Four Past Midnight

The hardback I received looks practically brand new. Can’t wait to read it.

Another Stephen King masterpiece. All 4 stories were very well written. King gives you all the details you need to imagine these characters as if they are real and to see everything happening. Even if you've seen the movie "Secret Window" staring Johnny Depp I strongly urge you to read this. His books are 100% better than any of the movies of his work (even though Johnny Depp did an outstanding job in his role of Mort Rainey).

In "The Langoliers," a handful of people fall alseep on an airplane...they then wake up in a world without life, still in the plane. It is full of great characterization and suspense, along with a few twists! A personal favorite. In "Secret Window, Secret Garden," a writer, Mort, is accused of plagerism...this story turns into much more than that, however. It's really shocking, and hard to call if you haven't see the movie (Secret Window). In "The Library Policeman," the main character (can't recall the man) is haunted by his childhood fear of "the library policeman". However, that fear is rational...for the Library Policeman...is real! In "The Sun Dog," Keven gets a camera with a haunting effect..it has the picture of a a dog slowly moving. Very haunting and creeping, with a masterful ending!!!! "Four Past Midnight" is a collection of novellas that are all amazing. HOWEVER, please note that the reader must be able to stretch his mind in all cases, as many of the stories are unrealistic. However, all of them are really horror and truly amazing. GO STEPHEN KING!

If you're a Stephen King fan, this is a must read. Its four novellas that take you on very different rides, all ending at the same junction: death and an acceptance of that not all things can be explained. My favorite is the Langoliers. I've read this book a long time ago and have still remembered each story. I am now hunting through my bookshelves to find it so I can reread! If this is your genre, then you should get it.

Although I must admit, I haven't read the other stories yet, and I stress YET, I was very impressed by the Langoliers! Man, what a cool book! I loved the whole idea of a group of strangers thrown into an adventure they have no control over! And just what are the Langoliers... woah! They were so cool! For those of you who didn't know, there is a movie by the same name! If you enjoyed the book as much as I, then you'll love the movie. Its a very good adaption!

The shorter Stephen King keeps his stories, the better they often are. "Four Past Midnight" is very effective because he doesn't have room for unnecessary flourishes and simply sticks to the story. The first of the four stories, "The Langoliers," is one of his most imaginative and all time best. The other three stories are also quite good. Frankly, King would be an even better writer if he told all of his stories with the economy of words that he gives the tales in "Four Past Midnight."