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dirk_bannion_author's Reviews (157)
I love King's short fiction just as much as, if not more than, his novels. So many of the stories are powerful enough on their own, but when they're packed together in collections like this, they're even more so.
In this case, a few of my favorite stories were "Trucks", "Quitter's Inc." and "Graveyard Shift".
"Trucks" is a weird, almost funny-scary, story about tractor trailers that come to life and hold people hostage inside a truck stop. It's like Jaws but with trucks prowling around killing people.
"Quitter's Inc." is a severe satire of self-help and counseling programs. All I can say is I'm glad I never smoked in the first place...
"Graveyard Shift"... well, all I can say is OMG! The RATS!!!!
Enjoy.
In this case, a few of my favorite stories were "Trucks", "Quitter's Inc." and "Graveyard Shift".
"Trucks" is a weird, almost funny-scary, story about tractor trailers that come to life and hold people hostage inside a truck stop. It's like Jaws but with trucks prowling around killing people.
"Quitter's Inc." is a severe satire of self-help and counseling programs. All I can say is I'm glad I never smoked in the first place...
"Graveyard Shift"... well, all I can say is OMG! The RATS!!!!
Enjoy.
I don't know why, exactly, but I didn't enjoy The Talisman very much at all. As a result, I never bothered to read its sequel, [b:Black House|10607|Black House|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166254279s/10607.jpg|1738813]. The story has certain elements that link it to the Dark Tower mythology, which drew me to it in the first place. But the effect in this case is anti-climatic for some reason.
If you enjoy mind-bending fantasy, and Peter Straub's unique storytelling, pick it up and give it a try. I think it reads a lot more like a Straub novel than a King novel. That is to say, slower and more cerebral. Unfortunately, I'm fast and dumb.
If you enjoy mind-bending fantasy, and Peter Straub's unique storytelling, pick it up and give it a try. I think it reads a lot more like a Straub novel than a King novel. That is to say, slower and more cerebral. Unfortunately, I'm fast and dumb.
I loved the sheer audacity King has in inserting HIMSELF into his series AS A CHARACTER, and one on whom THE ENTIRE STORY HINGES no less!!! Some might consider it egotistical or weird, but I consider it the ultimate example of how an author can rule his own world on the page. It's pure genius, and made Song of Susannah a special treat for me.
Don't even try to pick this one up if you haven't read the rest of the DT series. It's ultra-deep in the mythology and doesn't come up for air the entire 700 pages.
Don't even try to pick this one up if you haven't read the rest of the DT series. It's ultra-deep in the mythology and doesn't come up for air the entire 700 pages.
Delores Clairborne is essentially a slow-moving predictable murder mystery starring some weird island-dwelling characters. The tone reminded me of a British mystery show I might watch on PBS: slow, understated and vaguely intriguing.
Somehow it didn't feel like King to me, but it was alright and I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it.
Somehow it didn't feel like King to me, but it was alright and I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it.
This is another one that didn't feel much like a Stephen King book to me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It's about a girl lost in the woods who keeps her sanity (if you can call it that) by talking to her hero, baseball player Tom Gordon. It's a short book, which is good because I think I would have gotten tired of it if it was stretched out to 600 pages.
This was a really great UFO-based storyline with some well-imagined characters and situations which I enjoyed a lot. Not quite as much as King's other SF novel, [b:Dreamcatcher|11570|Dreamcatcher|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166480214s/11570.jpg|643924], but still a very good book. My only gripe is that it felt like the book was about 100 pages too long. Not horribly so, just enough that I caught myself thinking, "alright, enough already, let's move forward..." but it didn't last too long.
This is a really cool book to read, especially as an author myself, because it's another great example of King's ability to mix fantasy and reality to create terror in the humdrum of everyday life. In this case, an author's most popular fictional character, a despicable human being, comes to life and begins wreaking havoc on the author's world.
This is a fun story that tangentially relates to the Dark Tower series, but does not require immersion in that world to understand what's going on. Basically, it's a "welcome to scarytown" story where a car load of strangers inadvertently stumble into a small deserted town when their car is pulled over by (spoiler alert!) what turns out to be a maniac who also happens to be the town sheriff.
I love King's short fiction (like I mentioned in my review of [b:Night Shift|10628|Night Shift|Stephen King|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1336288248s/10628.jpg|2454497]) and this is no exception. There's plenty to love here. Too much to go into detail.
Warning: if you're squeamish (which I am) you may want to skip "Survivor Type". Yikes. Gross.
Warning: if you're squeamish (which I am) you may want to skip "Survivor Type". Yikes. Gross.
This collection of four novellas is top notch. I especially loved "Secret Window Secret Garden" which was later adapted into the film "Secret Window" starring Johnny Depp. As an author myself, I really relate to King's writer-heroes and this one is one of my favorites.
"The Langoliers" is also a favorite of mine because of the eerie mood he creates but doesn't explain until the end, which is great.
"The Langoliers" is also a favorite of mine because of the eerie mood he creates but doesn't explain until the end, which is great.