Rating: 
Summary: Should be just "TWO Past Midnight"
Review: The first two stories in this collection were excellent, but the final two were just plain awful. "The Langoliers" was the most viscerally exciting story I've read in years, and "Secret Window, Secret Garden" featured some astonishing characterizations I didn't believe Stephen King could muster, but, after these two bonafide gems, it all goes downhill. "The Library Policeman" started off intriguingly enough, and "The Sun Dog" featured the fascinating Pop Merrill, but in my humble opinion, the disgusting rape scene in "The Library Policeman" would have been deemed child pornography if it'd been published elsewhere (like in, say, a men's magazine), and "The Sun Dog" displays King at his most narratively inept and incompetent. Both of these pathetic stories climax with eye-rollingly laughable showdowns, one involving licorice and the other a pair of Polaroid cameras duking it out, so to speak. For crying out loud, when is Stephen King going to realize that Coke machines and Polaroid cameras are NOT terrifying?
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read!!!
Review: I thought this was a great entertaining book. The stories were VERY well written and very creative. The Sun Dog is the perfect example of creativeness. I will review briefly each story. The Langoliers was my favorite story. Out of the whole collection The Langoliers was the most fast paced story of them all and by page 20 I was already grabbed and absorbed into it. The plot was just tremendous too. Secret Window, Secret Garden was great writing, but I think it was somewhat slow paced. I didn't like this story like the Langoliers basically because the plot didn't satisfy me much, but if you liked The Dark Half you MUST read this novella. The last 50 or so pages were undeniably great and I really got to see into the mind of a writer and what it is like going through a divorce. Also the whole idea of Mort Rainey being schizophrenic was pretty cool. The Library Policeman was a tremendously great story. It was very creepy and dark. Stephen King made Ardelia Lortz into one of his most memorable villains. The story was slow paced at first, but as the plot developed and we slowly realized how evil Ardelia Lortz was, the novella turned into an exciting page turner. The writing was also great in this novella. The description of the Library(Ardelia's Library) when Sam Peebles entered for the first time was so real I felt like I could touch it. Also when Ardelia talks to Sam for the first time she is devastatingly creepy. This was the second best novella and came really close to The Langoliers. The final story in the collection is The Sun Dog. The Sun Dog is probably what made me give this story a 4 instead of a 5. I will admit this story was probably the most creative and ingenious one of all. The idea of an evil dog coming closer and closer into a picture is just GREAT!! Just the plot alone made me want to continue reading on. It seemed like The Sun Dog just lacked action until the last few chapters. The writing, as usual was great, but the whole story was just mainly talking, and talking. Most parts of the story were interesting, but after a while it seems to go on and on and on.... If you are a huge Castle Rock fan then definitely read this novella. Before you read this you might want to read some other Castle Rock stories though, like The Dead Zone, Cujo, and The Body. This is a great collection and is worth your 7 dollars and 99 cents(taxes may vary). I enjoyed and finished it fairly quickly. Enjoy!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I only read SERCET WINDOW.
Review: I received Four Past Midnight as a Birthday gift when it was first released in 1991. I just recently saw the trailer for the up coming Johnny Depp film about story number 2 (SECRET WINDOW.) I thought it looked really interesting, so I gave it a try.
This was a very good story. King really turns up the tensions and makes you feel that the main charactor is either lossing his mind or is just a victim of a sick individual. King never clearly explains and we are never quite sure until the end, when it is revealed. It had me on my toes and I was dying to see how it ended. Granted it is short, only 150 pages, but reads like a novel. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Stephen King-Four Past Midnight
Review: This novella collection (these are no short stories, people)is what you would expect from Stephen King. If you're a fan of the majority of his work, then you would probably be interested in these tales. I say interested, because at times theres good parts and bad parts in each story, and you have to trudge through some long winded stuff to get to the juicy parts. The lead story "The Langoliers" shouldn't be considered horror-the monsters sound like Critters ripoffs and the portal this, portal that, is confusing at times. But I must say, King has once again created characters that are so life like and intriguing, you just have to read it to see if they come out alright. "Secret Window, Secret Garden" was very well written, but it seems as though King came dangerously close to not being able to pull it off. You'll see what I mean. "The Library Policeman" is my favorite. Its as horrifically psychological as such King gems as Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne. Its scary as well as thoughtful and shocking. The last story "The Sun Dog" was something of a let down because it felt like Cujo 2, but it did have truly creepy parts and I did have a nightmare, if that helps in your purchasing decision. Pop Merril is such a character, he saves the story from total disaster. I think King should have edited some of Pop and Kevin's dad's history; I just found my mind wandering during "The Sun Dog". All in all, Four Past Midnight is worth giving a try but if youre a first time reader, its definitely not something that would define Stephen King as the great writer that he is. Stick with the novels like It, The Stand, Carrie, The Shining, etc.
Rating: 
Summary: The book is worth the first story alone
Review: If nothing else, buy this for "The Langoliers", one of, if not the best short stories Stephen King has written. Most people believe Stephen King is a horror writer, and does not fail to meet expectations with Four Past Midnight, but he strays a little off the path with "The Langoliers", which is more of a suspense/thriller rather than horror. Any dedicated King fan absolutely must read "The Sun Dog" which sets the role of a character whose name is sure to repeat through other stories (i.e.: Needful Things). The other 2 stories, "The Library Policeman" and "Secret Window, Secret Garden", are not for the weak-minded. There is a quick mention of a location in "The Library Policeman" in Needful Things as well. And if you have seen and enjoyed the movie Fight Club, you'll love "Secret Window, Secret Garden".
Rating:
Summary: Maximum Scare
Review: Hello Dear Readers, I'm just finishing a King novel. I devote myself to just reading one a year. That all my constitution can take. It's not that the writings is bad, but my sanity limits me from reading more. King again frightens me with "Four Past Midnight." Beginning with "The Langoliers," which I had the misfortune to read while travelling cross-country by air, the terror fest mounts. "The Langoliers," which had been made into a fair TV mini-series starring Michael Morse, delves into suppositions concerning rips in time and how it affects unprepared travelers. King's characters rely on their wits and luck to set things right. "The Library Policeman" shows King's power to seek out fright with any subject at any place. How could anywhere as innoculous as the library elict fear? Read and find out. Something truly sinister is involved here. Saturated with horror, "The Library Policeman" also dives deeply in some human foibles too! "Secret Window, Secret Garden," delves into the darker interior of man. King displays his understanding the human psyche into this story. Finally, "The Sun Dog" hit us head on in this tale from King's fictional town Castle Rock. The supernatural is studied as a boy's birthday camera take very unnatural pictures indeed. "The Sun Dog" prefaces King's novel "Needful Things." I enjoy all four short stories and found each were separately scary each in their own way. It would depend on your own threshold and tolerances to determine which frighten you the most. I guarantee each will hold you from the first to last page though. My favorite was "The Library Policeman." I didn't expect that to be so. I almost expected it to be funny! However, it was anything but as the story progressed. I liked "The Langoliers" also because I'm a fan of Science Fiction and King infused some sifi whimsy into it. I think King probably was a fan when he was younger. There aren't any monsters present except that which you invent in your own imagination. The other two stories were in fine style, but didn't bring out as much interest to me. I hope my review helped a little with your purchase. solo.
Rating:
Summary: My first King book... now I'm hooked.
Review: A couple o' months ago, I decided to start reading Stephen King. I felt one of his huge, ponderous tomes like "It" or "The Stand" would be a little overwhelming at first, so I picked up this volume with its 4 stories. Wow! "Langoliers"- The 2nd best in the book. This book was great, but I never really understood the whole "Timekeepers of Eternity" thing. Rating: 9 out of 10. "Secret Window, Secret Garden"- The worst in the book, but still great. I guessed the split personality thing about 50 pages in. Rating: 6 out of 10. "The Library Policeman"- The best in the book! Not only a great horror story, but there's some humor, too. It contains the best line in the book "Consider it a gift from me, the Prince of Piggly Wiggly, to you, the Lord of Licorice, on a rainy Monday evening." Rating: 100 out of 10. "Sun Dog"- The 3rd best. A bit slow, but it's better than "Secret Window, Secret Garden." Rating: 7 out of 10.
Rating:
Summary: Good quartet
Review: "Four Past Midnight" is Stephen King's second book based around four novellas (too long to be a short story, not long enough to be a real book). This one has "The Langoliers", about a airline flight that goes into another dimension, kind of (this story is alright, not King's best). The second is "Secret Window, Secret Garden", a writter with a guilty conscience has a man terrorizing him (this is the weakest story). "The Library Police" is my favorite story, about a man who borrows a book, and then has to pay the over due fine with his soul (by far my favorite story). The last story is "The Sun Dog", about a boy who buys a camera from a store owner in Castle Rock, but there's a dog who comes closer to the edge in each succesive picture (this is a good story, a prelude to "Needful Things"). All these stories are of varied quility, only one of them ("Secret") not really worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: This is good
Review: This is the best short-story novel my Mr.King that he has released since Different Seasons (which I really enjoyed).
Not only is 'The Langoliers' good, 'The Library Policeman','The Sun Dog', and 'Secret Window, Secret Garden' are good.
I really enjoyed 'The Library Policeman' because when I was younger (about the age of 6)I used to go into the library and check out books...and when they were late..I would think that the library policeman would get me and kill me for the books being late.
Thank God there is no such thing as a library policeman, but reading the short story really brought the feeling that there is a such one.
If you are into short stories, then Four Past Midnight is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Take the redeye again?...if you dare.
Review: This book contains four short stories however the one I am going to review is the thiller of air travel, The Langoliers. This is a real Stephen King dusey involving an airliner's accidental flight through a rip in the space and time continuem and arriving at it's destination with half it's passengers missing including the crew save for an off duty pilot, who like the other survivors -and lucky for them - had the common sense to be asleep at the time. At the airport there is no one to meet them and they soon discover the horror of the situatuion they are in. All the while a crunching sound is resonating through the stale air they are breathing...The Langoliers, the evil cousins of Pac Man are eating the used up time and space and are closing in on them. All the while psycotic passenger is casing them grief. There is always one. The Aeroplane and it's passengers make a hair raising escape and attempt to return to normal time, but there is a catch, they must find the rip in space and to pass through they must all be asleep...How will they do it? Someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice. The ending has a little humor in it, a passenger who had to much to drink at the airport lounge before boarding finally wakes up none the wiser as the intrepid voyagers arrive at their intended destination, albeit a little early for time, safe and well. This story was made into a B Grade TV movie in 1995 with surprisingly good results although given the budget of a blockbuster, would've been a real thriller.
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