Having just finished, On Writing, I enjoyed seeing King’s principles in action. His work is always pretty hit or miss for me. I haven’t been able to get through his Dark Tower series or the much loved fan favorite, The Stand (King’s extended version.) Both seem needlessly verbose and make my hands itch for my red editing pen. Others, like, The Green Mile, are exquisite in style and moving in content.

Night Shift is his first short story anthology. It soars at times and bombs at others. I especially adored the bookends of the Lovecraftian, Jerusalem’s Lot and the more contemporary One for the Road. The pair really were pitch perfect. Quitter’s, Inc. also blew me away with it’s resonate story and flawless execution. Children of the Corn and The Boogeyman are already a popular classics. Others, like Night Surf seemed too fragmentary to me. Kind of like, you dived in to the story, but never got the meat of it.

King is so mind boggling prolific, I’m not surprised that not everything is going to be to my exact tastes. The Stand, for example, is a favorite for so many other people that I almost feel like the fault lies with me for not liking it.

Honestly, I think that King is currently under rated by the critics. One day, I suspect his best work will join the western canon as justifiable classics.