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"A master storyteller at his best--the O. Henry Prize winner Stephen King delivers a generous collection of stories, several of them brand-new, featuring revelatory autobiographical comments on when, why, and how he came to write (or rewrite) each story. Since his first collection, Nightshift, published thirty-five years ago, Stephen King has dazzled readers with his genius as a writer of short fiction. In this new collection he assembles, for the first time, recent stories that have never been published in a book. He introduces each with a passage about its origins or his motivations for writing it. There are thrilling connections between stories; themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. "Afterlife" is about a man who died of colon cancer and keeps reliving the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again. Several stories feature characters at the end of life, revisiting their crimes and misdemeanors. Other stories address what happens when someone discovers that he has supernatural powers--the columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries in "Obits;" the old judge in "The Dune" who, as a boy, canoed to a deserted island and saw names written in the sand, the names of people who then died in freak accidents. In "Morality," King looks at how a marriage and two lives fall apart after the wife and husband enter into what seems, at first, a devil's pact they can win. Magnificent, eerie, utterly compelling, these stories comprise one of King's finest gifts to his constant reader--"I made them especially for you," says King. "Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.""-- "From a master of the short story, a collection that includes stories never before in print, never published in America, never collected and brand new- with the magnificent bones of interstitial autobiographical comments on when, why and how Stephen King came to write each story"--… (more)
User reviews
King introduces every short story with an anecdotal
Bazaar of Bad Dreams does contain a few nasties though: Obits combines humour, discomfort and the digital media in an unbeatable medley; Mile 81 is vintage King, full of mechanical malevolence, and The Little Green God of Agony will resonate strongly with anyone who has chronic pain.
This collection reflects the fact Stephen King has lived his life to the full, exploring topics like old age, music, addiction, morality, and mortality. But don’t expect a relaxing read – as the author himself says of his stories: “The best of them have teeth”.
The Dune
This is a book of short stories. Each one is prefaced with an introduction in which King discusses when it was written, the story behind how he came up with the ideas in the story, how it reflects on other work he has written and a host of other observations. There are also some insightful thoughts on writing as an art and a craft and how other writers have influenced this authors work.
There is something for everyone in this collection and for those who enjoy short stories and can appreciate the difficulty in this style of writing, those readers will be richly rewarded. There are also great lessons for writers and this book is like having a master class in short fiction at hand.
Among my favorites, and there were many because very few of the stories in this volume fall short of the mark, were the following:
“Bad Little Kid” - the quintessential story of an imp whose lifelong mission is the commission of trouble for one man.
“Mile 81” - for those that enjoyed “Christine” a different take on a car as evil.
“Afterlife”- a meditation on dying and reincarnation
“Ur” - for anyone who loves books and believes e-readers are the devil's tool, this one is thoroughly wonderful! It makes me love my Nook even more. I am waiting to find the Ur menu and archive!!
“Blockade Billy” - for the baseball and sports buffs.
“Mister Yummy” - a great snapshot of old age and the world of AIDS. And yes, Mr. King, you're right...you don't have to be gay to write well and with insight and respect about the gay experience. Bravo!
“Tommy” - one of two poems that King included in this volume.
“Obits” - a secret power that we sometimes we wish we might possess but could also spell disaster.
“Drunken Fireworks” - are there any other kind? I laughed all the way through this one. It is such a true observation of human beings and the way they interact. And drink! And light off fireworks!
I was given this book as a gift and what a wonderful gift. I read as often as possible. Many times late at night and there were at least a few nights when I could barely keep my eyes open but I didn't want to put the book down. I had to wrest it from my partners hands. She is a King reader from way back and now that I am not obsessing about her ruining it for me, she can finally get her hands on it. She did manage to sneak in one story and keeps asking “Are you done yet?”
Readers who love Stephen King won't be disappointed and readers who are not normally King readers, I encourage you to explore him as a writer. You will be pleasantly surprised and probably a convert. The good news? King has a huge volume of work so converts will not have to wait impatiently for the next book. We have a lot of catching up to do!
“Batman and Robin Have an Altercation” is a heartfelt story of a man visiting his father who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and the unexpected turn that a road rage incident takes. “Morality” is an insightful study of the lure that sin can sometimes have on mankind. “Herman Wouk is Still Alive” was a truly depressing but fascinating tale made more so as it was based on a true incident. Although “Under the Weather” didn’t have a surprise ending as you could see it coming almost from the start, it was such a sad, moving tale. “The Little Green God of Agony” was a truly scary story with a perfect ending. In my opinion, “Summer Thunder” was one of the most touching apocalypse stories I’ve ever read.
I also very much enjoyed that each story was preceded by a short commentary written by the author as to his inspiration for the story. While these comments were geared toward other authors, they gave a lot of insight into the author’s work.
Mr. King packs a lot of punch into each tightly drawn short story and I enjoyed each and every one of them. As usual with his work, the book went by much too quickly. Fortunately, he’s a prolific author and his next book is due in less than a year. Highly recommended to those who enjoy O’Henry-type books with a bite.
Here, with The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, King collects some stories published elsewhere, from Blockade Billy, which was published as a novella in 2010, to Ur, which he wrote as a kindle single. [Ur] was, by far, my favorite in the collection, because of the premise of the story, in which a college professor orders a kindle and receives the wrong kind, one which gives the owner the option of downloading books by authors from parallel universes, of which there are millions. So in one ur, Hemingway didn't write [The Sun Also Rises], but did write two novels he didn't write in this ur, and you could download those two novels for a few dollars each. Of course, this being King, the magical kindle has a distinct downside.
I enjoyed the stories in this collection, and while there are stories I'll remember more than others, there wasn't a dud in the book.
Mile 81 is classic King, a good, ol' horror story, with monsters and gore and brave children. Some, like Drunken Fireworks, are more about the nature of people.
I love how Mr. King explained how he came to write each story, what and who influenced it. To me, those pages were as entertaining as the stories.
Anyone familiar with Stephen King's writing (and who isn't to some degree?) knows he can write big doorstopper books. This book of stories shows again that he is just as talented with shorter tales.
"Blockade Billy". I wrote it May of 2010 when it was released as a book (!!!), "I would give 1/2 a star for the value of this book. At a cover price of $14.99 it is waaaay over priced!" I felt at the time it was a short story that was sold to us King addicts at a ridiculous price! And it is only 40 pages in this collection! We got totally ripped off back then! Is that any way to treat us Constant Readers? Gee whiz man, how much money is enough!
Ok, rant done. I actually adore "Blockade Billy" and am just grumpy that I got gouged. It's a great story, and this is a great collection, even the Kindle advertisement! Keep writing them Uncle Stevie, and I'll keep reading them! But as for buying them... well, this was the first new King book I didn't buy! Thanks public library!
Since his first collection, Nightshift, published thirty-five years ago, Stephen King has dazzled readers with his genius as a writer of short fiction. In this new collection he assembles, for the first time, recent stories that have never been published in a book. He introduces
My Thoughts:
An absolutely excellent collection of short stories...an enjoyable gift to all Stephen King fans. But be aware that like all collective things there will be some the reader absolutely loves...some that are just okay...and some that the reader could have just by-passed and some people will do just that. No matter what your likes and dislikes about this offering you will have to agree that King is still the master of the macabre. He should write a story about leaving his brain and imagination to science. 4 stars because I liked more than i didn't.