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Book Review of The Stephen King Collection : Stories from Night Shift

The Stephen King Collection : Stories from Night Shift
reviewed on


It's so unfair to an author that their early work has to be compared to their later--much more eloquent--work, but I guess that's life. This collection pales in comparison to Kings work in the 21st Century, but it is indicative of his work in the 70's and early 80's. Today King's short stories and novels have exhaustive endings, even sometimes including epigraphs. But these stories end abruptly with the kinds of cliff hangers many readers hate. There are truly some real nuggets of inspiration here, and for the King fan this is definitely a must-read if only to experience the early development of a master. But like anyone working on their craft, there are some real clunkers in this batch of stories. Not even remotely on par with Just After Sunset, Full Dark No Stars, or even Everything's Eventual, but still King nevertheless.