Rating: Summary: Worthy Of A King Review: It's been nearly a decade since King offered us a collection of short stories (which was Nightmares & Dreamscapes). His newest collection, Everything's Eventual, might very well be his best and most mature effort in the relm of short fiction. This collection shows perfectly why King is at the top of his game and why he's so beloved by millions of fans around the world.The 14 stories included in this collections are all worth reading. There are only two which I found disappointing; 1408, a haunted hotel room story that seems kind of cliched for someone of King's talent, and Lunch At Gotham Cafe, a strange horror tale about a crazy maitre d'. Those two stories aside, the collection is quite spectacular. First off, any fans of the Dark Tower series will want to read The Little Sisters of Eluria, a prequel to King's opus which is masterfully written and quite chilling. Then there's Autopsy Room Four and That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French and Riding The Bullet, three top-of-the-notch horror tales that will chill you to the bone. And his story Lt's Theory Of Pets, a strange blend of comedy and horror, is not to be missed. Then, there are the non-horror stories, some of King's best works in years, including The Death Of Jack Hamilton, In The Death Room and the truly wonderful, truly amazing The Man In The Black Suit. These stories should once and for all prove that King is a lot more than just a popular genre writer. But the real reason to read this anthology is for the title story, Everything's Eventual, a great little story that is mysterious, quite original and very satisfying. It's as good, if not better, than anything Kafka has written. That story alone is worth the price of the book. King has never ceased to amaze me. He has written hundreds of wonderful stories and dozens of truly amazing books. He is very much American's most prolific - and most talented - writer.
Rating: Summary: King should write more short stories! Review: I've been a Constant Reader since the age of 13, when my mother finally stopped forbidding me to read King's work; and although I typically love all that he writes (with the notable exceptions of Gerald's Game and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon), I find that his skills in weaving stories and personalizing characters are most evident in his short story compilations. This is a series of excellent stories; there isn't one I found to be a dud, and quite a few are fantastic ("1408", "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe", and "LT's Theory of Pets"). Most importantly for King fans (if they didn't run out and buy "Legends Vol. II" for this reason), this book contains the 90-odd page story "The Little Sisters of Eluria", a tale of Roland of Gilead, pre- The Gunslinger. It is a DT prequel, if you will, and NOT to be missed. Go get it!
Rating: Summary: King does it again Review: I have been waiting for King to bring out some more short stories, and WOW, did he ever. Great Stories, horrific tales, and even "The Little Sisters of Eluria" is for a great addition to the Dark Tower. Awesome book, if you love King, you will love this book! I remember reading "The Autopsy Room" in a 1972 issue of Hitchcock Magazine, so it was great to see King bring it back here.
Rating: Summary: The King is Back Review: Stephen King hasn't done a short story collection since Nightmares and Dreamscapes a decade ago so I jumped on Everythings' Eventual. First the good, Little Sisters of Eluria is downright creepy. From the moment Roland the gunslinger arrives in town with a sick horse you know things aren't going to go well for him. Even non Dark Tower Fans will enjoy this. The Death of Jack Hamilton shows once again that King is the master of the old fashioned 1940s noir style crime/jail story. The Road Virus Heads North builds up tension so fast you really have no idea of how it's going to end and it has a sly poke at some of King's nuttier fans. The Man in the Brown Suit was terrifying. Anyone who ever had an unpleasant childhood encounter with a strange adult will find it unforgettable. Everythings Eventual is terrific until the climax. Kings personal political feelings got in the way and that led to a somewhat weak ending. Now for the not so good news. If you're a King fan you've already read Riding the Bullet, Luckey Quarter and All that You Love Will Be Carried Away . You've probably already bought the Blood and Smoke tape and the L.T. tape. These stories all came out last year or so. It's too soon for them, as good as they are, to be in a written collection. It made me feel like King was just padding the book. There was one clunker in the collection and it's the one about the highly unlikable middle aged woman who slips into her own private vacation hell. Luckily this one is very short. Was this King's best collection. Nope. That honor probably goes to Nightmares and Dreamscapes or perhaps Skeleton Crew but it is enjoyable and if you're a serious King fan you've got to have it. Kimberley Wilson
Rating: Summary: This is a great book! Review: )Referring to the hard cover book, not the audio)I have read all of King's short story collections, and this one is by far my favorite. I highly recommend it! The book has 14 stories, as opposed to the audio.
Rating: Summary: King in excellent form Review: It's nice to see him back with some good stories, willing to take risks and still managing to scare us. While I've read a few of these before, I'm happy to have them collected in one volume, especially the Dark Tower novella. The introductory essay is, per the usual, wonderful; it always feels like the man is talking directly to you. Let's hope the art of the short story never dies. With writers like King to champion it, it should be around for a long time. Oh, and if you're on the fence about this one, read "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe," excerpted here on Amazon. It's excellent, and gives you a good idea of where King is coming from these days: stronger character work than in some his earlier collections, without losing the edge of horror and gore to drive it home.
Rating: Summary: Another hit for King... Review: Stephen King returns to what he does best, short stories. His other collections, "Night Shift", "Skeleton Crew" and "Nightmare & Dreamscapes" contain some of his very best work. While there are fewer stories here (only fourteen) some of them are among his very best including "The Man In The Black Suit" and "L.T.'s Theory Of Pets". King is lucky in that he is one of the few authors who can get volumes of short stories published these days, which is a shame.
Rating: Summary: C'mon people, it's Stephen King. Review: One of King's strongpoints has been, I feel, his short fiction. Sometimes it feels like he sleeps through some of his longer material ("Desperation," or "Insomnia," anyone?) But short fiction? It's spot on. "The Little Sisters of Eluria" is a great addition to the Dark Tower series, too.
Rating: Summary: A Winning Collection Review: This is a highly entertaining collection of Stephen King short stories. As enjoyable as the stories are Stephen's insights and observations in his Introduction and comments. He obviously truly loves writing - and reading. The collection gets 4 stars instead of 5 because the stories are somewhat predicatble - no shockers here. However, King is such a good storyteller, it doesn't matter. Treat yourself to some fun reading!
Rating: Summary: Great King anthology Review: Even though its seems unreal, Stephen King has not written a short story collection in almost a decade (see NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES). However, the flexible grandmaster returns to the form with this fourteen-story book while showing (as he continually does with novels), he can still spin quite a superb short tale. Each tale is dark and demonstrates Mr. King's writing abilities while proving he remains one of the stronger short story tellers today. The theme running through the tale is encounters with the dead spicing up the mundane lives of the living or those who expedite the passage of death. This anthology includes three pieces coming from alternate media, four from The New Yorker magazine, and a former E-book. One added bonus is a Dark Tower longer short story "The Little Sisters of Eluria". Each one and the remaining six are all quite good and a bit or two frightening. Macabre and clearly paying homage to another versatile grandmaster Edgar Allen Poe, EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL is another triumph for Mr. King as fans of the ghastly and morbid will enjoy this collection. The great author seems to have accomplished everything in his thirty years of published writing except lift the curse of the Bambino. Harriet Klausner
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