Synopses & Reviews
Stephen King — who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one
New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies — delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since
Everything's Eventual six years ago.
As guest editor of the bestselling Best American Short Stories 2007, King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications.
Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating — and then terrifying — journey.
Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable — and resourceful — as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana," a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment.
In one of the longer stories here, "N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it.
Just After Sunset — call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.
Review
"As always, King is a master storyteller. No reader can help but identify with some of these characters.... Retirement has definitely not slowed this sexagenarian down. King hasn't lost his touch in his 'dotage.'" Rocky Mountain News
Review
"[S]uccinct, fast-moving.... This collection's most successful stories start unprepossessingly but then head for unknown territory, off in the far reaches of Mr. King's imagination." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
"[A] marvelous addition to the library of King's more concise fictions.... Never, in fact, has King seemed more mature (well, he is 61) or more sure of himself as a writer." Kansas City Star
Review
"Many of Sunset's stories have the aura of classic Twilight Zone episodes. And no matter your taste in frightful fantasies, there's something here for everybody.... All 13 stories are wonderfully wicked..." USA Today
Synopsis
Internationally bestselling author Stephen King--who has written more than fifty books, dozens of #1 New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies--delivers an astonishing collection of short stories. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications.
Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating--and then terrifying--journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable--and resourceful--as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana," a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, "N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it.
Just After Sunset--call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.
Synopsis
The classic short story collection from the #1
New York Times bestselling author.
"The mind gets up to funny tricks, doesn't it? Shadows grow faces."
A book salesman with a grievance picks up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well...An exercise routine on a stationary bicycle takes its rider on a captivating--and then terrifying--journey...A blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand...A psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside or keep the world from falling victim to it.
Stories include:
-Willa
-The Gingerbread Girl
-Harvey's Dream
-Rest Stop
-Stationary Bike
-The Things They Left Behind
-Graduation Afternoon
-N.
-The Cat from Hell
-The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates
-Mute
-Ayana
-A Very Tight Place
These are just some of the tales to be found in the #1 bestselling collection Just After Sunset. Call it dusk or call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and the living daylights can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for master storyteller Stephen King.
Synopsis
In his first collection in six years, Stephen King delivers his strongest, most broadly appealing stories ever.
"Gingerbread Girl," published in Esquire in July 2007 (unprecedented in number of magazine pages devoted to it), is set, like Duma Key, in Florida. It is a riveting, fabulously dramatic stalker tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable and resourceful as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark.
"Willa," published in Playboy, blurs the lines between living and the dead. "Ayana," one of the most beautifully written and haunting stories, was published in the Paris Review. From the subtle and disturbing to the outright terrifying, these tales will thrill every known King fan and win new ones.
Synopsis
Stephen King -- who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one
New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies -- delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since
Everything's Eventual six years ago. As guest editor of the bestselling
Best American Short Stories 2007, King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of
Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in
The New Yorker,
Playboy,
McSweeney's,
The Paris Review,
Esquire, and other publications.
Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating -- and then terrifying -- journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable -- and resourceful -- as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana," a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, "N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it.
Just After Sunset -- call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King.
About the Author
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Drunken Fireworks, Finders Keepers, Revival, Mr. Mercedes (winner of the 2015 Edgar Award), Doctor Sleep, and Under the Dome, now a major TV miniseries on CBS. His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.