Rating: 
Summary: No fire behind this smoke...
Review: I love Stephen King. I've watched with the pleasure of a fond Aunt as his work continued to grow and expand. After the wonderful experience of listening to the CDs of "Bag of Bones," I could hardly wait to get "Blood and Smoke." What a disappointment. Whereas in "Bag of Bones," we are immediately captured by a decent, caring, complex main character whose musings on literature and humanity are insightful and rich, in "Blood and Smoke" we are exposed to definitely second-rate stories that have only a 10th of the interest and complexity of "Bag of Bones." I could hardly bring myself to care about the main characters at all. Even Mr. King's reading voice was a disappointment. In "Bag of Bones," his flat, Maine twang fits the story to a "T," and impresses the reader with his ability to infuse his reading with subtle shifts in intonation for the different characters (I found myself thinking, "Hey, this guy's a darn good actor!"). In "Blood and Smoke," his reading was much less polished and, frankly, I thought he didn't even sound too interested in the stories.'Fess up, Mr. King! This is a joke, right? You just wanted to see if we were watching. These stories have all the hallmarks of being written 10 years ago before your style grow out of "horror book shlock" and into literature. (Hmmm. Interesting that a theme in "Bag of Bones" is popular authors' device of keeping a flow of books coming onto the market by publishing old manuscripts stored away years ago for a future need... You shouldn't have told us about that trick.)
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing.
Review: I recently went camping with some friends and, after reading all of the wonderful reviews of Blood and Smoke, decided to buy it for the trip. What a disappointment! Six people sat in the dark, next to a small campfire, under the stars, out in the middle of the woods, and were not scared IN THE LEAST! Save your money for The Stand.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome!!!!!!
Review: Man oh man, was this ever outstanding!! Before I go on, I just wanted to let you guys and gals know, this isn't for sale as a book, just in tape or cd. The first is called, "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe." This is a story of a man who is going through a divorce and has to meet his ex and her lawyer. He has no idea at the horror which is waiting for him. What makes this so wonderful is when you get to the end....you undstand the horror and what drives the person to the edge, and knows that it can happen to any of us. I know that makes no sense, but when you listen to the story, it will, promise. I just dont' want to spoil it. 1408 is down right spooky!! At one point I had to snap the light on b/c I got the willies. This is a story of a man who is "ghost Hunter" and has writen several book on haunted houses and graveyards.....ect. He thinks he's prepared for what awaits for him...nothing can prepare him for what's waiting for him in Room 1408 in a hotel. What makes matters worse is that he's an ex-smoker. Perhaps it was the wrong time to quit. He will need all the vices he can get...if he wants to live through the night. The last story that King reads in called, "In the Deathroom". I'm not going to sya to much about his story, except that smoking saved the life of a man who is at the hands of an evil and toruous man. Then odds swing in the man's favor when his captors offer him a cigarette. This is packaged in a box that looks like a box of cigarettes complete with a waring in the side. The warning tells the reader what could happen is you listen to this in the dark. I did..the warnings are true. If you are silly enought to do what I did, make sure your in a arms reach if the the light switch. For when you listen to this in the dark, the rules will change and the monsters will come out. Beware of the dark.... This is a must for all King fans
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised!
Review: Though I've read plenty of Stephen King over the years, this was the first audiobook I listened to. I didn't think King would make a very good reader, but he did an excellent job with his three excellent novellas. Truly fun and entertaining stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: More excellent work from Mr. King
Review: Although skeptical of the audio book format, I was pleasantly surprised. The stories were the quality we have come to expect from Stephen King short stories. I listened to them on the subway on my way to work and was glad I wasn't alone or in the dark while listening. I have been a Stephen King fan since Carrie and he never ceases to surprise me with what he will do. Some people may be annoyed by his voice but I had heard him read his work before at a public reading so his voice was no surprise. He uses perfect inflection exactly where it is needed to scare you. I prefer this audio format to the computer-only book recently published. The computer-only book is still sitting in my computer waiting to be read. Enjoy Blood and Smoke...but not in the dark...and not alone...
Rating:
Summary: Great, frightening stories
Review: Stephen King delivers another success with BLOOD AND SMOKE. All three stories are worth listening to, especially "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe", which happened to be my personal favorite. However, Stephen King just isn't a reader, and he shouldn't have been the one to read this. His voice wasn't appropriate and it did decrease the enjoyment of the audiobook at moments. I think this would have been a perfect five if it were to have been released in written form. But, as most of King's other works achieve, BLOOD AND SMOKE will keep you up at nights :)
Rating:
Summary: if you're a fan of stephen king - you HAVE to get this!
Review: i don't normally buy audio books, but decided to make an exception for this one(as it's read by stephen king himself)and boy, was i in for a pleasant surprise! hearing it told in the authors own voice is a treat for any true king fan, he adds a delicious slice of irony to the three stories, and makes the whole experience even better! a word of warning though - make sure you listen to '1408' in the daytime, with plenty of light - i didn't, and i was seriously spooked for days after - you can't beat a good ghost story! keep them coming stephen - i for one will be eagerly awaiting the next audio book, especially if its read by yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time, money, and attention.
Review: Stephen King is great. I even like his voice. But I have never felt more money-screwed than when I shelled out 20 bucks for this box of audio tripe. These three shorts have to be the absolute FLATTEST stories in his otherwise estimable body of work. Jeers, Mr. King! Kindly send me my money back. You can pick up your tapes next to the roadkill or the median or wherever the hell it is they landed when I chucked them out the car window going 75. Booo!
Rating:
Summary: Blowing smoke...
Review: I'm sorry to say that I really thought that this audio bok was dull and annoying. I have red every one of King's books, enthusiastically waiting between releases for the next title. He is an amazing writer. However, this project was quite the failure. I was irritated by his reading and bored by the contents. I would like my money back. Sorry Stephen!
Rating:
Summary: King is the pinnacle of audio book entertainment
Review: Please do not listen to the 1-3 star reviews below. Stephen King is the true pinnacle of the audio book, both as a writer and narrator. Like Faulkner is to the printed word. Like the Beatles or Beethoven are to music. Like Kubric is to the cinema. I do a lot of audio book listening as a part of my work and over the last few years and countless audio books, I have come to the opinion that Stephen King is made for audio books. The truth be told, I have a hard time reading his books (when I read, I like the experience to be a little more stimulating) - but listening to them, especially when he is the narrator, is a pure joy. He is the ultimate storyteller, both in substance and tone. Yes, his voice is slightly unusual, but to hear him read his own words is to know that nobody else can do it better. I will take his readings of Bag of Bones (all 20-30 hours of it) over Willem Defoe or William Hurt reading some of his Four Past Midnight stories any day. Blood and Smoke is no exception. Thank you Stephen! You have found your true media.
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