Mixed bag, but worth revisiting

This collection always pales in comparison to Night Shift, as King offers a pleasing but never really satisfying selection of tales in different styles. That said, the book is worth buying for Paul Giamatti, who not only proves himself the best narrator of the bunch but draws you in with such ease that you don't want his stories to end. David Morse is excellent too, and so is Frances Sternhagen's version of 'Gramma' which despite the overpowering audio cues still manages to chill and delight.

If there's a downside it's a couple of the narrators: Anthony Michael Hall's 'Beachworld' is dull and lifeless as the story, doling out the word 'doon' for 'dune' with regular monotony (though he partly redeems himself with 'Ballad of the Flexible Bullet). Then there's Matthew Broderick who reads his story with all the joy of a child in detention. Some of the tales also misfire but given the duds King often assembles in his recent collections they're still far better than anything from this decade.

I don't regret buying this: it's not as memorable as Everything's Eventual or Nightmares and Dreamscapes but far outclasses Just After Sunset or Bazaar of Bad Dreams. The stories are varied enough for the strong to carry the weak and while there are a few reservations, this collection is recommended.

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15 people found this helpful

Not my Favourite S King compilation!

While being an entertaining listen I found some of the narration to become back ground noise while my mind slung off elsewhere- not a good sign!
Some noteworthy tales here and it kicks off with whats possibly my all time favourite short- The Mist. Unfortunately I didn't find as many short story gems as I'm used to within this compilation.
having said that it is worth the listen even if you do find yourself having to start one or two of the stories over as it's ended and you haven't been paying attention.

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1 person found this helpful

Overall a fantastic read

As always with a collection of shorts and novellas I have my favourite and my least favourite.
I enjoyed this read thoroughly.
As always, king did not disappoint.
5/5

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Great Audio

Really enjoyed listening to one of my favourites rather than reading it.
The different voices made the stories very individual.

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1 person found this helpful

Loved it

Great mixture of people reading the different stories, not too be missed that’s for sure if you’re a true king fan.

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The Mist

I like Kings big sprawling type books so I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this, whilst I enjoyed most of the stories it was worth it just for The Mist to be honest.

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2 people found this helpful

Mixed but mostly great

Good selection of stories. Only problems were a few of the narrators unfortunately we're not my cup of tea. In particular Mr. Patton reading the mist. One of my favorite stories but almost unbearable narration.

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only for hardcore fans of King

there were few great stories. some were even well read. but, for the very first time I cannot give 4 or 5 stars for King's book. many stories were simply boring. they like an outcome of a bet. like I bet you can't write a story about a milkman in less than a day... and King won, as there was nothing about writing s good story... . what is worse, performance considerably vary and rarely you get a package of a well read good story. Some I struggled to finish listening. Don't recommend, unless you are a fan like myself that wants to go through literally all Stephen King's books.

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typical Steven King Short StoryNovel.

Not a very good short stories book by Steven King, I have read better, I think Night Shift is a better read if you want short stories.

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Quick dips into Stephen King

Audiobook only had chapters listed so not sure when books would start and end, most stories are one Chapter but some longer stories i didnt know when they were going to go to the next story. Its also going to make it hard to go back and find a particular story.

The mist - Pretty creepy and mortifying, all i can really find online is obsessed with the film so will probably have to watch that. Personal favourite line of the book "I found the candles as the light went out, and the only electricity left was the stuff in the sky." As part of the first part which takes "it was a dark and stormy night" to the next level.

Monkey - pretty stock for horror items, ends more positivrly than id have thought. Implies the death due to the fish but maybe not. Weirdly seems to have been quite an original story when published so i guess it might be more of a Seinfeld isnt Funny sort of thing.

Cain rose up. Didnt think King was writing mass shoooting anymore since Rage

Shortcuts thought it would go to horror when she started "folding the map" to get places fastrr but might be the first King story where the supernatural isnt really that scary!

The Jaunt - and theres the cosmic horror of going through the "folds in the map".

Word processor of the Gods - like a horror story but from the perspective of the psychopath.

Survivor Type - infamous in that i already knew of this short story without knowing it was in thia collection. The autophagy wasnt a surprise but how little the writing focused on it was. Makes me wonder what else writers of the era couldnt get published as it seems almost tame by modern standards with the drug haze obscuring some of the more horrific parts.
"How much shock trauma can a patient stand?
Cut to its base level the answer is always another question. How bad does the patient want to survive?"

Big Wheels - odd small town story about getting drunk and nostalgic with a quick five minute murder and horror at the end.

Gramma - i really liked the implication of the Gramma being a witch but partway through the implications just go away and it gets incredibly heavy handed but the creepy ending really gets the story back to top tier horror.

Ballad of the flexible bullet - another confusing length one, split into two chapters so the length seemed confusing. "Madness is catching" seems to be the main theme.
I'm going to quit [cigerettes] entirely in my next incarnation.
The rest of my tale doesn't bear telling. It would have the only sin of telling tales against it. It would be predictable.

The Reach - a nicer tale to finish on, even when it looks like its veering into the territory of what the town has done for the greater good it pulls back for what for King passes as a happy ending.

I don't typically like short stories but these really seemed like a good collection, only dealing with what King wanted to deal with and having a great deal of range in tone.

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