Four Past Midnight

I finally finished my 30th Stephen King book, Four Past Midnight. This was a "collection," but unlike most, it consists of four fairly long novellas. "The Langoliers" was 250 pages by itself! I know it comes from a different publishing mindset, but I imagine that these days, each story would have been published separately, instead of a single volume over 750 pages long.

Anyway, I should take each story separately:

The Langoliers - I have never seen the movie, and probably won't anytime soon, having heard a number of negative comments on it, but this story was excellent. The premise of a plane traveling through some kind of rip in time-space, and having only a few survivors wasn't really that original, but the King style makes the book. The characters are excellent, delving into the background of the pilot and the psycho passenger. The little blind girl's fate was especially touching.

Secret Window, Secret Garden - As always, my favorite King stories are about writers. I identify with them better, and I think they are in a sense closer to the heart of Stephen King himself. I did have to take a break from this one because I was trying to read Bag of Bones at the same time...which featured a widowed author, as opposed to a divorced author here, and I was mixing the two up. Anyway, I liked that it included guilt over plagiarism. I think all writers feel it a little bit, since there are rarely any really, truly new ideas out there. I almost tossed one of my best story ideas in disgust when the movie Jumper came out, with a very similar idea. Not that I stole it, or they did...but we are all influenced. Here, of course, the idea is carried to a psychotic degree, where the author has a breakdown when his work is said to be similar to another's. Very good story.

The Library Policeman - Maybe the most twisted story I have ever read. Not as purely horrific as some of his others, like Pet Sematary, but definitely twisted, and in a graphic way. The irony for me is that I love the library. It's always been one of my favorite places since I was very, very young (I had a library card by age 4) and still is. In fact, I spent an hour there just today, on my day off work. The atmosphere, and all the books impart a peacefulness to me. So, having it be partly the setting of a horror tale is as backwards as can be.

The Sun Dog - Not one of my favorite stories, honestly, but even within the weird plot of a paranormal camera, the reason I love King's writing stands out in the father's story. He feels he has to tell his son why he doesn't trust Pop, and the whole backstory of his bet and loan, and working extra shifts at the sawmill to save his marriage...that whole episode saved the story. I don't know who else would think to include that sort of detail on a secondary character. That's why I can't think of an author I consider superior to Stephen King.