Selections from Skeleton Crew

Rating:
Summary: good, not great
Review: Stephen King's Skeleton Crew is typical of his short story collections: there are some dramatic stories, some all out screamers, and a couple plain weird ones. This book has got several of all three catagories, some great, some terrifying. The great stories make the book worth its money alone, but as a whole, this book gets heavily dumbed down by stories that are either long and boring or just too weird to comprehend. The Mist and The Monkey each scared the heck out of me, and Mrs. Todd's Shortcut proved to be very interesting and bizarre, if not scary. Survivor Type is just plain disturbing and gruesome, which is not to say that I didn't like it. Then, there were the stories like Beachworld (does this story mean anything at all, anyone?)and Ballad of the Flexible Bullet which drove me insane. (interestingly enough, the latter story is about going insane). So bottom line: a good read, but do not expect every story to be a masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: If You Only Read One Collection In
Review: This book was the very first thing I ever read by King, and it truly convinced me he wasn't just another horrible, talentless, light-faire and no-brains-necissary commercial writer (ok, no names, but some initials of such writers are: MHC and DS.) This collection blew me away with it's variety and wonderful stories. To date, this is the only true Short Story collection of King's I have read (aside from a handful of stories from Nightmares & Dreamscapes, which didn't even compare.) The book opens with a lengthy (140ish page) story called The Mist; while a bit hard on one's suspention of disbelief, I loved it and felt it was a strong story. Other stories that really stuck in my mind and won't dislodge themselves are Gramma, The Monkey, Nona, Here There Be Tigers (very short and childish, but appealing in a way I can't quite put my finger on), The Raft, and Mrs. Todd's Shortcut. This is just naming a few of the stories I felt were above and beyond. Very seldom do I read an anthology or collection with such a high percentage of stories I like. Of course, like any such book, it has its duds, but they are few and far between.

This is a great introduction to King, and a must-read collection if you're already a fan.

Rating:
Summary: Some real gems here
Review: This is the second collection of short stories by Stephen King, and if it had been published later in his career, it's possible that the best entry, "The Mist," would have been published on its own as a short novel (it clocks in at around 130 pages).

A collection of short stories is always hit or miss, and that's a fact that carries it's own special brand of charm. We not only get to read the Grade A masterpieces that King is known for, but we also get to see some of his quirky ideas, done for fun. Stories that stand out to me include:

"The Mist," which is a terrific creepy story in which a mist hiding all sorts of weird Lovecraftian monsters rolls into town, forcing a group of strangers to band together in a grocery store for mutual protection. I love stories where a group of unaffiliated people are brought together to hold off a seemingly insurmountable threat, and King gives the idea royal treatment here (better than in, say the Langoliers).

"The Raft," which was adapted for a Creepshow short, is about a group of teens who find themselves stranded on a raft in a lake after a death-dealing film of pond scum surrounds them. The characters are very realistic, and King scores major points by taking a familiar situation and turning it into a chilling nightmare.

"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" is an odd little story that has the gentlemanly tone of a classic horror story from Poe's age, featuring a man who refuses to shake hands because he fears the consequences of those who come into contact with him.

"Survivor Type" is another great story filled with awesomely creepy imagery (it's stuck with me for over a decade now); it's about a doctor who finds himself stranded on a desert island with little hope of rescue or prolonged survival.

"Nona" is a long story that is probably one of the weaker pieces, using the familiar device of an alluring dangerous not-quite-human female, who seeks to seduce the hero as part of a larger scheme.

"The Monkey" is, simply put, pretty bad. Maybe it was fresh when it was first conceived (or maybe it wasn't), but the idea of a cursed children's toy is so played out that the self-referential Chucky movies now seem stale. King doesn't bring enough to this plot to make it interesting.

King also sneaks in a couple of horror-themed poems in "For Owen" and "Paranoid: A Chant." To me, they weren't very interesting, and I doubt that a serious student of poetry would give them much acclaim either (but then again, what do I know?).

Again, it's difficult to rate an array of stories as a group, but I would have to say that the three best pieces mentioned above are worth the price of the book on their own.

Rating:
Summary: the mist...super scary
Review: wow - this book has some of the creepiest stories ever..the mist especially so..don't read it at night when you are home alone!

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