Rating: Summary: Not outstanding or horrible Review: ...Every one of King's books of short stories consists of stories previously published. Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares and Dreamscapes...all feature stories originally published in anthologies or magazines...This isn't just a King-ism. This is how it happens all the time. What's the big deal? Sometimes a writer might include one or two new stories, but an entire collection of previously published stories is completely normal..."..."s added by Amazon editors. That's where they made their edits.
Rating: Summary: Stephen King proves, Once Again: He's KING! Review: Ordinarily, I prefer Stephen King's novels, however, since they have been coming a bit slower lately, I thought I'd try the "shorts". This particular anthology is absolutely the BEST! If you're a die-hard SK fan as I am, it will more than satisfy all your SK needs. I recommend this book absolutely and completely! GO FOR IT!
Rating: Summary: Discovering King Review: I bought this book a few days ago, and I really could not put it down. Each story is different, and each one has its own creepy quality. I pretty much liked all of the stories and the weird twists in them, even Sisters of Eluria, which I did not expect to enjoy because I'm not really into that whole fantasy thing. Out of all the stories, I'd have to say my favorites were "The Man in the Black Suit," "Everything's Eventual," and "Riding the Bullet." As a new reader (the only other book I've read of his is "Dreamcatcher"), I have never read any of these stories so it was like a new experience to me. They were all very good, and I commend King for his outstanding work.
Rating: Summary: King's writing is like a fine wine, it gets better with age Review: After buying this book I had already read all the stories from blood and smoke, L.T.'s Theory of Pets, and the online book Riding the Bullet so I was kind of skeptical if the other stories would be as good as the ones I had already read. I was blowed away by the other stories, they were teffific. Not one story in this book is dull. Autopsy Room 4 was a great opener, Road Virus heads north was no doubt the scariest in my opinion, Lunch at the Gothem Cafe was no doubt the bloodiest. I was totally surprised when King mentioned the little po-dung town that I live in(Fort Scott, KS) in his story All that you love will be carried away. Each story is unique in it's own way. If you are one who thinks that King has lost his touch when it comes to telling a good horror story then I suggest that you read this short story collection. I prefer his later works personally just because I think that King has matured as a writer throughout the years. I think King is not a horror writer or someone who writes drama every once in a while. King is not classified under any of those, he is classified just as a storyteller and a superb one at that. King is in his top form in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a king fan, or anyone who just likes to read good horror story because each story will blow you away!
Rating: Summary: Enjoy the stories. Ignore the commentary. Review: For the first time since NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES, Stephen King has released a collection of his patented brand of supernatural thrillers. This collection of 14 short stories ranges from King at his most literary, such as the O Henry "The Man in the Black Suit" (an homage to Nathanial Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown"), to King at his most shocking, such as the murderous demon unleashed on an unsuspecting art buyer in "The Road Virus Heads North." As with most of King's works, his talent lies in creating strong, complex, and identifiable characters, and creating memorable details. For example, in the moving story "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away", King masterfully captures the internal dialog of a long-time travelling salesman contemplating suicide by exposing us to his passion for the grafitti left in roadside rest areas. King displays his talent for detail in "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe." The haunting image of a drop of blood in a upscale restaraunt's water glass trailing down like a tadpole will stay with readers long after they have forgotten the nearly absurd account of a psycopathic maitre'd massacring the lunch crowd at a fancy New York restaurant. Some of King's stories are shakier. For example, "Autopsy Room Four" starts off as a twist on the old buried alive tales and sinks rapidly to a sophomoric punch line. "Room 1408" begins promisingly as a kind of mini-Shining, but falls off in the second half as a rip off of the Blair Witch Project. And the reader can't shake off the feeling that "Luckey", the story of a maid who finds a 'luckey' quarter, should have been tossed out after it was dashed off in one night on a cross-country book tour. However, the major detraction from King's collection of stories is the commentary he makes throughout the work. Whether it's his faux modesty on his more high-brow works or his passing off of the trite as wisdom ("Hell is repetition", for example), King's opinions or comments on his writing process add little to his admitably admirable work, and often times induce the reader to cringe more than his spine-tingling prose in the stories themselves. In summary, if you are a King fan or a short story fan, buy this book. But ignore anything in italics after the end of the story. Dav's Rating System: 5 stars - Loved it, and kept it on my bookshelf. 4 stars - Liked it, and gave it to a friend. 3 stars - OK, finished it and gave it to the library. 2 stars - Not good, finished it, but felt guilty and/or cheated by it. 1 star - I want my hour back! Didn't finish the book.
Rating: Summary: Title Story Rocks! Review: The GREATS: "The Man in the Black Suit" - SCARY "The Little Sisters of Eluria" - Yay, Gunslinger!!!! "Everything's Eventual" - one of the most fascinating short stories I've ever read! Mr. King's "fouders" and "smims" do remind me a little of Lovecraft; shapes that do maddening things to the mind, shapes that can kill. But the way these shapes are used is original and chilling. "1408" - Scary as hell. Seems like another tribute to Lovecraft; the hotel room where Chthulu might stay. I would recommend buying this book if only to read these four absolutely wonderful stories. I'm sure that there is something inside this collection for everyone, though. Each story has something very different to offer. Mr. King seems to have gotten much more contemplative lately. I can't say that I loved each and every story in "Everything's Eventual" but the ones I liked, I LOVED. This book makes a great addition to the collection.
Rating: Summary: Confused - 5 Tales or 14? Review: I recently ordered, received and began listening to the "Unabridged Audio Cassette" version of Everthing's Eventual. In browsing around looking for my next read/listen, I see that apparently the written version of this collection contains 14 short stories, while the audio cassette/CD only contains 5. I don't understand, and Amazon doesn't seem to offer any explanation or note of deviation between the unabridged versions -- whether written or oral. It looks like the written versions contains Riding The Bullet and other tales, which I would have liked to have received. Buyers beware...
Rating: Summary: One Great Collection Review: bottom line: All 14 stories are good. I would not usually do this for a short story collection, but I'm gonna give you brief comments about each story: Autopsy Room Four: Great Story, tied with 3 others for my fav. story. It's kinda eery and dark. The Man in the Black Suit: Good. It's well-written although has no major plot movements. All that you Love...: Respectable. It's strong with the suicide. Probably my second least favorite story. The Death of Jack Hamilton: Not interesting at all. I never cared about the characters. Nonetheless, well written if anything. My least fav. In the Deathroom: Okay, you care for the characters atleast. Not scary or anything. The Little Sisters of Eluria: maybe it's because I've only read the first Darktower, but this didn't stick out much. It's a quick and easy read, though. Everything's Eventual: Good. Strong storyline which is written straight and to the point. Kinda creepy. L.T.'s Theory of Pets: Maybe it's b/c I wasn't ready to closely, but I didn't think the ending was anything special. Regardless, a good, well-written story. Not horror at all, but a good look at love. The Road Virus Heads North: Down-right good horror. Lunch at Gotham Cafe: The 2nd in my tie for fav. It's scary, creepy, well-written, fast paced, etc. Great story. That feeling,...: Not good until you actually get to the end and realise what's happening. After you read King's take on it (the little blurb at the end) it makes it a whole lot better. Good. 1408: I found kinda boring, only getting good at the end. Riding the Bullet: The final of my favorite stories. Scary and creepy, and downright horror. It is very powerful, with a good, yet not good ending. Luckey Quarter: Good until the bad ending. Still okay. Overall, I'm very impressed with this collection. There are no filler stories like his previous collections. Not a tonn of horror either, there's a lot of literary stories here. Highly recomended.
Rating: Summary: Stephen King is "Eventual" Review: This book (again) proves why Stephen is "The King." Despite the fact that the book's dubbed "14 Dark Tales," I found myself laughing out loud on many occassions. No author can express him/herself they way he does. That's what makes him such a master. I don't care what topic he chooses, the way King writes puts other bestsellers such as John Grisham (hack) to shame. If you want to be creeped out, "Eventual" is for you!
Rating: Summary: Tight for a rehash Review: I am a great fan of Mr. King's work and own many a volume of his. For someone who has followed his career closely, this volume is not necessary to ensure you have all of his works. "LT's Theory of Pets" was previously published as an audio only release, "Little Sisters of Eluria" was previously published in a sci-fi/fantasy collection, "1408", "In the Death Room" and "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" were all previously released on "Blood and Smoke", and "Riding the Bullet" has been publishd online. When, off the top of my head, I can recount where I've already read 1/2 the book before picking it up, it doesn't sem a worthwhile purchase in hardback. I did, however read the other seven stories, and although about half of them disappoint (and I still dislike "LT's Theory of Pets" for being jumpy), a "true" King fan should add this book to their collection. After it comes out in paperback, that is.
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