|
In the introduction
to Skeleton Crew, his second collection of
stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for
"literary elephantiasis," makes scatological
jokes about his muse, confesses how much
money he makes (gross and net), and tells a
story about getting arrested one time when
he was "suffused with the sort of towering,
righteous rage that only drunk
undergraduates can feel." He winds up with
an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto
my arm now. Hold tight. We are going into a
number of dark places, but I think I know
the way." And he sure does. Skeleton Crew
contains a superb short novel ("The Mist")
that alone is worth the price of admission,
plus two forgettable poems and 20 short
stories on such themes as an evil toy
monkey, a human-eating water slick, a
machine that avenges murder, and unnatural
creatures that inhabit the thick woods near
Castle Rock, Maine. The short tales range
from simply enjoyable to surprisingly good.
In addition to "The Mist," the real standout
is "The Reach," a beautifully subtle story
about a great-grandmother who was born on a
small island off the coast of Maine and has
lived there her whole life. She has never
been across "the Reach," the body of water
between island and mainland. This is the
story that King fans give to their friends
who don't read horror in order to show them
how literate, how charming a storyteller he
can be. Don't miss it.
|
|
Susan Bolotin - New York Times
Skeleton Crew, a fat collection of short fiction and two
forgettable poems, as indiscriminate in its assemblage as
its author can be with words, shows off Mr. King's virtues
and failings. . . . Mr. King is a real talent: his scary
tales are fun to read and, I would argue, accurate gauges of
our deepest nightmares.
Publisher's Weekly
This hefty sampler of King's shorter works, from all
stages of the horror master's career, demonstrates the range
of his abilities. Some of the stories here rank among his
best, and ``even the less successful ones are fun. |
