Book Review: Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

"I want to make you laugh or cry when you read a story... or do both at the same time. I want your heart, in other words. If you want to learn something, go to school."


"I want to make you laugh or cry when you read a story... or do both at the same time. I want your heart, in other words. If you want to learn something, go to school."

Overall, this collection was a winner for me! However, it does not surpass Night Shift - that one is pretty hard to beat, in my opinion. I thought it would be easiest if I just gave a quick overview for my thoughts on each story as there was only 14 in this collection. Nearly all of the stories got 4 or 5 stars from me - only two failed to meet the mark!

Autopsy Room 4 - really great story that made me feel quite claustrophobic and panicked. Loved the ending in particular!! Trust King to come up with that (excuse the pun)! 4.5 stars

The Man in the Black Suit - a lot of people had said how scary this one was, but unfortunately I did not find it scary at all *sad face*, however I still enjoyed the story and execution! A memorable King short. 4 stars

All That You Love Will Be Carried Away - a surprisingly emotional one that made me feel my feelings... one of those stories that really makes you think and will stay with you long after you put down the book. 4.5 stars

The Death of Jack Hamilton - when I started this one I really didn't think I'd like it, but ended up enjoying it a lot more than I anticipated. A nice surprise! 4 stars

In the Death Room - probably my least favourite in the collection, just fell a little flat for me. No doubt I'll forget about this one pretty quickly! 3.5 stars

The Little Sisters of Eluria - well... I was always going to love this one (I can be honest when it comes to me being a bit biased...). It was AMAZING to be back with Roland in Mid-World, the little references to characters like Cort and Susan had me fangirling, as did all the usual Mid-World dialogue. The story was very compelling as a standalone and I was left wanting more! 5 stars

Everything's Eventual - again, a heavily linked Dark Tower story with the inclusion of Dinky Earnshaw, and again, really really enjoyable. 5 stars

LT's Theory of Pets - this was one of my favourites in the collection! I don't really laugh out loud that often when I read, but King has a way of tickling my funny bone and this one had me chuckling along. Then towards the end he starts toying with my emotions out of nowhere!! 5 stars

The Road Virus Heads North - quite a creepy and unsettling story. Would put me off buying anything from a yard sale. Loved it!! 5 stars

Lunch at the Gotham Cafe - this one was pretty crazy and made me feel pretty nervous. Sometimes if I imagine these things happening in real life it just sets me on edge. Situations like this are my worst nightmare - to be trapped somewhere with a complete psycho! *shivers* 4 stars

That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French - King is right, hell is some form of repetition. This story was terrifying in its own way! 4 stars

1408 - one of my most anticipated stories in this collection as the movie is quite popular (I haven't watched it yet, but now I can!). To be honest, I felt a little disappointed by it? It started out quite well and the premise was intriguing, but really didn't go down the route I expected and just wasn't scary like I hoped it would be. Still a good story, but I just wanted more. 4 stars

Riding the Bullet - another one of my favourites in the collection. It was surprisingly emotional for me - I don't know, it was just pushing a lot of my triggers. I guess King's introduction about how it was related to his mother's death just made me view it in a different way. Loved this one! 5 stars

Luckey Quarter - again, not the best story, pretty forgettable, but it wasn't terrible either! 3.5 stars

So that's my King for the month! I might actually end up reading two King's in May, since we have the release of The Outsider to look forward to at the end of the month. How exciting! Overall, I'd give Everything's Eventual 4.5 stars out of 5. A really solid collection, I was impressed!

Johann
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