I think I like Stephen King's short fiction better than his novels, but I am biases; I am a fan of short fiction above all else. Stephen King is a definite master of the art.

There are four novellas in [book:Different Seasons] and I will briefly address each of them.

1. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption". I'd seen (and loved) the movie, but never read the story. Having read the story, I immediately added it to my list of all time favorite stories. It's all about the voice, I think. There are elements that differ from the movie, but the voice is the same and I think it's the voice that made the movie as good as it was. Like all my "all-time favorites" it's the kind of story that I can and will read again with equal enjoyment. 5 stars.

2. "Apt Pupil". This was a horrible story--in the traditional sense--I felt a sense of horror reading it. I was in constant discomfort, uneasy. And that's because it was a well-told story. Despite my feeling that it was probably the weakest story of the lot, I still think King demonstrated his ability to make the reader feel something about the characters. 3-1/2 stars.

3. "The Body". I'm ashamed to admit that I've never seen "Stand By Me" from beginning to end, but now I don't have to. I liked the story, a kind of coming-of-age tale typified by King's ability at getting deep into a character and his or her surroundings. There was a nostalgia to the story that I didn't quite feel, perhaps because I grew up in the 70s and 80s and not the 50s and 60s, but despite that, I think some of that nostalgia managed to sneak through anyway. 3-1/2 stars.

4. "The Breathing Method". This story surprised me the most. It is the shortest of the stories, and while it's not the best story in the book, it is fair second. I loved the setting of the story, and the mystery surrounding the club (which in some ways reminded me of Asimov's Black Widowers). There was an unearthly quality to the story, and it is a story that I imagine could have been written by Jorge Luis Borges. It was perhaps the best page-turner in the book. 4 stars. ( )

Vintage King short stories. All four were good, but I preferred Apt Pupil. It was an excellent read. One of his best shorter ones. ( )

I have had this book sitting on my shelf for a long time and I finally decided to pick it up. I am usually not a fan of short stories because I feel you don't have enough time to connect with the characters, but since these were novellas and a little longer than what is considered to be a short story it sounded promising. I ended up really liking Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, sort of liking Apt Pupil, and not liking The Body and The Breathing Method much.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption ~ This is the first time I have read anything by Stephen King that wasn't a horror story, no scary situations and no gory details whatsoever. I'm sure that many people are familiar with the story of Andy Dufresne and how he broke out of prison as it was made into one of the best movies ever. It is told by Red, Andy's prison mate, and it leaves you with a positive message and a sense of respect for Andy which got what he wanted through his patience and determination.

Apt Pupil ~ I had no idea that Stephen King wrote any WWII fiction so this story came as a nice surprise. An American teenager discovers one of the most brutal Nazi war criminals living in his neighborhood under a false name. In turn for his silence he asks the old German to tell him about the atrocities that occurred in the concentration camps, including all the "gooshy" details. The boy's interest however turns into something more dangerous and horrible that unleashes the monster within both characters. The story started out good and kept my interest, but as it progressed it became more twisted and sometimes quite sick too.

The Body ~ This is a coming of age story about four boys that go on an adventure to find the dead body of a boy that was hit by a train. It is told by one of these boys who grew up to be an author and it really captures the process of maturing from childhood to adolescence really well. The premise was good however it seemed to drag on and after a while it got boring, it never seemed to reach a climax. It is not what I would call a bad story but it is just ok. It reminded me a lot of 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon', another book by King which I was not too crazy about.

The Breathing Method ~ It is Dr. McCarron's turn to tell a story at an obscure gentlemen's club, and the story he picks is about a young pregnant woman he met earlier in his career who mastered the Lameze breathing method which he suggested. This is a story within a story which turns out to have a horrible ending, in fact the ending of this last novella was what reminded me that I was reading a book by Stephen King, it just seemed like his sort of thing. This is also the shortest and the only novella in this book that has not been made into a movie so far. I did not particularly like this one either, and although the ending was quite suspenseful, it did bore me out a little as a whole.

The part I liked the most from this book was the Afterword, where King includes a background of how this book came to be. I really enjoyed reading this, even though it made me feel a bit bad that I didn't like the stories as much as the author hoped. ( )

Collection of four novellas. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and "The Body" are among King's finest writing, in my opinion. "Apt Pupil" is also very good, thought not quite up to the same level. "The Breathing Method" is a bit silly and weighs the collection down, in my opinion, which is why it gets 4 stars instead of 5. ( )

Different Seasons is a showcase for Stephen King. Four diverse novellas, only one of them the kind of horror tale he is synonymous with (and it may be the weakest of the bunch).

The book is divided into four 'seasons': Hope Springs Eternal (Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption), Summer of Corruption (Apt Pupil), Fall From Innocence (The Body) and A Winter's Tale (The Breathing Method). The tones of the stories alternate between light and dark, with Apt Pupil perhaps being the darkest thing he has ever written.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is a mini-masterpiece of a tale. A tale of hope set in a prison, dealing with a man whose spirit remains free despite all obstacles. I'd originally read it years before the legendary movie, and was worried that it wouldn't be quite the same reading it now. Luckily King's narrative holds up. Even knowing what was coming, the story telling was as gripping as ever.

Apt Pupil. I was almost dreading rereading Apt Pupil. A well written but morally disturbing tale of the mutually parasitic relationship between a young California golden boy and the Nazi war criminal he has blackmailed. It is an excellent dark thriller, but it is so powerfully written and so pitch black, you are kept in suspense while feeling the need to cleanse yourself of the story being told. I remember the 'Bachman book' Rage felt a little like this, but Apt Pupil provokes a much stronger reaction and is a better book overall.

Third up is The Body which was famously (and very faithfully) adapted into the movie Stand By Me. This is Stephen King’s coming of age tale of four boys in 1960 who head out through the woods to find the body of a boy that was struck by a train.

Though all four of the stories are top-notch Stephen King, I believe I enjoyed The Body the most. King so expertly captures the bittersweet feeling of the boys, two of which at least understand that they are going through a life changing experience; that things will not be the same from here on.

The Breathing Method is the closest to Stephen King’s ‘typical’ supernatural spook story. This one (appropriately dedicated to Peter Straub) seems to be King’s answer to Straub’s Chowder Society (see Straub's Ghost Story), as it deals with a group of old men that belong to a mysterious ‘gentleman’s club’ where they tell each other stories.

Earlier I called The Breathing Method the weakest story here. It is, but please don't take that to mean that the story isn't worth reading. It is a good read that only pales because the other three stories shine so brightly.

This is the book I would loan to someone who looked down on King without reading any of his work. He shows that while he can write some very scary spook stories, that isn't why he sells so many books. Each of the four stories is King writing at the top of the game. There's a reason three of the four stories have been turned into movies and they are three of the best screen adaptations he's had. ( )