by Stephen King

Sometimes, when you hear a new song on the radio, you instantly recognise the guitar. Even if you’ve never heard the song before, you know the guitarist from the unique sound of their telecaster or from the way that they are picking the strings. For me, this is how it felt when I began reading this collection of novellas.

In these stories, King explores some of his trademark themes. There is the suspenseful locked attics and creaking doors, early hints of the supernatural and even allusions that modern technology is not what it seems, akin to the doom-summoning ‘Word Processor of the Gods’ (Skeleton Crew, 1985). There is also that ever-present battle between good and evil. This collection is entertaining, chilling and heart-warming where it needs to be and it certainly reminded me of why I have loved and kept coming back to SK’s writing since early teenage-hood. King has always created characters that I find relatable, formed from his working-class background, and having been raised by a single mother as I was.

The collection opens with ‘Mr Harrigan’s Phone’, reprising that high-school-kid/reclusive-old-guy relationship which I am a sucker for. My grandfathers died when I was seven and fourteen; they are godlike in my memory and I wish I could spend more time with them and King helps me to imagine, again, what it would be like to do so, as was the case with Danny and Mr Hallorann who both shared ‘The Shining’, Bobby and Mr Brautigan in ‘Hearts in Atlantis’ and more recently, Charlie and Mr Bowditch in ‘Fairy Story’. (Not so much the toxic relationship in ‘Apt Pupil’ (Different Seasons, 1982), although that is another fantastic novella.) The battle between good and evil here is internal, as a young boy finds he can wield some power.

If Mr H’s Phone reminded me of ‘The Shining’, then ‘Rat’ was like an up-tempo reimagining of the classic horror novel, the protagonist being a writer struggling with his demons who heads off into the wilderness of America, (Maine this time, not Colorado), to write a novel. Only, “There’s a storm a-comin.”

In ‘The Life of Chuck’, King returns to another favourite theme: The Apocalypse. The fact that I was reading this as America was bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities added to the chill factor. The structure of this story makes it very interesting though, and in a way calming.

The titular story is the second in the Holly Gibney series, following on from the chilling ‘The Outsider’. There is classic King baddies and blood-curdling action as Holly and the team from Finders Keepers hunt another malevolent force.

The stories feel very familiar; this collection is an album from a veteran artist. It is also crammed with intertextuality, referring both to his own work as well as classic and contemporary literature. For these reasons, if you are not so familiar with King, and especially his novellas and short fiction, I would recommend going back to his earlier stuff first, to fully appreciate ‘If It Bleeds’. In ‘Different Seasons’ for example, you will find some of the finest modern American literature ever written, (my opinion is shared by many).

King’s first novel, ‘Carrie’ was published in 1974 and I’ve been reading King since around 1987 (nearly forty years at the time of writing), and I hope he continues to get busy living and writing for many more. I have a feeling, though, that we’ll still hear the keys of his old Royal KMM clattering away even after he has relocated to another realm.