julietarocio's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pra5hant's review against another edition
5.0
"I want to make you laugh or cry when you read a story... or do both at the same time. I want your heart, in other words. if you want to learn something, go to school. - Stephen
stacey332's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
As with almost every collection of short stories I've read, there are some good ones and some duds in here.
Firstly, I skipped The Sisters of Eluria since it contains spoilers for Dark Tower which I might eventually get around to reading someday.
My favourites in the collection were LT's Theory of Pets, Autopsy Room Four and Lucky Quarter.
My least favourites in the collection were That Feeling You Can Only Say What it is in French & In the Deathroom.
As a whole I think this collection is pretty forgettable and that King really overused dreams (and I hated it every time, lol).
Firstly, I skipped The Sisters of Eluria since it contains spoilers for Dark Tower which I might eventually get around to reading someday.
My favourites in the collection were LT's Theory of Pets, Autopsy Room Four and Lucky Quarter.
My least favourites in the collection were That Feeling You Can Only Say What it is in French & In the Deathroom.
As a whole I think this collection is pretty forgettable and that King really overused dreams (and I hated it every time, lol).
dietzan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
setmeravelles's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
One of his better story collections, although a few I had to skim cause I was worried about the dog.
tcgarback's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B+
Reading Experience: 📘📘📘(3/5)
🔈 partly on audiobook 🔈
I was sure this was going to be my favorite short story collection of his until I got to the last two (reading out of order) and hated them. So now I’m unsure if this tops Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
Still, this has a ton of good stuff in it. King’s more literary material clicks for me, which is surprising because I’d expect to find it boring, but nope—he can be pretty touching when he wants me.
I basically loved 9 of them, enjoyed 2 of them, and hated 3 of them.
Here’s my ranking.
“1408” A. The ultimate haunted hotel room story. One of the most frightening reading experiences I’ve ever had. Fresh yet classic. Insidious.
“All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” A-. A moving character study that succeeds with its graffiti log. The snowy Motel 6 atmosphere was great too.
“Luckey Quarter” B+. You kind of have to sit with this one and analyze it’s existential leanings to get much out of it, or else it feels very meh. Luckily, I am more than happy to do that, so I really appreciated this one.
“Riding the Bullet” B+. Amazing atmosphere. Unpredictable. The ending left me a bit confused on what it all meant, but it seems that that’s sort of the point, or is King just taking the easy way out? Despite that, this feels really personal, but maybe I feel that way not because of the story but because of King’s note.
“The Man in the Black Suit” B+. I wrote a long paper on this in college analyzing it alongside the Nathaniel Hawthorne story that inspired it. Before reading, I was under the impression that it was going to be one of his finest and scariest stories. I agree with King, as he states in his note, that the story does not seem worthy of the critical accolades garnered, but there is something in it’s simplicity that just really works. Really memorable and has stayed with me very easily.
“The Road Virus Heads North” B+. A traditional scare for King—and that’s a great thing.
“Autopsy Room Four” B+. Apparently not that original, and he misses the opportunity to make this a lot darker, but otherwise had me squirming the whole time. A jolting story to front the collection.
“L.T.’s Theory of Pets” B. This is a curious one. I felt like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to say or what kind of story it wanted to be, but the author’s note makes it seem like that’s intentional, and regardless I do enjoy stories that evade presumed barriers. This story also has a light conversational tone that’s breezy, even if the majority of the piece is pretty bare on a plot level, and I don’t find the story as funny as it apparently is. The shift at the end, on the other hand, really landed for me. Hell, I can’t decide what *I* want to say. This peculiar story kept my interest and left me feeling sad and a tiny bit mystified.
“Lunch at the Gotham Café” B. A very fun, campy explosion of violence (and the story we have to thank for the book’s terrific jacket illustration), but the lazy sexist overtone and aftertaste of classism weaken the final product.
“The Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French” B-. The choppiness wasn’t pleasant, but I see the point of it. I feel like I want an altered draft, because I love the story in a nutshell and its philosophy, which is unfortunately only clear because of the author’s note.
“Everything’s Eventual” B-. A letdown for being the title story, this one failed to hook me. It was one of the stories I listened to on audiobook, and I eventually (ha) stopped paying close attention. The whole “trans” thing, while likely a weird coincidence, rubbed me the wrong way. The “eventual” thread felt forced and awkward. I liked the voice, though.
“The Little Sisters of Eluria” D+. I was excited to revisit the fantasy world, but wow does The Dark Tower just not work for me. It accesses a headspace I can’t relate to, one that is problematic most especially in this story by the way it milks the fantasy of women as dangerous, sexy objects. Plus, this novella is just super bloated, and it sticks out from the collection genre-wise like a sore thumb. Very out of place and disposable—which is funny to me because many fans consider this the main reason to read Everything’s Eventual. Ick.
“The Death of Jack Hamilton” D-. I started this after “In the Deathroom,” which I hated, so I went in with a bad taste in my mouth. Couldn’t bring myself to do more than skim a few pages. The genre and historical inspiration do not interest me in any way. Pass. This is the last story in the collection that I read, so unfortunately it closed out my reading on a very low note.
“In the Deathroom” F. A racist potboiler. Generic crime filler appealing to dull, problematic sensibilities. Gave up halfway through and read a summary online.
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B+
Reading Experience: 📘📘📘(3/5)
🔈 partly on audiobook 🔈
I was sure this was going to be my favorite short story collection of his until I got to the last two (reading out of order) and hated them. So now I’m unsure if this tops Nightmares and Dreamscapes.
Still, this has a ton of good stuff in it. King’s more literary material clicks for me, which is surprising because I’d expect to find it boring, but nope—he can be pretty touching when he wants me.
I basically loved 9 of them, enjoyed 2 of them, and hated 3 of them.
Here’s my ranking.
“1408” A. The ultimate haunted hotel room story. One of the most frightening reading experiences I’ve ever had. Fresh yet classic. Insidious.
“All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” A-. A moving character study that succeeds with its graffiti log. The snowy Motel 6 atmosphere was great too.
“Luckey Quarter” B+. You kind of have to sit with this one and analyze it’s existential leanings to get much out of it, or else it feels very meh. Luckily, I am more than happy to do that, so I really appreciated this one.
“Riding the Bullet” B+. Amazing atmosphere. Unpredictable. The ending left me a bit confused on what it all meant, but it seems that that’s sort of the point, or is King just taking the easy way out? Despite that, this feels really personal, but maybe I feel that way not because of the story but because of King’s note.
“The Man in the Black Suit” B+. I wrote a long paper on this in college analyzing it alongside the Nathaniel Hawthorne story that inspired it. Before reading, I was under the impression that it was going to be one of his finest and scariest stories. I agree with King, as he states in his note, that the story does not seem worthy of the critical accolades garnered, but there is something in it’s simplicity that just really works. Really memorable and has stayed with me very easily.
“The Road Virus Heads North” B+. A traditional scare for King—and that’s a great thing.
“Autopsy Room Four” B+. Apparently not that original, and he misses the opportunity to make this a lot darker, but otherwise had me squirming the whole time. A jolting story to front the collection.
“L.T.’s Theory of Pets” B. This is a curious one. I felt like it couldn’t decide what it wanted to say or what kind of story it wanted to be, but the author’s note makes it seem like that’s intentional, and regardless I do enjoy stories that evade presumed barriers. This story also has a light conversational tone that’s breezy, even if the majority of the piece is pretty bare on a plot level, and I don’t find the story as funny as it apparently is. The shift at the end, on the other hand, really landed for me. Hell, I can’t decide what *I* want to say. This peculiar story kept my interest and left me feeling sad and a tiny bit mystified.
“Lunch at the Gotham Café” B. A very fun, campy explosion of violence (and the story we have to thank for the book’s terrific jacket illustration), but the lazy sexist overtone and aftertaste of classism weaken the final product.
“The Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French” B-. The choppiness wasn’t pleasant, but I see the point of it. I feel like I want an altered draft, because I love the story in a nutshell and its philosophy, which is unfortunately only clear because of the author’s note.
“Everything’s Eventual” B-. A letdown for being the title story, this one failed to hook me. It was one of the stories I listened to on audiobook, and I eventually (ha) stopped paying close attention. The whole “trans” thing, while likely a weird coincidence, rubbed me the wrong way. The “eventual” thread felt forced and awkward. I liked the voice, though.
“The Little Sisters of Eluria” D+. I was excited to revisit the fantasy world, but wow does The Dark Tower just not work for me. It accesses a headspace I can’t relate to, one that is problematic most especially in this story by the way it milks the fantasy of women as dangerous, sexy objects. Plus, this novella is just super bloated, and it sticks out from the collection genre-wise like a sore thumb. Very out of place and disposable—which is funny to me because many fans consider this the main reason to read Everything’s Eventual. Ick.
“The Death of Jack Hamilton” D-. I started this after “In the Deathroom,” which I hated, so I went in with a bad taste in my mouth. Couldn’t bring myself to do more than skim a few pages. The genre and historical inspiration do not interest me in any way. Pass. This is the last story in the collection that I read, so unfortunately it closed out my reading on a very low note.
“In the Deathroom” F. A racist potboiler. Generic crime filler appealing to dull, problematic sensibilities. Gave up halfway through and read a summary online.
nat1577's review against another edition
3.0
I am a huge fan of Stephen King’s horror fiction, and until this series, I hadn’t really encountered many of his stories that focused on other genres. I had a mixed reaction to this series; I enjoyed some of the stories, had neutral feelings towards others, and there were a few that I didn’t enjoy much. All in all, it wasn’t my favourite of King’s short story collections; however, there are definitely stories in here worth reading. There were also a few horror short stories in here, and those tended to be the one’s I loved the most (I can’t help it, I’m just a massive horror fan). While some of the concepts of the horror stories may be considered overused tropes now, it’s important to remember that they probably weren’t back when King had written these stories. And King still finds a way to put his own little spin on these ideas.
I’ve written a series of short reviews below for each of the stories, and rated each of them out of five.
“Autopsy Room Four” – I definitely liked the idea, and the ending was amusing. However, I do think it dragged on for a bit too long. While I usually enjoy King’s tendency to go into intense detail in his writing, I think that this could have perhaps been shorter. ***
“The Man in the Black Hat” – I absolutely loved this. It didn’t find it scary; in fact, the description of the devil seemed to do the opposite for me. However, physical description aside, this story definitely had a creepy atmosphere to it. And I loved the old country town setting, which, for me, elevated the entire story (I just love small town settings in stories). ****
“All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” - I actually wasn’t a huge fan of this story. While I don’t think it was necessarily bad, it isn’t the type of story I tend to enjoy. **
“The Death of Jack Hamilton” – I really enjoyed this. I loved the setting - I’ve never tried reading a story like this, and when I started it, I wasn't sure if I would like it, but King definitely proved me wrong. What really got me was the characters; I genuinely liked the characters in this story, and I felt genuinely sad at parts of this. ****
“In The Deathroom” – Just didn’t like this one much. Like the mentions of the lead characters sister in this, but that was pretty much it. I also think this went on for a bit too long. **
“The Little Sister of Eluria” – Yeah…I skipped over this one, so I’m going to avoid giving it a rating, because…well, I’m just not a fan of these types of fantasy stories. However, I’ve heard good things about this, so I might check it out sometime.
“Everything’s Eventual” – I quite enjoyed this one. ***
“L.T.’s Theory of Pets” – This one dragged on a bit, but there were definitely parts that I enjoyed. I liked the darker parts in particular; I wouldn’t call it a ‘twist’ exactly, but they definitely changed the tone of the story. ***
“The Road Virus Heads North” REALLY enjoyed this. Might not be for everyone, but I’m a huge fan of horror, and sometimes I just like reading stories that use more typical horror tropes. The idea of a haunted painting may be common, but it definitely got me excited. I liked the ending in particular. While I didn’t find this story scary, it definitely got me excited, and I was quickly turning the pages, waiting to find out what happened next. *****
“Lunch at the Gotham Café” – Really liked this. The maitre’d was genuinely creepy, and I honestly didn’t know what would happen until the end. ****
“That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French” – Didn’t enjoy this much. I found it confusing and repetitive. **
“1408” – Another story I enjoyed, and another of his horror short stories. While I think I enjoyed the brief recount of the history of the hotel room more than lead character’s actual experience in the room, this was still a really good story. And pretty much anything haunted is great in my books. ****
“Riding the Bullet” – Good story, but I didn’t find it overly interesting. **
“Lucky Quarter” – I liked this one. ***
I’ve written a series of short reviews below for each of the stories, and rated each of them out of five.
“Autopsy Room Four” – I definitely liked the idea, and the ending was amusing. However, I do think it dragged on for a bit too long. While I usually enjoy King’s tendency to go into intense detail in his writing, I think that this could have perhaps been shorter. ***
“The Man in the Black Hat” – I absolutely loved this. It didn’t find it scary; in fact, the description of the devil seemed to do the opposite for me. However, physical description aside, this story definitely had a creepy atmosphere to it. And I loved the old country town setting, which, for me, elevated the entire story (I just love small town settings in stories). ****
“All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” - I actually wasn’t a huge fan of this story. While I don’t think it was necessarily bad, it isn’t the type of story I tend to enjoy. **
“The Death of Jack Hamilton” – I really enjoyed this. I loved the setting - I’ve never tried reading a story like this, and when I started it, I wasn't sure if I would like it, but King definitely proved me wrong. What really got me was the characters; I genuinely liked the characters in this story, and I felt genuinely sad at parts of this. ****
“In The Deathroom” – Just didn’t like this one much. Like the mentions of the lead characters sister in this, but that was pretty much it. I also think this went on for a bit too long. **
“The Little Sister of Eluria” – Yeah…I skipped over this one, so I’m going to avoid giving it a rating, because…well, I’m just not a fan of these types of fantasy stories. However, I’ve heard good things about this, so I might check it out sometime.
“Everything’s Eventual” – I quite enjoyed this one. ***
“L.T.’s Theory of Pets” – This one dragged on a bit, but there were definitely parts that I enjoyed. I liked the darker parts in particular; I wouldn’t call it a ‘twist’ exactly, but they definitely changed the tone of the story. ***
“The Road Virus Heads North” REALLY enjoyed this. Might not be for everyone, but I’m a huge fan of horror, and sometimes I just like reading stories that use more typical horror tropes. The idea of a haunted painting may be common, but it definitely got me excited. I liked the ending in particular. While I didn’t find this story scary, it definitely got me excited, and I was quickly turning the pages, waiting to find out what happened next. *****
“Lunch at the Gotham Café” – Really liked this. The maitre’d was genuinely creepy, and I honestly didn’t know what would happen until the end. ****
“That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French” – Didn’t enjoy this much. I found it confusing and repetitive. **
“1408” – Another story I enjoyed, and another of his horror short stories. While I think I enjoyed the brief recount of the history of the hotel room more than lead character’s actual experience in the room, this was still a really good story. And pretty much anything haunted is great in my books. ****
“Riding the Bullet” – Good story, but I didn’t find it overly interesting. **
“Lucky Quarter” – I liked this one. ***
hakansid's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jessie_hryniuk's review against another edition
5.0
Note: The edition that I have listed as reading, is NOT hardcover, it's paperback. There is not the edition I have listed in the selections.