Night Shift
Genre: Short Story collection, Horror.
Original publication date: February 1978
Book description (from the back cover): Stephen King's first collection of stories -- is an early showcase of the depths that King's wicked imagination could plumb. In these 20 tales, we see mutated rates gone bad ("Graveyard Shift"); a cataclysmic virus that threatens humanity ("Night Surf," the basis for The Stand); a smoker who will try anything to stop ("Quitters, Inc."); a reclusive alcoholic who begins a gruesome transformation ("Gray Matter"); and many more. This is Stephen King at his horrifying best.
Thoughts:
So first off, the introduction by John D. MacDonald was eye-catching, if you had no idea who Stephen King is, the first few lines would pique your interest, at least due to curiosity you would like to see what follows in order to find out if it's worth it or not.
Also, the first section written by the author himself expressing his good fortune that he is able to be a full-time writer, it gives it a very nice feel to it. When you see someone successful, you can't help but wonder about their personal situation and their feelings. It's a very bad habit of not minding your own business.
I generally am curious about authors and such but not enough to actually look them up, I rarely even follow anyone on social media, I would like to not be let down, sometimes the greatness of the writing and the person do not match up- In this case, it gave me a small insight of his opinion and feelings about tasting success in a few of his earlier works, a few reasons for his choice of topics, of his obsession. A brief and yet informative enough to satiate your passing curiosity.
Moving on to the stories. This is a collection of 20 stories and as in most cases of collections, we always have a few more to your taste than others. So I will add a small description of what I thought about each one of the stories and a star rating, in the end, the average will be the overall rating for the book.
1. Jerusalem's Lot
It is told in letters and diary entries instead of a traditional storyline. We have a few people, newcomers to a small town, they move into a house that has a dark past. As usual, the newcomers do not believe the superstition. Oh, they get a surprise. It is told in bits as it builds up the mystery.
2. Graveyard Shift
A few men who work in a mill during the night shift, during a holiday they are tasked with a new duty. They are asked to clean out the basement and find a subcellar. It's infested with rats, so they are forced to go down there to exterminate them, very smart really instead of calling experts they go.
A6 is a disease breaks in USA. It affects people, starting off as fevers or something like that. Society crumbles, people start to die and soon only a few survivors are left. This follows a group of people who live in the beach, their sanity is questionable.
They could be the last few people alive. They just exist with no purpose or plan.
The story is being told from the POV of Bernie, I disliked him strongly. He treats Sue his girlfriend horrible.
It is very short bit has a lot of potentials, it is after all the base idea for the Stand so that makes sense.
4. I am the doorway
Interesting. This is a Sci-Fi short story featuring things from another place rather than a monster from our Earth.
A man survived an awful accident while he was exploring Venus. He is now in a wheelchair. living on a pension and under instructions to not reveal anything. But he wants the space exploration to stop, to not send anyone else to Venus.
Something is using him, trying to see and act through him; he fights them but he wonders if he can win.
5. The mangler
A nice little story. A case of possession in a particular object. Who would have thought a demonic possession can happen after the actions described here. It describes many innocuous details, one coincidence one after allowing the perfect conditions to call forth a powerful entity thirsty for blood.
Open ending.
This story has a very strong beginning. A man comes up to a session and wants to talk about his 3 dead children as he feels responsible for their deaths. Intriguing.
I really dislike the main character Mr. Lester, he is telling us his story and yet he sounds like a very harsh parent and husband. He felt trapped in his family blaming the woman and the children as he was forced to step up leave college and life took a different direction. He feels his wife got pregnant on purpose to tie him down.
Lester says one thing but his actions and opinions contradict it. He is a very unlikable character.
The ending was different from what I expected for sure.
7. Gray Matter
Its a story of a boy who seeks help one random night. His alcoholic and unemployed father sits at home all day drinking. Something happened to him. The boy goes to buy more alcohol and he trusts the store owner and reveals what has happened. The unbelievable tale is accepted by the owner and he takes along a few people to see this man who is holed up in the house.
The story shows cowardice, bad friends and helping souls and an open ending. So its a bit annoying.
8. Battleground
A short unrealistic story that does not interest me.
A man who receives a gift and he thinks it might be an explosive and yet its a bunch of small soldiers intent on killing him.
It had an interesting "monster" just not sure what it was really. Was this guy insane and imagine it all? Or is really, but what is he fighting or why?
9. Trucks
Technology has gone crazy and took over the town. No explanation and there does not seem to be any hope for people in here.
All means of transportation trucks, cars and such take a mind of their own and hunts people.
We have a group of people who are trapped in a dinner in a rest stop in the highway.
10. Sometimes they come back
A high school teacher who is hunted by the past in several ways.
He experienced a hard time:
He had a mental breakdown while he was doing his work in a specific school and had to be transferred in order to complete his allotted time there. His mother, wife and even things way back from his childhood surface in these dark times. That comes up as he is trying to get hired in this new school.
He gets the new job and starts, everything is ok, but one of the classes he has to take is giving him trouble, the kids there they do not want to learn and simply defy him. Soon things start to happen that make his darkest fears come forth.
This has ghosts, demons or something like that.
It was a very interesting one.
11. Strawberry Spring
An old tale, a superstition in a small town linked to wintertime. It is an event happening every 8-10 years it begins with an unusual weather behavior that marks the start.
During this time murders start to take place, unexplained and seemly unlinked among them. In this case, it is told from the perspective of a man who happens to experience it twice in his lifetime.
12. The Ledge
A man is caught with a married woman. She runs and now he will go see the wounded part, the husband and try to solve this once and for all. A few words are exchanged, threats and then a bet is placed. The power balance is tilted heavily into one side.
There is an interesting but open ending to this that's for sure.
13. The lawnmower man
After an unfortunate incident, a man who took joy and pride in his lawn is forced to part with his lawnmower so in the summer he is looking for someone to take care of it. He ends up calling a service, he gets something very different than what he expected.
The lawnmower has a very particular way to work and well if the client is dissatisfied, they do not enforce the client is always right policy.
Not my cup of tea, it is very unique that's for sure.
14. Quitters, Inc.
A man who meets a coworker or an old acquaintance in a bar, he is invited to an organization that helps you quit smoking as both of them are very addicted. He gets the recommendation and a strong emphasis that this place will surely help him stop smoking.
There are no details given on how it works or what steps are to be followed as everything is confidential.
The treatment is something I would have never imagined but oh it would have to be effective all right.
Mr Morrison struggles with his desire to smoke and at the same time, he can't fathom the consequences of actually doing it.
He loves his family and will work very hard to quit smoking!
15. I know what you need
A young woman meets Ed by coincidence, he just so happens to say the right thing at the exact moment. He knows what she desires, what she needs, it's too good to be true.
A series of events take place and make Alice, her roommate suspicious and investigates this mysterious Ed sharing with Beth what she figures out of course.
Sometimes people can't handle the truth so well.
16. Children of the Corn
Vicky and Burt are on a road trip but it is not going well. They are in a desolated section of the highway close to a small town called Gaitlin in Nebraska. While on an argument they run over a boy, but once they stop to check the boy had a different attack previous to being run over by them. They load the body and go to Gaitlin trying to find an authority to report the incident.
During the exploration, Burt finds records of the townspeople, age 19 seems to be a very important age in this town.
The entity here is hard to conceive and define. Very interesting premise but too short, also an open ending as usual.
17. The last rung on the ladder
This is a very different story Kitty and her older brother. He is sharing the story of his childhood and what happened to the unconditional relationship both of them had once they grew up and how they just grew apart.
It touches and makes you stop and think how sometimes life seems to be in the way and you just don't make enough time to reach out to your family.
18. The man who loved flowers
It starts with a man looking at flowers and trying to decide if buying it or not. It has a twist and ends up being different from the nice fluffy love story.
19. One for the Road
Another story featuring Jerusalem's lot. During a snowstorm, a man shows up in a bar he is not suited to be out and about dring the weather condition and he is seeking help, his family is trapped in the storm. They are in Jerusalem's lot. The locals decide to drive the man directly to get his family, as there is no authority at hand who can handle it.
20. The woman in the room
A man visits his mother. She is in a very bad state, has cancer and the pain is unbearable and now cannot continue to live at home. Now staying in the hospital but she does not seem to be getting better.
So overall I really enjoyed it and average star rating:
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