#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new “exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm [King’s] mastery of the form” (The Washington Post). Readers adore Stephen King’s novels, and his novellas are their own dark treat, briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. … just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand By Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption).
Four brilliant new tales in If It Bleeds are sure to prove as iconic as their predecessors. Once again, King’s remarkable range is on full display. In the title story, reader favorite Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider) must face her fears, and possibly another outsider–this time on her own. In “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife. “The Life of Chuck” explores, beautifully, how each of us contains multitudes. And in “Rat,” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition.
If these novellas show King’s range, they also prove that certain themes endure. One of King’s great concerns is evil, and in If It Bleeds, there’s plenty of it. There is also evil’s opposite, which in King’s fiction often manifests as friendship. Holly is reminded that friendship is not only life-affirming but can be life-saving. Young Craig befriends Mr. Harrigan, and the sweetness of this late-in-life connection is its own reward.
“Exactly what I wanted to read right now,” said Ruth Franklin in a rave on the cover of The New York Times Book Review. “Phenomenal,” said Brian Truitt in USA TODAY. “King still owns the fright business like none other.”
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Another great read by the King. 4 wonderfully engrossing shorts and Holy Gibney gets her own story (finally). Each touches on the human psyche in a fascinating display and range. I found the whole book a quick read that had me “all in” from the first word to the last (in the Authors Note). Highly recommend.
To achieve a life long dream, an isolated man makes a deal with the “Devil”. A cadaver does more than just speak from the grave. These along with two other novellas formulate Stephen King’s latest book, called If It Bleeds.
Constant Readers rejoice, we are in the presence of another book. Master of character building, King also brandishes his talent of eroding selective characters to the point of vivid warped perceptions. Written with controlled chaos and a focused narrative, King unveils certain evils in this collection of novellas that enjoy and thrive on eating the pain of others. A definite highlight was the return of Holly, who questions an ideology that might include – killing for God is the norm – only to discover it’s much worse than she anticipated. If there’s one thing to be taken away from these works of fiction, it is…if ghosts exist, one can bet not all of them are holy.
What can you say about Stephen King that hasn’t already been said. As a child I read Night Shift, that book introduced me to horror fiction, and I never looked back. Much later in life I was lucky enough to actually interview Stephen King, definitely a top achievement of mine, one that I will never forget.
With four stories, something for everyone. I love Mr Harrigan’s Phone and If it Bleeds.
Another great novella collection. Being a writer, I particularly loved the elements in “Rat,” but “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is creepy and “Life of Chuck” is an imaginative look at mortality. The title story is a Holly Gibney piece, and it’s pretty much impossible not to like her by this point.
’ve always enjoyed Stephen King’s novellas and short stories, in some instances, more than his full-length novels. I’m pleased to say this new collection – containing four novellas – is reminiscent of some of his best (“Four Past Midnight,” “Different Seasons,” “Full Dark, No Stars”).
In the first novella, “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” King displays his firm grasp on what has always been his strength – characterization. The story revolves around a young boy (Craig), his relationship with an older gentleman (Mr. Harrigan) and a new-fangled invention (the iPhone). It’s a coming-of-age story with some spooky twists. “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is well-plotted with great characters and is, overall, an excellent read.
The second novella, “The Life of Chuck,” totally blew my mind! The story is divided into different chapters that, at first, don’t seem to relate to each other. Then WHAM! the connection is made and it’s like an epiphany. I’m not going to say more about this story (it was my favorite of the four) – you have to experience it for yourself. All I will say is it made me think and the next day I tweeted Mr. King thanking him for writing it!
The third novella, “If It Bleeds,” was, in my opinion, the least interesting of the four. For fans of “The Outsider”
, the return of Holly Gibney will be welcomed. I, too, was excited when I discovered that her saga was going to continue here. However, I found the interactions between Holly and her mother somewhat tedious and I have to say I skimmed through most of them. It’s a good story, but I wish King had tightened it up more.
The final novella, “Rat,” gave me the creeps (in a good way)! I was reading it in what I call “the wee smalls” (2-3am) and when the story’s protagonist opens the door during a storm, and sees a rat with strange human-like paws, I got shivers and put the book down for the night! I finished it the next evening. The protagonist (Drew) is a writer and, as an author myself, I thoroughly enjoyed King’s description and examination of the thought process that occurs when writing fiction. Rat was a very good story with a bit of a twist reminiscent of Grimm’s fairy tales and, to me, ranks second after “The Life of Chuck.”
In summary, “If It Bleeds” provides a stellar reading experience and is highly recommend by this reader who is glad to see King back at the top of his form.
Best SK book in a while. Love his novella’s. always pack a punch. As always you are the king SK
There’s an interesting mix of stories within these pages. Of course, it’s always wonderful to see Holly Gibney return. Check it out.
There are few things more comforting to me than cracking open a brand new Stephen King book and sinking into the rhythms of this master storyteller (the only thing that comes close is John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series, each release of which I absolutely relish). I might not always love the work — ahem, Sleeping Beauties! — but I sure can read the hell out of it!
As far as If It Bleeds goes, I didn’t love it. Taken as a whole, I mostly enjoyed this collection of four previously unreleased novellas, but I also found it mostly be decided Just OK.
“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is a coming of age story that sees a young boy, Craig, working for Harrigan, a moneyed retiree, and celebrating his very first iPhone, a device whose value he soon convinces Harrigan of. King does a great capturing how impactful iPhones have been on our lives and the way it can consume us. Overall, it’s a nice story and King’s voice shines through richly, but it didn’t do a whole lot for me. In some ways, I think I’ve kind of aged past this particular story, given that when the iPhone debuted in 2007 I was already starting to wave goodbye’s to my twenties, and when my wife and I finally decided to upgrade our flip phones to an iPhone 4, it was just another gadget for me. It wasn’t a magical, life-changing utensil like it was for Craig, and the cultural touchstones this story is reminiscing about just aren’t there for me. Younger readers may get more out of this story, and it does have some neat ideas at its core, even if it does run on for too long.
“The Life of Chuck” is another entry that goes on for too long. Told in reverse chronology, King presents us with three connected stories revolving around a businessman named Chuck. The story begins with Act III, where King uses up his best ideas right off the bat. This opening act is absolutely marvelous though! It’s cerebral, bizarre, and a real WTF page turner, and one of the most engaging apocalyptic narratives I’ve read in a long time. It’s seriously a knockout! Act III would have made for one hell of a short story, and it sets an awfully high bar that Act II and Act I simply cannot live up to. Act II in particularly is a highly skippable dance story (what?!) of little consequence and involves Chuck coming across a drummer busking for tips on a busy Boston street, and stopping to dance. Act I delivers an OK end to things, and even if the overarching sense of tragedy is palpable it never reaches the incredible highs of this novella’s opening act. Act III is so trippy and out there that the mundanity of the following two segments pales in comparison.
The strongest entry among the four novellas is, easily, the titular “If It Bleeds,” a Holly Gibney story that is a direct sequel to 2018’s The Outsider (and, of course, the Bill Hodges trilogy, which introduced Holly in 2014’s Mr. Mercedes). After an attack on a school leaves a number of children and teachers dead, Holly can’t shake the news from her mind and starts digging through the wreckage (not literally) to hunt down the killer. This story was freaking fantastic, and I flat-out cheered at the Ass Kicker Holly scenes! Although I haven’t read the Bill Hodges trilogy yet, it was great to see more of Holly and see the growth she’s made, even since her prior appearance in The Outsider. She’s becoming a wonderful protagonist, and I hope King checks in on her again soon. I dug the heck out of this story and it’s the only 5-star read of the collection for me.
Thankfully, “Rat” isn’t too shabby an ending. This novella finds Drew, a college instructor and short story writer, taking a break from his family at their cabin in the woods, intent on writing his debut novel. King does a fine job capturing the isolating, solitary nature of being a writer, introducing some additional wrinkles involving the mental health of Drew and a particularly unusual Faustian bargain made in the process. As a writer, I found “Rat” more relatable than the two novellas that open If It Bleeds, and I dug King’s exploration of Drew’s mental state.
On the whole, though, “If It Bleeds” was really the only story in this collection that thrilled me and held me in its thrall the whole way through. The rest of the stories here, even “Rat” were of the ‘take ’em or leave ’em’ nature, and I found myself not caring too much about them one way or another. They’re nice stories to have, I suppose, but they’re far from essential. They’re fine, but nothing I can really muster much enthusiasm for. “If It Bleeds,” though! Now that one! — that one captures modern-day King at his absolute best, blending mystery and straight-up horror in marvelously captivating ways, and as far as I’m concerned that story alone is worth the price of admission.
,This book contains four novellas, all of which are classic King that will make you think outside the box. “Mr Harrigan’s Phone” is about the friendship between a young boy and an elderly man but it’s what happens after death that really gets to you. “The Life of Chuck” will cause you to really think as Nwe learn all about Chuck and the worlds one person can contain. In “If It Bleeds”, we once again meet Holly Gibney from the Bill Hodges trilogy and “The Outsider” as she hunts something that may not be human. And, finally, in “Rat”, we meet an author who desperately wants to write a novel. When he’s offered a chance that comes at a deep price, will he take it?
All four of these stories are wonderfully written with characters you can relate to in some way. I have been a Stephen King fan for most of my life and this book, these stories, did not disappoint. Stephen King really knows how to delve deep into our innermost beings. I was hooked from beginning to end, reading each story in one sitting. Full of intrigue and suspense, this set of novellas will claim you as you read. I highly recommend this book.
Stephen King never disappoints. These stories prove yet again he’s the master.
It is cool
Love King.
Four short novellas. The best of which is the one about Holly, but only because we have history by now.
The Life of Chuck took some effort to get into and to understand.
Rat, was just scary, kept waiting for another suicide.
Mr. Harrington’s Phone makes you wonder. Glad I have an Android.
If It Bleeds is solid Holly again, on the hunt.
Sorry, but not his best. Love all his other short stories, but this one didn’t really stand out. Interesting but not really special.
Could not put it down. Highly recommend
Liked half the stories; loved the other half
It is amazing to me that Stephen King is not only a great novel author but his short stories/novellas are so super.
Two of the stories in this book – MR. CARRIGAN’S PHONE and IF IT BLEEDS I just really loved. In MCP King writes about a young boy who works part-time for an older man in a small town – and King does so well when he writes about young people. He seems to really understand them. In IIB King brings back Holly Gibney from the Bill Hodges trilogy and I happen to like her character a bunch.
THE LIFE OF CHUCK I enjoyed but just not as much as these first two. It talks about all the possible worlds we have in our minds. And RAT I liked. It’s about an author who goes away on a self-imposed retreat to write his first novel and ends up making a deal he regrets.
All of the stories have a touch of the supernatural thrown in, which was just fine with me. The book was a quick read and I highly recommend it to King fans and new readers that are thinking of trying King for the first time.