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Nightmares and Dreamscapes
A solitary finger pokes out of a drain. Novelty teeth turn predatory. The Nevada desert swallows a Cadillac. Meanwhile, the legend of Castle Rock returns... and grows on you. What does it all mean? What else could it mean? Stephen King is back with a powerful new collection of stories - a vast, many-chambered cave of a volume.
In story after story, the long reach of Stephen King's imagination and the no-holds-barred force of his storytelling will take you to places you've never been before. On a roller-coaster through the macabre and the monstrous, via cutting-edge explorations of good and evil - and onto a heartfelt piece on Little League baseball.
You will lose a good deal of sleep. But Stephen King, writing to beat the devil, will do your dreaming for you...
In story after story, the long reach of Stephen King's imagination and the no-holds-barred force of his storytelling will take you to places you've never been before. On a roller-coaster through the macabre and the monstrous, via cutting-edge explorations of good and evil - and onto a heartfelt piece on Little League baseball.
You will lose a good deal of sleep. But Stephen King, writing to beat the devil, will do your dreaming for you...
836 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 1993
3498 people are currently reading
54752 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,573 books880k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,090 reviews
May 7, 2022
A very interesting collection, because it mixes some old ones with stories written at the high height of King´s writing.
Imagine a plot, run with it, and let yourself be surprised
King takes a simple premise, an idea, and makes it something one may have already found a bit frightening before, but never in such a way one might never forget again. It´s , as King himself said, so that he looks at something and sees the creepiest, most disturbing scenario possible. If I remember it right, he described an idyllic lake surrounded by wonderful, idyllic nature and an average person would just enjoy the harmony, a thriller author would think about where to hide the body, and King thinks about the demons that might haunt that place at night. Psychopathologically very interesting stuff.
Young, high, and sober King
If you want to get the full pleasure and have some meta content analysis superpowers regarding drug and alcohol abuse and creative work, compare the publication dates with the quality of the writing and the style. Because of the sheer number of his publications, there are very old ones, some from the time when he, enlightened and illuminated, wrote some of his best works, and some from after that period.
I forgot the old sober King
If one would add the newer short story collections, one would have 4 different Kings, the very young author inspired by Bradbury, Lovecraft, and classic writing in general, the high King writing some of his best works, the sober King, and the calm, sophisticated old one, that lost some of the sharpness and worldbuilding to focus more on character. Of course, you can also just enjoy one of the greatest authors of all time without overcomplicating and vivisecting everything and consume his work in whatever constellation you prefer, although mixing is still subjectively recommended. Just as with drugs.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
Imagine a plot, run with it, and let yourself be surprised
King takes a simple premise, an idea, and makes it something one may have already found a bit frightening before, but never in such a way one might never forget again. It´s , as King himself said, so that he looks at something and sees the creepiest, most disturbing scenario possible. If I remember it right, he described an idyllic lake surrounded by wonderful, idyllic nature and an average person would just enjoy the harmony, a thriller author would think about where to hide the body, and King thinks about the demons that might haunt that place at night. Psychopathologically very interesting stuff.
Young, high, and sober King
If you want to get the full pleasure and have some meta content analysis superpowers regarding drug and alcohol abuse and creative work, compare the publication dates with the quality of the writing and the style. Because of the sheer number of his publications, there are very old ones, some from the time when he, enlightened and illuminated, wrote some of his best works, and some from after that period.
I forgot the old sober King
If one would add the newer short story collections, one would have 4 different Kings, the very young author inspired by Bradbury, Lovecraft, and classic writing in general, the high King writing some of his best works, the sober King, and the calm, sophisticated old one, that lost some of the sharpness and worldbuilding to focus more on character. Of course, you can also just enjoy one of the greatest authors of all time without overcomplicating and vivisecting everything and consume his work in whatever constellation you prefer, although mixing is still subjectively recommended. Just as with drugs.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
January 4, 2009
I was afraid to go to the bathroom after reading this book.
July 24, 2022
No less than two weeks after I wrote how Night Shift was Stephen King's best short story compilation, I was stood corrected, when I found some truly marvellous shorts in this one. Around 24 stories including classics, The Night Flier, Dolan's Cadillac, Popsy, Chattery Teeth, The Moving Finger, The Ten O’Clock People, Umney's Last Case and the beautiful Head Down. This is/was King at his short storytelling best, 9 out of 12! This great collection deservedly resulted in over 10 film or short film adaptations and even a TV show!
2016 read; 2005 read; 2003 read
2016 read; 2005 read; 2003 read
May 16, 2020
Ever read a story out loud to a friend -- knowing it's not the kind of story they'd read on their own?
I do that all the time (even snippets of novels to give them a taste). I read "Crouch End" out loud to one of my sisters, in a weird Scotts/English accent that I tend to use when reading Lovecraftian horror. She accused me of robbing her of sleep for a week. That's the sign of a good story.
I've read several of these out loud to friends and family and I love the way they react to the tone of the story -- whether it's "Dolan's Cadillac" and my brother-in-law's attitude goes from 'why bury a perfectly good car' to something more appropriate - to "The Moving Finger" and my cousin's refusal to use the bathroom unsupervised while visiting me -- I like to share these "little" gems with naysayers.
I've even been known NOT to let them know the name of the story or author because of their preconceptions.
Heck, ask me about reading Canturbury Tales to my foster-mom one semester in college :-)
re-read "Home Delivery" from Book of the Dead 1/20/2005 -- story was adapted into graphic-novel format with Glenn Chadbourne in Secretary of Dreams vol 1
I do that all the time (even snippets of novels to give them a taste). I read "Crouch End" out loud to one of my sisters, in a weird Scotts/English accent that I tend to use when reading Lovecraftian horror. She accused me of robbing her of sleep for a week. That's the sign of a good story.
I've read several of these out loud to friends and family and I love the way they react to the tone of the story -- whether it's "Dolan's Cadillac" and my brother-in-law's attitude goes from 'why bury a perfectly good car' to something more appropriate - to "The Moving Finger" and my cousin's refusal to use the bathroom unsupervised while visiting me -- I like to share these "little" gems with naysayers.
I've even been known NOT to let them know the name of the story or author because of their preconceptions.
Heck, ask me about reading Canturbury Tales to my foster-mom one semester in college :-)
re-read "Home Delivery" from Book of the Dead 1/20/2005 -- story was adapted into graphic-novel format with Glenn Chadbourne in Secretary of Dreams vol 1
September 27, 2021
Una vez terminada la lectura, la sensación que tengo es la de alguien agotadísimo.
No sé para empezar porqué decidir leer una colección tan extensa sabiendo muy bien lo que hace King con sus historias. Y este es el perfecto ejemplo del chicle que entre más lo estiras peor ritmo narrativo le das a un relato. La gran mayoría (por no decir todos) tienen metida una paja innecesaria en medio de las páginas, por lo que al final todo se terminó convirtiendo en un martirio para nada divertido.
Dudo hacer una reseña así que de momento afirmo con rotundidad que he leído cosas mejores y que esta colección, para empezar con King jamás será buena opción. ¿Como última opción? tal vez, porque estoy probablemente ante la peor colección que he leído del maestro y lo digo con todo el respeto y la sinceridad posible. Pesadillas y alucinaciones es un tostón en muchos de sus relatos. Infumable no, porque siempre he tenido la paciencia y la fortaleza para terminar un libro aunque no me esté gustando pero sí sé que otros tal vez no opinen lo mismo que yo y les guste.
Promedio general: 2.6
1. El cadillac de Nolan 3/5★
2. El final del desastre 3/5★
3. Hay que aguantar a los niños 4/5★
4. El piloto nocturno 2/5★
5. Es algo que llega a gustarte 2/5★
6. Popsy 2.5/5★
7. La boca saltarina 3/5★
8. Crouch End 4/5★
9. El quinto fragmento 3/5★
10. Baja la cabeza 0/5★
11. El dedo móvil 2/5★
12. Mi bonito pony 2.5/5★
13. La casa de Maple Street 3.5/5★
14. El último caso de Umney 3/5★
15. La estación de las lluvias 3/5★
16. No se equivoca de número 3.5/5★
17. La gente de las diez 3/5★
18. El caso del doctor 3/5★
19. La dedicatoria 3/5★
20. Las zapatillas 2/5★
21. ¿Sabes? Tienen un grupo de la leche 2/5★
22. Parto en casa 2/5★
23. El mendigo y el diamante 2.5/5★
24. Agosto en Brooklyn 1/5★
No sé para empezar porqué decidir leer una colección tan extensa sabiendo muy bien lo que hace King con sus historias. Y este es el perfecto ejemplo del chicle que entre más lo estiras peor ritmo narrativo le das a un relato. La gran mayoría (por no decir todos) tienen metida una paja innecesaria en medio de las páginas, por lo que al final todo se terminó convirtiendo en un martirio para nada divertido.
Dudo hacer una reseña así que de momento afirmo con rotundidad que he leído cosas mejores y que esta colección, para empezar con King jamás será buena opción. ¿Como última opción? tal vez, porque estoy probablemente ante la peor colección que he leído del maestro y lo digo con todo el respeto y la sinceridad posible. Pesadillas y alucinaciones es un tostón en muchos de sus relatos. Infumable no, porque siempre he tenido la paciencia y la fortaleza para terminar un libro aunque no me esté gustando pero sí sé que otros tal vez no opinen lo mismo que yo y les guste.
Promedio general: 2.6
1. El cadillac de Nolan 3/5★
2. El final del desastre 3/5★
3. Hay que aguantar a los niños 4/5★
4. El piloto nocturno 2/5★
5. Es algo que llega a gustarte 2/5★
6. Popsy 2.5/5★
7. La boca saltarina 3/5★
8. Crouch End 4/5★
9. El quinto fragmento 3/5★
10. Baja la cabeza 0/5★
11. El dedo móvil 2/5★
12. Mi bonito pony 2.5/5★
13. La casa de Maple Street 3.5/5★
14. El último caso de Umney 3/5★
15. La estación de las lluvias 3/5★
16. No se equivoca de número 3.5/5★
17. La gente de las diez 3/5★
18. El caso del doctor 3/5★
19. La dedicatoria 3/5★
20. Las zapatillas 2/5★
21. ¿Sabes? Tienen un grupo de la leche 2/5★
22. Parto en casa 2/5★
23. El mendigo y el diamante 2.5/5★
24. Agosto en Brooklyn 1/5★
September 5, 2020
Classic master of horror Stephen King delivers to us readers on a silver platter creepy short stories that make us not want to go to sleep!
No wonder I have been having restless nights while reading this book! Personal favorites are: Dolan's Cadillac, The Night Flier, Chattery Teeth, The Moving Finger, and The House on Maple Street.
For readers that want farfetched, strange, creepy, weird, crazy, out of this world stories, then look no further than this book.
For Stephen King fans this is a "must have" book for your collection! Giving it five stars for keeping me "creeped" out!
No wonder I have been having restless nights while reading this book! Personal favorites are: Dolan's Cadillac, The Night Flier, Chattery Teeth, The Moving Finger, and The House on Maple Street.
For readers that want farfetched, strange, creepy, weird, crazy, out of this world stories, then look no further than this book.
For Stephen King fans this is a "must have" book for your collection! Giving it five stars for keeping me "creeped" out!
April 22, 2019
Reading this particular King collection of short stories is akin to going carousing with that certain friend that everybody has: the one that’s a little off-kilter, the one that a night on the town can, depending on certain factors (like, for instance, meds taken or not), provide a number of experiences. Pick your own drinking adventure, if you will:
a) Hanging out at the local pub and shooting the breeze (this odds this happens is 50:1)
b) Pulling the friend out of a bar fight they initiated
c) Helping friend track down former flame, nearly getting beaned by a shillelagh hurled from a seventh floor apartment because friend was being too loud and imploringly whiny.
d) Peeing off a bridge (or rooftop)
e) Ending up behind (or in) a dumpster 100 miles away from where you started with no memory on how you got there
f) Laughing hysterically and loudly at the most inside of jokes to the detriment of the other patrons. Hahahahahahahahahha!
g) Doing the mug shot and finger print thing at the local station house. Why? No idea.
h) Checking out a friend who plays in a Pablo Cruise tribute band.
i) Arguing with cab driver/bartender/waitress/leather-clad 6’5”, 300 pound biker
j) Getting beat up by a cab driver/bartender/waitress/leather-clad 6’5’’, 300 pound biker
k) Looking for the all-night bar in the West Village that serves the best burgers and somehow ending up in Greenpoint or the Bronx.
You might ask, what the hell is the point of a litany of possible examples of your debauched life, Jeff?
Well, in a nutshell, random Goodreader, in terms of quality, this collection is all over the place and mostly forgettable. With the exceptions of a few stories like The End of the Whole Mess, Crouch End, Umney’s Last Case and Suffer the Children, this one’s a wash. Too many of the stories barely generate any interest or seem to be examples of King just whimiscally phoning it in or pandering to his rabid hardcore fan base (“It’s a story about a set murderous chattery teeth.” Random hardcore fan: “Awesome”.) It’s interesting that King’s non-fiction piece, “Head Down”, about a Maine Little League tournament, has more tension and drama than most of the other fictional stories combined.
My Pretty Pony needs to be shot behind the barn and taken to the nearest glue factory.
This was a buddy read with le Ginger and Stepheny, two ladies who wouldn’t be caught dead watching a Pablo Cruise tribute band.
Three stars instead of two, because today is pay day.
a) Hanging out at the local pub and shooting the breeze (this odds this happens is 50:1)
b) Pulling the friend out of a bar fight they initiated
c) Helping friend track down former flame, nearly getting beaned by a shillelagh hurled from a seventh floor apartment because friend was being too loud and imploringly whiny.
d) Peeing off a bridge (or rooftop)
e) Ending up behind (or in) a dumpster 100 miles away from where you started with no memory on how you got there
f) Laughing hysterically and loudly at the most inside of jokes to the detriment of the other patrons. Hahahahahahahahahha!
g) Doing the mug shot and finger print thing at the local station house. Why? No idea.
h) Checking out a friend who plays in a Pablo Cruise tribute band.
i) Arguing with cab driver/bartender/waitress/leather-clad 6’5”, 300 pound biker
j) Getting beat up by a cab driver/bartender/waitress/leather-clad 6’5’’, 300 pound biker
k) Looking for the all-night bar in the West Village that serves the best burgers and somehow ending up in Greenpoint or the Bronx.
You might ask, what the hell is the point of a litany of possible examples of your debauched life, Jeff?
Well, in a nutshell, random Goodreader, in terms of quality, this collection is all over the place and mostly forgettable. With the exceptions of a few stories like The End of the Whole Mess, Crouch End, Umney’s Last Case and Suffer the Children, this one’s a wash. Too many of the stories barely generate any interest or seem to be examples of King just whimiscally phoning it in or pandering to his rabid hardcore fan base (“It’s a story about a set murderous chattery teeth.” Random hardcore fan: “Awesome”.) It’s interesting that King’s non-fiction piece, “Head Down”, about a Maine Little League tournament, has more tension and drama than most of the other fictional stories combined.
My Pretty Pony needs to be shot behind the barn and taken to the nearest glue factory.
This was a buddy read with le Ginger and Stepheny, two ladies who wouldn’t be caught dead watching a Pablo Cruise tribute band.
Three stars instead of two, because today is pay day.
October 2, 2016
“I don’t talk about this much, because it embarrasses me and it sounds pompous, but I still see stories as a great thing, something which not only enhances lives but actually saves them.”
This was my very first encounter with a King short story collection. And I was NOT disappointed! The variety of stories in this collection is insane, it goes from vampires to baseball to chattery teeth to fingers crawling out of the drain in your sink.
Some stories were absolutely brilliant. My favourites were Chattery Teeth, You Know They Got A Hell of A Band, The Moving Finger, Rainy Season and Popsy. They made me laugh, they freaked me out and they're definitely memorable. Like a town full of dead Rock n Roll stars as ghosts...who could think of that apart from King?! Brilliant!
Some others were not my favourite. I'm not a fan of baseball in any way, so a lot of Head Down was lost on me. I overall got the point of the story and enjoyed that, but it was wasted on me. I also had heard so much about The Night Flier, but ultimately felt disappointed overall. The Fifth Quarter was also not a highlight for me, it was okay, but no doubt I'll have forgotten about it in a few weeks.
Overall an enjoyable read, a great variety of stories. But because I didn't ADORE all the stories, I've taken away a star... Now it's onto the next one!
This was my very first encounter with a King short story collection. And I was NOT disappointed! The variety of stories in this collection is insane, it goes from vampires to baseball to chattery teeth to fingers crawling out of the drain in your sink.
Some stories were absolutely brilliant. My favourites were Chattery Teeth, You Know They Got A Hell of A Band, The Moving Finger, Rainy Season and Popsy. They made me laugh, they freaked me out and they're definitely memorable. Like a town full of dead Rock n Roll stars as ghosts...who could think of that apart from King?! Brilliant!
Some others were not my favourite. I'm not a fan of baseball in any way, so a lot of Head Down was lost on me. I overall got the point of the story and enjoyed that, but it was wasted on me. I also had heard so much about The Night Flier, but ultimately felt disappointed overall. The Fifth Quarter was also not a highlight for me, it was okay, but no doubt I'll have forgotten about it in a few weeks.
Overall an enjoyable read, a great variety of stories. But because I didn't ADORE all the stories, I've taken away a star... Now it's onto the next one!
March 27, 2024
Maybe 3.5. Very hit and miss
October 14, 2018
Nightmares & Dreamscapes is the 7th Stephen King book I've read this year. As always I blame my friend Kelsea for starting my Stephen King binge. She was reading Gerald's Game and I decided to read it with her. I had read King in years and while I always liked him I didn't really give him or his books much thought, but reading Gerald's Game triggered something inside me and I suddenly felt like reading every Stephen King book I could get my hands on. Luckily my sister is a King fan and she gave me her box of King books and I have since bought some of my own including this book.
Nightmares & Dreamscapes is a collection of short stories. I find myself more drawn to his short story collections than his books for some reason. As with all short story collections, this book is a mixed bag. I'm in a great mood so I'm going to only focus on the stories I loved.
You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band - Is my favorite story in this collection. I like stories about peculiar little towns and this one is so entertaining. It reminded me of Children of the Corn in a great way.
Sneakers - This is a controversial pick. I read some reviews of this story and everyone except me seems to hate it. I love a good ghost story.
Dolan's Cadillac - I love love this story because its not only a story about revenge but more importantly its a love story.
Rainy Season - Another peculiar little town and another story of people not listening to warnings.
Sorry, Right Number - I'm told this teleplay was for Tales From The Darkside and I plan on finding it so I can watch it.
Nightmares & Dreamscapes is Stephen King at his most playful. I know I'm in the minority but I love playful and funny King. I'm not sure what King I'll read next right now I'm trying to decide between Salem's Lot, It, and Four Past Midnight.
Recommended to King's Constant Readers.
Nightmares & Dreamscapes is a collection of short stories. I find myself more drawn to his short story collections than his books for some reason. As with all short story collections, this book is a mixed bag. I'm in a great mood so I'm going to only focus on the stories I loved.
You Know They Got A Hell Of A Band - Is my favorite story in this collection. I like stories about peculiar little towns and this one is so entertaining. It reminded me of Children of the Corn in a great way.
Sneakers - This is a controversial pick. I read some reviews of this story and everyone except me seems to hate it. I love a good ghost story.
Dolan's Cadillac - I love love this story because its not only a story about revenge but more importantly its a love story.
Rainy Season - Another peculiar little town and another story of people not listening to warnings.
Sorry, Right Number - I'm told this teleplay was for Tales From The Darkside and I plan on finding it so I can watch it.
Nightmares & Dreamscapes is Stephen King at his most playful. I know I'm in the minority but I love playful and funny King. I'm not sure what King I'll read next right now I'm trying to decide between Salem's Lot, It, and Four Past Midnight.
Recommended to King's Constant Readers.
July 29, 2024
Continuing on my journey reading/re-reading all of SK's books in order.
I didn't think this was as good as other short story collections I have read from Stephen King, although there were some 4 star reads mixed in these short stories were mostly 2/3 stars and fell flat for me.
Dolan's Cadillac - the first short story in the collection was actually really good a revenge story with mild gore but pretty in depth character exploration which I enjoyed.
The End of the Whole Mess - apocalyptic story, fell flat and not very memorable.
Suffer the Little Children - quick, creepy and really well done body horror.
The Night Filer - I found this one quite boring and it didn't do anything for me really.
It Grows on You - didn't have any effect on me, I did enjoy that it was back in Castle Rock but I was expecting more.
Chattery Teeth - this was more like it, this is the kind of weird I like. Great body horror strange and so much fun to read.
The Moving Finger - another strange one which was pretty memorable.
You know they've got a Hell of a Band - I enjoyed this one, it was quite a bit longer than the others in the collection it took the reader on a bigger journey - some decent body horror and a decent ending.
Home Delivery - this one was all about the body horror well done and fun.
Rainy Season - a weird short story which I really enjoyed so strange and quirky.
My Pretty Pony - this is a story that will stay with me for a long time and every time I hear the work pony I think I will think about this short story, I would have loved this to be even longer and brilliant plot and amazing characters.
Sorry Right Number - I loved this short story I wasn't sure where it was going but the ride was so fun, engaging and fast-paced. As this was written as a play it was also a really nice change of pace. I loved how this story came full circle, incredible.
There were other short stories in this book but I would be here all day - not one of SK's best in my opinion but still pretty superior to most horror out there.
I didn't think this was as good as other short story collections I have read from Stephen King, although there were some 4 star reads mixed in these short stories were mostly 2/3 stars and fell flat for me.
Dolan's Cadillac - the first short story in the collection was actually really good a revenge story with mild gore but pretty in depth character exploration which I enjoyed.
The End of the Whole Mess - apocalyptic story, fell flat and not very memorable.
Suffer the Little Children - quick, creepy and really well done body horror.
The Night Filer - I found this one quite boring and it didn't do anything for me really.
It Grows on You - didn't have any effect on me, I did enjoy that it was back in Castle Rock but I was expecting more.
Chattery Teeth - this was more like it, this is the kind of weird I like. Great body horror strange and so much fun to read.
The Moving Finger - another strange one which was pretty memorable.
You know they've got a Hell of a Band - I enjoyed this one, it was quite a bit longer than the others in the collection it took the reader on a bigger journey - some decent body horror and a decent ending.
Home Delivery - this one was all about the body horror well done and fun.
Rainy Season - a weird short story which I really enjoyed so strange and quirky.
My Pretty Pony - this is a story that will stay with me for a long time and every time I hear the work pony I think I will think about this short story, I would have loved this to be even longer and brilliant plot and amazing characters.
Sorry Right Number - I loved this short story I wasn't sure where it was going but the ride was so fun, engaging and fast-paced. As this was written as a play it was also a really nice change of pace. I loved how this story came full circle, incredible.
There were other short stories in this book but I would be here all day - not one of SK's best in my opinion but still pretty superior to most horror out there.
February 21, 2025
Well this turned out to be a neat collection for the most part. Far from the best collection but there are a few gems here and.. some stinkers.. detailed review for each story follows:
1. Dolan’s Cadillac: 2.5 stars - i was so excited for this one but it was just a revenge story and a pretty boring one too.. it went on and on..
2. The End of the whole mess: 3.5 stars - i’m still conflicted with this one.. there were aspects that i loved, the ending for example but I don’t know.. I’ll probably read it again in the future..
3. Suffer the little children: 5 stars - love love love this.. short and very creepy!
4. The night flier: 2 stars: this made me so angry.. there was so much potential with this one but for me it really felt like a whole bunch of nothing. The creature seems to be frightening though!
5. Popsy: 5 stars - now why the hell wasn’t the night flier like this!?
6. It grows on you: 2 stars - I didn’t really get it.. plus not really memorable either.. all i remember is something about a house that grows something..
7. Chattery teeth: 4 stars - a little silly but real fun!
8. Dedication: 3.5 stars - that one was disgusting as hell.. not very pleasant..
9. The moving finger: 5 stars - incredible terrifying story.. I’ll never look down the drain the same way again.. or the toilet..
10. Sneakers: 5 stars - a ghost story.. a really well written ghost story! I’m up for this!
11. You know they got one hell of a band: 5 stars - probably my favorite in the entire collection! It has to be read even if it’s the only story you’ll read from this collection
12. Home delivery: 5 stars - what can i say I’m a sucker for zombies.
13. Rainy season: 4 stars - terrified of frogs and toads so I’ll give you that..
14. My pretty pony: 2 stars - yeah didn’t get this one either..
15. Sorry, right number: 4 stars - twilight zone story here!
16. The ten o’ clock people: 4 stars - thank god i don’t smoke...
17. Crouch end: 4 stars - lovecraft style at its glory
18. The house on Maple street: 3 stars - the same way i felt with it grows on you..
19. The fifth quarter: 4 stars - I wasn’t expecting to like this one but i did. It felt like a country for old men.
20. The doctor’s case: 3 stars - sherlock holmes.. well its passable..
21. Umney’s last case: 2.5 stars - another case here.. this went over my head..
22. Head down: 1 star - actually dnf.. could not care less about baseball..
23. Brooklyn August: 2 stars - poems poems poems
24. The beggar and the diamond: 3 stars - weird way to end a collection..
Overall rating: 3.75/5
1. Dolan’s Cadillac: 2.5 stars - i was so excited for this one but it was just a revenge story and a pretty boring one too.. it went on and on..
2. The End of the whole mess: 3.5 stars - i’m still conflicted with this one.. there were aspects that i loved, the ending for example but I don’t know.. I’ll probably read it again in the future..
3. Suffer the little children: 5 stars - love love love this.. short and very creepy!
4. The night flier: 2 stars: this made me so angry.. there was so much potential with this one but for me it really felt like a whole bunch of nothing. The creature seems to be frightening though!
5. Popsy: 5 stars - now why the hell wasn’t the night flier like this!?
6. It grows on you: 2 stars - I didn’t really get it.. plus not really memorable either.. all i remember is something about a house that grows something..
7. Chattery teeth: 4 stars - a little silly but real fun!
8. Dedication: 3.5 stars - that one was disgusting as hell.. not very pleasant..
9. The moving finger: 5 stars - incredible terrifying story.. I’ll never look down the drain the same way again.. or the toilet..
10. Sneakers: 5 stars - a ghost story.. a really well written ghost story! I’m up for this!
11. You know they got one hell of a band: 5 stars - probably my favorite in the entire collection! It has to be read even if it’s the only story you’ll read from this collection
12. Home delivery: 5 stars - what can i say I’m a sucker for zombies.
13. Rainy season: 4 stars - terrified of frogs and toads so I’ll give you that..
14. My pretty pony: 2 stars - yeah didn’t get this one either..
15. Sorry, right number: 4 stars - twilight zone story here!
16. The ten o’ clock people: 4 stars - thank god i don’t smoke...
17. Crouch end: 4 stars - lovecraft style at its glory
18. The house on Maple street: 3 stars - the same way i felt with it grows on you..
19. The fifth quarter: 4 stars - I wasn’t expecting to like this one but i did. It felt like a country for old men.
20. The doctor’s case: 3 stars - sherlock holmes.. well its passable..
21. Umney’s last case: 2.5 stars - another case here.. this went over my head..
22. Head down: 1 star - actually dnf.. could not care less about baseball..
23. Brooklyn August: 2 stars - poems poems poems
24. The beggar and the diamond: 3 stars - weird way to end a collection..
Overall rating: 3.75/5
December 4, 2023
I believe this is King's longest collection of short works. It's not as well remembered as Night Shift or Skeleton Crew, but it's got some great stories along with a few that aren't but they're perfectly satisfying entertainments anyway. It showcases his very-prolific decade of the 1980s very nicely. Once upon a time I had a much longer collection of observations about the book posted here, but it somehow seems to have been deleted...
June 1, 2017
Here’s a little fact you’ll see this if you read the intro of this book: “7 years between Night Shift and Skeleton Crew. Another 7 years between Skeleton Crew and Nightmares & Dreamscapes, or thereabouts”. I’m just glad King has written so many stories. A lot good ones in this collection, but unlike the first two books, I found no true stand-outs, and it’s considerably longer. Night Shift had Quitters, Inc and Last Rung of the Ladder (to name only two). Skeleton Crew included The Mist and The Raft. If I were to pick two favorites from this one, they would be Dolan’s Cadillac and Chattery Teeth. Down the road, who knows, it may all be different for me. For now, here’s a take on a few of them:
Dolan’s Cadillac - This is a study in patience and revenge. How many people could wait years to exact revenge? Never forgetting, keeping the hate inside. Plan the right time, the best place. Get the sumbitch who killed my wife. Turns out this was my second time reading about Robinson. It came back as a whole, so no surprise ending. Still pretty good. (Funny aside: When King first finished writing this story, he loathed it! See more about that in the notes section at the end of his book.)
The End of the Whole Mess - Bobby is a genius with a heart of gold. What struck me is how adeptly King sees the world twenty years into the future, eerily similar to today’s, and the end of this one hits home. (Another nice fact: Bobby is actually very much based on Stephen’s real-life brother, Dave.)
Chattery Teeth - Surprising is the word here. I knew what was going to happen, but I didn’t know what was going to happen. I bet King had some fun writing about these teeth. It shows in the flow with a little bit of humor mixed with gore and straight up good story telling – “Chomp!”
The Moving Finger - Where does King come up with this stuff?! (King says later that “his favorite sort of short story has always been the kind where things happen just because they happen.” The perfect example is displayed right here.)
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - I mention this one, not because it’s that good, but because it just may be King’s own personal dream-nightmare in written form. He loves Rock-n-Roll, so to see so many legends together in a place that “should be” wondrous because of it just makes me think he would love and hate this town simultaneously.
Sorry, Right Number - A short, written in the form of a screenplay, that’s kind of fun. The unusual format was at first annoying, and then quite likeable as I adjusted to it (quickly, I might add). What I thought would be spooky turns into a decent drama-thinker.
Crouch End - Near the beginning the words “dimensions” and “Lovecraft” pop out of the text. It is eerie, although not particularly scary. Later on a sign reads “Cthulhu Kyron”. King has used that first term in other works. Homage to Lovecraft. Wouldn’t be the first.
The Doctor’s Case - Turn from Lovecraft to Arthur Conan Doyle. Many writers love Sherlock Holmes, so why not write a case of their own, and pay respects to Doyle. King comes up with a pretty good tale here that puts Watson in the forefront, not that he can overshadow Holmes in the end.
PS. Don’t skip the afterward notes. A plus for fans who likes to know how King’s stories come to fruition.
Dolan’s Cadillac - This is a study in patience and revenge. How many people could wait years to exact revenge? Never forgetting, keeping the hate inside. Plan the right time, the best place. Get the sumbitch who killed my wife. Turns out this was my second time reading about Robinson. It came back as a whole, so no surprise ending. Still pretty good. (Funny aside: When King first finished writing this story, he loathed it! See more about that in the notes section at the end of his book.)
The End of the Whole Mess - Bobby is a genius with a heart of gold. What struck me is how adeptly King sees the world twenty years into the future, eerily similar to today’s, and the end of this one hits home. (Another nice fact: Bobby is actually very much based on Stephen’s real-life brother, Dave.)
Chattery Teeth - Surprising is the word here. I knew what was going to happen, but I didn’t know what was going to happen. I bet King had some fun writing about these teeth. It shows in the flow with a little bit of humor mixed with gore and straight up good story telling – “Chomp!”
The Moving Finger - Where does King come up with this stuff?! (King says later that “his favorite sort of short story has always been the kind where things happen just because they happen.” The perfect example is displayed right here.)
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - I mention this one, not because it’s that good, but because it just may be King’s own personal dream-nightmare in written form. He loves Rock-n-Roll, so to see so many legends together in a place that “should be” wondrous because of it just makes me think he would love and hate this town simultaneously.
Sorry, Right Number - A short, written in the form of a screenplay, that’s kind of fun. The unusual format was at first annoying, and then quite likeable as I adjusted to it (quickly, I might add). What I thought would be spooky turns into a decent drama-thinker.
Crouch End - Near the beginning the words “dimensions” and “Lovecraft” pop out of the text. It is eerie, although not particularly scary. Later on a sign reads “Cthulhu Kyron”. King has used that first term in other works. Homage to Lovecraft. Wouldn’t be the first.
The Doctor’s Case - Turn from Lovecraft to Arthur Conan Doyle. Many writers love Sherlock Holmes, so why not write a case of their own, and pay respects to Doyle. King comes up with a pretty good tale here that puts Watson in the forefront, not that he can overshadow Holmes in the end.
PS. Don’t skip the afterward notes. A plus for fans who likes to know how King’s stories come to fruition.
April 14, 2023
Of the story collections from Stephen King I have read so far, this is possibly my favorite to date.
“This had not happened because they were evil people; it had not happened because the old gods were punishing them; it had happened because they had gotten lost in the woods, that was all, and getting lost in the woods was a thing that could happen to anybody.”
It has almost everything from the revenge thriller of 'Dolan's Cadillac', two Vampire stories 'Popsy' & 'The Night Flier', a full blown zombie arising in 'The End Of the Whole Mess', the comedy horror of 'Chattery Teeth' (which I have to say might well be my favorite Stephen King short story) & 'The Moving Finger' then onto a Lovecraftian effort called 'Crouch End' and many more.
The only criticisms I can make about this collection are about the baseball content (simply because I don't understand or like it).
“I ain’t crazy,” he said. “You want to see crazy? Turn on CNN, Bow . . . Howie. You’ll see crazy in living color.”
The sum total is an immensely entertaining and captivating collection of short stories which will make you laugh, cry and maybe give you a sleepless night or two.
“This had not happened because they were evil people; it had not happened because the old gods were punishing them; it had happened because they had gotten lost in the woods, that was all, and getting lost in the woods was a thing that could happen to anybody.”
It has almost everything from the revenge thriller of 'Dolan's Cadillac', two Vampire stories 'Popsy' & 'The Night Flier', a full blown zombie arising in 'The End Of the Whole Mess', the comedy horror of 'Chattery Teeth' (which I have to say might well be my favorite Stephen King short story) & 'The Moving Finger' then onto a Lovecraftian effort called 'Crouch End' and many more.
The only criticisms I can make about this collection are about the baseball content (simply because I don't understand or like it).
“I ain’t crazy,” he said. “You want to see crazy? Turn on CNN, Bow . . . Howie. You’ll see crazy in living color.”
The sum total is an immensely entertaining and captivating collection of short stories which will make you laugh, cry and maybe give you a sleepless night or two.
June 12, 2022
You can count the number of times one of Uncle Stevie’s books have disappointed me. Nightmares & Dreamscapes is one of them, sadly. I feel no satisfaction in saying this. I got this hardback version as soon as it came out, now some decades ago. It had been on my shelf all that time, only getting the occasional glance at its pages as I considered what book to read over the course of my adult life. King has been and always will be one of my favorite story-tellers, an inspiration, and a guy with whom I have imagined (many times) sitting down at a pub and shooting the s*#$ over a couple of pints. This isn’t going to change any of that.
To me the stories ranged from the truly interesting and inspiring to the almost incomprehensible (to me—which I found kind of puzzling so I kind of feel like I missed something). Most of them however, I found kind of forgettable. (Jeez, I really REALLY hate saying that.) The writing is great. That’s not the issue. It’s just, well, they either didn’t seem to fit what I had assumed was the theme of the anthology. After all, giving a book the title “Nightmare & Dreamscapes” (justifiably in my mind) creates a bit of an expectation of said book’s contents. I realize now that maybe they were not all supposed to be scary or creepy or what have you. But some of the material I was pretty perplexed as to why it was in there. But, again, that’s just me. There were times I wanted to give up. But I don’t, as a normal practice do that. I start a book – I finish it. But I was sorely tempted a few times, especially since this was an anthology I could put away at least for a while.
I’ll go through the primary tales/material in this anthology with my impressions and rating on a five-star scale. Now that I’ve gotten through the whole thing I’ve adjusted some of the ratings that I noted down as I went along.
Anyway, here was my take, more or less:
The anthology starts with Dolan's Cadillac . I started rooting for the MC, as I am sure is intended, and hoped he would get what he wanted, because it sure as hell, was deserved. It ended up being just okay in my humble opinion. (3/5)
The next tale in this brick of a hardback I had was The End of the Whole Mess . Like the predecessor, there were times I found this one hard to track. There is an unintended side-effect of a genius' efforts to "calm" the human race. It was creative, but the execution wasn't fantastic. (3/5)
Suffer the Little Children : I liked this one to start, but then it just ... well … it just sort of ended. It felt really underdeveloped and incomplete to me. (2/5)
Night Flier : In reading other reviews, I know a lot of people really liked this one. Candidly, it didn’t do much for me. This one, which features a tabloid reporter/photographer ends up getting more than expected for the story. I found hard to track on occasion and meandering. It was not moving and it wasn't really horror-ish to me until nearly the end. I ended up thinking less of this one once I finished this book. (2/5)
When I got to Popsy , I had reached my favorite up to that point. It was a deceptive creature feature. The reference to Toughskins jeans (which I know ages me quite a lot) really brought me back. I hated those damn things. It felt like wearing a microplane. Yeah… Anyway, I liked this one. (4/5)
It Grows on You did not live up to its title. Like, at all. It wasn't scary. It wasn't even interesting. I am very sorry to say that this story might have been amongst the most boring 18 pages I've read in a long time. (1/5)
Chattery Teeth: Finally I got one that was weird and scary and worthy of the anthology’s title. Outstanding, classic King stuff. (5/5)
Dedication: An impressive, immersive story. And then there was the end. Real let-down. (3/5)
The Moving Finger: I was thinking at the time – ah! Good. Another one that felt like an Uncle Stevie story! (5/5)
Sneakers : I had no idea what the heck he was trying to tell me with this one. I must be missing something. I must be, right. But well, I didn’t like this one all the same. (1/5)
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band: This was a good one with a version of limbo or whatever you might want to call it. (4/5)
Home Delivery started out odd for me. A zombie tale which is different for Uncle Stevie. But then the end surprised me pleasantly. (4/5)
Rainy Season: In this one, an out of town couple make questionable decisions when faced with a local legend, and spoiler alert Started out weird, but engaging. But it left me with unanswered questions, which was quite frustrating. Still decent overall however. (3/5)
My Pretty Pony: Solidly within the quite forgettable category. As I type this, I don’t even remember much about it. (2/5)
Sorry, Right Number offered an interesting change. A story written like a screen play instead of a short story. At first it aggravated me. Seemed to go nowhere and wasn't scary. Then he hit me with a cool, moving ending that helped to make up for the beginning. 4/5
In The Ten O'Clock People , I found the opposite sort of story-telling flow. We might have had one of the best ones here. Featuring a weird, terrifying alien invasion, this one kind of reminded me of Insomnia or The Tommyknockers. But the ending felt so damned rushed. (4/5)
Crouch End: Another creature feature. Set in London, which was a change for an Uncle Stevie setting. Only problem was this one too was quite forgettable in spite of that. A pretty flat ending, too. (2/5)
The House on Maple Street: Another less than stellar story. I assume I'm supposed to, as the reader, sympathize with the kids vs. their step dad, but not really sure why. They all sounded kind of bratty to me. 2/5
The Fifth Quarter: Interesting enough, but not really a nightmare or a dreamscape. (3/5)
The Doctor's Case: This one took me by surprise. It was interesting, too. This book needed that since a bunch of the preceding stories were dull to me. This one offers up a Sherlock Holmes case story. At first I was wondering what in the world it was doing in this book, but then we have a wee bit of a twist right at the end that made it totally worthwhile and appropriate. (5/5)
Umney's Last Case : This is the last story. It had twists and turns and a gumshoe dealing with a special sort of “thieving.” It was good. It had a slow, meandering start, but got interesting at the end. (5/5)
It ends with some non-fiction stuff that I personally felt didn’t need to be in here. It just made it longer and didn’t help with the tone or the theme.
This ends up with an average around 3. I kind of expected by the mid-way point to have this as a 2-star rating. But some of them were pretty good.
To me the stories ranged from the truly interesting and inspiring to the almost incomprehensible (to me—which I found kind of puzzling so I kind of feel like I missed something). Most of them however, I found kind of forgettable. (Jeez, I really REALLY hate saying that.) The writing is great. That’s not the issue. It’s just, well, they either didn’t seem to fit what I had assumed was the theme of the anthology. After all, giving a book the title “Nightmare & Dreamscapes” (justifiably in my mind) creates a bit of an expectation of said book’s contents. I realize now that maybe they were not all supposed to be scary or creepy or what have you. But some of the material I was pretty perplexed as to why it was in there. But, again, that’s just me. There were times I wanted to give up. But I don’t, as a normal practice do that. I start a book – I finish it. But I was sorely tempted a few times, especially since this was an anthology I could put away at least for a while.
I’ll go through the primary tales/material in this anthology with my impressions and rating on a five-star scale. Now that I’ve gotten through the whole thing I’ve adjusted some of the ratings that I noted down as I went along.
Anyway, here was my take, more or less:
The anthology starts with Dolan's Cadillac . I started rooting for the MC, as I am sure is intended, and hoped he would get what he wanted, because it sure as hell, was deserved. It ended up being just okay in my humble opinion. (3/5)
The next tale in this brick of a hardback I had was The End of the Whole Mess . Like the predecessor, there were times I found this one hard to track. There is an unintended side-effect of a genius' efforts to "calm" the human race. It was creative, but the execution wasn't fantastic. (3/5)
Suffer the Little Children : I liked this one to start, but then it just ... well … it just sort of ended. It felt really underdeveloped and incomplete to me. (2/5)
Night Flier : In reading other reviews, I know a lot of people really liked this one. Candidly, it didn’t do much for me. This one, which features a tabloid reporter/photographer ends up getting more than expected for the story. I found hard to track on occasion and meandering. It was not moving and it wasn't really horror-ish to me until nearly the end. I ended up thinking less of this one once I finished this book. (2/5)
When I got to Popsy , I had reached my favorite up to that point. It was a deceptive creature feature. The reference to Toughskins jeans (which I know ages me quite a lot) really brought me back. I hated those damn things. It felt like wearing a microplane. Yeah… Anyway, I liked this one. (4/5)
It Grows on You did not live up to its title. Like, at all. It wasn't scary. It wasn't even interesting. I am very sorry to say that this story might have been amongst the most boring 18 pages I've read in a long time. (1/5)
Chattery Teeth: Finally I got one that was weird and scary and worthy of the anthology’s title. Outstanding, classic King stuff. (5/5)
Dedication: An impressive, immersive story. And then there was the end. Real let-down. (3/5)
The Moving Finger: I was thinking at the time – ah! Good. Another one that felt like an Uncle Stevie story! (5/5)
Sneakers : I had no idea what the heck he was trying to tell me with this one. I must be missing something. I must be, right. But well, I didn’t like this one all the same. (1/5)
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band: This was a good one with a version of limbo or whatever you might want to call it. (4/5)
Home Delivery started out odd for me. A zombie tale which is different for Uncle Stevie. But then the end surprised me pleasantly. (4/5)
Rainy Season: In this one, an out of town couple make questionable decisions when faced with a local legend, and spoiler alert Started out weird, but engaging. But it left me with unanswered questions, which was quite frustrating. Still decent overall however. (3/5)
My Pretty Pony: Solidly within the quite forgettable category. As I type this, I don’t even remember much about it. (2/5)
Sorry, Right Number offered an interesting change. A story written like a screen play instead of a short story. At first it aggravated me. Seemed to go nowhere and wasn't scary. Then he hit me with a cool, moving ending that helped to make up for the beginning. 4/5
In The Ten O'Clock People , I found the opposite sort of story-telling flow. We might have had one of the best ones here. Featuring a weird, terrifying alien invasion, this one kind of reminded me of Insomnia or The Tommyknockers. But the ending felt so damned rushed. (4/5)
Crouch End: Another creature feature. Set in London, which was a change for an Uncle Stevie setting. Only problem was this one too was quite forgettable in spite of that. A pretty flat ending, too. (2/5)
The House on Maple Street: Another less than stellar story. I assume I'm supposed to, as the reader, sympathize with the kids vs. their step dad, but not really sure why. They all sounded kind of bratty to me. 2/5
The Fifth Quarter: Interesting enough, but not really a nightmare or a dreamscape. (3/5)
The Doctor's Case: This one took me by surprise. It was interesting, too. This book needed that since a bunch of the preceding stories were dull to me. This one offers up a Sherlock Holmes case story. At first I was wondering what in the world it was doing in this book, but then we have a wee bit of a twist right at the end that made it totally worthwhile and appropriate. (5/5)
Umney's Last Case : This is the last story. It had twists and turns and a gumshoe dealing with a special sort of “thieving.” It was good. It had a slow, meandering start, but got interesting at the end. (5/5)
It ends with some non-fiction stuff that I personally felt didn’t need to be in here. It just made it longer and didn’t help with the tone or the theme.
This ends up with an average around 3. I kind of expected by the mid-way point to have this as a 2-star rating. But some of them were pretty good.
May 26, 2021
La qualità delle storie oscilla tra il capolavoro (tipo "Il volatore notturno" da cui è stato tratto il bel film horror The Night Flier nel 1997) e l'illeggibile ("A testa bassa", lungo e noioso resoconto del campionato giovanile di baseball cui partecipò uno dei figli di King anni fa...).
Avevo già letto "Il volatore notturno", "Parto in casa" ed il lovecraftiano "Orrore a Crouch end" in altre antologie di autori vari, ma è stato comunque un vero piacere rileggerli dopo anni.
"La cadillac di Nolan" ed "Il caso del dottore" (con Holmes, Watson e Lestrade!) sono a mani basse delle vere e proprie piccole perle.
"Un concerto dell'altro mondo" e "La stagione delle piogge" sono bei racconti, ma il loro incipit mi ha ricordato un po' troppo il classico kinghiano "I figli del grano".
Dulcis in fundo: "Bambinate" e "Il dito" mi hanno fatto venire gli incubi!
Non accadeva dal meraviglioso "It", letto una vita fa.
In conclusione è un libro da consigliare ma, se non siete patiti dello sport americano per eccellenza secondo Charlie Brown, fermatevi quando verso la fine arriverete alla storia sul baseball: è per il vostro bene.
March 16, 2023
Introduction - 5 stars
Dolan's Cadillac - 3 stars
The End of the Whole Mess - 5 stars
Suffer the Little Children - 4 stars
The Night Flier - 4 stars
Popsy - 3 stars
It Grows On You - 3 stars?
Chattery Teeth - 3 stars
Dedication - 3 stars
The Moving Finger - 3 stars
Sneakers - 2 stars
You Know They Go a Hell of a Band - 4 stars
Home Delivery - 3 stars
Rainy Season - 4 stars
My Pretty Pony - 4 stars
Sorry, Right Number - 4 stars
The Ten O'Clock People - 3 stars
Crouch End - 4 stars?
The House on Maple Street - 3 stars
The Fifth Quarter - 2 stars
The Doctor's Case - 2 stars
Umney's Last Case - 2 stars
Head Down (Fuck This, No Stars)
Brooklyn August -
The Beggar and the Diamond -
Dolan's Cadillac - 3 stars
The End of the Whole Mess - 5 stars
Suffer the Little Children - 4 stars
The Night Flier - 4 stars
Popsy - 3 stars
It Grows On You - 3 stars?
Chattery Teeth - 3 stars
Dedication - 3 stars
The Moving Finger - 3 stars
Sneakers - 2 stars
You Know They Go a Hell of a Band - 4 stars
Home Delivery - 3 stars
Rainy Season - 4 stars
My Pretty Pony - 4 stars
Sorry, Right Number - 4 stars
The Ten O'Clock People - 3 stars
Crouch End - 4 stars?
The House on Maple Street - 3 stars
The Fifth Quarter - 2 stars
The Doctor's Case - 2 stars
Umney's Last Case - 2 stars
Head Down (Fuck This, No Stars)
Brooklyn August -
The Beggar and the Diamond -
April 10, 2019
While there are a few gems in this collection, I thought the majority were quite average. This is definitely not my favourite King short story collection I’ve read so far. A few stories really had me wrapped around their finger and flipping the pages furiously to find out what would happen. Sadly those were in the minority though and a few were even quite forgettable. I also may or may have not skipped the one about baseball, that’s just not my bag!
February 6, 2008
this is where the little pop-ups next to those stars really feel misleading.
do i like that i still sometimes fear the toilet? not especially. but i have to recognize the mad skills of a writer who was able to do that to me.
there are a few stories here that really messed me up. the worst by far was The Moving Finger. we don't know why there's a moving finger, a multi-jointed, aggressive, waggling finger complete with scratchy, scrapey nail coming out of the sink (in my mind over the years i replaced the sink with a toilet--which is MUCH WORSE), we just know it's there and it's coming to get us. what?!? i approach bathrooms warily now, especially when i'm home alone and it's spooky outside.
there should be a separate set of ratings for stephen king and horror in general.
One Star = i didn't like it
Two Stars = meh
Three Stars = had to pull my feet onto the bed so that monsters couldn't get me. good, but not his best work
Four Stars = i hate to admit it but i had to put the book in the microwave so i could get some sleep. moderate emotional scarring
Five Stars = it's amazing that i didn't have a dissociative episode after the fifth chapter. also, i peed a little and had to call my mom in the middle of the night.
some people just read king and get on with life. some people still don't step on cracks because Something Bad Will Happen and those people know that king is telling stories that are just shy of really coming true.
do i like that i still sometimes fear the toilet? not especially. but i have to recognize the mad skills of a writer who was able to do that to me.
there are a few stories here that really messed me up. the worst by far was The Moving Finger. we don't know why there's a moving finger, a multi-jointed, aggressive, waggling finger complete with scratchy, scrapey nail coming out of the sink (in my mind over the years i replaced the sink with a toilet--which is MUCH WORSE), we just know it's there and it's coming to get us. what?!? i approach bathrooms warily now, especially when i'm home alone and it's spooky outside.
there should be a separate set of ratings for stephen king and horror in general.
One Star = i didn't like it
Two Stars = meh
Three Stars = had to pull my feet onto the bed so that monsters couldn't get me. good, but not his best work
Four Stars = i hate to admit it but i had to put the book in the microwave so i could get some sleep. moderate emotional scarring
Five Stars = it's amazing that i didn't have a dissociative episode after the fifth chapter. also, i peed a little and had to call my mom in the middle of the night.
some people just read king and get on with life. some people still don't step on cracks because Something Bad Will Happen and those people know that king is telling stories that are just shy of really coming true.
June 16, 2023
There were some great stories and also some mediocre ones. I could not see the point of the baseball story except as a homage to King’s son Owen. 23 stories. I liked many of them the moving finger, Chattery teeth and the hitchhiker who got his just desserts, Dolan’s Cadillac was excellent and the complex equations, Umney’s last case in the style of Raymond Chandler with time travel was entertaining. Crouch End with scary monsters a dimension away. All kept me entertained and glad I found this book.
January 27, 2019
I would rate it overall around 3.5 stars. My favorite stories were Chattery Teeth, Moving Finger, You Know They Got a Hell of a Band. Some of the stories had really great narrators that I thought added a lot to the stories. Sorry, Right Number was fantastic with a full ensemble cast recording. I also love the introductions and notes read by Stephen King. I especially loved that he went into what inspired his stories.
November 26, 2019
A fantastic collection of short stories containing some amazingly chilling tales. My top ten
1 the End of the Whole Mess
2 the Ten O'clock people
3 You Know They Got a Hell of a band
4 Dolan's Cadillac
5 Suffer The Children
6 Popsy
7 Crouch End
8 Chattery Teeth
9 Rainy Season
10 Umney's Last Case
Give it a try. Treat yourself!
1 the End of the Whole Mess
2 the Ten O'clock people
3 You Know They Got a Hell of a band
4 Dolan's Cadillac
5 Suffer The Children
6 Popsy
7 Crouch End
8 Chattery Teeth
9 Rainy Season
10 Umney's Last Case
Give it a try. Treat yourself!
July 8, 2009
Stephen King is my comfort read when I'm feeling stressed or just need to relax. I love this collection and am looking forward to delving into it once more.
December 30, 2020
I listened to the audiobook. It’s read by so many big name stars. They really added a lot to it. My favorite narrator was Kathy Bates and my favorite story was Home Delivery. To be honest, most of these were forgettable. None of them wowed me but I didn’t hate them either. They were just ok. Save your money and borrow this one from the library.
April 11, 2024
Middle of the road. Hit-or-miss. Unremarkable. All the other adjectives for average go here
August 6, 2020
In 1993, Stephen King released Nightmares & Dreamscapes, his third short story collection (fifth if you count his two novella collections “Different Seasons” and “Four Past Midnight”).
In all honesty, as a collection, I thought this was pretty bad. When you look at the quality of Night Shift and Skeleton Crew, it’s hard to believe at times that this is even the same author. It feels like King went rooting through his trash to pick out a few stories he may have initially tossed rather than publish. Some of these aren’t even stories – there’s a teleplay, some poems and a non-fiction piece that seemed to be used to pad out the content.
“Dedication”, “The Beggar and the Diamond” and “It Grows on You” were real slogs to get through. Most of the time, I was just bored. I didn’t care too much for his attempt at a story set within the world of Sherlock Holmes, nor did I like his distracting turn with British dialogue in “Crouch End”. Even with all the gore in here, the one thing that grossed me out the most was the father’s lunchtime snack in “The House on Maple Street” – what kind of psychopath eats a ketchup sandwich?
That said, they’re not all bad. I did like “The Moving Finger” – a story about a sentient finger slowly growing out of the drain of the bathroom sink. I also liked “Umney’s Last Case”, which I think was the best of the bunch. “The Fifth Quarter” was fun as a short and sweet pulpy gangster story and “Rainy Season” was a good bit of horror that might have snuck its way into Night Shift.
When there are twenty-four stories and there are only four that I liked, it doesn’t make for a particularly strong collection. I think this one is easily skippable. Now, where is my copy of Night Shift?
In all honesty, as a collection, I thought this was pretty bad. When you look at the quality of Night Shift and Skeleton Crew, it’s hard to believe at times that this is even the same author. It feels like King went rooting through his trash to pick out a few stories he may have initially tossed rather than publish. Some of these aren’t even stories – there’s a teleplay, some poems and a non-fiction piece that seemed to be used to pad out the content.
“Dedication”, “The Beggar and the Diamond” and “It Grows on You” were real slogs to get through. Most of the time, I was just bored. I didn’t care too much for his attempt at a story set within the world of Sherlock Holmes, nor did I like his distracting turn with British dialogue in “Crouch End”. Even with all the gore in here, the one thing that grossed me out the most was the father’s lunchtime snack in “The House on Maple Street” – what kind of psychopath eats a ketchup sandwich?
That said, they’re not all bad. I did like “The Moving Finger” – a story about a sentient finger slowly growing out of the drain of the bathroom sink. I also liked “Umney’s Last Case”, which I think was the best of the bunch. “The Fifth Quarter” was fun as a short and sweet pulpy gangster story and “Rainy Season” was a good bit of horror that might have snuck its way into Night Shift.
When there are twenty-four stories and there are only four that I liked, it doesn’t make for a particularly strong collection. I think this one is easily skippable. Now, where is my copy of Night Shift?
June 25, 2012
creepy story, typical King, back to the 80s...
November 5, 2018
3.5
Another King short story collection read and Night Shift still remains number one as far as I’m concerned!
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Nightmares and Dreamscapes started off SUPER strong but then I found that my ratings were petering down to 3s and 2s and even a couple of 1s, whereas I only gave 5 stars to one story in the whole collection, Suffer the Little Children. But other highlights were Dolan’s Cadillac, The Night Flier, The Ten O’Clock People, The Moving Finger, Chattery Teeth, and Crouch End.
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Horror lends itself so well to short stories, and King says this himself, because nothing needs to be explained in a short story. It simply is. There simply is a moving finger in your drain. There simply is a vampire with a pilot license. And I love that!
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But a lot of the stories started to feel tedious. The Doctor’s Last Case, It Grows on You, even Umney’s, they just felt like a bit of a slog, and the 11 stories I’ve not mentioned were good but forgettable. One that is NOT forgettable is Dedication, but honestly it was so gross I don’t ever want to think about it again, thanks King.
Another King short story collection read and Night Shift still remains number one as far as I’m concerned!
.
Nightmares and Dreamscapes started off SUPER strong but then I found that my ratings were petering down to 3s and 2s and even a couple of 1s, whereas I only gave 5 stars to one story in the whole collection, Suffer the Little Children. But other highlights were Dolan’s Cadillac, The Night Flier, The Ten O’Clock People, The Moving Finger, Chattery Teeth, and Crouch End.
.
Horror lends itself so well to short stories, and King says this himself, because nothing needs to be explained in a short story. It simply is. There simply is a moving finger in your drain. There simply is a vampire with a pilot license. And I love that!
.
But a lot of the stories started to feel tedious. The Doctor’s Last Case, It Grows on You, even Umney’s, they just felt like a bit of a slog, and the 11 stories I’ve not mentioned were good but forgettable. One that is NOT forgettable is Dedication, but honestly it was so gross I don’t ever want to think about it again, thanks King.
Read
November 4, 2024Read for my Halloween Reading Vlog. Full review of all stories here: https://youtu.be/J3kChxHRsfs
Written review to come!
Written review to come!
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