whispering is so irritating!

it's a great book, and I loved listening to it. but I really need to point out to you that if the narrator whispers, I have to turn my volume way up to hear it. then the next line is normal voice, or even yelling, and my ears ring!!! volume balancing is a thing, ppl.

68 people found this helpful

How to get 100% Enjoyment from This "Book"

First off, believe the hype - this collection of short stories is worth your credit and more. I am thoroughly pleased with the stories and selection.

I am also very pleased to have little snippets between each story, told to us from Mr. King as well, because it really is great to hear his insight into his writing process, thought process and all of that.

The ONLY downfall (and the only reason i gave the Overall a 4 star) is that the comments on each story should come AFTER the story is finished. The reason is that he often gives away plot points, some minor - others major, about the story you are about to listen to. After the third or fourth time i decided to skip his comments and then come back to them after i listened to the story. It made the process much better and if the book audiobook was produced that way it would be 5 star for sure.

26 people found this helpful

HE'S A CUP OF COFFEE

COULD YOU GET ARRESTED FOR DRUNK BIKING?
If you have read any of my reviews on any of King's work, than you have heard me say this before, but it is so true in these stories. King writes stories about characters, about people. Lots of his books, have very little horror in them. They seem terrifying, because of the investment you have in the characters. Another writer might come up with more terrifying situations, but if you don't care about the people in the story, it is not as scary. I am constantly amazed in King's ability to look into the human mind and tear out, those items which are uncomfortable. For instance in one story, a guy's wife dies in a local convenience store. He is sad and he did love his wife, but at the same time, he is wondering what females will give him sympathy sex.

The stories
I read lot of anthologies and story collections. I actually prefer them. It is amazing what a good writer can fit into a small story and the wow factor is usually bigger than in a novel. If a story is bad, than I don't have that much time invested until I get to another story. Most collections have two or three really good stories, some good stories and several bad stories. This collection has an unusual amount of really good stories. Only two stories did I not care for and one of them was a poem. Mile 81, is typical King. No one does 8 to 12 year old boys better than King. Add to that a car that eats people. Premium Harmony, may dwell too much into reality to be comfortable for most. The Dune, has one of those surprise endings, you can only get in a short story. A Death, is a heart rending Western. Morality, makes you wonder, could that be me, in that situation? Herman Wouk Is Still Alive, is a good look at how the other half lives. It always amazes me that King, who has been rich and famous for so long, still can write about the down and out so well. Under The Weather, will stay in my mind for years. The horror in this story is, I know people who can lie to themselves that convincingly. I am not a big baseball fan, much more a football fan, but I loved Blockade Billy. I love a period piece with the language of the time and profession. It was very entertaining. Batman and Robin,hit my heart hard as, my mother died of Alzheimer's in October. Obits, really made me think. As a pet lover with an elderly dog, I teared up during Summer Thunder. All book lovers and anyone with favorite authors should love Ur. But that's not all.

Narrators
These are some of the best in the field. I am a huge fan of Will Patton and he reads two stories. Who ever did Blockade Billy made that story ten times better to listen to than read. The very first story Mile 81 is read in a slow monotone and needed to be put on 2x, but the rest were true professionals and made listening better than reading.

Genre
I agree with another reviewer, these are not very scary. They are more human interest stories. They are great writings on subjects that are hard to categorize. Be warned these stories include lots of sex, violence, bad language and some gore. I will think about some of these for a long time, but I will not have any nightmares over them.

191 people found this helpful

Loved it

A breakdown of the book story by story:

Mile 81- Strange things can happen on a deserted stretch of road. 5 stars

Premium Harmony- One minute they are fighting, the next she is gone. 5 stars

Batman and Robin have an Altercation- Love is thicker than dementia. 5 stars

The Dune- your fate is written in the sand. 3 stars

Bad little kid- A "bad little kid" is sabotaging his life. Is he crazy?

A Death- I cant remember this one.

The Bone Church. - A poem. 2 stars

Morality- Such a little act for so much money! Is it worth it? 5 stars

Afterlife- an investment banker confronts his life after death. 4 stars

Ur- He discovers his kindle can tell him the future. 5 stars

Herman Wouk is Still Alive- depression is serious business! 5 stars

Under the Weather- Brad is a busy advertising rep. His wife is under the weather, but that's ok she is going to be better any day now. 5 stars

Blockade Billy - About Baseball. Meh.

Mister Yummy- Who will come for you when its your time? 4 stars

Tommy- A poem. Meh again.

The Little Green God of Agony- what if Agony was a living breathing thing living inside you? 5 stars

That Bus is another world- How responsible are we for the things that happen to a stranger? 4 stars

Obits- He writes the obit, and the person dies. 5 stars

Drunken Fireworks- a fireworks competition gets bit out of control. 4 stars.

Summer Thunder- its the end of the world. 4 stars.

Overall a fantastic read with some amazing narrators, and a book I would definitely recommend to a friend. 5 stars!

128 people found this helpful

Doesn't Belong in the Horror Genre

This is a really nice collection, but it doesn't belong in the Horror Genre. I realize that it is almost automatic to assume that "because it was written by THE ONE AND ONLY Stephen King", that it must be horror. Well I disagree. I've read quite a bit of King's work over the last 30 years, and what I've noticed is that the older he gets, the more his stories revolve around the issue of mortality. These stories range from "it was okay" to "wow, that was amazing". but the one thing that I believe holds true, is that these are not the type of stories the man used to write. While listening to this book, I found myself hoping that the next one would send chills down my spine. Well I'm almost through the book and "no such luck". I don't want to take anything away from this collection, as the stories are truly heart-warming. I also know that horror is somewhat relative to the perceptions of the reader. So I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. But to me, this is not Horror. Thanks for reading my review.

130 people found this helpful

Mediocre - some good stories some just really bad

This is a collection of short stories. Some of them were really lame and made no sense whatsoever. It was like filler for a book. Some stories were really good and was typical Stephen King. All in all, it was just 'meh' and don't think it was worth the purchase.

5 people found this helpful

A Little Supernatural, Horror, and Insight

Stephen King likens himself to a midnight street vendor peddling his tales, and if nightmares are what you seek than his short story collection “Bazaar of Bad Dreams,” delivers. This is an eclectic collection of some old favorites and new consisting of some real-life horrors, amazing supernatural fantasy, and even poetry Stephen King style. What makes these stories even more interesting, especially the Audio version, is each story is preceded by a few words of insight and inspiration from the author himself.
The ensemble cast of narrators does a great job bringing each story to life; which may or may not be a good thing since they are from Stephen King..

90 people found this helpful

A great collection!

SK's short stories are generally fantastic. This collection is a very good one--not his best--but better than the vast majority of short story collections. The various narrators are generally very good; a few voices grated but that is probably personal preference.

Dune, Obits, Ur, and Afterlife are some of the best in this collection.

This collection offers something somewhat new from SK, for me at least--Narrative Poems. I think there were poems in another collection (Skeleton Crew?), but none that I am aware of in the last 30 years or so. They seem to be a bit controversial among King fans, but I loved The Bone Church and Tommy.

4 people found this helpful

A good KING read.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is variable, so I guess there is something for everyone who may like suspense with a twinge of horror.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr. Yummy. I wish this was a real character and that we could actually choose our avatars who come close to us as death nears our souls.

Any additional comments?

Most of this collection is very good. A select few stories are excellent. A couple of stories didn't do anything for me. All in all, with the varied cast performances, this was a good collection.

3 people found this helpful

This Book is a Bad Dream

I have long thought that Stephen King runs hot and cold; this book is a definite sub-zero.

After the first few dreary tales, I figured that I could stick it out, that maybe there was a story or two in here that would make the slog worthwhile, but I've been driven off by narrator Brooke Bloom, about four stories in. Her shrieking delivery is unbearable and I no longer care if there's a decent offering in this lengthy lot.

And all the five-star reviews? Low bar.

2 people found this helpful