Night Shift was Stephen King’s first published collection of short stories. As someone who only relatively recently became a King fan, I was especially curious to explore his short fiction — often cited as where he truly shines. The collection contains twenty stories in total: sixteen previously published in magazines and four original to this volume.
This was a fun little collection of strange tales — some dark, some whimsical, some with a bite of revenge. While not all of them are particularly macabre, a few do venture into the eerie. One story even had a bit of a timey-wimey twist I wasn’t expecting, which made it stand out. Overall, Wailing Ghosts was a quick and enjoyable read, filled with the kind of curious folklore energy that makes these Little Black Classics so satisfying. 4 stars.
As with most collections, this one was a bit hit or miss for me — but the hits were worth it. The cover suggests pure horror, but many of the stories lean more toward psychological thriller or dark fiction. A few offer eerie atmospheres and clever endings without being outright terrifying.
I gave Dubliners 4 stars, but that rating is more about the book’s place in literary history than my personal enjoyment. This collection of short stories by James Joyce is often seen as groundbreaking, and it’s easy to see why. I believe Joyce was one of the first to truly popularize the modern short story collection — one not driven by a single plot, but by theme, tone, and place.
Dive back into David Mack’s Dark Arts series with this novelette set prior to the events of The Iron Codex.
For my first book review of this blog, the last book I completed in 2023, I bring you a short story collection. To be completely honest, I don’t know that I knew this was a short story collection when I put it on my reading list. Not that I have anything against short stories. After all, they’re… well… short. But what did I think about this collection? Am I a fan? How do I rate a book of short stories if there are any I didn’t like? Were there any I didn’t like? Read on and find out!
