Helpful Score: 4
I've been a huge Stephen King since high school and Carrie was published. There were some of these storied in this collection that I really enjoyed, but there were also several that just left me stumped as to what was the point? They just seemed to end abruptly. I especially liked the stories referencing 9-11. That's one of the things I've always thought made King's writings so terrifying was his ability to reference and entwine the most current experiences of all of us. I recommend this book - there should be something here for everyone to enjoy.
Helpful Score: 3
After reading the fist few stories in this one I was thinking to myself "King has lost his touch". The first few stories were so predictable. But then it started getting really good. There were only a handful of the stories in this one that I didn't love. It wasn't that they were bad, they were just predictable.
I think my favorite stories were Stationary Bike, The Things They Left Behind, and N. I really think that they could have been turned into full-length novels. But they were still really good as short stories. N kind of had a IT feel to it. The Things They Left Behind was just weird, but in a good way. Stationary Bike was also weird. I thought it would be kind of like Thinner when I started reading it.
I usually don't like to read short stories, as I don't get enough time to connect with the characters and it's hard for me to get a real feel for things. With a few exceptions in this collected that was not the case. King's ability to write a short story that doesn't seem abrupt was great. And the characters were all fairly well-rounded.
This one did take me a while to read. Although at 539 pages it didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would. The short stories were fairly fast paced and so they lent themselves to be read very fast.
Overall it was pretty good. The preview of Under The Dome in the back has me chomping at the bit to get my hands on that one.
A review copy of this title was provided by Book Cove Reviews.
I think my favorite stories were Stationary Bike, The Things They Left Behind, and N. I really think that they could have been turned into full-length novels. But they were still really good as short stories. N kind of had a IT feel to it. The Things They Left Behind was just weird, but in a good way. Stationary Bike was also weird. I thought it would be kind of like Thinner when I started reading it.
I usually don't like to read short stories, as I don't get enough time to connect with the characters and it's hard for me to get a real feel for things. With a few exceptions in this collected that was not the case. King's ability to write a short story that doesn't seem abrupt was great. And the characters were all fairly well-rounded.
This one did take me a while to read. Although at 539 pages it didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would. The short stories were fairly fast paced and so they lent themselves to be read very fast.
Overall it was pretty good. The preview of Under The Dome in the back has me chomping at the bit to get my hands on that one.
A review copy of this title was provided by Book Cove Reviews.
Helpful Score: 3
I think I almost like Stephen King's short stories better than his novels, and that's saying a lot. While his novels are mostly epic, very complicated works requiring many days to finish, these short stories are easy to read in a single sitting. I read the whole book in about a week. Several of these stories left a lasting mark on me, and I would highly recommend this book to other fans of Stephen King, and also to anyone who wants a smaller introduction to him.
Helpful Score: 2
This 13-disc collection of recent Stephen King tales will provide you with many hours of entertainment on your commute - or wherever you choose to listen. A variety of narrators bring each story to life. The compositions are varying lengths, and some are better than others, but all live up to King's reputation for master storytelling. The last disc features commentary from the author himself.
Helpful Score: 1
Ok, I hate to admit this but I really did not care for this book. Stephen King is my favorite author so I was little disappointed that I could not give this book a good review. Most of the stories were confusing and hard to follow. There are a couple that are very good like "The Gingerbread Girl", "The Cat from Hell" and I really liked "Mute" that one will stay with me for a while. During "Mute" my heartrate tripled and I could not put the book down. Exactly how I feel reading most of King's stuff. If you could find these 3 stories in print elsewhere I recommend reading them.
