Rating: 
Summary: Two Really Good, Two Really Bad
Review: That about sums up the novel Four Past Midnight by Stephen King. The book contains four novellas, The Langoliers, Secret Window, Secret Garden, The Library Policemen, and The Sun Dog. The first two stores in the novel are the good. The Langoliers is a scary imaginative story that could only come from the mind of Stephen King. The plot is unique as is the theme of the story. Very well written. Secret Window, Secret Garden is a familar story from King. Boy he just loves to reak havoc on those author characters of his doesn't he? I have not read The Dark Half, so I can not comment on how similar the two stories are, but Mort Rainey is a great character and King tells this story well. The final two stories in the novel really ruin the book. The Library Policemen is dumb and really luaghable when you get right down to it. The Sun Dog is done so much better in Cujo that we don't much care for it here, and are bored becuase of how long the story needs to take off. So an overall mix of good and bad here, with a final rating falling somewhere in between there.
Rating: 
Summary: It's Good t'be Da King (Second in a Series)
Review: Before we begin, I'll throw a practical disclaimer up here, just in case: any critique I write of Stephen King's work is going to fall suicidally close to fangirlish "Omigod he's the MAN I love him he rules there's nothing he can't do!" squealing and posturing. But while I might be obsessive enough to worship the mud he tracks across his foyer, I'm hardly delusional to the point of proclaiming his grocery list a masterpiece (thanks in advance for aiming that tranquilizer dart someplace else). Fanaticism on a mature and honest level doesn't involve plunking your idol onto some hopeless mythical pedistal and trying to claw out their humanity the way you'd gut a fish. To truly appreciate a person's artistic or entertainment prowess is to admire it from a respectful distance, and having the dignity to realize anyone's efforts are equally weak and strong, flawed and seamless, profound and banal. Celebrate the illusion, but don't lose sight of the reality in the process.In the author's note preceeding "L.T.'s Theory of Pets", from his recent Everything's Eventual anthology, King writes, "For me, that emotional payoff is what it's all about. I want to make you laugh or cry when you read a story...or do both at the same time. I want your heart, in other words. If you want to learn something, go to school." I find that to be a daring and noble statement, especially in this technologically enhanced culture determined to quantify both intelligence and self-worth through numbers...it seems like the only heights and depths we're encouraged to explore nowadays involve BMIs or GPAs. Stephen King is by no means a co-proprietor of the literary brain candy store...he's a challenge for your feelings, a threat to your comfort zone, an alchemist of characterization and human nature. More than any of his popular-fiction contemporaries, King is aware that the heart is perhaps the most powerful, fearsome--and yet underrated--of all internal spheres. He also displays a fiercely self-assured understanding that psychology has as much to do with feelings as it does with ideas and responses.Adroitly mixing this philosophy with a recurring theme of time (history, present, and future), Four Past Midnight becomes an enigmatic collection of short novels, meshing straightforward horror with abstract themes like isolation and desire. There is the occasional anticlimactic scene and awkward passage common to Stephen King's prose, but he rarely relies on cheap scares or takes the easy way out...and I for one appreciate his so-called "literary elephantitis." Maybe his frequent tangents have little to do with the plot, but as reflections of himself and his characters, there's truly nothing finer. In presented order:The Langoliers is more than a promising first step...it's a harbinger. Obstensibly a science fiction-inflected tale disguised as a typical air-travel disaster, this is a fascinating concept piece with a stark feel and one of the most interesting characters ever to grace the King roll call. I'm not referring to the blind, psychically gifted Dinah Bellman or to Nick Hopewell, the British assassin with the heart of gold...but to Craig Toomy, the "murderous deep-sea fish who only wants to be hauled to the surface so he can explode." I was unimpressed with the television miniseries' version of Mr. Toomy, dismissing him as the standard mentally unbalanced yuppie scum (!) you'd expect to throw a subplot into the proceedings. On paper, Craig Toomy is a complex character worthy of anyone's sympathy, despite the horrific acts his growing madness drives him to commit. King created a monster...with love.Secret Window, Secret Garden is arguably the weakest link in this chain, but is strong enough to keep everything intact, thank you. Its inspiration (told in the author's note) is compellingly common. This is a study in perspective, in looking at something in our everyday lives from a different angle...and wondering if measuring the depth of its dissimilarities might take us to a place we have no desire to go. When we stare at our surroundings, they stare back at us...and they, too have a story to tell.The Library Policeman is the spiciest and scariest of this collection. Building on an old childhood scare tactic, this one features the best kind of monster: a parasitic demon of uexplained origin and astronomical power. Dirty Dave Duncan emerges as the strongest character, telling one of the most harrowing and heartbreaking stories you could ever hope to hear. His past is wrapped in a blanket of spiritual vampirism, and while he lost his future, his dignity, and his mind...his heart remained intact. An event in the protagonist's past is similarly cruel and shocking, but like Dave, it can't destroy him inside and out. This is an important and deeply psychological tale wearing a dark suit of ghouls and goblins. You'll have to strip it nude and let it in to get the full point.The Sun Dog takes us back to Castle Rock--unless you're a King neophyte, you know this is the most famous of his fictional Maine towns--in the time between The Dark Half and Needful Things. Billed as a prequel to the latter, this is the story of a Polaroid Sun Camera and its supernatural manifestation alternately considered unusual, disturbing--and, strangely, boring. "Pop" Merrill, uncle to Ace Merrill of "The Body" (aka Stand by Me) infamy, steals the show in this one, evolving from cantankerous eccentricity to full-tilt insanity from his introduction to his exit. For extra nuance, the similar progression of the protagonist's father from paranormal skeptic to someone on a first-name basis with it is good for a knowing smirk. Watching him forcefully severed from his dependence on cold logic and having to give himself a sudden crash course in less concrete powers pretty much mirrors the reader's journey through any of Stephen King's best work.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable collection
Review: I'd have to say that overall, I enjoyed the stories that I read in Four Past Midnight, each one offering something unique and interesting.Out of all four of the stories, I would have to say that "the Langoliers" is my absolute favorite, no contest. I was drawn into the story right away for some reason, and really enjoyed and cared about the characters in it. I mean, there were some characters that I didn't really care about either way, like Doc Warwick, etc. but other characters such as Brian, Nick Hopewell, and Dinah were certainly characters that you could care about in some way. Of course, nothing like a psychopath thrown into the group to make things nice and interesting, and Craig Toomy fills that role nicely as the workaholic gone completely insane. The concept of "the Langoliers" was very interesting as well. I myself don't believe that time travel is possible for reasons that I do not wish to get into here, but the way it is done and what happens in the story is somehow done in such a way that you read and wonder if maybe such a thing is actually possible, if this is actually how things are really set up? Then again, reading Stephen King books has a habit of doing that to me, at least while reading it. Examples of this would be in "Insomnia" with the concepts of the "Purpose" and the "random" and in the Dark Tower series, with all those various realities. But enough on that. After "the Langoliers", I noticed a bit of a decline in the quality of the stories, in which each story was not quite as good as the one before it, though luckily it didn't get to the point where any of the stories were total crap because of it. "Secret Window, Secret Garden" was a pretty good read and had some nice twists and turns in it, while also in its own way illustrating the evils of plagerism. And being an author myself (though not yet published), plagerism would be something that I would be very much against. The story was in a lot of ways kind of like a soap opera, but it still managed to keep my attention and interest until the very end. The latter two stories, "The Library Police" and "The Sun Dog" were extremely difficult for me to get into and I had to struggle along with both of them at least in the beginning. However, once I got further into the stories, I found that, while neither was anything spectacular, they were still halfway decent stories. I don't really see much of a connection between "The Sun Dog" and "Needful Things" other than the fact that they both take place in Castle Rock, so not sure I really understand why Stephen King calls it a prologue to "Needful Things" (then again, it was a few years since I've read "Needful Things"). I did think that the character of Pop Merril was very interesting and some of the sequences he was in were pretty amusing as well, so the story is worth reading for his character, and maybe a few other things as well. As far as Four Past Midnight goes, definitely come for "The Langoliers" and if you wish (and you should, as the others are good stories, too, just not as good as "The Langoliers") stay for the other stories as well. And most importantly of all, I hope that you enjoy this collection. :)
Rating:
Summary: "three" for "four"
Review: the style in all these stories are very melancholical to be SK. sun dog has a ok idea. the suspenceful part is carried out nicely, but there isn't enough "glow". a boy gets a camera. something is wrong with the photos. they show an angry dog. that can't be harmless. the story is simply never more than good. in Secret window, secret garden a writer is suddenly harrassed by a man claiming that he's taken his story. the man turnes out to be a little more dangerous than first figured, and the writer is forced to take precautions. but the man won't go away... the dulles story, sometimes not even interesting. is only written on the plain suspence- level, and it's not great there either.
the langoliers has agood story. passengers on a plane wakes up finding most of the eithers gone. what's happened. they seem to be stuck somewhere they've never been before. i won't give away more. it's interesting read, has a lot of atmosphere. perhaps the best idea in this collection. has some lovely ideas and details.
in Library policeman, a man borrows a book that disappears. but the librarian won't accept that. the man has to face something not quite human. something that lives of fears. the man has to find out what's going on, digging in the town's past. a dark history concerning the library. good idea. great descriptions. some of the details were a little bit far out for me. i also think the story should have been built differently. but it's a good story.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This is probably the worst thing I have read by Stephen King. His novels are great, but it seems that he doesn't put the same thought and creativity into his novellas. "The Langoliers" was pretty good, but nothing to scream about. The same can be said about "Secret Window, Secret Garden." These two stories have interesting premises, but the actual writing is not the greatest. The last two stories, "The Library Policeman" and "The Sun Dog" are hideous. The former was okay, I guess, but it was boring and did not really hold my attention very well. The ending was simply terrible; I think maybe even I could have written a better ending. "The Sun Dog" was the worst thing I have ever read by King. It had no point, and the ending did nothing to resolve the events in the plot. Nothing that happened in the story was explained, and I had to struggle to finish this section of the book. If you are a huge King fan, and can't get enough of his work, then buy this is and enjoy it. But if you are like me, stick to the classics (The Stand, Misery, It, The Shining, and anything else that may catch your attention).
Rating:
Summary: 50/50
Review: I don't normally read short stories, but I liked the summary that I read of the Langoliers, so I read this book. The Langoliers was pretty good, but it ended up being the next story that I really enjoyed. Secret Window, Secret Garden was very good. The other two I didn't like much, the Sun Dog, especially, I had to struggle to finish. I would definitely recommend it for the first two stories, but the other two bring down my overall impression.
Rating:
Summary: Even if you are not a King fan read Langoliers
Review: I read this book quite some time ago, however The Langoliers really does stick in my mind as one of my favourite stories it is totally unique. I didn't quite like any of the other stories but the langoliers was a Sci Fi/Thriller that made up for them easily. Unfortunately I have seen the movie and it does the book no justice and a movie never could because the tale is just too strange and the imagination is a definite requirement. The terror these people felt on the inside was just too hard to put on to video tape.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing new, but nothing bad
Review: Forging new ground isn't exactly what Stephen King specializes in, so I suppose that it should come as no surprise that most of these stories are going to feel familiar when you slip into them. Though I'll deal with them individually, the overall impression that I got from this collection was one of familiarity--these are stories that I've heard before, in one case in a setting that I'd seen before, told by a voice I know, and that's perfect for a nice, comfortable read that's probably not going to challenge you. The first story is probably the most daring of the four, and arguably the only one where you won't see the ending telegraphed to you in plain English about ten or twenty pages in. Overall, The Langoliers not a story that you should be too unfamiliar with. It's been done before by King in works like The Mist, but he's happily at his best here. While I had seen the miniseries before I picked up the story, it still managed to keep me entertained with its interesting characters and engaging style of presentation. While I'm not the sort of person who finds suspense in the written word, there's certainly enough there for those who are inclined, and I suppose you could say that the first story really marks the high point for the collection overall. Secret Window, Secret Garden follows, and when I say that the pieces in the novel follow a wrote path, I'm really talking about this piece right here. I'm not complaining--I've been known to read the same book two or three times, so I'm obviously not averse to a familiar plot. All the same, this is about as formulaic as you'll find Stephen King. His strengths, however, are still there--the characters are interesting and engaging, and the plot manages to be just novel enough to keep the interest of most readers. The trend continues in The Library Policeman in almost precisely the same fashion. Though this one follows a different formula, it's still a formula, and again the strengths of the story are in its characters, and particularly in the short excursions that King takes from the plot to develop backstory on his characters. The old drunk's story in particular should elicit tears from some readers. The final story in the collection is The Sun Dog, and King all but admits that this one won't stand on its own. The strangest element, however, is that it does stand on its own fairly well. For that matter, aside from a fairly oblivious plot tie in, I'm not sure how this fits into the "trilogy" that ends Castle Rock (I'm currently slogging my way through Needful Things). The story itself is probably the most original and innovative in terms of plot, and Pop Merill is arguably the most interesting character in the entire book. I've certainly got a soft spot for Castle Rock, so I may be a little prejudiced towards this story, but it was my personal favorite. On the whole, this collection isn't going to stimulate you to think much or reconsider your worldview--that's not what Stephen King was about at this point in his career. It will, however, enjoyably pass a few hours for you, and maybe give you a few characters to remember fondly (or not so fondly in some cases), which ultimately ought to be the purpose of most good books. Those readers who might typically be encouraged to avoid King should probably be so warned here as well (there is a particularly objectionable scene in The Library Policeman), but all others will find in Four Past Midnight an enjoyable, if not particularly stimulating, collection of stories that should keep the eyes and the imagination busy for a couple of plane rides or long stretches in the office.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a worthwhile read...
Review: Although these stories are all definitely worth reading, and are all written and put together quite well, for some reason most of them just didn't seem to measure up with the brilliant work I usually attribute to King's writing. All four of the novellas deal with time in some form (time-travel in "The Langoliers", past experiences in "Secret Window, Secret Garden" as well as "The Library Policeman", and the speeding up of time in another world in "The Sun Dog"), and at least two of them obviously deal with the workings of a persons mind. None of the plots of the stories can really be explained without giving away some key element or surprise that must be gained only by reading the novellas yourself. Everyone seems to be highly praising "The Langoliers" as the best of the four stories. All that can really be told without spoiling the end is that a small group of passengers on a red-eye flight to Boston wake up to realize their plane is completely deserted in mid-air, along with the earth below them. I definitely thought it was well written and the ideas were interesting and typical of King's expansive imagination, but it didn't thrill me all that much, most likely because I saw the film version of it long before I read this, therefore I really had no surprises and nothing to look forward to. If the end hasn't been spoiled for you like it was for me, you're likely to enjoy this as the most thrilling out of the bunch, even thought it is more of a suspense/science fiction thriller than a typical horror story. "Secret Window, Secret Garden" explores the disturbed mind of a writer who is accused of plagiarism, all of which eventually turns his life into a living nightmare. Reviews seem to be mixed on this one, half of King's fans calling this a rip-off on "The Dark Half", an earlier novel of his, and the others praising it as a psychological thriller. The story and ideas themselves really are nothing new and the end isn't all that surprising, but the story still packs in its share of thrills and chills and ultimately leaves the reader satisfied. "The Library Policeman" was definitely the best of the four stories, in my opinion, although it took a little while to get moving. The reviewers who call this another version of "It" are right, in the fact that it is about a man who has to destroy a monster who haunted his childhood and now returns for more, but who cares? The story is chilling and disturbing regardless of whether or not King wrote it on some form before or not. Definitely the best. All of which leads to "The Sun Dog". When you break the plot down to something like "its nothing but a camera that constantly takes pictures of a dog which is moving closer and closer", the plot is bound to sound pointless, but leave it to King to take something like that and turn it into suspense and horror. After all, this is the same guy who wrote an entire novel about a woman handcuffed to a bed in "Gerald's Game". "The Sun Dog" doesn't stand out among a lot of King's other work, but it's satisfying with its Castle Rock references and suspenseful ending. All in all these stories are good, but not great. This doesn't compare to "Night Shift", "Different Seasons", or "The Bachman Books" as far as novella collections go, especially for King, but it will leave any King fan satisfied, to say the least. If you're looking for more thought-out and original work, check out the above references. But if you're just looking for an all-and-out good read, give this a chance.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable mix of stories
Review: "Four Past Midnight" of 1990 is not exactly a usual short story collection, but the four seasons of novellas, just like "Different Seasons" of 1982 was, a previous volume of this type from Stephen King. Snip: (...).
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