I am a 39 year old civil servant from Belfast, Northern Ireland. I live in a flat with my girlfriend...
I am a 39 year old civil servant from Belfast, Northern Ireland. I live in a flat with my girlfriend and pet cat. My interests are; all forms of good music, books, films, cult TV, nature, science, the paranormal, horror, sci-fi, fantasy & games.
Member since:10.03.2004
Reviews:1
'Everything's Eventual' (2002) by Stephen King ****
This is the first collection of short stories by Stephen King I have read since 'Four Past Midnight' way back in 1990. I have always considered him a master of the form and, if anything, a better short story writer than he is a novelist - though I'm sure he wouldn't be too pleased to hear it.
Previous collections include: 'Night Shift' (1978) ***** [astonishingly good], 'Different Seasons' (1982) ****½, 'Skeleton Crew' (1985) *****, 'Four Past Midnight' (1990) ****½, 'Nightmares And Dreamscapes' (1993) & 'Hearts In Atlantis' (1999) - the last two of which I have yet to read.
Compared to his early superlative collections I have to say 'Everything's Eventual' is something of a mixed bag. Never less than entertaining there are still more filler stories here than in my previous experience and rather too many moments when, having finished a tale, I couldn't help thinking "it was okay but King is capable of much better than this." However, when the stories do work - as I will outline below - some of them are amongst the finest pieces of short literature he has ever written and, don't get me wrong, even the weakest efforts here will still have you gripped to the very end. So here they are:
1. 'Autopsy Room Four' (1997) *** A man paralysed by a snakebite and with all the appearance of death is sent for autopsy while fully conscious of everything that is about to happen to him. Undeniably tense but gimmicky rip-off of the classic 'Breakdown' episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' from 1955 which King himself acknowledges in the postscript.
2. 'The Man In The Black Suit' (1994) ***** A young boy goes fishing by the local creek and has an encounter with the Devil himself. One of the most hauntingly surreal
shockers the author has written with an almost folkloric feeling of timelessness to it. This is probably the best story in the collection because of its very simplicity and lack of a pat explanation, while the imagery is the very stuff of childhood nightmares.
3. 'All That You Love Will Be Carried Away' (2001) ***** A real surprise this one, being a profoundly moving account of a travelling salesman's preparation for suicide in a lonely motel room and his unconscious battle to cling onto life. Packs a real emotional wallop and there isn't one hint of the supernatural.
4. 'The Death Of Jack Hamilton' (2001) ***½ Another surprise, this is a straight non-horror crime story that tells, and tells well, a harrowing true story from the career of John Dillinger and his gang in the 1930s. On the evidence of this and the previous story Stephen King can effortlessly turn his hand to any genre with his customary flair for gripping narrative and convincing characterisation.
5. 'In The Deathroom' (2000) *** Although palpably tense with a guiltily satisfying pay-off this tale of an American journalist being tortured in some corrupt South American country is ultimately just too far-fetched for its own good. The visceral reality he could have portrayed, and shies away from, is evidence of King's limitations as a horror writer.
6. 'The Little Sisters Of Eluria' (1998) *** Rather sneaky of the author to slip this excerpt from his 'Dark Tower' fantasy series in as an unsubtle attempt to woo new readers. Having said that, the action is fairly exciting and the imagery striking but I still contend that outright fantasy is not a genre King's writing style is best suited to. It's basically a disguised vampire story and not particularly original underneath all the otherworldly trappings.
7. 'Everything's Eventual' (1997) ***½ A disaffected youth with unconscious magical powers is head-hunted by a sinister government agency and trained to act as a psychic assassin of 'undesirables'. Then he decides he wants out... This is perhaps the most frustrating story in the collection as the premise is so well worked out and the lead character so well drawn but finally King seems unable to decide where to go with it. A rare example of one of his short stories that might have benefited from being expanded to novel length.
8. 'LT's Theory Of Pets' (1997) ****½ In an attempt to improve their relationship a troubled couple buy each other pets - a dog for him and a cat for her - but instead of helping the animals appear to conspire against them bringing the marriage to the brink of collapse. A highly entertaining mix of comedy, pathos and ultimate horror that shows the writer in full command of all his many gifts. A true gem of a short story.
9. 'The Road Virus Heads North' (1999) **** A horror writer is drawn to buy a disturbing painting of a madly leering young man driving the open road in his convertible but the painting takes on a life of its own, changing every time he looks at it as the car gets ever nearer. One of the oldest staples in horror fiction is worked over once again but the results are as compelling as the premise and the writer can possibly make them. For arguably the best example of this tale one should read 'The Mezzotint' (1904) by M.R. James.
10. 'Lunch At The Gotham Café' (1995) ****½ A great example of how Stephen King can play with a reader's expectations this twister of a tale morphs from a painfully convincing portrayal of marital breakdown and the traumas of giving up smoking into something completely unexpected and, in the end, strangely life affirming. Leaves the reader thinking "how would I react in the same circumstances?".
11. 'That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French' (1998) ***½ One of King's more experimental efforts that doesn't quite come off as he intended but still paints a disturbingly nightmarish picture of one person's possible Hell. Actually the theme isn't as original as may first appear having been done definitively in the 'Judgement Night' episode of 'The Twilight Zone' from 1959.
12. '1408' (2000) ***** The old theme of the sceptical ghostbuster having his world view shaken to its core combines with the 'haunted room at the inn' tale to provide, quite simply, one of the best ghost stories of recent years! The author has never been on better form as he ladles on the atmosphere in the first half before gradually unleashing all the demons of hell in the second. However, those four room number digits that add up to thirteen point to the true inspiration for this cracking tale; 'Number 13' (1904) again by the incomparable M.R. James. [Was filmed reasonably well by Mikael Håfström in 2007 with John Cusack acting his socks off].
13. 'Riding The Bullet' (1999) ***** Another of Stephen King's finest horror tales in years that has been unfairly overshadowed by the whole hoo-haa about it being the first e-book (yawn). At heart this is an enthralling moral dilemma yarn with a hefty supernatural punch that if it doesn't put you off the very notion of hitch-hiking you're either dead or incredibly stupid. A young man rushing home to be with his sick middle-aged mother is picked up by a ghoulish harbinger of death who insists he must either choose her life or his own and if not he will take both! Once again, what would you do?
14. 'Luckey Quarter' (1997) ***½ A disillusioned single mother who struggles to make ends meet while working as a cleaner in a grotty motel is left an envelope with a quarter and a note claiming it to be "luckey". Then she wins the jackpot in a one-armed bandit, but what exactly is luck... A slight but quietly affecting little tale to close the collection.
On the evidence of this satisfying and unusually varied collection of short fiction Stephen King proves once again what a consummate storyteller he is. For entertainment value alone he has nothing to worry about and sometimes, when all the gears click in unison, he is capable of truly great writing!! I'd recommend this book to anyone...
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: You can and want to read the stories in one sitting Disadvantages: There are stories here published elsewhere - so perhaps not too good a deal in hardback
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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