โ Scribed by Stephen King
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
In this brilliant collection of stories, Stephen King takes readers down paths that only he could imagine?A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction?a trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell?a woman driver finds a scary shortcut to paradise?an idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil?and a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.
In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses how much money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about getting arrested one time when he was "suffused with the sort of towering, righteous rage that only drunk undergraduates can feel." He winds up with an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto my arm now. Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way."
And he sure does. Skeleton Crew contains a superb short novel ("The Mist") that alone is worth the price of admission, plus two forgettable poems and 20 short stories on such themes as an evil toy monkey, a human-eating water slick, a machine that avenges murder, and unnatural creatures that inhabit the thick woods near Castle Rock, Maine. The short tales range from simply enjoyable to surprisingly good.
In addition to "The Mist," the real standout is "The Reach," a beautifully subtle story about a great-grandmother who was born on a small island off the coast of Maine and has lived there her whole life. She has never been across "the Reach," the body of water between island and mainland. This is the story that King fans give to their friends who don't read horror in order to show them how literate, how charming a storyteller he can be. Don't miss it. --Fiona Webster
This hefty sampler of King's shorter works, from all stages of the horror master's career, demonstrates the range of his abilities. Some of the stories here rank among his best, and "even the less successful ones are fun," PW observed.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Collections
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES
Bodies are hitting the pavement in L.A. like they always do, but this time they're getting right back up, death be damned. My mobbed-up outfit of magicians may be the strongest in the city, but even they aren't immune to the living dead. And *I've* yet to develop a resistance to Adan Rashan. If I
**Some people fear snakes. Me? Let it be known that Domino Riley hates zombies.** Bodies are hitting the pavement in L.A. like they always do, but this time they're getting right back up, death be damned. My mobbed-up outfit of magicians may be the strongest in the city, but even they aren't immune
SUMMARY: In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses how much money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about getting arrested one time when he
SUMMARY: Wonderfully gruesome. (New York Times Book Review) Delightfully diabolical...King once again proves to be the consummate storyteller. (Associated Press)In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis
George learns his family's well-kept secrets when his grandmother is left in his care while his mother is away.
Intro; Dedication; Epigraph; Introduction; The Mist; I. The Coming of the Storm; II. After the Storm. Norton. A Trip to Town.; III. The Coming of the Mist.; IV. The Storage Area. Problems with the Generators. What Happened to the Bag-Boy.; V. An Argument with Norton. A Discussion Near the Beer Coole