Destiny (howling libraries)

I am stunned to admit that, at 25 years old, having been a fan of all things in the horror world for my entire life, I have only just now completed my very first Stephen King novel. I DNFed his books so many times in my teen years because his writing just wasn't for me. I appreciate his style tremendously more now than I ever did in years past, but won't say that I loved all of the stories in this collection. As I usually do with anthology reviews, I'll break it up in pieces.

⇨ Jerusalem's Lot ★★★★★“The lamb had not been torn or eaten; it appeared, rather, to have been squeezed until its blood-vessels had forcibly ruptured.”

Jerusalem's Lot

⇨ Graveyard Shift ★★★☆☆

⇨ Night Surf ★☆☆☆☆

horrible

⇨ I Am the Doorway ★★★★☆“Beneath the bandages, my new eyes stared blindly into the darkness the bandages forced on them. They itched.”

⇨ The Mangler ★★★★★

⇨ The Boogeyman ★★★☆☆“All I did was kill my kids. One at a time. Killed them all.”

cruel

⇨ Gray Matter ★★★★★

gross

⇨ Battleground ★★★☆☆

Battleground

⇨ Trucks ★★★☆☆

why

⇨ Sometimes They Come Back ★★★☆☆

⇨ Strawberry Spring ★☆☆☆☆

⇨ The Ledge ★★★★☆

The Ledge

⇨ The Lawnmower Man ★★☆☆☆

super

⇨ Quitters, Inc. ★★★★☆

Quitters, Inc.

⇨ I Know What You Need ★★★☆☆

exactly

⇨ Children of the Corn ★★★★★“Something had happened in 1964. Something to do with religion, and corn... and children.”

⇨ The Last Rung on the Ladder ★★☆☆☆

snooze fest.

⇨ The Man Who Loved Flowers ★☆☆☆☆

⇨ One for the Road ★★★★☆

Salem's Lot.

⇨ The Woman in the Room ★★☆☆☆

⇨ AVERAGE RATING ★★★☆☆

however

Content warnings:

I've been saying for the last year, since I originally read this, that I would come back and write a full review, but honestly, the immediate post-read reaction I wrote below sums it up pretty well. I absolutely freaking loved everything about Misery and I think Annie is one of the most terrifying villains I've ever read in my life. As someone who doesn't tend to enjoy most of King's longer works, please let me know in a comment if you have any recommendations for books of his that are closer to this one in length and overall feeling!

—————

original “review”: march 2019:
me, a week ago: I dunno man I've tried a few King books and collections and maybe they're just not meant for me

also me, a week ago: I'm gonna give Misery a try but I'm not expecting too much tbh

me, now: WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE OLD GODS DID I JUST READ, WOW

Full review coming soon! Thank you so much to the eternally beloved Ellyn for buddy reading this with me and motivating me to finally give it a try!