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Loading... Everything's Eventual (2002)by Stephen King
I haven't read much King, this is actually only the second book I've read by him (the first being Gunslinger). I've always wanted to get into him though, and I think this was the perfect book to start with. Fourteen short stories, a King smorgasbord, so to speak. Some I loved, some I just liked, some just weren't my thing - but overall it was a great collection. Every one was well written, and even if a story wasn't my favorite, I still found myself enjoying it. Highly recommended, and I'll definitely be reading more King soon. ( )Some are better than others naturally, but overall a pretty great read. King has the uncanny ability to weave horror so subtly into high literature that the hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand on end before you're entirely sure why. It's really unfair how King can shift from a common, pulp fic appeal to almost high literature. These stories are haunting and incredibly deep. You forget it's King and yet its undeniably him through the whole collection. Stephen King's short stories are always scarier to me than his novels. He leaves just enough unsaid for my imagination to take over and then I'm jumpy for days. 14 stories that will keep you up at night. no reviews | add a review Contains
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His first collection of short stories since the release of Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993, Everything's Eventual represents King at his most undiluted. The short story format showcases King's ability to spook readers using the most mundane settings (a yard sale) and comfortable memories (a boyhood fishing excursion). The dark tales collected here are some of King's finest, including an O. Henry Prize winner and "Riding the Bullet," published originally as an e-book and at one time expected by some to be the death knell of the physical publishing world. True to form, each of these stories draws the reader into King's slightly off-center world from the first page, developing characters and atmosphere more fully in the span of 50 pages than many authors can in a full novel.
For most rabid King fans, chief among the tales in this volume will be "The Little Sisters of Eluria," a novella that first appeared in the fantasy collection Legends, set in King's ever-expanding Dark Tower universe. In this story, set prior to the first Dark Tower volume, the reader finds Gunslinger Roland of Gilead wounded and under the care of nurses with very dubious intentions. Also included in this collection are "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French," the story of a woman's personal hell; "1408," in which a writer of haunted tour guides finally encounters the real thing; "Everything's Eventual," the title story, about a boy with a dream job that turns out to be more of a nightmare; and "L.T.'s Theory of Pets," a story of divorce with a bloody surprise ending.
King also includes an introductory essay on the lost art of short fiction and brief explanatory notes that give the reader background on his intentions and inspirations for each story. As with any occasion when King directly addresses his dear Constant Readers, his tone is that of a camp counselor who's almost apologetic for the scare his fireside tales are about to throw into his charges, yet unwilling to soften the blow. And any campers gathered around this author's fire would be wise to heed his warnings, for when King goes bump in the night, it's never just a branch on the window. --Benjamin Reese
(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 13:12:11 -0500)
Whether writing about encounters with the dead, the near dead, or about the mundane dreads of life, from quitting smoking to yard sales, Stephen King is at the top of his form in the fourteen dark tales assembled in Everything's Eventual. Intense, eerie, and instantly compelling, they announce the stunningly fertile imagination of perhaps the greatest storyteller of our time.… (more)
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