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The Secretary of Dreams #1
The Secretary of Dreams, Volume One
The Secretary of Dreams
281 pages, Hardcover
First published October 30, 2006
4 people are currently reading
1816 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,419 books887k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 22, 2015
I love Stephen King
February 1, 2018
"Home Delivery"
Story - ****
Illustrations - *****
This was King’s first foray into zombie apocalypse territory. I know I am in the minority, but I much prefer Cell. The hive mind exhibited in that novel is fascinating to me, but I digress.
In this story, the zombie notion is a bit beside the point. I think the real issue on the table is this woman, Maddie Pace’s, fortitude and strength in not only facing life alone on an island as a widow, but also facing giving birth and raising a child alone. King excels at painting the loneliness and isolation associated with living on small islands, (reaches) and this is a perfect example. There are certain advantages associated with the lifestyle as well, and here, it is the isolation that works in the inhabitants favor. Once they have disposed of the zombies, they can easily control the dead to come.
I often wonder why Robert Kirkland has never had his characters explore the idea of living on an island. Wouldn’t it be perfect? King shows us just how perfect here. Kirkland? Are you listening? Reading?
"Jerusalem's Lot"
Story- ***
Illustrations- *****
Although ‘Salem’s Lot is my favorite King book, this is nowhere near my favorite short story. I much prefer “One for the Road” as an addition to the SL text. This is too much homage to Lovecraft. I am constantly amazed at how many writers I enjoy that cite Lovecraft as a major influence. I do not like Lovecraft. How can this be? It’s a puzzle.
This hits all the right notes for Lovecraft. A bad house, the rats in the walls, also a King staple, hidden compartments, a deserted village, De Vermis Mysteriis, or "The Mysteries of the Worm, encryption using a rail fence cipher and the ever present vicious circle of a family name carrying on despite all efforts to stop it.
I can appreciate the structure of this tale, and know it is skillfully written, but I don’t like it. The illustrations included here make is so much more readable for me. They are perfect.
"The Reach"
(originally published as “Do the Dead Sing”)
Story- ****
Illustrations- *****
King once again visits the idea of isolation and a community close knit enough to basically serve as extended family. Stella Flanders, a 95 year old woman, dying of cancer, has never left the small island on which she lives. Never had a reason to. Now in her final moments of life, she bundles up and walks across the Reach and encounters dead relatives, friends and loved ones. She is found on the mainland the next morning, dead. The fact that her grandson recognizes his grandfather’s hat on Stella’s head convinces him that she conversed with his grandfather before dying and this brings him comfort.
This is a sweet story that soothes the idea of death as a scary prospect.
Stephen King's inspiration for "The Reach" came about from the story his brother-in-law, Tommy, told him while in the Coast Guard. The real-life alter-ego of Stella Flanders lived and died on a small Maine Island, never stepping foot on the mainland. She remained on a small stretch of land with a community so close, they were more like family. She had everything she needed on this island and had no need to cross the Reach until the day she died. Being intrigued by the idea of the Reach, and flabbergasted with Flanders' counterpart, King came up with the idea for this short story.
Story - ****
Illustrations - *****
This was King’s first foray into zombie apocalypse territory. I know I am in the minority, but I much prefer Cell. The hive mind exhibited in that novel is fascinating to me, but I digress.
In this story, the zombie notion is a bit beside the point. I think the real issue on the table is this woman, Maddie Pace’s, fortitude and strength in not only facing life alone on an island as a widow, but also facing giving birth and raising a child alone. King excels at painting the loneliness and isolation associated with living on small islands, (reaches) and this is a perfect example. There are certain advantages associated with the lifestyle as well, and here, it is the isolation that works in the inhabitants favor. Once they have disposed of the zombies, they can easily control the dead to come.
I often wonder why Robert Kirkland has never had his characters explore the idea of living on an island. Wouldn’t it be perfect? King shows us just how perfect here. Kirkland? Are you listening? Reading?
"Jerusalem's Lot"
Story- ***
Illustrations- *****
Although ‘Salem’s Lot is my favorite King book, this is nowhere near my favorite short story. I much prefer “One for the Road” as an addition to the SL text. This is too much homage to Lovecraft. I am constantly amazed at how many writers I enjoy that cite Lovecraft as a major influence. I do not like Lovecraft. How can this be? It’s a puzzle.
This hits all the right notes for Lovecraft. A bad house, the rats in the walls, also a King staple, hidden compartments, a deserted village, De Vermis Mysteriis, or "The Mysteries of the Worm, encryption using a rail fence cipher and the ever present vicious circle of a family name carrying on despite all efforts to stop it.
I can appreciate the structure of this tale, and know it is skillfully written, but I don’t like it. The illustrations included here make is so much more readable for me. They are perfect.
"The Reach"
(originally published as “Do the Dead Sing”)
Story- ****
Illustrations- *****
King once again visits the idea of isolation and a community close knit enough to basically serve as extended family. Stella Flanders, a 95 year old woman, dying of cancer, has never left the small island on which she lives. Never had a reason to. Now in her final moments of life, she bundles up and walks across the Reach and encounters dead relatives, friends and loved ones. She is found on the mainland the next morning, dead. The fact that her grandson recognizes his grandfather’s hat on Stella’s head convinces him that she conversed with his grandfather before dying and this brings him comfort.
This is a sweet story that soothes the idea of death as a scary prospect.
Stephen King's inspiration for "The Reach" came about from the story his brother-in-law, Tommy, told him while in the Coast Guard. The real-life alter-ego of Stella Flanders lived and died on a small Maine Island, never stepping foot on the mainland. She remained on a small stretch of land with a community so close, they were more like family. She had everything she needed on this island and had no need to cross the Reach until the day she died. Being intrigued by the idea of the Reach, and flabbergasted with Flanders' counterpart, King came up with the idea for this short story.
June 14, 2018
This two volume anthology series consists of short stories and novellas written by Mr. King over the past forty-five years. It's my opinion that King is at his strongest when writing in the short story format and I never tire of re-reading many of the tales. In the respect "Secretary of Dreams" is nothing new. What is different is that the stories are illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne. Mr. Chadbourne brings a comic book style to the works, but that's appropriate. Though I have been a fan of Mr. King's fiction for almost forty years (wow) I've never confused his writing with Evelyn Waugh or Thomas Hardy. Mr. King writes popular fiction with a slant towards pulp. I've always liked the mix of pulp fiction with horror. He's good at it and it's made him very wealthy. The black & white illustrations go well with King's work. It's always interesting seeing how another interprets an author's work.
January 7, 2012
See http://www.cemeterydance.com/secretary/ for blurbs on this short story collection, in the GRA style.
January 3, 2011
I traveled back 25 years - and had to read with the overhead light on and my back to the wall so nothing could get at me. The illustrations were all creepy versions of Stephen King and I'm very glad I heard about these volumes from Goodreads. Notice I started them after and finished them before the other books I'm currently reading. Now on to Full Dark, No Stars.
July 24, 2022
I had a copy, but someone offered me too nice a price so I sold it to him...
read "Home Delivery" from Book of the Dead -- also included in Nightmares & Dreamscapes
5/29/2018 --Got an ARC off a trader on facebook !!! not HC, but awesome!
read "Home Delivery" from Book of the Dead -- also included in Nightmares & Dreamscapes
5/29/2018 --Got an ARC off a trader on facebook !!! not HC, but awesome!
October 15, 2020
This is kind of a rare find but it is a great edition to any Stephen King fan's library. I've read most of the stories before but having the illustrations adds a new dimension to it. I will say this is probably not worth the money that people are selling this for but it is a cool book.
April 10, 2012
Amazing book. Each time i go browsing/ reading it i found new details drawn by Glenn Chadbourne that i missed at the previous reading!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews