Hey book lovers! I’m here with a book review for Night Shift, a collection of twenty short stories by Stephen King. The book includes an introduction by John D. Macdonald and Foreword by King written in 1977. I read this as part of my journey reading King’s work in order of publication. All of my reviews are spoiler-free.
“Let’s talk you and I. Let’s talk about fear.” ~ Stephen King
About The Book 📚
Title: Night Shift
Author: Stephen King
Publication Date: 1982 (first published 1978)
Publisher: New American Library
Suggested Reader Age: Adult
Genre: Horror
Pages: 326
Synopsis
“In places where fear dwells and blood runs cold, sinister forces and unspeakable things are running the NIGHT SHIFT.
From the depths of darkness, where hideous rats defend their empire, to dizzying heights where a beautiful girl hangs by a hair above a hellish fate, this chilling collection of twenty short stories will plunge readers into the subterranean labyrinth of the most spine-tingling, eerie imagination of our time.”
My Review
› I’m providing the first line of each short story because Stephen King knows how to suck you into a story in one sentence. Many of the stories in this collection have been adapted. Some are good adaptations, however, others have very little to do with the original narrative.
1. Jerusalem’s Lot
This story takes place before Salem’s Lot. It’s an epistolary short story told in letters written by Charles to Bones.
“Dear Bones, How good it was to step into the cold, draughty hall here at Chapelwaite, every bone in an ache from that abominable coach, in need of instant relief from my distended bladder- and to see a letter addressed in your own inimitable scrawl propped on the obscene little cherry-wood table beside the door!”
Love the ending!
★★★★★
2. Graveyard Shift
“Two A.M., Friday. Hall was sitting on the bench by the elevator, the only place on the third floor where a working joe could catch a smoke, when Warwick came up. He wasn’t happy to see Warwick.”
After reading it I thought…Gross. I hate rats. Dreadful story.
★★★★
3. Night Surf
“After the guy was dead and the smell of his burning flesh was off the air, we all went back down to the beach.”
This is about a worldwide illness…written 50 years before Covid. Is Stephen King from the future? I don’t think he’ll ever tell.
I liked this one. It was introspective.
★★★★
4. I am the Doorway
“Richard and I sat on my porch, looking out over the dunes to the Gulf.”
I found this one to be super creepy.
★★★★★
5. The Mangler
“Officer Hunton got to the laundry just as the ambulance was leaving – slowly, with no siren or flashing lights.”
Five stars. This one has stuck with me since I read it.
★★★★★
6. The Boogeyman
“I came to see you because I want to tell my story”, the man on Dr. Harper’s couch was saying.”
Not one of my favourite King stories. Really weird.
★★★
7. Gray Matter
“They had been predicting a norther all week and along about Thursday we got it, a real screamer that piled up eight inches by four in the afternoon and showed no signs of slowing down.”
My thoughts at the end: Gruesome.
★★★★★
8. Battleground
“‘Mr. Renshaw?’ The desk clerk’s voice caught him halfway to the elevator, and Renshaw turned back impatiently, shifting his flight bag from one hand to the other.”
BOOM! This one is humorous and kept me on the edge of my seat.
★★★★★
9. Trucks
“The guy’s name was Snodgrass and I could see him getting ready to do something crazy.”
Suspenseful.
★★★★
10. Sometimes They Come Back
“Jim Norman’s wife had been waiting for him since two, and when she saw the car pull up in front of their apartment building, she came out to meet him.”
Jim is hardcore!
★★★★★
11. Strawberry Spring
“Springheel Jack…I saw those two words in the paper this morning and my God, how they take me back.”
★★★
12. The Ledge
“‘Go on,’ Cressner said again. ‘Look in the bag’.”
★★★★★
13. The Lawnmower Man
“In previous years, Harold Parkette had always taken pride in his lawn.”
Strange.
★★★
14. Quitter’s Inc
“Morrison was waiting for someone who was hung up in the air traffic jam over Kennedy International when he saw a familiar face at the end of the bar and walked down.”
Wow! Unsettling and I wonder if there are secret businesses in the world that do this.
★★★★★
15. I Know What You Need
“‘I know what you need.’ Elizabeth looked up from her sociology text, startled, and saw a rather nondescript young man in a green fatigue jacket.”
★★★
16. Children Of The Corn
“Burt turned the radio on too loud and didn’t turn it down because they were on the verge of another argument and he didn’t want it to happen.”
Listen to your wife Burt.
★★★
17. The Last Rung On The Ladder
“I got Katrina’s letter yesterday, less than a week after my father and I got back from Los Angeles.”
Heartbreaking.
★★★★★
18. The Man Who Loved Flowers
“On an early evening in May of 1963, a young man with his hand in his pocket walked briskly up New York’s Third Avenue.”
Sinister
★★★
19. One For The Road
“It was quarter past ten and Herb Tooklander was thinking of closing for the night when the man in the fancy overcoat and the white, staring face burst into Tookey’s Bar, which lies in the northern part of Falmouth.”
★★★
20. The Woman in the Room
“The question is: Can he do it?”
Emotional.
★★★★★
Average 4.15
My Rating Rounding to ★★★★ on Goodreads.
› Final Thoughts
• My top 5 favourite stories in Night Shift are Jerusalem’s Lot, I am the Doorway, The Mangler, The Ledge, and Quitters Inc. One of the best short story collections I’ve ever read.
Smitten For Fiction 