didn't really mind the ambiguous ending, as it lets me imagine what I would like to happen, rather than being forced to deal with what probably does happen. 4 stars.
"The Death of Jack Hamilton" - This would be a great story for fans of westerns, but it wasn't so much for me. I didn't feel much sympathy for the characters, and I just didn't really care about the plot. It wasn't a bad story, and I didn't hate reading it, but it wasn't exciting for me either. 3 stars.
"In the Deathroom" - Another story I felt a bit neutral about. I liked some of the twists that King puts in, and I actually appreciated the way that things ended in a pretty unrealistic manner, but it wasn't really subject matter that I care about, so I had a harder time being drawn into it. 3.5 stars.
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" - I had read this story ages ago and didn't really like it, so I was a bit apprehensive about it going in. However, I ended up liking it a lot more the second time around. I think it helped that I know Roland a bit better now. I felt like it gave some good depth to Roland's character, and even though it wasn't an action-packed story, it kept my attention the entire time. It was also pretty interesting to read so close to The Gunslinger and see the marked difference in King's writing skills. 4.5 stars.
"Everything's Eventual" - Another of my favorites from the collection. I really enjoyed the main character in this one, Dink, as well as the Death Note-esque vibe to it. It's another story where not a lot happens, but I found myself drawn into it regardless. 4.5 stars.
"L.T.'s Theory of Pets" - This features a fun premise, but I thought that it led to a simplistic story. The twist didn't really add a lot to the story for me, although I did feel bad for the main character. 3 stars.
"The Road Virus Heads North" - This felt like a very traditional horror story to me, but in a good way. The painting was legitimately creepy, and I liked that the main character wasn't terribly stupid, as sometimes happens in horror movies. I had some moments of genuine worry for the characters in this one. 3.5 stars.
"Lunch at Gotham Cafe" - This is one of those stories that was probably a ton of fun to write, but isn't as much fun to read. I didn't have a lot of sympathy for the main character, and the villain felt kind of out of nowhere and random. This was probably my least favorite of the collection. 2.5 stars.
"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What it is in French" - Meh. This plays with the idea of déjà vu, and while I can see that it would be terrible for the main character, reading about it was just kind of irritating. 3 stars.
"1408" - Another story that felt quite traditionally horror, in a good way. It features a haunted hotel room, and is probably the scariest story in the collection. I'm told that there's a movie of this one, which I will have to watch, as it seems like the story would be truly fantastic in a cinematic form. 4 stars.
"Riding the Bullet" - I really liked the moral issues that this story addresses. Again, it's a pretty traditional horror concept, but I enjoyed the way that King played with the idea and turned things on their heads. 4 stars.
"Luckey Quarter" - I liked the way that this one played with my perceptions. For a good stretch of this story, you don't really know what's going on and what is real, which I liked. 3.5 stars.
"Autopsy Room Four" - This one was a really good story to start the collection with. It pulled me right in and kept me reading until the end. 3.5 stars.
"The Man in the Black Suit" - I thought that this one was a bit weaker. It was well-written, as are all the stories, but I felt like I could easily put it down and walk away. I think that I just didn't care for the randomness of it. Why does it happen? What's the reason behind it? You won't find out, and I think that knowing would have made it easier for me to enjoy. 3 stars.
"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" - This was one of my favorites in the collection. I really liked the main character and felt a lot of sympathy for him. I didn't really mind the ambiguous ending, as it lets me imagine what I would like to happen, rather than being forced to deal with what probably does happen. 4 stars.
"The Death of Jack Hamilton" - This would be a great story for fans of westerns, but it wasn't so much for me. I didn't feel much sympathy for the characters, and I just didn't really care about the plot. It wasn't a bad story, and I didn't hate reading it, but it wasn't exciting for me either. 3 stars.
"In the Deathroom" - Another story I felt a bit neutral about. I liked some of the twists that King puts in, and I actually appreciated the way that things ended in a pretty unrealistic manner, but it wasn't really subject matter that I care about, so I had a harder time being drawn into it. 3.5 stars.
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" - I had read this story ages ago and didn't really like it, so I was a bit apprehensive about it going in. However, I ended up liking it a lot more the second time around. I think it helped that I know Roland a bit better now. I felt like it gave some good depth to Roland's character, and even though it wasn't an action-packed story, it kept my attention the entire time. It was also pretty interesting to read so close to The Gunslinger and see the marked difference in King's writing skills. 4.5 stars.
"Everything's Eventual" - Another of my favorites from the collection. I really enjoyed the main character in this one, Dink, as well as the Death Note-esque vibe to it. It's another story where not a lot happens, but I found myself drawn into it regardless. 4.5 stars.
"L.T.'s Theory of Pets" - This features a fun premise, but I thought that it led to a simplistic story. The twist didn't really add a lot to the story for me, although I did feel bad for the main character. 3 stars.
"The Road Virus Heads North" - This felt like a very traditional horror story to me, but in a good way. The painting was legitimately creepy, and I liked that the main character wasn't terribly stupid, as sometimes happens in horror movies. I had some moments of genuine worry for the characters in this one. 3.5 stars.
"Lunch at Gotham Cafe" - This is one of those stories that was probably a ton of fun to write, but isn't as much fun to read. I didn't have a lot of sympathy for the main character, and the villain felt kind of out of nowhere and random. This was probably my least favorite of the collection. 2.5 stars.
"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What it is in French" - Meh. This plays with the idea of déjà vu, and while I can see that it would be terrible for the main character, reading about it was just kind of irritating. 3 stars.
"1408" - Another story that felt quite traditionally horror, in a good way. It features a haunted hotel room, and is probably the scariest story in the collection. I'm told that there's a movie of this one, which I will have to watch, as it seems like the story would be truly fantastic in a cinematic form. 4 stars.
"Riding the Bullet" - I really liked the moral issues that this story addresses. Again, it's a pretty traditional horror concept, but I enjoyed the way that King played with the idea and turned things on their heads. 4 stars.
"Luckey Quarter" - I liked the way that this one played with my perceptions. For a good stretch of this story, you don't really know what's going on and what is real, which I liked. 3.5 stars.