My latest review has received less reads that ever since this new Ciao upgrade. Also on Dooyoo as xB...
My latest review has received less reads that ever since this new Ciao upgrade. Also on Dooyoo as xBorgx
Member since:16.08.2001
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Throughout is career as a writer, Stephen King's novels have been interceded with story collections. The first of these was Night Shift and others have included Skeleton Crew and Different Seasons (which spawned such classics as Rita Heyworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body (filmed as Stand By Me)).
His latest collection in Everything's Eventual.
First published in 2002, this collection features fourteen stories in all. They are not all horror; some are fantasy and some of merely fiction. But what I enjoyed a lot about reading this book were the author's little insights into how the story was written and other such notes. These are told in a few paragraphs at the beginning or the end of the story.
My copy is the hardback edition (the paperback it not out at the time of writing). It is retailed at £17.99, but you don't want to pay that! No, Mrs Borg purchased mine from ASDA for just under a tenner.
Anyway, onto the stories in this collection.
After a brief introduction, Everything's Eventual kicks off with a creepy, yet light-hearted 'Autopsy Room Four'. In his notes, Mr King states it is a homage to an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents, in which a man is being wheeled into an autopsy room, presumed dead, but actually aware of what is going on. I remember the episode in question and King's differs from this with his use of syntax and exciting story telling. It is one of my favourites in the book.
'The Man in the Black Suit' is next (strangely enough, I wrote a story with the same title long ago, but changed in because I thought the original was too long winded) and it is the story of a boy who meets the devil in the woods. Wickedly told, it is another of my favourites.
A mediocre 'All that you love…' follows this and then the forth story is the interesting 'The Death of Jack Hamilton.' This is a story set in the 30s and is about a gangster getaway. It features many strange characters and is quite engrossing.
I found 'In the Deathroom' hard going, but was riveted by 'The Little Sisters of Eluria.' Those out there who know about King's The dark Tower series will find this one interesting as it features The Gunslinger from said story. Some very strange ladies capture Roland… and they want his body.
Next is 'Everything's Eventual', and what an enjoyable tale this is. The author draws you into the story like only he can and you are instantly captured. It is about a strange young man who lives in a house and appears to do little, but is given whatever he wants. As the story unfolds we learn just exactly what he does, and why he poured money down the drain…
We have the humorous 'L.T.'s Theory of Pets' next and this is followed by 'The Road Virus Heads North,' which is fairly good but has been done before in many ways. Of course it is told how only King can tell it! Another of my favourites, 'Lunch at the Gotham Café,' is the tenth story in the collection. It is another of my favourites and is the story of a man and woman's divorce and the mans decision to quit smoking during this time(hardly the right time, if you ask me!). It is about their meeting at the Gotham Café and the waiter who goes insane with sharp objects and sees dogs…
'That feeling, you can only say what it is in French,' did not do much for me, but '1408' did. It is a classic ghost story, and the tale of a man who spends the night in a hotel room, much to the dismay of the hotel manager… The last two in the collection are 'Riding the Bullet,' which first appeared on the net and 'Lucky Quarter.'
Overall, I was quite enraptured by most of these stories and unlike other collections of short stories I have read, I found myself reading all the stories, and one after the other.
Recommended.
Thanks for reading…
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Advantages: Each story is well written, a good variety and excellent foreword Disadvantages: Writing styles are very much an acquired taste. Some references lost me
Shortsharpshock 29.07.2006 (29.07.2006)
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