Everything's Eventual : 14 Dark Tales

Rating:
Summary: My first Stephen King read.
Review: I've realized Stephen King is not a horry-story writer. He can write anything! I enjoyed the variaty of stories in this book. Some funny, some sad, some kinda creepy. I will read more :)

Rating:
Summary: A mixed bag
Review: The latest (and possibly last) collection of short stories from King is a bit uneven, ranging from some real snorers -- like the story of a man who is bitten by a rare snake on a golf course, paralyzed by its venom but still aware of what's happening to him as he is almost dissected on the autopsy table -- to some true rippers. My favorites included "Everything's Eventual," a surreal tale about what happens to a young man who can inflict death with his mind when he becomes employed by the government; "L.T.'s Theory of Pets," a comic-turnned horror story about dog people and cat people; "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French," a real chiller depicting the last moments before death; and "1408," a haunted hotel room story that kept me up way past my bedtime. I also enjoyed rereading "The Little Sisters of Eluria," a long tale about King's famous Gunslinger when he was just setting out on his long journey, which was first published in an anthology edited by Robert Silverberg. All in all, the gems outnumbered the dogs. This is a must-have collection for King fans who may have missed some of his stories that have only appeared before in unusual editions, such as CD or electronic format.

Rating:
Summary: Good to Great
Review: Several of the short stories in this collection appear to be vignettes; something that could have been part of a much larger story, but instead became a scene in the life of the characters. Some of the stories that try to be clever (e.g., "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French) end up getting caught in their "gee see how clever I am" storylines and ended up being a disappointment to me, particularly as I had that one figured out about halfway through. One story, "The Road Virus Heads North," I remember very well as being very similar to a story from Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" TV series.

Getting past my complaints, there are some very good stories. Perhaps the best story in this collection is an entry based on the characters from the Dark Tower series, "The Little Sisters of Eluria." I was fascinated by this story, and occasionally chilled, from beginning to end. Even after I realized the nature of the sisters I was still chilled. Stephen King tells this story at his best.

"Autopsy Room Four" bears a strong resemblance to another movie or TV show I saw a long time ago about a paralyzed man, but King manages to spice this one up and I admit that while I was expecting an all-too-familiar story, I enjoyed the ending. "The Man in the Black Suit" also provides you with a similar feeling to some of Nathaniel Hawthorne's stories, but again with a nice twist at the end.

"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" left me somewhat dry. I never cared about the main character, was somewhat puzzled by many of his motivations, and became somewhat bored. The central point of enjoyment in this story was his interesting hobby. "The Death of Jack Hamilton" is well written, with very good visualization, but do not expect this to be other than the tale of how a gangster's life ends.

"In the Deathroom" is a story that could have been on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." The story is vaguely disturbing, and the situation hopeless for the protagonist. At first you even momentarily wonder who the protagonist is. Then you wonder why you are watching a show about this person, as his situation seems so inevitable, and the inevitability makes you squirm as you long for hope. A nicely executed story with a very Hitchcockian ending.

"Everything's Eventual" is a very clever story that could easily be the basis of a novel. After "The Little Sisters of Eluria" this story is one of my favorites. The central character has a talent that is somewhere between science fiction, fantasy and the paranormal. The life the central character, Dink Earnshaw, leads is quite - shall we say bizarre? I would rather the reader discover how he came to be earning nearly nothing while having everything a person could want, and why he dumps the remainder of his money into the storm drains at the end of each week.

"L.T.'s Theory of Pets" is a little bizarre and twisted, and probably because I spent at least a little while trying to understand what the ending meant means that the story did what King intended. It matters not that the story had a rather ambiguous ending, just that the story makes you think.

"Lunch at the Gotham Café" is gloriously bizarre and surreal, a juxtaposition of the real and the unreal. As the story progresses I felt a dreamlike quality to the telling, wondering whether I was going to wake up at some point. Fortunately, or not, the story maintains the surreal feeling to the ending that surprised me by being different from what I expected. This story is another of the better stories in this collection.

"1408" may have had some elements of H.P. Lovecraft, though I suspect such elements may have been unintentional on the part of King. I enjoyed the story because King very pointedly tells you the problem with room 1408 has nothing to do with ghosts and the supernatural. That room is just wrong. I considered this story another of the better stories, good for generating a lot of thought after reading it.

"Riding the Bullet" was previously available on the internet. This story is in many respects a traditional ghost story, where you believe and fear, and then you realize it probably was not real, and then you find evidence that it may have been. While this story could have been a bit boring because it is similar to a number of other ghost stories, King injected enough elements into it to keep it vigorous.

"Luckey Quarter" is another of those stories that could have been showcased on a show such as "Twilight Zone" or "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." This time our protagonist is an overworked hotel maid. She has too many bills and too little opportunity. However, a "luckey" quarter comes her way and suddenly opportunities present themselves; or do they? This is a Stephen King story, after all.

Each of these stories is well written. There are several stories that are merely good, but there are even more stories that are very good or even excellent. The collection could have been pared down a bit, but given that we each have different favorites, what I thought was a weaker story someone else may have thought great. The collection is what it is. Worth having in any King fan's collection or for anyone who enjoys a well-written tale.