Skeleton Crew

King, Stephen

ISBN 10: 0708829163 / ISBN 13: 9780708829165

Published by Time Warner Paperbacks, 1991

About this Item

Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned.

Seller Inventory # wbs6521700258

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Skeleton Crew
• Publisher: Time Warner Paperbacks
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0708829163
• ISBN 13: 9780708829165
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 320 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A collection of horror stories, including the tale of "Gramma", who only wanted to hug little George - even after she was dead. Among the other stories is one about a primeval sea creature with an insatiable appetite and the tale of an innocent-looking toy with sinister powers.

Review

In the introduction to Skeleton Crew, his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses how much money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about getting arrested once when he was "suffused with the sort of towering, righteous rage that only drunk undergraduates can feel." He winds up with an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto my arm now. Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way."

And he certainly does. Skeleton Crew contains a superb novella ("The Mist") that alone is worth the price of admission, plus two forgettable poems and 20 short stories on such themes as an evil toy monkey, a human-eating water slick, a machine that avenges murder, and unnatural creatures that inhabit the thick woods near Castle Rock, Maine. The short tales range from simply enjoyable to surprisingly good.

In addition to "The Mist," the real standout is "The Reach," a beautifully subtle story about a great-grandmother who was born on a small island off the coast of Maine and has lived there her whole life. She has never been across "the Reach," the body of water between island and mainland. This is the story that King fans give to their friends who don't read horror in order to show them how literate, how charming a storyteller he can be. Don't miss it. --Fiona Webster