Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Title: Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 1993

Date read: 18th November 2020

Score: 3/5

Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Nightmares & Dreamscapes" by Stephen King, published in 1993, is a massive collection of 23 short stories, a novella, and two essays, showcasing King's incredible range across various subgenres of horror, suspense, fantasy, and even humour. It's a comprehensive look at the "dark half" of his imagination, often including stories that defy easy categorization.

The collection, spanning over 800 pages, is divided into sections, and each entry is preceded by King's personal "Foreword," offering insights into the story's inspiration, writing process, or its place in his career. This adds a unique, conversational layer to the reading experience.

Some of the most notable and diverse stories in the collection include:

"Dolan's Cadillac": A relentless tale of meticulous, years-long revenge as a schoolteacher plots to kill the mob boss who murdered his wife. (Novella)

"The End of the Whole Mess": A poignant and unsettling story about two brilliant brothers who create a chemical meant to bring peace but has unforeseen, devastating consequences.

"Suffer the Little Children": A chilling tale of a first-grade teacher who realizes some of her students are not quite human.

"The House on Maple Street": A family discovers their old house is slowly being consumed by an alien spacecraft.

"The Fifth Quarter": A desperate man seeks the secret map left by a dying gangster, leading to a brutal pursuit.

"The Doctor's Case": A delightful Sherlock Holmes pastiche, where the famous detective faces a seemingly impossible locked-room murder.

"Umney's Last Case": A hard-boiled detective discovers he is a fictional character within a novel. (Meta-fiction)

"Rainy Season": A couple vacationing in Maine discovers a horrifying local tradition involving amphibian creatures.

"My Pretty Pony": An old man's unsettling lesson to his grandson about the fleeting nature of time.

"You Know They Got a Hell of a Band": A couple gets stranded in a strange town populated by deceased rock and roll legends.

"The Ten O'Clock People": A man discovers a hidden world of monstrous beings visible only to those attempting to quit smoking.

"The Night Flier": A cynical tabloid journalist hunts a serial killer who uses a private plane and preys on small-town airfields.

"Crouch End": A British couple in London stumbles into a reality where the boundary between worlds is dangerously thin, leading to Lovecraftian horrors.

The collection also includes two non-fiction pieces: "Head Down," an essay about his son's Little League baseball team, and "Brooklyn August," a nostalgic piece about baseball.

"Nightmares & Dreamscapes" showcases King's mastery of the short story form, his ability to craft compelling characters quickly, and his limitless imagination. Themes range from the psychological horrors of grief and obsession to the terror of the unknown, the mundane turning monstrous, and the unsettling nature of reality itself. It's a testament to his versatility and enduring power as a storyteller.

Comments:
A great collection with something for every King fan. I particularly remember enjoying "The Night Flyer" and "Dolan's Cadillac". I am also particularly fond of the non to Sherlock Holmes himself.

Books that we've read by Stephen King (68):
Carrie (1974), 'Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (The Shining, #1) (1977), The Stand (1978), Night Shift (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) (1982), Different Seasons (1982), Christine (1983), Cycle of the Werewolf (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) (1984), Skeleton Crew (1985), It (1986), The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) (1987), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), The Tommyknockers (1987), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Four Past Midnight (1990), The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) (1991), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1992), Gerald's Game (1992), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Green Mile (1996), Desperation (1996), Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) (1997), Bag of Bones (1998), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Black House (The Talisman, #2) (2001), Dreamcatcher (2001), Everything's Eventual (2002), From a Buick 8 (2002), Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) (2003), Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) (2004), The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7) (2004), The Colorado Kid (2005), Cell (2006), Lisey's Story (2006), Duma Key (2008), Just After Sunset (2008), Under the Dome (2009), 11/22/63 (2011), Full Dark, No Stars (2011), The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, #4.5) (2012), Dr. Sleep (The Shining, #2) (2013), Joyland (2013), Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) (2014), Revival (2014), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) (2015), End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) (2016), Elevation (2018), The Outsider (2018), The Institute (2019), If It Bleeds (2020), Billy Summers (2021), Later (2021), Fairy Tale (2022), Holly (2023), You Like It Darker (2024)