Rating: 
Summary: Earlier stories by Stephen King: some are good, some are not
Review: "Skeleton crew" is one of the first collection of stories by Stephen King. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, some are not even stories at all. I have stated in my review of "Everything's eventual", another Stephen King collection of short stories, that his novels and lengthier works are much better than his shorter ones, and "Skeleton crew" seems to confirm this theory.
Mr. King has a tremendous gift: he has a huge imagination capacity; his plots are usually awesome, and many of his characters are unforgettable (the kids from "It", for example). But he has to have time (pages, actually) to develop both his plots and his characters. In short stories, that is more difficult, and the final results usually are not as good as his full-lenght novels.
Not that "Skeleton crew" is not a good book. There are some real good stories. The longer ones, mostly. "The mist", which can be considered the "presentation story" of the book, is a terrifying sort of "camp tale", scary, dark, but the ending is not good. Among the better stories are: "The monkey" (classic King tale of death based on an innocent-looking object), "The jaunt" (a sci-fi attempt that worked well), "The raft" (another King horror classic), and "Word processor of the gods" (the usual what-if, in this case, what if what I typed in the computer became true in real life?). On the other hand, some of the stories are completely forgettable, like the two attempt of poems (if they can be called that) "Paranoid" and "For Owen", and the pointless "Cain rose up" (something like Richard Bachman's "Rage", but not that well developed) and "Beachworld" (another sci-fi, but this one didn't work).
In my opinion, the two best stories are "Survivor type" and "The reach". "Survivor type" is something like the diary of a man stranded in a tiny island after the ship he was in sunk. The reader watches the protagonist go insane as he has no choice but to eat what, literally, is at hand. And "The reach" is a very touching tale of old age, life and, ulitmately, death.
I guess short stories appeal to each reader in a different way. You have to read the whole book and decide which ones are good and which ones are not.
Grade 7.5/10
Rating: 
Summary: Great read!
Review: As someone who's read almost every Stephen King book, I can safely say that his short story collections are by far the best things he's ever done. If you liked "Night Shift", you will definitely like this.This book is packed with great stories, but the best in my opinion have to be The Mist, The Raft, The Jaunt, and Survivor Type. The Mist is probably the longest entry (it's actually more of a novella than a short story), but I guarantee you that it will be well worth it. You'll freak out the next time you're driving in heavy fog. One word of caution, however: most of the stories in this book are great, but there are some bad ones. I would STRONGLY recommend skipping "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet", because it is EXTREMELY long and goes absolutely nowhere. King also wrote some poems which he threw in that don't really serve a purpose, so I'd skip those as well. The rest are well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy, creepier, creepiest.....oo ee oo
Review: Before I shifted in literary tastes from mostly science fiction and fantasy to Tom Clancy-style military thrillers, I was a regular reader of Stephen King's macabre masterpieces. I have about two-thirds of his literary output, and if books were not as expensive now I'd still be a regular reader of King's works. One of my favorite books by Steve-o is Skeleton Crew, his second collection of short stories, including the novella "The Mist." And as in any collection of short fiction, some of the 22 stories stand head and shoulders above the rest. The creepiest, by far, is "The Mist," which begins with, as in all good King works, with a seemingly normal event (a storm) and a routine occurrence (a trip to the supermarket) and slowly but surely morphs into a situation which becomes scarier as the story progresses. While not wanting to give anything away, I can tell you this much -- I'll never go to the Kash n' Karry and look at it quite the same way again, particularly in the spaghetti sauce section. "Survivor Type" is King's take on Robinson Crusoe. Its protagonist is Richard Pine, a surgeon who, unfortunately, has also been involved in the narcotics "business." Now, after he is shipwrecked and marooned on a desert isle, Pine is forced to face his inner demons and, by the way, cope with the problem of what to eat in a place where there is no viable food source. Suffice it to say that in his desperation he will have to use his surgical training to solve this dicey problem. While there are other stories that give me the willies, I am always drawn to "Word Processor of the Gods." I first read it before I ever owned -- or even used -- a personal computer, and its premise involving a word processor with supernatural powers, while silly on the surface, was very compelling to me as an aspiring writer. King asks: What if you simply typed a sentence like "I wish I were married to the loveliest, kindest person on earth," and by pressing ENTER, it came true? Maybe in the hands of a lesser writer the premise is silly, but King tells his story with a fine balance of spookiness and wit. The closing paragraph is a gem. The beauty of an anthology like Skeleton Crew is that you can read as much or as little of it as you like, choosing whatever story strikes your fancy at any given moment. If you are a newcomer to King's storytelling and don't want to commit yourself to a major novel such as IT or The Stand, this is a fine place to start.
Rating:
Summary: the mist...super scary
Review: I guess there's something for everyone in "Skeleton Crew," - or at least for most people. The book contains a few tales where, as King himself puts it in one of his other short-story anthologies, "things happen just because they happen." In other words, impossible (or maybe just improbable) things become possible, and even frequent. Stories like this in "Skeleton Crew" include "The Mist," "Here There Be Tygers" and "The Raft." Interestingly enough, these are three of my favourites. I was a bit disappointed by the end of "The Mist," with a proper ending and more detail in between, it could've been a standalone novella. As it is, the ending leaves a lot - too much, in my opinion - to the imagination. We want to know what happens in the end, but that's largely unexplained. Still, it's a great story. "The Raft" is simply King at his gruesome, unforgiving best. Stories like "Here There Be Tygers" and "Cain Rose Up" held my interest, but at the end I found myself thinking "What's he trying to say with this?" In my opinion, there are no outright stinkers in the bunch, although I would say my least favourite is the sci-fi attempt "Beachworld." Another that I liked less was "The Reach." On the other hand, my favourite story of all is the other one with a sci-fi feel, called "The Jaunt." Some have called it a cautionary tale, I call it just plain brilliant. In my opinion, it's got some of the funnier moments of the whole book, but these are contrasted with some of the most frightening, which is what makes the story superior. Highly recommend it. In fact I highly recommend the whole collection.
Rating:
Summary: A Different Type of Frightening and Touching Masterpiece
Review: I was at first quite skeptical with "Skeleton Crew". I had just finished reading every novella and story from one of Stephen King's "Night Shift", which impressed me to no compare. I am an avid Stephen King fanatic, but I don't let that come in front of my judgement of his books. I do believe King is a genius and a brilliant mastermind of an author, but he has dissapointed me before. Skeleton Crew seemed a little, well hoky before hand. I read the back, and the comments, and wondered if it could live up to "Night Shift". I opened up the book and picked a story called "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet", because it sounded so intresting. I became hooked. That one story was so intriging, that I put the book down after reading it to interpret it in my head. The next story I chose was "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut", and then I fell in love with the book. "Shortcut" was touching and heartfelt. I won't babble on too much further, but the stories in the terrific masterpiece that stick out are the incredibly captivating and frightening "The Jaunt", the rose morse and sullen "Nona", the bouncy camp schlock-ness of "The Mist" and "The Raft", the alluring and terrfying "Gramma", and pretty much every story in this wonderful book. King lives up to his standard of excellence.
Rating:
Summary: For the Good Times
Review: I'm giving this book four stars, but please don't take that to mean that this book is a good experience from beginning to end. It's not. There are some decided low points in this collection, but the ups outweigh the downs by a long shot. Night Shift, King's first collection, suffered in a lot of ways from being an up-and-down sort of collection. There were a few really good stories, a few truly terrible stories, and more than a few that were just kind of in the middle. With Skeleton Crew, King has moved away from that middle and divided his stories a little bit more completely. The opening piece deserves special mention, as it takes up roughly a third of the book on the whole. The Mist is a fan favorite, but I have to say that it left me feeling a little unsatisfied. King has addressed all of the ideas that he brings up in this story much better in other work (specifically The Regulators), and that led me to look at this story as little more than a slightly bloated piece of dimestore horror. More likely than not, I'm suffering from the reflection of better, more mature work, but all the same, I think that The Mist may be a little oversold by the fans. The rest of the book, as I've mentioned, is an up and down affair. There's actually quite a bit of science fiction rolling around in here by King's standards, and unfortunately most of it really isn't that great. The two stories that rise to mind as I write this piece are Beachworld and the Jaunt, both of which really aren't much from the fiction perspective and are completely off from the science take, as King admits in the afterword. I recommend this book, however, on the weight of the good stories that have been included. Pieces like Mrs. Todd's Shortcut and The Reach are more than worth the investment in time and money that this collection demands. At his worst in this writing, King still manages to tell interesting and involving stories, and at his best he provides masterpieces. For the most part, this collection should keep the reader entertained throughout (though the inclusion of the two poems is a bit questionable--all they did for me was illustrate why Stephen King doesn't write more poetry). Any reader should buy this collection for the masterpieces, but expect to enjoy the experience throughout.
Rating:
Summary: Classic King
Review: Read this book if you have any interest in King what-so-ever. His short stories...though many aren't all that short...each have a different flavor, a different set of characters, and range from touching to chilling. Some favorites: "The Mist", (could have been sold by itself) "Word Processor of the Gods", "Survivor Type", "Gramma", and, of course, "The Raft". For some reason, I remember seeing The Raft, or a version there-of, on cable TV years and years ago as a kid. Scared me then, scared me more now reading it! A few of the stories fall somewhat flat (Uncle Otto's Truck...lame...sorry...), but you get something different with each...including a writing style. I bet Koontz wishes he could say that. This indeed ranks up among King's best. Just read it already.
Rating:
Summary: A classic King collection
Review: Skeleton Crew is Stephen King's first collection of short stories, and it contains many haunting, gripping tales. However, those who are familiar with King's short story style will already know that while some of his stories are amazing, some will leave you wondering "huh?" For King fans, however, this book is a must-read.
As in King's other collections, the best stories here are the longer, almost novella-type works. Tales such as "The Mist" and "The Jaunt" combine the horror and sci-fi traditions to perfection. Other excellent eerie stories are more in the psychological suspense genre, including "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" and "Survivor Type." Finally, this collection includes some true horror tales which will bring a chill to your spine, particularly "The Raft" and "The Monkey."
Although some of these stories come off a bit dated for today (e.g., "Word Processor of the Gods"), this is still a classic collection which should not be missed. Highly recommended for King fans and others with a taste for the macabre.
Rating:
Summary: King as his mesmerizing best!
Review: Stephen King has written some powerful, scary, touching novels. But his best fiction remains, arguably, his short fiction. His love for the short story is obvious--he has thrown together several collections, each one about as thick as one of his novels.
The stories in "Skeleton Crew" are horrifying and touching. There's "The Mist," a tale of a strange fog that beseiges a small town...and the deadly creatures it shrouds. In "The Wedding Gig," a jazz band plays for the Mafia...and makes some unusual acquaintances. "Survivor Type" details how far a man is willing to go in order to survive, while the poem "Paranoia: A Chant" is both amusing and disturbing. "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" dives into a writer's psyche, and ponders just where all those stories come from. The power of God is imprisoned in a typewriter in "Word Processor of the Gods" and a toy monkey in "The Monkey." "The Jaunt" is a horrifying tale of science fiction, while a woman finds the ultimate shortcut--through Hell--in "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut."
Some of the stories in here are fun and entertaining, such as "The Mist" and "The Wedding Gig." Others, such as "Cain Rose Up" and "Gramma", are downright disturbing. Stephen King shows his skills here, in "Skeleton Crew"--a collection of stories spanning decades, all from the same master of modern fiction.
Rating:
Summary: PACKED WITH GREAT SHORT STORIES! ESPECIALLY "THE MIST"
Review: Stephen King's best book yet! One of the stories in the book, "The Mist", is the best short story I've ever read! King is a genius story-teller, and any Stephen King fan will love this book! 5 stars all the way!
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