mitchjjt's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
deltajuliet83's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not a big fan of short stories but many of these were pretty intense, and I like that a couple involved’Salem’s Lot.
nicolaspratt's review against another edition
4.0
A great mix of stories from Stephen King. Definitely not for the easily scared, these stories cover a wide variety of topics, but all with the disturbing and horrifying themes that are common throughout King's books.
christopherwilson13's review against another edition
5.0
You could skip the first one and come back to it later if you want to get into a flow as it's 19th century epistolary and the others are not that. Favorites: Strawberry Spring, Last Rung on the Ladder, Sometimes They Come Back, The Mangler, The Boogeyman.
riseclare's review against another edition
3.0
A few if the beginning stories were just eh, but its gotten much better. Sometimes they come back was a very interesting read. Strawberry Spring, The Ledge, Quitters Inc, I know what you need all had unique plots and interesting story lines and twists. Lawnmower Man was WEIRD, as I had never seen this movie before, same with Children of the Corn- but I enjoyed the story.
denisxcore's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
He writes short better than he writes long.
bookstoashes's review against another edition
I don't think I'll rate this book considering its a collection of short stories, and since there are 20 of them, it's not really fair to rate it overall.
If I HAD to, I'd say around 3 to 3.5 stars. It had really strong stories, and some that weren't as memorable or likeable.
My taste in horror seems to vary and considering some of these stories are really beloved (despite me not liking them too much), it seems I may have differing opinions compared to others in the Stephen King universe.
That being said, I liked them overall. My favourite's probably being Quitters Inc., The Ledge, and Boogeyman.
I plan on doing a whole recap and short review on my youtube channel because there's way too many to type about, but it was nice to finally get to his first collection of short stories.
Looking forward to getting to The Long Walk next.
reesecar13's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0