Four Past Midnight

Rating:
Summary: Three Out Of Four Ain't Bad
Review: If Secret Window, Secret Garden was not in this collection, I'd give this five stars, easily. However, it is in the collection and it brings down King's average. The best is the atmospheric and well-written Langoliers, with the Genuinely creepy Sun Dog running a close second. The Library Policemen starts out slow, but picks up speed in the middle, and although it ends sort of erratically, it is still quite good. Buy it, but don't bother reading SW,SG.

Rating:
Summary: Great from begining to end
Review: King does great job with these stories. Langoliers and library policeman are particularly wonderful. The sundog was not in same class as the other three but still was worth reading. Highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: King scares me for the wrong reasons
Review: Stephen King used to be a master at the macbre, but now he seems to be a master at insanity and perversion.

Rating:
Summary: Decent at first, but a let-down overall
Review: King was definitely not in top form when he
wrote this. Yes, he's written worse books, but
this one leaves no real impression on the memory.
I must admit the "Langoliers" was excellent but
the remaining three stories are forgettable; but,
it's much better than "nightmares and dreamscapes."

Rating:
Summary: Mainly Very Good
Review: I found most of the stories quite good. The first one, in particular, had me rivetted.

Rating:
Summary: Sleeping Past Midnight
Review: This book was such a disgrace. Stephen King screwed up on this one. It was too wordy, the stories too cheap. It felt like Micheal Crichton wrote some of the stories. Throw this book in the fire, it is not good. It is bad with capital letters spelling ''bad'' out.

Rating:
Summary: Tighter Writing Wanted
Review: It still seems incredible to me that Stephen King's fans don't complain more frequently about his annoying wordiness. Where most writers would be content to say, "'Excuse me,' he said sarcastically," Stephen King always seems inclined to say something like, "Wayne stood like a character in an old TV show that he could no longer quite identify -- and that bugged him no end -- he stood there and uttered a long 'Excu-u-use ME!' But nobody, least of all the people sharing the same supermarket checkout line, paid him the slightest attention. 'I will kill them all,' he thought darkly. But even then he knew he really wouldn't." You get the idea. Stephen King needs an editor, and needs one bad. The four novellas in this collection are, for the most part, skillfully conceived, they flow nicely, and they are capable (in their better moments) of taking you where souls normally fear to tread. "The Langoliers" is especially delightful because it is also a bit of an intellectual exercise. I'd give it an 8 -- King at his best. It is followed by "Secret Window, Secret Garden," the worst of the four, a tired old saga about a writer pestered by a guy who claims he stole his story. It gets a 3. "The Library Policeman" is initially spellbinding, but King keeps writing nonsense long after he could have stopped. It's a 6. "The Sun Dog," which closes the collection, is impossibly wordy, but is saved somewhat by an ending that is guaranteed to give you goose bumps. It's also a 6. In short, it's a fun read, but it could have been better. All it needed was tightening up.

Rating:
Summary: King in top form
Review: One story that stands out from the rest in this collection of four novellas by Stephen King, is, of course, and no doubt, THE LANGOLIERS. Never has such an engaging story been put to pen and paper. It is a thriller, and insuperably gripping, with elements of horror and sheer, unadulterated suspense. Quite possibly, this story could be King's masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: King comes back with 4 novellas!
Review: The King is back. In my reading every single King book, I would like to say this is a very good book, however, there are two novellas here which make it worth the price of admission. "The Langoliers" and "The Sun Dog" (this one, especially for the ending!) Congratulations Mr. King, keep it up!

Rating:
Summary: #1 - BEST of all SF I've read!
Review: Just couldn't stop reading!!! When I finally slep I set the alarm to wake early in the morning to continue!!! No words to say!!