Graveyard Shift & other stories from Night Shift by Stephen King

[katekintailbc]

Graveyard Shift & other stories from Night Shift
by Stephen King
(Audio)
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6498898

I just finished listening to Gray Matters and Other Stories from Night Shift and was rooting through my sea of audiobooks for my next listen when I came upon this one! Naturally I HAD to listen to it immediately. Now I have two-thirds of the book finished! :-)

I didn't like this collection of stories nearly as much as Gray Matter, though. Most were interesting and had psychological elements to them, but no outside/supernatural anything. It was almost like they put all the weakest stories together in one collection. Why would they do that?

Graveyard Shift- A story about some men cleaning the basement of a building. They encounter some extremely fierce, mutant rats & bats and it becomes more of a psychological struggle and a test of nerves as men and boss venture further in. The end was all right but a bit disappointing (reminded me of the ending in the short story, Gray Matter). Still, it was a great story to start with. Definitely set a good mood.

The Man Who Loved Flowers- This one was especially strange. No extra elements, just a guy who likes flowers and buys them for his sweetheart. Except... about his sweetheart... well...

The Last Rung on the Ladder- Perhaps my favorite story of the bunch, because it's powerful and touching. Also no special supernatural stuff-- no real horror elements, either. Just a man reflecting back to the time when he and his sister were young and jumping from the rafters in the barn... until the ladder breaks and his sister's life hangs in the balance. This story actually made me tear up.

Night Surf- Very short and very much like The Stand... only not as interesting or unique. I really like the characterization of the main guy, though. Very realistic. And the last lines are perfection.

Jerusalem's Lot- Having read 'Salem's Lot I thought I knew what I was in for. I thought maybe this was the inspirational story that started that novel (which wasn't my favorite of his, either, but who doesn't like a good vampire story?) So this shocked me when it went in a slightly different direction. The writing was gorgeous, though. Great vocab & word choice and it's a period piece so it flows out beautifully. A pleasure to listen to. It's told in a series of letters, diary entries, and documents.