Just After Sunset: Stories

I guess it is hard to be king and write short stories after you have written stories like the sun dog, the woman in the room, jerusalem's lot, and even the recently classic 1408. I have to say I was disappointed about how many stories in this book are written from a female storyteller pov. This last story I did finish was simply called N. If you enjoyed this story as much as I did, I highly recommend picking up some of hp lovecraft's work as Steve does a better job of writing the lovecraft influenced short story than anyone else there is. you know paul mccartney still writes songs, and while his new stuff isn't revolver, and steve's stuff isn't night shift.....it still gives you a glimpse into someone who has touched your life with their art which keeps you coming back for more.

One word for most of these stories: P-r-e-d-i-c-t-a-b-l-e. There are no surprises here. What can I say about N., here's what; did anyone notice that the sister's second letter was dated June 8, but the newspaper article reporting her death was dated June 1, and the Charlie's letter to his secretary was dated June 5? So she wrote the letter after her death? Is there a proofreader or an editor on staff at Scribner?. I can't recommend this book, but if you must buy it, buy it used, as a matter of fact, buy mine, as I've given up trying to finish it.

Sometimes I feel like I have the attention span of a gnat so I love a good short story. I felt that this collection had great variety. I could hear Stephen King's voice, loud and clear, coming out in each story. His preface and endnotes were very interesting.

Heard one on CD, read a couple of others elsewhere, and the ones new to me were just average. King average. Better than most. Gingerbread was good. Waiting for the next novel to sate my appetite.

Stephen King is back once again with a collection of short stories. Most are hit or miss here. I have read the many reviews and it seems to consist mostly of either fans who glorify the author they worship and what they read or fans that just abhor the new tales of Mr. King. Of course there is one that brings back something that Mr. King said about the Army and Iraq. I have always enjoyed reading Mr. King's novels and short stories, and even though I am in the military, I will continue to read his work. He is entitled to his opinion. That out of the way, on with the review.

Like I said, most of the stories are hit or miss and a few that just seem to be. We start off with:

Willa--This was one of the average stories. The writing was good and the characters had a life of their own to them. I at least was able to enjoy the story and had no problem reading through it once all the set up was over with. 3 out of 5

The Gingerbread Girl--Had a promising start. I really felt for the protagonist and her way of dealing with her current situation. Once the story changed and she was in danger, the story failed to hold my interest and I had to push myself to finish reading it. 2 out of 5

Harvey's Dream--To me, this was classic King. I really enjoyed reading it even though the ending was pretty predictable but still left the reader to fill in the ending and let him/her finish the story in their own way. 5 out of 5

Rest Stop--Another average story but with an ending that just didn't seem to deliver. After all was said and done it felt the part of someone who wished they could have done something different after they had already acted accordingly to their character type and had to write that different action down. 2 out of 5

Stationary Bike--Once again Mr. King is telling us, "Hey, I had a bad accident and it has so affected my life that I have to tell you about it again and again and again in a different way." This was not a bad story by far, it just would have been better without the reading having to be reminded of the accident that he suffered. 3 out of 5

The Things They Left Behind--I enjoyed this one. It took a long while to get into it, but once I found out what was going on, I would have loved to see all the different interactions the protagonist would have had with the rest of the people he was destined to see. 4 out of 5

Graduation Afternoon--What to say about this. It was one of those stories that you read and once you get the setting down and the characters established, something happens and then the story ends, and I was left say, "And the point of that story was what?" 1 out of 5

N.--Took awhile to get established, but moved pretty well after. The visions were easy to conjure up and the story was well written for the most part. This is one of the longer stories that flowed ok, but I did have some times where the situation was a bit too descriptive and bogged it down a bit. The ending was completely predictable and didn't leave nothing for want. 4 out of 5

The Cat From Hell--This I am going off of memory here. I read this back many years in an anthology called "Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror" after I had seen it in the movie, "Tales from the Darkside, The movie". I really enjoyed the story and enjoyed reading it and rooting for the cat the whole time. 5 out of 5

The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates--This was a decent tale yet with some flaws. I really feel that after the protagonists gets the phone call that she would have put a lot more suspicion in it and would have spent more time questioning the caller. It was also another story that left the main plot open for the reader to use their own imagination to continue the story if they wanted or to leave it as it was and call it finished. The sub plots were wrapped up nicely and fit well. 4 out of 5

Mute--I read this one in the edition of Playboy. I just have always wanted a magazine with a Stephen King short story in it. This was a decent "be careful what you wish for" type story. I wasn't disappointed with it, but I wasn't wooed by it either. Just average King fare. 3 out of 5

Ayana--This is a guardian angel type story and if done correctly, could rate up with "Highway to Heaven". It wasn't a bad tale, but it was nothing to write home to mom about either. It just was. I did like the use of the ex Marine as the helper. Is Mr. King trying to make up for something, hmm? 3 out of 5

A Very Tight Place--I admit, I read about this one in the notes before I read the story, but it did not take away from the story itself. Actually there really wasn't much to take away from it in the first place. Just another typical revenge type of story and another average one at that. Mr. King was going for a bit of a gross out and mildly succeeded. This one was also very predictable. The reader can definitely see that Mr. King and his family are spending a lot of time if Florida on the island of the filthy rich. 3 out of 5

Some where good, some were ok. I still look forward to reading Stephen King's work because I like his writing style and I always know that I will be entertained regardless and this one is no exception. Overall this was an average anthology.