Scan barcode
cindy_r's review against another edition
5.0
I generally don’t like short stories and was disappointed when I realized (as the first one ended) this is a collection of four. BUT I loved them all - couldn’t put the book down.
butterfly2507's review against another edition
1.5
this is a short story collection. i have a lot of troubles with stephen king short stories. i didn't like any of them, the first one was okay, the rest meh. the third one is actually a holly gibney one and SPOILERED ME THE MR MERCEDES TRILOGY. wow. i should have checked first what the hell i was reading here.
h0m3r's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kerryjackson's review
dark
tense
medium-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
2.0
jewilso's review against another edition
3.0
This book is supposed to be the sequel to King's The Outsider which, in my opinion, is a great book. This book was just a little too slow and none of it really stuck with me. I am a big fan of this book and anything from Stephen King. I hope you like this book too and that this review has been helpful.
jingo_mort's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it but then I always will love reading King’s work. Where it rates amongst others of his work, probably towards the lower end but a lower end SK Book is still a damn good read regardless. I just enjoy reading his work regardless. & bar 2 now I think I pretty much have. (Apart from some no doubt obscure short work that exists out there)
I think my favourite here was probably rat or the phone one. But the other two were good as well. But Rat/Phone (yeah not the full title but you get me) have that twilight zone-y thing which I always loved & a lot of SK short stories have that feel. Especially the older ones.
I think my favourite here was probably rat or the phone one. But the other two were good as well. But Rat/Phone (yeah not the full title but you get me) have that twilight zone-y thing which I always loved & a lot of SK short stories have that feel. Especially the older ones.
nancyadelman's review against another edition
5.0
This is a collection of three short stories and one longer novella. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" is about an Iphone given to an old man which has special powers from beyond the grave. "Rat" is a sort of fairy tale as only Stephen King could tell, about a rat granting an author a special wish. "The Life of Chuck" is a sort of apocalyptic story which involves a man named Chuck celebrating 39 great years. His story is told backwards, from the end first, and the beginning of the book at the end of the story. "If It Bleeds" is the title story and is about a newspaper reporter who always seems to turn up at the scene of tragic events.
These are very unique stories. "If It Bleeds" is the longest, and is novella length. It also stars Holly Gibney and Jerome, from King's Mr. Mercedes series. I enjoyed getting to see Holly again. Her story is something of a nailbiter thrill ride. "Rat" is the closest story to being outright horror, but in the end, isn't really all that scary. I feel like Rat gave quite a bit of insight into the writing process; I would not be the least bit surprised if King just wrote about his own process. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" felt a little like a modern day version of Great Expectations. I enjoyed reading these stories.
These are very unique stories. "If It Bleeds" is the longest, and is novella length. It also stars Holly Gibney and Jerome, from King's Mr. Mercedes series. I enjoyed getting to see Holly again. Her story is something of a nailbiter thrill ride. "Rat" is the closest story to being outright horror, but in the end, isn't really all that scary. I feel like Rat gave quite a bit of insight into the writing process; I would not be the least bit surprised if King just wrote about his own process. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" felt a little like a modern day version of Great Expectations. I enjoyed reading these stories.