The Bazaar of Bad Dreams - Stephen King

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

By Stephen King

  • Release Date: 2015-11-03
  • Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 796 Ratings

Description

Includes the story “Premium Harmony”—set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine

The masterful #1 New York Times bestselling story collection from O. Henry Prize winner Stephen King that includes twenty-one iconic stories with accompanying autobiographical comments on when, why and how he came to write (or rewrite) each one.

For more than thirty-five years, Stephen King has dazzled readers with his genius as a writer of short fiction. In this new collection he introduces each story with a passage about its origins or his motivations for writing it.

As Entertainment Weekly said about this collection: “Bazaar of Bad Dreams is bursting with classic King terror, but what we love most are the thoughtful introductions he gives to each tale that explain what was going on in his life as he wrote it."

There are thrilling connections between stories; themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. In “Afterlife,” a man who died of colon cancer keeps reliving the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again. Several stories feature characters at the end of life, revisiting their crimes and misdemeanors. Others address what happens when someone discovers that he has supernatural powers—the columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries in “Obits;” the old judge in “The Dune” who, as a boy, canoed to a deserted island and saw names written in the sand, people who then died in freak accidents. In “Morality,” King looks at how a marriage and two lives fall apart after the wife and husband enter into what seems, at first, a devil’s pact they can win.

“I made these stories especially for you,” says King. “Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.”

Stories include:
-Mile 81
-Premium Harmony
-Batman and Robin Have an Altercation
-The Dune
-Bad Little Kid
-A Death
-The Bone Church
-Morality
-Afterlife
-Ur
-Herman Wouk Is Still Alive
-Under the Weather
-Blockade Billy
-Mister Yummy
-Tommy
-The Little Green God of Agony
-Cookie Jar
-That Bus Is Another World
-Obits
-Drunken Fireworks
-Summer Thunder

Reviews

  • Chilly

    4
    By Ilovekatyperry01
    A book filled with little stories of different realities. Some are ain’t that bad but some are so good, they will give you shivers down your spine.
  • So good that it’s bad.

    4
    By Quitdumpingme!
    Mr King was at his best - alternately horrifying and amazing me. The stories that weren’t based in the supernatural - and thus were possible - were haunting and horrifying. This one gets a “thumbs up”, with a blanket pulled over my head.
  • I loved this book!

    5
    By Kia_Fitz
    It had the normal twist and turns that Stephen King can only hand you. Make you mind wonder what’s going to happen on the next page while tapping the page to continue your reading!
  • Stephen King strikes again

    5
    By pammaiam
    Some of the stories left me longing for more, but if someone had given me the book to read without an author’s name, I would have known- ‘this is a book full of Stephen King’s schtuff’. I read Salem’s Lot when I was 8, in 1979. Stephen King has always been and will always be my favorite author. He brings horror to paper, and that’s the best way. The imagination is so much better than even CGI.
  • Sweetly shortly

    5
    By Boy outdoor
    I like a long story. I love the Dark Tower Series the best. BUT these stories are wonderful and Drunken Fireworks was pure T bliss and euphoria!
  • Not his best collection, but still great!

    4
    By ES the horror fan
    This collection of short stories from Stephen King disappointed me in only one way: Most of the stories were not as scary as they could have been. Otherwise, the book is totally enjoyable! Every story is a good story, but these are the best if you’re mainly looking for horror stories, as I was: Mile 81, the first story in the book, and quite a stunning opener, The Dune, which can best be summed up in one word: CREEPY, Bad Little Kid, which proves why there is probably no horror writer who handles the “bad seed” sub genre than King, Under the Weather, which is creepy and sad, The Little Green God of Agony, which seems to redefine the word TERRIFYING, That Bus is Another World, which is nothing short of horrifying, and Obits, which is compelling and disturbing! I received The Bazaar of Bad Dreams as a Christmas gift; I wanted the book because, while I am a huge Stephen King fan, I’m a bigger fan of his short stories than his novels. I’m a fan because I love horror stories, which is why I am a huge fan of his first two short story collections, Night Shift and Skeleton Crew, the only other short story collections I’ve read by him. This is the only reason I was slightly disappointed with this book. Still, I highly recommend it not only for his horror fans, but for any fan of his short story collections! Main reason: These 21 stories are all amazing!
  • Great read!

    5
    By Gailmill
    A fantastic collection of short stories...all in the true Stephen King style. I liked the short explanation of the idea of the story prior to each one
  • Love Bazaar!!

    5
    By *Shazam666*
    I am a fan of Stephen King's short stories, being that they last a few mere pages, and aren't always scary, and this current leg was awesome. He has such a passion for baseball, makes you wonder why he didn't go into broadcasting. But I am very happy to loose myself in his stories. Now don't get me wrong about the other full length books, like IT, Salems Lot and the like that were scary and excellent in their own creepy ways, which I love all the more, but being able to read various stories on one book is nice to have from time to time.
  • Love some, others are meh

    4
    By BookWorm1218
    Some of the short stories in this collection are just plain incredible, while others leave me bored. It’s typical of such a large volumn of work, and I think it’s not possible for someone to like absolutely everything an author makes. But otherwise it’s a great book and I’m so glad I bought it!
  • Can’t stop reading!

    5
    By Angry slushee
    I can not stop reading! All of the stories are well writen and always have a crazy twist! Ill be honest I didn’t care much for the poems

Comments