Search - Just After Sunset

I've been a huge Stephen King since high school and Carrie was published. There were some of these storied in this collection that I really enjoyed, but there were also several that just left me stumped as to what was the point? They just seemed to end abruptly. I especially liked the stories referencing 9-11. That's one of the things I've always thought made King's writings so terrifying was his ability to reference and entwine the most current experiences of all of us. I recommend this book - there should be something here for everyone to enjoy.

After reading the fist few stories in this one I was thinking to myself "King has lost his touch". The first few stories were so predictable. But then it started getting really good. There were only a handful of the stories in this one that I didn't love. It wasn't that they were bad, they were just predictable.

I think my favorite stories were Stationary Bike, The Things They Left Behind, and N. I really think that they could have been turned into full-length novels. But they were still really good as short stories. N kind of had a IT feel to it. The Things They Left Behind was just weird, but in a good way. Stationary Bike was also weird. I thought it would be kind of like Thinner when I started reading it.

I usually don't like to read short stories, as I don't get enough time to connect with the characters and it's hard for me to get a real feel for things. With a few exceptions in this collected that was not the case. King's ability to write a short story that doesn't seem abrupt was great. And the characters were all fairly well-rounded.

This one did take me a while to read. Although at 539 pages it didn't take me nearly as long as I thought it would. The short stories were fairly fast paced and so they lent themselves to be read very fast.

Overall it was pretty good. The preview of Under The Dome in the back has me chomping at the bit to get my hands on that one.

A review copy of this title was provided by Book Cove Reviews.

I think I almost like Stephen King's short stories better than his novels, and that's saying a lot. While his novels are mostly epic, very complicated works requiring many days to finish, these short stories are easy to read in a single sitting. I read the whole book in about a week. Several of these stories left a lasting mark on me, and I would highly recommend this book to other fans of Stephen King, and also to anyone who wants a smaller introduction to him.

I really loved this collections of stories! I finished it two weeks ago and I am still thinking about some of the stories and how creepy or amazing they were.

Although this collection wasn't as terrifyingly creepy as some of his pervious works, I did really enjoy reading this. I found myself crying at more than a few of the stories. The collection isn't melancholy or depressing by any means, but some of the stories tug on your heartstrings, and even "The Gingerbread Girl" has a hopeful ending. I really liked it and think that any one who enjoys short fiction or Stephen King will, too.