Book Review
Nov. 7th, 2025 01:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariIf It Bleeds
by Stephen King
This varied collection of one novella and three long stories was quite satisfying. The quality of the stories was consistently good. They were all mostly on the side of the eerie or unsettling rather than full horror. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" was a creepy tale of a Craig, a kid who works for and befriends his very wealthy elderly neighbor. Craig introduces Mr. Harrigan to the world of smartphones, and after the latter's death, Craig is somehow still able to call his phone and leave messages. Messages that appear to have surprising results. "Life of Chuck" was a lovely story told mostly in reverse chronological order. It follows the life of the titular character and has a very cool ghostly twist. "If It Bleeds" is the novella, which is a sequel to The Outsider. It features Holly Gibney, who once again finds herself investigating a violent tragedy instigated by an unnatural being. "Rat" is the final story and concerns a struggling writer who goes up to his family cabin in the woods of Maine to work on his novel.
"Rat" was the story I liked the least. The plot of a struggling writer going to a remote place to work on a book and then encountering something uncanny and sinister is a concept King has used several times before. He does it well here as always, but it did feel a little too familiar. I really liked "Life of Chuck". King does some very clever things with the framing of the narrative and the twist, especially the apocalyptic opening and the way it ties into the rest of the story. "If It Bleeds" was not only the centerpiece of the book, but the best story in it. Holly is such a great character - I love her combination of fragility and badassery. I also loved the way this story elaborates on The Outsider without being a retread of it.
by Stephen King
This varied collection of one novella and three long stories was quite satisfying. The quality of the stories was consistently good. They were all mostly on the side of the eerie or unsettling rather than full horror. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" was a creepy tale of a Craig, a kid who works for and befriends his very wealthy elderly neighbor. Craig introduces Mr. Harrigan to the world of smartphones, and after the latter's death, Craig is somehow still able to call his phone and leave messages. Messages that appear to have surprising results. "Life of Chuck" was a lovely story told mostly in reverse chronological order. It follows the life of the titular character and has a very cool ghostly twist. "If It Bleeds" is the novella, which is a sequel to The Outsider. It features Holly Gibney, who once again finds herself investigating a violent tragedy instigated by an unnatural being. "Rat" is the final story and concerns a struggling writer who goes up to his family cabin in the woods of Maine to work on his novel.
"Rat" was the story I liked the least. The plot of a struggling writer going to a remote place to work on a book and then encountering something uncanny and sinister is a concept King has used several times before. He does it well here as always, but it did feel a little too familiar. I really liked "Life of Chuck". King does some very clever things with the framing of the narrative and the twist, especially the apocalyptic opening and the way it ties into the rest of the story. "If It Bleeds" was not only the centerpiece of the book, but the best story in it. Holly is such a great character - I love her combination of fragility and badassery. I also loved the way this story elaborates on The Outsider without being a retread of it.
