Rating: Summary: Read This Before You Buy - Don't Duplicate Your Collection Review: Being a die-hard King fan, I was very disappointed by this collection; mostly because out of the 14 tales presented, I had already read/heard eight of them in other formats. I have listed those below. Perhaps a book of short stories is intended to be a collection of stories already printed/recorded in other formats, but I was expecting to read new material from King - not have over 1/2 of this book be recycled material from the last five years. Be aware of this before you purchase this book. Had I known what was included, I probably would not have purchased it.Of the new ones, I wasn't very impressed with many of them. But I have to admit, my views may have been tainted once I opened the book and saw the table of contents. On the positive side, "1408" scared the goodness out of me. I heard it on audio and it frightened me so much that I still haven't read it in the short story collection. If you like to be afraid, there are a few stories in here that will do it. "Riding the Bullet" is another great one if you love the side of King that makes you sleep with your bedside light on - that is if you can ever get to sleep. "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe", "1408", and "In the Deathroom" were all on Blood and Smoke, an audio book by King, released in 2000. "The Little Sisters of Eluria" was in Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg, 1998 "Autopsy Room Four" was in Robert Bloch's Psychos in 1997 "The Road Virsus Heads North" was in 999, New Stories of Horror and Suspense "LT's Theory of Pets" was released in an audio version. "Riding the Bullet" was released online for download
Rating: Summary: The title sums up the problem Review: The title of this mess sums up the problem with King's entire ouvre -- he himself said in On Writing that he never plots ahead, but learns along with the reader what's going to come next. This explains why I've never been able to take King's meandering and severely unedited style. The tone of everything he writes, no matter how "scary" some may find them, is, "Well, eventually I'll get around to the next scene and eventually even to a scene that moves the plot ahead." Such a writer needs to stick to short stories, but at best, a Stephen King short story belongs in Alfred Hithcock Magazine, not on a bestseller list and certainly not in the New Yorker, where he's been turning up lately. That latter panache in his resume must be the reason he actually wrote a book on writing and why he comments on the evolution of each of these stories in this book. He believes he's a writer. He's a typist who's never suffered from typist's block, that's for sure. But a writer? Please. Writers are also editors, plotters, stylists. Between the New Yorker and King's near-fatal accident, no one's going to say what I have the guts to say -- this book, and everything else he writes, stinks. The emperor is naked, folks!
Rating: Summary: 11 out of 14 ain't bad Review: Stephen King comes out with his second short story collection,"Everything's Eventual". The fourteen stories in this book touch on all different emotions. Stories talk about love, divorce, ghouls, and murder. They have emotional conflict about wheter it's better to give up one's self or someone else whom you love. I'm just touching on the subjects covered because I don't want to give away anything to in-depth on the stories. The thing I like best about these stories are that they can be read in about an hour instead of 2 weeks like a normal King novel. So if you like King but hate the length of his stories, this is definitely for you. Also if you like the lost art of short story telling and are looking for some good stories, this is for you.
Rating: Summary: Isnt' that EVENTUAL? Review: I feel an eerie desolation in the spirit of those dislikers and critics having a perverse pleasure in attacking King, and his works. I think most of it comes from the jealousy they feel for him (I call this "why-him-why-not-me-mamma" syndrome) but a substantial part of it also stems from feeling frustrated. Frustrated because they damn know well that although there is quiet a lot of sheer pleasure and fun (and invaluable moments) in King's stories, they desperately fail to grasp it; but this is not their fault: their vision somehow focuses only on two-dimensional rectangles, squares and geometric figures. Alas I have pity them because no matter what they think or how much "eyebrow-rising high literature snobs" and their followers whine, King shines in an eye-dazzling way among the literal boredom and bareness of the last quarter of the twentieth century. During that last quarter, from the very beginning of his career with Carrie through the last steps of his immense kingdom, Everything's Eventual, he is the one and only author who have somehow managed to remain popular, as well as loyal to his readers and fan base, and achieved to yield time-resisting, precious and miraculously prolific works, with touchy, realistic and futuristic visions. It was as if there was a committee composed of different ghost writers, each of whom was specialised on another subject and churning out a book a year when it was his or her turn. From telekinesis to child abusing to incest, from other-worldly creatures to fantasy and epic stories and novels ("there are more worlds than this"), King have always tried to give his best to the ones who are able to understand him, and what a pleasure it is to understand him; to share his several worlds with his sweet, guiding voice, talking to you as if a long-time friend of yours is telling you what happened in the neighbourhood. And "Everything's Eventual" is simply a showdown of his almost endless talents, every piece reflecting a milestone forming his most-envied career, from sheer horror ("Autopsy Room...", "Road Virus...") to his hommage to his masters ("Room 1408") to his epic saga ("Sisters of Little..."), from despairing human beings ("All That You Love Will Be...") to political touches (Title story), from great insights to everyday family life ("LT's Theory of Pets") to his unique insight in children's lives ("the Man in Black Suits") to simple, but haunting ghost stories with deft touches ("Riding the Bullet") Each one being a palpable evidence how and why King became so successful, so beloved and each one has its own answer: He is extremely talented but in a so unique manner that the other talents of his period (and the most of the ones in the past) have fallen short of catching up with him. Besides, they were not long-winded enough. Having said that, I would like to give a sincere hug and a big kiss to him for what he has done and given to us for years. Damn, I am proud of him, of reading him, of being a fan of him; I never regretted a moment I spent with him and I am sure this is the truth for many other fans capable of dancing in the dark with this ever-unmatched man. He has done so much for us for years... Now critics and dislikers should find someone else to prey on as King will soon drop the curtain down. But I think they will have a very hard time in finding one because there is no one around more brilliant than him, who will be worth to attacking for the sake of attacking and envy....and ultimately they will get bored and isn't that EVENTUAL? PS: For those who complain that the stories were published before, and feel cheated, isn't that written in the book synopsis? I think you are literate, and I guess you can read it before the purchase.
Rating: Summary: Great Reading Review: Most of the stories in here were great. I especially liked Riding the Bullet, a classic haunted story. Many others were fantastic, such as 1408. Others were chilling. A few were a bit slow, such as the gangster story (I forget the title). There is a Dark Tower short story, since I've only read the first one, it was a little difficult to follow. Overall it was a great way to pass the nights when you can't sleep.
Rating: Summary: Everything's Eventual is King's best collection in years Review: Everything's Eventual is a wonderful smorgasbord of King at the top of his form as a modern master of the short story. His The Man in the Black Suit has got to be one of the most frightening stories I have ever read. Read it preferably in the daylight with other people nearby. The styles and moods of the stories display great variety. I particularly liked Riding the Bullet and All that You Love Will Be Carried Away, stories that take the horror genre to a new level.
Rating: Summary: Oh, please . . . Review: This isn't writing, this is mush between covers, fertilizer, unrelenting mining of money. If your eyebrows are the size of small squirrels and your forehead is on the low & sloped end of things, maybe you want to read this. If not, move along. Read something with a little cooth.
Rating: Summary: Consider yourself warned Review: EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL is a collection of short stories and novellas that were published in other media. These stories have appeared in other forms such as articles in THE NEW YORKER, horror and fantasy anthologies, audio books, CD-ROMs and the Internet. The stories are scattered in no particular order. One can see the serious side of Mr. King with works like 'Luckey Quarter' and the understated 'The Man in the Black Suit', the 1996 O. Henry Award winner for Best Short Story. There is also something for the horror fans like '1408', a story of a haunted hotel room, and for gruesome humor fans there is 'Lunch at the Gotham Café', a story of a divorcing couple escaping the wrath of a crazed maitre d'. Fans might appreciate having all of these stories collected in one book; others will feel cheated since there is no new material here before the release of Stephen King's latest novel FROM A BUICK 8. King knows how to attract readers and this book is no exception.
Rating: Summary: The King Is Back! Review: I had all but completely given up on SK after a long string of dismally unreadable tomes like "Insomnia" and "Dreamcatcher". But the buzz on "Everything's Eventual" grabbed me, and I gave in. Wow! What a treat to have the old King back! Every story is a true original, concisely written, deliciously spooky, and, yes, thought-provoking. I was so sorry to reach the end of tale #14, I had to go back and read it again. I won't go into another reviewer recap of the plots, but standouts for me are the wonderfully creepy "The Road Virus Heads North" about a painting with an evil history picked up at a garage sale, and the funny-tragic-twisted "LT's Theory of Pets" inspired by, of all people, Dear Abby. I certainly don't want or expect the author to stick to only the short story format, but if he could imbue future novels with half the ingenuity of this body of work, and cut down on all the extraneous verbage that doesn't lead anywhere, we can joyfully line up for the next book.
Rating: Summary: Another Great Book from Stephen King Review: After reading 'Bag of Bones' I was starting to think along with other people at Stephen King was losing it. But this book proved me wrong. I think by far the best story in this book would have to be 'The Man in the Black Suit.' Its worth getting this book just for that story alone.
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