Not a bad collection, but nowhere near his best, but this also makes sense when you understand the context, which was, King had all but stopped writing short stories for a bit, then, with this collection, found his way back to them.

The result is a mixed bag, with quite a few of them falling into one of two (sometimes both) categories.

Category 1: Horrible imagination
This one includes
Willa
Harvey's Dream
Rest Stop
Stationary Bike
N.

Category 2: The dead make themselves known
This one includes
Willa (again)
The Things They Left Behind
The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates

The rest are split between weird supernatural stuff (Cat From Hell, Ayana) and crazy killers (Gingerbread Girl, Graduation Afternoon, Mute, A Very Tight Place)

For me, the two standouts were N. and The Things They Left Behind, though The New York Times one and Gingerbread Girl had some things to love about them.

Overall, it feels like an author finding his footing, and I truly think this is what King was doing. Ain't nothing wrong with that. ( )

I really enjoy King's short-story collections and I'm glad he's back with another one. Covering all manner of subjects, it's a great read. ( )

I've enjoyed reading King's novels for decades now. But I always get a special pleasure from reading his short story collections. They're all wonderful page turners and this one is no different. A completely captivating collection. ( )

"N" is the highlight of this collection. It's one of King's best -- eerie, disturbing, and it lingers long after the final page. Loved it.

The other stories range from enjoyable to passable. It makes sense that, as King indicates in the book's opening, many of these stories were written as he was getting back into writing shorts. Some stories, like "Harvey's Dream", feel like idea exercises. But other stories, like "Mute", are chilling in that way only King can evoke. And other stories ("The Cat From Hell" and "A Very Tight Place" feel like old-school King in the best way). ( )

This is a collection of King's short stories, all but one of which have been previously published in various magazines. As usual with any story collection, there is a variation of quality. Or, I guess I should say, a variation in how much I liked them. They are all quality tales. A couple are sort of sweet, even though they deal with death. (I could think of worse afterlives than spending my time dancing, although I'd prefer a different music selection than what they have in "Willa"). Some seemed like they could easily make episodes of Twilight Zone. A couple bored me. I prefer my horror supernatural, and some of these tales are not that. They're scary- "Gingerbread Girl" is a very tense tale of a lone woman being pursued by a serial killer- but not to my taste. Oddly, the one that made my skin crawl with horror wasn't a supernatural tale. The last story in the book, "A Very Tight Place" is a revenge story- one where the main character is trapped inside a Porta-Potty. This just happened to hit on one of my personal phobias. I give the book 3.5 stars. ( )