The plan is to reread all of Stephen King’s works in the order that they were published. Richard Chizmar of Cemetery Dance had the vision. I’m doing it because I am a writer and I want to improve my fiction. And I love Stephen King’s stories. I think there is something to be learned through this process.
You can also go back to the beginning and read Before Carrie or any of my other posts up through this one and beyond by checking out this link to the Master List of all my #StephenKingRevisited posts.
If It Bleeds, another four novella collection from Stephen King, is dedicated to the late Russ Dorr, King’s long-time researcher.
I’ve had this book since it was published in 2020 and only just now realized the cat’s face on the cover is also a rat’s face.
More than one story in this collection uses the evolution of the Internet as an important theme.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
We dive right in. I enjoyed The Institute that preceded this work, but this collection and the opening of its first story flows stronger. It reminds me a bit of “Apt Pupil.”
The interjection of character details naturally in the flow of the story is perfect. There are very good small character details that enrich the story and make it feel real.
“If ghosts exist, I bet not all of them are holy.” Great line.
King’s old staple of characters’ hair turning white from terror is back again *sigh*
Marley’s ghost from a Christmas Carol is referenced well here.
Phone addiction and the evolution of the Internet are covered well as side notes to the main story. King creates a beautiful time capsule picture of the first IPhones in the course of this marvelous tale.
The Life of Chuck
This is a strange story told in reverse, but even forward it would be an odd conglomeration of moments. It opens with a cascade of disasters and then we draw out of one universe into another that sort of explains the opening vignette, but not entirely. An odd little advertisement becomes the scariest part of a far-reaching phenomenon. At the end of the first section, I was left asking myself, how is that not the end?! It’s interesting, experimental, and difficult to nail down the thread within it as a reader. Ballsy choices in this one.
If It Bleeds
This is an unofficial fifth Bill Hodges story if you consider The Outsider the unofficial fourth Bill Hodges novel and concede Bill Hodges is not the most important character in that series. Holly Gibney and Ralph Anderson reappear for this tale in their own way along with the cast of characters from those overlapping stories. Holly has to face more than one troubling thing in this story both natural and supernatural.
“Home is where the heartache is.” Great line.
There is a tease of the supernatural early in the story, but it could still be an ordinary sort of evil at that point. We’re facing something between The Outsider and Dr. Sleep it appears.
This story was good enough and my memory bad enough that I forgot I wasn’t reading a standalone novel and as we approached the end, I wondered why there were still 100 pages left. Then, I remembered this was the third novella of four. Maybe that is the best endorsement of the story’s ability to sweep me away as a reader.
Rat
What more can be done in the Stephen King universe with author/writer characters? We have another one here heading up to a cabin in TR-90. We’ve seen that scenario before too. See Bag of Bones. This writer character is not a prolific one and that appears to be the crux of his problem and the key to the plot.
We have an “on this very spot” tragedy for backstory.
This writer’s story appears to be coming well after a long dry spell and some difficulties that loom large over his last novel attempt. The book within the book in this one sounds interesting. It’s a western.
There is a rat in the story, but this will not go the way you think.
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I ended this collection thinking it was not my favorite of his four novella collections, not his strongest. That is still true, but as I went back through my notes to write this post the collection rose in my esteem. Taken together, it is a really good offering and great storytelling.
My next post in this series will be Before Later which will be linked on the Master List of all my Stephen King Revisited posts.
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