- Hardcover
- Publisher: Random House (a); Har/Cas edition (February 1986)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0871883287
- ISBN-13: 978-0871883285
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), 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. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
From Publishers 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," PW observed.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read.,
By ZappBranigan (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Skeleton Crew (Hardcover)
I've read most of the stories in this book and can safely say that this is a very diverse collection of stories from King (with whom I am a fan). Each story has its own little something to bring to the table and each story has its good points. But by far the best story in this book would have to be The Mist. I really wish King had spent more time on that and turned it into a novel, it would've been a killer book.The Mist creates the creepiest and most frightening atmospheres of all the stories in the book. I'll give you an idea of how creepy this story was. I was working overtime at my town's community centre where the local high school was having their prom. It was basically a babysitting job so I brought Skeleton Crew to read while the kids had their fun. I picked The Mist to read and finished it over the course of the evening. When I first arrived there, ahead of the kiddies, it was a clear day and sunny outside. By the time I left it was dark and a fog bank had rolled in (...creepy). I RAN to my car and locked the doors as soon as i got in. That's the level of creepiness this story has. Some other good stories are Gramma; suspenseful and creepy but could've been longer, and The Raft; kind of a B-Movie type of horror.
5.0 out of 5 stars
the mist...super scary,
By A Customer
This review is from: Skeleton Crew (Mass Market Paperback)
wow - this book has some of the creepiest stories ever..the mist especially so..don't read it at night when you are home alone!
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Few Low Points, But Mainly Great Stuff,
By Mike Lake (Bellevile, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Skeleton Crew (Mass Market Paperback)
I guess there's something for everyone in "Skeleton Crew," - or at least for most people. The book contains a few tales where, as King himself puts it in one of his other short-story anthologies, "things happen just because they happen." In other words, impossible (or maybe just improbable) things become possible, and even frequent. Stories like this in "Skeleton Crew" include "The Mist," "Here There Be Tygers" and "The Raft."Interestingly enough, these are three of my favourites. I was a bit disappointed by the end of "The Mist," with a proper ending and more detail in between, it could've been a standalone novella. As it is, the ending leaves a lot - too much, in my opinion - to the imagination. We want to know what happens in the end, but that's largely unexplained. Still, it's a great story. "The Raft" is simply King at his gruesome, unforgiving best. Stories like "Here There Be Tygers" and "Cain Rose Up" held my interest, but at the end I found myself thinking "What's he trying to say with this?" In my opinion, there are no outright stinkers in the bunch, although I would say my least favourite is the sci-fi attempt "Beachworld." Another that I liked less was "The Reach." On the other hand, my favourite story of all is the other one with a sci-fi feel, called "The Jaunt." Some have called it a cautionary tale, I call it just plain brilliant. In my opinion, it's got some of the funnier moments of the whole book, but these are contrasted with some of the most frightening, which is what makes the story superior. Highly recommend it. In fact I highly recommend the whole collection.
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