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Nightmares & Dreamscapes
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...I do believe in spooks!...
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Nightmares & Dreamscapes
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Nightmares & Dreamscapes marks the third true Stephen King short story collection. Released in 1993, this volume is larger than both previous volumes (1978's Night Shift and 1985's Skeleton Crew), yet is also less coherant than the others. Not to say N&D is a bad collection; far from that, it contains quite a few interesting stories, and is interesting in comparison to King's earlier shorter works. Yet, bot Night Shift and Skeleton Crew (moreso in the latter) feel more complete, more rounded. N&D seems less a full volume (despite its size) and more a jumble of stories thrown together. The problem may lie in the collective theme. Night Shift is largely about desperate people in desperate situations. Skeleton Crew revolves around a single interrogative ("Do you love?") for a large chunk of the stories. N&D focuses on the inexplicable happening for no reason whatsoever. King has certainly explored these themes before (see "Trucks," or "Here There Be Tygers"), but sometimes the lack of explanation is frustrating here. Also, though excessive length works in King's favor in his novels, his short stories suffer for it. Several stories here could have been sufficiently trimmed down: "Chattery Teeth," "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band," "The Ten O'Clock People."
A good collection, and a worthy book, but it's simply not as powerful as the previous collections.
Dolan's Cadillac
This Poe hommage to "The Cask of Amontillado" is a dark, spiraling scare that goes a little too into detail. Robinson, the avenging main character, is drawn well -- the reasoning behind his anger, and, eventually his madness, is understandale. What makes this sory so scary is the real-worl aspect: King even goes into rudimentary mathematics to describe in deatail how and when trapping a Cadillac underground would be feasable. And the end confrontation between Robinson and Dolan is pure terror. This is a strong story, but as a lead-off to a collection, it doesn't particularly hold up under the strain. It lives in its own pocket -- a great story that may have worked better in the middle of this long, long book.
The End of the Whole Mess
A truly terrific tale any way you look at it. In tone if not length, it is like a short novel, utilizing both King's scare tactics and his knack at human interaction. Bobby Fornoy and his genius brother Howard (known as "Bow Wow") share perhaps the most touching bond between any King siblings (some reservations may be made for Bill and George Denbrough of It), and the uncommon (for King) sci-fi background make this tale a special one. The gimmick of the main character's encroaching senility doesn't play off as a gimmick -- it works well. In the end, this is a fine, devastating tale of man's good will gone horribly wrong.
Suffer the Little Children
Horror, through and through. There are no issues of higher emotion here -- we are experiencing a tale either of monsters taking over schoolchildren or the kids' teacher losing her mind. Either way, this makes for a freak-show story, with a downbeat and gripping ending.
The Night Flier
King does well with vampire tales, and this is no exception. This is fast-paced and somehow gritty -- very meat-and-potatoes King. The only real problem is that the main character, Richard Dees, is sort of a snot; it's hard to like him in any way until the end. This detracts from both the horror and human side of the story, although curiously, I'd like to read another tale with Dees in a starring role. Go figure.
It Grows on You
No, it doesn't. I have not read the original version of this story, which had nothing to do with Castle Rock, so I can't compare the two. I can say, however, that this version comes across as exceptionally boring, leaving the horror aspect of the story by the wayside. The clincher at the end may have worked in the original, but it's subdued and beside the point here. I hope King does at least one more Castle Rock tale, if only to wash away the taste left by this one.
Popsy
This is what I mean when I say King does well with vampire tales. The up-front story, that of a child's kidnapping, is scary enough: seeing into the kidnapper's mind and the way he rationalizes his actions is disturbing. The clincher at the end, when the boy's Popsy comes, is scary and exhilerating. For one of the first times, you root for the vampires. Good story.
Chattery Teeth
This is an odd story. It revolves around a man named Bill Hogan, and the enchanted Chattery Teeth he buys at a roadside gas station. The problem is, Hogan is far more interesting than the Teeth, which come alive to take vengeance on a violent hitchhiker. I would have liked to read more of Hogan, and how he defeated the hithhiker. The Chattery Teeth, though they are the point of the story, are distracting and troubling. Still, the first half is real good.
Dedication
King's most ... disgusting story is also one of his most touching. It is about a maid in a large New York hotel, and what she does for the good of her son, a writer. Do not read this story during dinner, but do read it -- it's one of King's best.
The Moving Finger
When I first read this story, I didn't like it. On the re-read, however, I found it ... hilarious! A supernatural story that happens for no reason whatsoever, with the eerie, aptly used Jeopardy! playing in the background. We suffer with Howard Milta, and we understand his pain. But we're laughing the entire way.
Sneakers
A bothersome tale, because it should be better than it is. It shares the problem "The Night Flier" has -- a main character who isn't very desirable. Still, the appearance of the sneakers in the bathroom stall (and the flies that accompany them) is eerie; also, Tell's almost compulsive need to see the sneakers and discover why they;re there recalls Paul Sheldon's musings on "the gotta" in Misery. Though interesting, the story is far from compelling, and the end (while violent and scary) leaves a bit to be desired. I was disappointed.
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
I did not like this story. The first half (though, now seems to be a predecessor to Desperation) is slow and boring; the second half more upsetting and disturbing than scary. It's just weird to see real famous people become sadistic dead folk. The idea is great, the practicew of it wasn't so good.
Home Delivery
A great story involving zombies and the undead and the refusal to be beaten (and eaten) by them. Maddie Pace is one of King's best female characters, because in the course of this short story, we see her grow from an indecisive wallflower to a strong, independant woman. In ways, this resembles The Stand, a favorable comparison.
Rainy Season
Like "The Moving Finger," this one happens for no explicable reason. Unlike that previous story, this one is truly scary. The rain of killer, sharp-toothed toads is quite disturbing, as is the townspeoples' insistance on ritual. Classic King (if I can use an overused phrase) -- scary, involving, and immensely well-written.
My Pretty Pony
This was to be the opening chapter of an aborted Bachman novel, and it feels like it. The main point of this story is a grandfather's gentle wisdom to his grandson -- the fact that time is a pony, and when the pony kicks down its fences, your time has run out. But the exchange doesn't come across as sentimental, just out-of-place -- and the remaider of this dark story is disturbing to read (in a bad way.) I can't really reccomend this.
Sorry, Right Number
This is intersting and fun -- a story in a teleplay format. It's something that actually reads well (and was King's first published screen script.) I've seen the episode that was made from this, and I have to say I actually enjoy King's darker ending better -- ghoulish and creepy. Reccomended!
The Ten O'Clock People
Easily the worst story in the collection (if not all King collections), this one goes from bad to worse as the characters lose cohesion and the tale falls flat. I hated this story. Hated hated hated hated hated hated this story. I've never said that about a King story before, and have found good things in bad places. But this is the worst thing King has ever published; stay far away.
Crouch End
Ah, back to good stuff, this time recalling the previous King tale "Jerusalem's Lot." This Lovecraftian tale of things taking a turn into another dimension in a small British village is scary and dark. It's also fun to see King use British lingo; this fun, however, belies the truly terrifying ending ... and the creepy feeling one is left with at the end.
The House on Maple Street
Battling for best story prize (with "Umney's Last Case" being the only other of its caliber), this is a scary science fiction(y) story with one of King's most optimistic endings. The Bradbury children (the surname is not accidental) are beset upon by their mean stepfather, a brute of a man who yells, bullies, and frightens. The kids are more worried for their mom than themselves, as she now had headaches all the time. But one day, the youngest discovers that something is growing within the structure of the house. What it is and how it does its job complete this finely told, brilliantly crafted story of hope and redemption.
The Fifth Quarter
This is surprising -- a dark, gritty crime tale that's both entertaining and upsetting. There isn't really a deep plot here; several men once buried a lot of stolen money on an island, and divided the map of the island into four quarters. The main character has discovered this, conveniently after his friend has been murdered. The bulk of the story involves our guy trying to locate the rest of the map and stay alive -- not necessarily in that order. Interesting note: this was originally published under King's only known pseudonym besides Bachman: John Swithen.
The Doctor's Case
King's Sherlock Holmes story. As always, he makes this his own by having Watson figure out the mystery instead of Holmes for once. The story is enjoyable, despite its somewhat heavy reliance on near misses; the mystery itself is very cleverly trumped up, and the ending is satisfying. (No, I will NOT tell you who did it!)
Umney's Last Case
Arguably the very best story in this volume, "Umney's Last Case" is one of those fecudantly produced King tales about writers and writing. It is also a Raymond Chandler pastiche -- he steals names, characters, and even tone. You won't begrudge him of the fact because it's the entire point of the story. An excellent wonderment of a writer's relationship and responsibility to his characters, and what happens when his characters' lives are better than his own. A true detective tale with twist, concluding darkly (and, many may say, justly.) You will like this!!!
Head Down
I hesitate to review or critique this, as I am not a baseball fan and did not enjoy this lengthy nonfition piece. Whether or not you have to enjoy America's Sport to enjoy "Head Down" is a matter of opinion, but in this reader's eyes, the baseball account isn't all that much more exciting than baseball itself. My opinion -- I cannot judge this one.
Now, though I've stated that I'm not a fan of baseball, this elegaic free verse closer is quite moving, and is maybe King's best poem (the serious challengers are "Paranoid" and "The Dark Man"). It is written seemingly through a teenager's eyes, one who loves the game and wants to remember everything about it. Sweet, sort of sad -- a melancholy way to end the collection proper.
The Beggar and the Diamond
This was cool -- a surprise parable after the "Notes" section. Apparently, this is an old Hindu tale, now retold by King, which entertains an ending which the reader must answer him/herself. Lightly told, in its way, but the subject matter is thought-provoking, and was a good way to wrap the whole of Nightmares & Dreamscapes up.
To return to the top...
Nightmares & Dreamscapes came out in three volumes, the first simultaneous to the book's release. Read by a host of authors (including Kathy Bates, Jerry Garcia, Matthew Broderick, and King himself), this audio adaption is unabridged and still available. (Personally, I've just begun this one, but I can say that Bates is doing a good job on "Chattery Teeth."