Make a ranking from best to worst of the king books youve read. This list will take you through all of stephen king s short story collections, from the 1978 night shift to his most recent 2015 collection, the bazaar of bad dreams. King is often hailed as the master of the short story. The horror masters insatiable desire to tell stories has given the modern world some of its most iconic villains and lasting protagonists. While no story collection is flawless not even one of stephen king s, its more unified in tone, and contains more heavy hitters, than any other horror collection i can name, and it handles both the gothic pulp and gore a steadier hand than night shift skeleton crew hails from a bit later in king s career1985. The deluxe special edition a collectible limited one time printing featuring an afterword by stewart onan, two fullcolor paintings by mark stutzman, twenty pieces of interior artwork by chris odgers, and two bonus stories that have never appeared in any edition anywhere in the world. The man was lester billings from waterbury, connecticut. The first film on this list is perhaps the most difficult to recommend as it is impossible to fully appreciate on its own. By strange coincidence on the day i write this, stephen. So if you want a taste of king s horror but dont have time to sit down and read a whole novel, weve got you covered. Night shift received the balrog award for best collection, and in 1979 it was nominated as best collection for the. Ballad of the flexible bullet beachworld gramma great stephen king reread mrs. Night shift is stephen kings first collection of short stories, published in 1978. I love stories set in the snow, and this is the first of many in stephen king s career.
Poe was right, the best horror stories are the short ones. As well as 18 other chilling stories, including the mangler the one about the possessed laundry press. Night shiftstephen kings first collection of storiesis an early showcase of the depths that kings wicked imagination could plumb. Buy cialis online, discount online viagra stephen king book. The third part of a film series covering the opening arc of the long running mangaanime series berserk, this iteration began in 2012 and concluded with this feature in 20. Next you can read about the history of night shift or richard chizmars thoughts about revisiting the book. Night shift is by far king s finest short story collection and closest to pure horror rather than the scifi influenced selection of skeleton crew or the ray bradbury flavours of nightmares and dreamscapes. From night shift heres some short stories that we still talk about often. From the master of horror stephen king, night shift is a bonechilling collection of twenty short stories. The most pageturning collection of stephen kings short stories. Sorry that nightmares and dreamscapes is off camera.
A definitive ranking of every stephen king short story. Graveyard shift, and other stories from night shift by. Here we have some of his best stories including strawberry spring, the ledge, graveyard shift and i know what you need. Stephen king uberfan james smythe is rereading the works of the horror genius in chronological order. From telekinetic teenagers to monstrous creatures, king has written about nearly every fear and phobia known to humanity. Some are not meant to be, and some just made me snicker. May 09, 2018 while no story collection is flawless not even one of stephen kings, its more unified in tone, and contains more heavy hitters, than any other horror collection i can name, and it handles both the gothic pulp and gore a steadier hand than night shift skeleton crew hails from a bit later in kings career1985. Night shift is stephen king s first collection of short stories, published in 1978. Hall was sitting on the bench by the elevator, the only place on the third floor where a working joe could catch a smoke, when warwick came up. Graveyard shift and other stories from night shift 1994. Graveyard shift and other stories from night shift free. Many of his works have been adapted for the screen including carrie, the dead zone, the shining, christine, salems lot, firestarter, cujo, pet sematary for which king wrote the screenplay and had a bit part as a minister, and misery, as well as several others.
Excursions into horror is the fifth book published by stephen king, and his first collection of short stories. With all of his stories, he pushes you to the limit of belief that someone can write in such a horrific way. Hes the original short story by stephen king that later turned into a trilogy of. I am not a fan of short stories, but am a big fan of stephen king. Some stories though like the mangler, and lawnmower man are almost comedy such is the ridiculous nature of the story.
Plot summary the story follows one evening on a place called anson beach, new hampshire, with a group of teens, survivors of a catastrophic virus called a6, or. Stephen king, the master of horror, is arguably the greatest short story writer still plying his trade today. Graveyard shift is like a short story version of james herberts, the rats novel. The well known jerusalems lot later shortened to salems lot, graveyard shift sweet, trucks, the lawnmower man, children of the cornwe all have heard of these, and for good reason. No one wanted to publish a stephen king short story collection, but when the shining became his first hardcover bestseller right after carrie. In these 20 tales, we see mutated rats gone bad graveyard shift. Gray matter and other stories from night shift 1993 variant. Not to be confused with the 1982 comedy film directed by ron howard and starring michael keaton, or with the 1990 lucasarts videogame stories in night shift. These stories pleased stephen king and they pleased me. The graveyard shift teaches us to realize our weaknesses, our vulnerable spots, and our inevitable death.
Night shiftstephen kings first collection of storiesis an early showcase of the depths that king s wicked imagination could plumb. His output includes some of the best short, shivery tales in the horror canonranging from the earliest days of his career, when he was publishing in magazines like cavalier, up to some of his most poetic and powerful yarns in more recent years. Jul 17, 2012 stephen king uberfan james smythe is rereading the works of the horror genius in chronological order. Night surf is a postapocalyptic short story by stephen king, first published in the spring 1969 issue of ubris magazine, and later collected in a heavily revised version in kings 1978 collection night shift.
This collection captures a special feel that makes me want to read it over and over, it has the consistency of just after sunset, the. Macdonald foreword jerusalems lot graveyard shift night surf i am the doorway. Night shift stephen king s first collection of stories is an early showcase of the depths that king s wicked imagination could plumb. Stephen king, you started scaring me when i was just a teen, then you go and try to do it again when im older, and often nonethewiser. This story first appeared in the university of maines literary magazine and like all kings stories with roots in ubris. Stephen kings 1978 night shift takes advantage of the safe scare, but the story collections real artistry is in accessing his readers willingness. Stephen king shows readers the other side of literature. I love them, and i believe that the feeling is reciprocated. Kings first collection of short stories showcases the darkest depths of his brilliant.
Many of king s most famous short stories were included in this collection. Stephen king night shift graveyard shift short stories. This collection of unabridged short stories, included. How i got a job working the night shift by brian keene. The thought of being haunted by your old high school bullies is great. Night surf is a short story written by stephen king. Nov 10, 2017 lets talk about stephen king s best short stories.
Graveyard shift and other stories from night shift stephen king with his tremendous art of storytelling and horror filled plots in most of his books, creates impactful stories and novels that surely cause jawdropping situations for the readers and listeners. There are a great many horror elements in the series, but while i count the previous two films of. This week, he tackles night shift, king s first compilation of short stories, in which he. King s first collection of short stories showcases the darkest depths of his brilliant imagination. Stephen king s the boogeyman i came to you because i want to tell my story, the man on dr harpers couch was saying. Permitted use you may make a single copy of stories, articles or other portions of content published on this site may be used only as a referral resource.
The very first anthology of stephen king short stories, published in 1978, night shift contains several familiar pieces, such as children of the corn and jerusalems lot. Especially with an anthology that features the classic stories children of the corn, the lawnmower man, graveyard shift, the mangler, and sometimes. So starts stephen kings first collection of short stories, night shift. Stephen king may be known for his doorstopper novels, but hes a hell of a short story writer when he sets his mind to it. Night shift was stephen king s first short story collection, released way back in 1978 and it contains quite a lot of his more popular short stories that ended up becoming movies. The stories carrie, salems lot, and the shining have been successful enough to allow me to write fulltime, which is an agreeable thing to be able to do. His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. Night shift was stephen kings first short story collection, released way back in 1978 and it contains quite a lot of his more popular short stories that ended up becoming movies. I think i enjoyed a lot of them due to my familiarity of king s style and settings.
But the brief stories in his original set, night shift, possess a tightlywound power, an anger and a scabrous comedy that could only come from somebody whose interior monologue consisted of just i will show them. Many of kings most famous short stories were included in the collection. The tales hold up well and will be read well into the future. I read it several times over the years but not recently. Jan 08, 2018 graveyard shift and other stories from night shift stephen king with his tremendous art of storytelling and horror filled plots in most of his books, creates impactful stories and novels that surely cause jawdropping situations for the readers and listeners. In 1980, night shift received the balrog award for best collection, and in. Plot summary the story follows one evening on a place. According to the history taken from nurse vickers, he was twentyeight, employed by an industrial firm in new york, divorced, and the father of three children. Contents cover page title page introduction by john d. Revisiting night shift by richard chizmar stephen king.
Night shift is a collection of short stories from early on in mr. Night shift is the first collection of short stories by stephen king, first published in 1978. Stephen edwin king born september 21, 1947 is an american author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, and fantasy novels. Buy a cheap copy of night shift book by stephen king. My suggestion would be to not include collections like night shift or different seasons since those contain multiple stories however, i would include hearts in atlantas because each story is part of the greater whole. Why you should read stephen kings short story collection, night shift. Weve browsed through a considerable body of work to find the best stephen king short stories. Many of king s most famous short stories were included in. I must put it on my to read list again who can say they didnt love the shawshank redemption taking from the story rita hayworth from this fantastic book. Not sure why that happened when i converted the video. After the guy was dead and the smell of his burning flesh was off the air, we all went back down to the beach.
The story was originally published in the spring 1969 issue of ubris, then in august 1974 issue of cavalier magazine, and was later included in king s own 1978 collection night shift. Sometimes they come back is a premise that we love for a few supernatural thrillers weve been noodling. Originally slated for early may, kings most recent stab at the form will now be available on april 21, 2020. This week, he tackles night shift, kings first compilation of short stories, in which he laid the foundations for some of his greatest work. To communicate with you regarding the services, your purchase andor sale of digital assets directly from payward via the services are final. If that is not scary enough i decided to plunge into a reading of many of king s classic novels and short stories.
I read the short stories from the hardcover book night shift while listening to the audible version narrated by john glover. Stephen king is excellent at short stories, and this was a great collection. Jan 01, 1988 just finished reading the audible book graveyard shift and other stories from night shift by stephen king. Corey had his radio, one of those suitcasesized transistor jobs that take about forty batteries and also make and play tapes.
Night shift received the balrog award for best collection, and in 1979 it was nominated as best collection for the locus award and the world fantasy award. Night shift is my all time favorite of stephen kings book of short stories. Night shift by stephen king 1993, hardcover for sale online. In fact, everything about it screams this is a steve king tale. Henry prize winner, two other award winners, four stories published by the new yorker, and riding the bullet, king s original ebook, which attracted over half a million online readers and became the most famous short story of the decade. So starts stephen king s first collection of short stories, night shift. Graveyard shift and other stories from night shift audiobook. The complete list of the books well be reading can be found on the stephen king books in chronological order for stephen king revisited reading lists page. The prime examples being children of the corn and sometimes they come back. In 1980, night shift received the balrog award for best collection, and in 1979 it was nominated as best collection for the locus award and the world fantasy award.
It contains several excursions into horror that had first appeared in magazines, along with some previously unpublished ones. Its a weird one, but i usually love king s weird stories the best. The mangler the boogeyman gray matter battleground trucks sometimes they come back. The book was released by doubleday in february of 1978. And when i mean bullies i mean classic stephen king bullies, they killed the protagonists. The boogeyman is a short story by stephen king, first published in the march 1973 issue of the magazine cavalier, and later collected in king s 1978 collection night shift.
Ranking stephen kings short story collections horror amino. Strawberry spring is a brilliant atmospheric story written by a then young stephen king. Oct 31, 2019 from stephen king s book night shift, comes the mangler a machine posses that the devil that has a blood thirst. Stephen king and i both turn the dreaded age of 70 years old this year. Todds shortcut night shift skeleton crew stephen king survivor. From hideous rats to vampires and beyond, night shift is about sinister and unspeakable things that could happen only in the dark of night. Not all of the 20 stories in night shift his first short story collection are terribly frightening. If youre in the mood for a short tale that packs a punch, youre in good hands. Night shift night shift stephen king s first collection of stories is an early showcase of the depths that king s wicked imagination could plumb.
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