Before reading: Yes, I wasn't much of a fan of the short story format before...but I am going in with an open mind. I do not know too much about the stories in this collection but I have heard many good things. This was when King was in his writing prime and I have high hopes. Like with Night Shift I will go through each story individually and then will discuss the collection as a whole. The Mist is included in this collection but I will be skipping it as I have already read it as a standalone. Here we go!
After reading:
The Mist: Do go into The Mist! ...okay, I won't. As I literally just mentioned I will be skipping over our first story. It does feel nice to be able to skip 150 or so pages and bypass the longest "short" story in this collection. If you're interested in my thoughts on this one, feel free to go back and read what I had to say about it. As a standalone, it was alright. I'm sure if you decided to read it for the first time in this collection as one of many stories, it might pack a bigger punch.
Here There be Tygers: I'm confused.
The Monkey: This was a good read! I really enjoyed this one. Definitely one of my favorite SK short stories to date. I do wish it had more of a bleak ending but I'm also a cynic. I'm not a huge fan of horror stories, especially short ones, having a "happy" ending. Oh well, can't win them all.
Cain Rose Up: Nope. No thanks. Didn't like that one. Too realistic and too scary for all the wrong reasons. Very well written but that doesn't help anything. I'm glad it was short.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut: Cute. That was a really nice story. It was also set in Castle Rock and had a Cujo reference, so that was fun. Parts of it felt like a love letter to Maine. I knew when we were in Castle Rock that things were going to get supernatural, but it wasn't exactly in the way I expected. Imagining an off-beaten path, somewhere in Maine, in the thick of the woods, where people live forever and there are creatures we've never heard of is, for some reason, comforting. I hope we get to visit this place again sometime.
The Jaunt: This was a good one. It was a little slow and a little boring at times. A lot of build up and explanation for just a little bit of action at the end. I did really enjoy the ending. I did have a few issues with this one though, specifically I do not buy that in a futuristic world they are drinking milk. I do love the idea of teleportation and I thought this was written very well. It got dark in some areas and the ending was definitely dark. I do wish we could've explored those elements more. What ended up being scary was the unknown, but I think that diving into that unknown might have been a scarier and more entertaining read.
The Wedding Gig: Meh. It wasn't bad and it was written really well. However, it was fatphobic and racist. But I will say, "good for her."
Paranoid: A Chant: I liked that one! It was a poem, that was nice. It wasn't scary but I'd classify it as horror. It was also sad.
The Raft: I knew about this one cause one of my students read it last year. This was my first time actually reading it, though. I really enjoyed it! It was the epitome of a horror short story. It had everything you wanted and left you wanting more.
Word Processor of the Gods: Full disclosure, I had to google what a word processor was. This was also the story that King talked about in the forward so I was at least a little bit familiar with it. I really enjoyed it. I think this concept could be played with more and it could go in so many different directions. For a short story I thought this was done very well and was quite entertaining. The story itself was a little scary but what was scariest was imagining what else could happen.
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands: I AM SCREAMING! A sequel to The Breathing Method?! I had no idea this was a thing! In my review of TBM I said, and I quote, "I need more!" Well, I am glad to have heard another tale from this universe. I do, however, wish we had an actual story about the place and Stevens. That's what I truly need more of. Regardless, this was a fun surprise and I enjoyed it.
Beachworld: This one was alright. It did feel like a Mandalorian episode, which was fun. Other than that, it wasn't anything too special. I don't regret reading it but if it were to be erased from my brain, I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on something.
The Reaper's Image: Again, not too much to say. It was fine. I liked the idea but it was too surface level to have really enjoyed. For a quick, 7 page (on my laptop) read, it wasn't bad.
Nona: It's apparently a Different Seasons party because now we are in The Body territory. Having that connection to Castle Rock again was a fun little treat. Besides that, this was a good read. It was entertaining and was an easy read.
For Owen: I'm into the poetry. Also writing a poem for his son is cute. I didn't love it by any means but I appreciated it.
Survivor Type: This was in no way one of my favorites but it got better as it went along. I enjoyed the slow transition into insanity. The story went where it was expected, but it was also where you wanted it to go.
Uncle Otto's Truck: We were back in Castle Rock again, but this time we were in Cujo/The Dead Zone territory. I am enjoying all the larger world-building. This story was fine. I did like the ending. I did find it strange that there were two stories back-to-back that were told in very similar styles.
Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1): This was weirdly very beautifully written. I am also a little bit sad that it was part one and we are about to read part two. It was so weird and vague that I think I might prefer it just the way it was. However, I won't know for sure until I read part two.
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2): Booooo. Okay, it wasn't that bad. But I think the first story would've been best by itself, it didn't need this one. They didn't piece together as well as they should have. However, this story wouldn't have been much of anything if it didn't connect to the first one. Meh.
Gramma: We got some more The Dead Zone and Cujo references because, you guessed it, we went back to ol' Castle Rock. For the most part, I really enjoyed this story. I liked the way it was written and I thought it flowed really well. The ending was kind of muddled and confusing, however. I'm fine with having a vague ending but I wish it was a little bit more fleshed out. Besides that, this was one of the better ones.
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet: Unless the final story is amazing, I'm gonna go ahead and call it. This one was my favorite. Besides The Mist, this is the longest story. It read very quickly and kept me engaged all the while. It was written really well and had great storytelling. I really enjoyed it.
The Reach: This was the first and only one in a woman's perspective. In all, this was a lovely story and I thought it was a really nice end to the collection. It was connected to Nona somehow but I can't exactly figure out how or why.
Overall, this was a lot more enjoyable, in my opinion, than Night Shift was. I am still not a huge short story fan, I prefer a novel, but all in all I did like this collection. I found each of the stories to be likable in their own ways, and some of them I really loved. If you are into short stories, I would definitely recommend this one. If you aren't, I don't blame you.
I hope you're in a safe place because up next we are reading IT!
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