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Obits
Mike writes snarky, disrespectful celebrity obituaries for a sleazy webzine. Then one day he gets the idea to write an obit about a living person.
36 pages, Unknown Binding
First published November 3, 2015
About the author
Stephen King
2,138 books902k 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 - 30 of 53 reviews
October 20, 2021
This is another story I hear people talking about from the Bazaar of Bad Dreams and it’s one of the ones they blurb about. It’s a supernatural story for certain and about 40 pages.
We follow a guy who gets a job at an enquirer type rag who is writing snarky obits of famous people who die. One day, he is upset with someone in his life and he writes an obit for them. He finds out that he has the power to kill people with his obits. There are a few good characters in this piece.
He is also using Animal Farm by George Orwell to describe some office politics which is a nice brilliant touch in this short story. I love that.
Who would you kill, if you had the power to take life with your words? It’s a powerful little idea and quite a temptation, if we are honest with ourselves. Good thing we can explore the idea with a story instead of this being reality. I would hate to think if I’m on someone’s list of people to off. I probably am to someone.
This is a keeper.
We follow a guy who gets a job at an enquirer type rag who is writing snarky obits of famous people who die. One day, he is upset with someone in his life and he writes an obit for them. He finds out that he has the power to kill people with his obits. There are a few good characters in this piece.
He is also using Animal Farm by George Orwell to describe some office politics which is a nice brilliant touch in this short story. I love that.
Who would you kill, if you had the power to take life with your words? It’s a powerful little idea and quite a temptation, if we are honest with ourselves. Good thing we can explore the idea with a story instead of this being reality. I would hate to think if I’m on someone’s list of people to off. I probably am to someone.
This is a keeper.
June 25, 2016
Read as part of the Hugo Voters' Packet.
I've long been of the opinion the King is at his best when writing short stories, and this is a classic example of a King short. Seriously, it could've been presented completely anonymously, and anyone would've said, "Yeah, definitely by Stephen King."
A nerdy writer makes a living (barely) writing snarky celebrity obituaries for a gossip website (think Perez Hilton or TMZ). His column is wildly popular, but all he wants is a raise, so he can make enough to finally move out of his parents' place before he turns 40. But his nasty boss refuses. As a way of getting his angst out of his system, he writes one of his trademark spiteful obits about her.
What happens then is quite a shock to him - but it's only the beginning.
I really enjoyed this horror story on its own merits, but it's really not in the appropriate genre for a Hugo award.
I've long been of the opinion the King is at his best when writing short stories, and this is a classic example of a King short. Seriously, it could've been presented completely anonymously, and anyone would've said, "Yeah, definitely by Stephen King."
A nerdy writer makes a living (barely) writing snarky celebrity obituaries for a gossip website (think Perez Hilton or TMZ). His column is wildly popular, but all he wants is a raise, so he can make enough to finally move out of his parents' place before he turns 40. But his nasty boss refuses. As a way of getting his angst out of his system, he writes one of his trademark spiteful obits about her.
What happens then is quite a shock to him - but it's only the beginning.
I really enjoyed this horror story on its own merits, but it's really not in the appropriate genre for a Hugo award.
May 29, 2016
A horror story about a reporter who kills people by writing their obituaries. It's very engaging and the main character is well fleshed out. But alas, the ending just fizzles out and kills the momentum that was built up. Sigh.
November 28, 2016
This was again, one of the better ones in the series. I also think it could have been made into a full length novel. It was a concept that could have kept on going and grew even bigger. I was sad to see it end so quickly. But, that's what you get with a short story.
August 18, 2017
'Obits'. This one gave some Death Note vibes for real. A good story. I liked the concept.
July 28, 2016
Obits was part of my reading for the 2016 Hugo awards.
I don't normally read short stories, and I don't normally read read this genre (whatever genre this is... horror?). I've also never read anything else by Stephen King, which makes me feel like a freak, but there you have it. I probably should have started with something else.
The story was solid and entertaining, but not great. It might just not be my cup of tea.
I agree with the other reviewers that it's not a candidate for a Hugo award due to its genre. I do wonder, though, if its review scores here will be hurt due to a disproportionately large number of its Goodreads readers being fans of the wrong genre? Some works achieve absurdly high review scores because they weed out audiences that won't like them; it seems to me that the opposite could happen as well.
I don't normally read short stories, and I don't normally read read this genre (whatever genre this is... horror?). I've also never read anything else by Stephen King, which makes me feel like a freak, but there you have it. I probably should have started with something else.
The story was solid and entertaining, but not great. It might just not be my cup of tea.
I agree with the other reviewers that it's not a candidate for a Hugo award due to its genre. I do wonder, though, if its review scores here will be hurt due to a disproportionately large number of its Goodreads readers being fans of the wrong genre? Some works achieve absurdly high review scores because they weed out audiences that won't like them; it seems to me that the opposite could happen as well.
December 9, 2019
Wonderfully strange with dark twisted humour.
January 18, 2021
An original work for The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Obits won the 2016 Edgar Award for best short story. I found that a bit surprising. While it’s a good story, there’s nothing particularly spectacular about it. Michael Anderson writes snarky and inappropriate TMZ-like obituaries for Neon Circus. When his boss denies him a raise, he angrily pens her obituary only to later find that she died right at the same time he wrote the article.
It soon becomes clear that Anderson has some sort of power. If he writes an obituary of a living person, that person soon joins the dead. At first, Anderson finds himself addicted to the power but then has to grapple with the destruction he’s creating. He resigns his post and resolves never to write obituaries again. King leaves the plot open, as if inviting the reader to draw it to a close. The power of life and death is in the tongue and, particularly in journalism, the right article at the right time can make or break careers. Words have power and King explores that masterfully here.
It soon becomes clear that Anderson has some sort of power. If he writes an obituary of a living person, that person soon joins the dead. At first, Anderson finds himself addicted to the power but then has to grapple with the destruction he’s creating. He resigns his post and resolves never to write obituaries again. King leaves the plot open, as if inviting the reader to draw it to a close. The power of life and death is in the tongue and, particularly in journalism, the right article at the right time can make or break careers. Words have power and King explores that masterfully here.
July 11, 2016
I read this as part of the 2016 Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
I have liked many stories written by Stephen King, and while I was young, I devoured his books. Obits is not one of his best work. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad, but there is nothing deeply original or peculiar to set it apart from many other stories. The plot is relatively straightforward: a journalist specialized in writing funny and offensive obituaries, discovers that he can cause the death of living people writing their obits. He will have to learn on how to use his power while learning how to navigate the politics at work and to deal with women.
I have liked many stories written by Stephen King, and while I was young, I devoured his books. Obits is not one of his best work. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad, but there is nothing deeply original or peculiar to set it apart from many other stories. The plot is relatively straightforward: a journalist specialized in writing funny and offensive obituaries, discovers that he can cause the death of living people writing their obits. He will have to learn on how to use his power while learning how to navigate the politics at work and to deal with women.
July 24, 2016
I received the book at part of the Hugo voter's package. A struggling writer of snarky celebrity obituaries discovers that when he writes similarly snarky pending obituaries af persons which the world will be better off without, said person obligingly shuffles off the mortal coil. King does a good job of describing the sorry state of journalism in today's digital world, and invests his characters with the ability to examinine their actions and temptations. The story arc is handled with aplomb, as might be expecterd of a writer with King's pedigree. It doesn't surprise, it doesn't disappoint, and whilst not out of place in the group of nominees, isn't particularly outstanding.
June 23, 2016
Pretty standard King fare, well written but not original - though how much right we have to expect 'original' from a writer with King's body of work behind him is a reasonable question. Scary in the right psychological ways, as well as the right supernatural ways, and filled with interesting characters (though honestly, would a character in his twenties really use the word 'dickered'?), but not in any way an exceptional example of King's ability.
July 27, 2016
Mr. King's well-deserved fame precedes him and renders anything I have to offer superfluous at best.
He's a master storyteller. He takes a simple idea and extends into existential horror that comes to no resolution, but remains as a looming dread, a sword of Damocles, that hangs over the protagonist.
It's not the supernatural horror that got me, it's the all-too-human frailties and base actions trying to fill insatiable desires.
He's a master storyteller. He takes a simple idea and extends into existential horror that comes to no resolution, but remains as a looming dread, a sword of Damocles, that hangs over the protagonist.
It's not the supernatural horror that got me, it's the all-too-human frailties and base actions trying to fill insatiable desires.
January 20, 2018
I read this in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. I knew ahead of time that a lot of people loved this one because of reviews online.
I honestly didn’t like this one as much as most people tend to. I thought it lacked the magical twist that King’s other short stories have. It lacked that creative punch that makes you say, “WTF” out loud. It was kind of a generic twist that fizzled out into a bad ending.
I honestly didn’t like this one as much as most people tend to. I thought it lacked the magical twist that King’s other short stories have. It lacked that creative punch that makes you say, “WTF” out loud. It was kind of a generic twist that fizzled out into a bad ending.
July 2, 2016
Fairly engrossing, as Stephen King's stories usually are. This one felt a bit unoriginal, though. It was (spoilers) basically Death Note but in the hands of a less morally ambiguous main character. It would've been a fair bit worse had someone other than Stephen King written it, though, so there's that.
April 12, 2016
An enjoyable read about an online journalist writing obituaries on a celebrity gossip-style website. As a joke he writes an obit for his boss who had just refused to give him a pay rise and she dies hours later. I liked the story a lot but felt the ending could have been a lot stronger.
June 27, 2016
Read for 2016 Hugos.
I'm not a big Stephen King reader, and as with most of his works, I can appreciate that it was a well told story, but didn't particularly like it. Although contrasted with many of the other hugo nominees this year, it was pretty good.
I'm not a big Stephen King reader, and as with most of his works, I can appreciate that it was a well told story, but didn't particularly like it. Although contrasted with many of the other hugo nominees this year, it was pretty good.
July 1, 2016
Hugo Award Finalist
This is a fairly routine story of someone who gains unimaginable power and doesn't know what to do with it, fearing becoming addicted to the power it confers. Not a bad story by any means, but King has done much better.
This is a fairly routine story of someone who gains unimaginable power and doesn't know what to do with it, fearing becoming addicted to the power it confers. Not a bad story by any means, but King has done much better.
October 2, 2017
A fascinating little story. Though I'm kind of annoyed that Mike only treated Katie like a real person after he had sex with her. If he could treat her as a real person for half the story, he could've done it for the whole thing. Just sayin'.
July 24, 2022
I'm choosing this as one of my favorites from "The Bazaar of Bad Dreams"
Hard copy borrowed from the library.
Super fun. I was dreading this one because it was a little longer, but it sucked me in immediately.
Hard copy borrowed from the library.
Super fun. I was dreading this one because it was a little longer, but it sucked me in immediately.
November 19, 2015
Reminded me of Death Note if the protagonist was a straight version of Perez Hilton/Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr..
February 15, 2016
"That was good. I actually liked that one". Those were my exact words when finishing this story, and I guess that says all I need to say.
March 4, 2016
Wonderfully written story of Mike who writes obituaries for a sleezy celebrity website. I loved the way it progressed and enjoyed the ending.
June 2, 2026
This was pretty interesting
May 17, 2016
Read from 2016 Hugos packet.
Prose competent, as you'd expect from King. Falls apart, for me, on the plot (cliched) and characters (narrator feels very "How do you do, fellow kids?").
Prose competent, as you'd expect from King. Falls apart, for me, on the plot (cliched) and characters (narrator feels very "How do you do, fellow kids?").
April 28, 2018
really liked the main character and
I wish it had some more
the ending was. quite abrupt
I wish it had some more
the ending was. quite abrupt
November 30, 2019
an interesting premise, but ran out of steam at the end.
June 13, 2021
Answering the eternal question: What if Light Yagami was straight?
July 18, 2021
A really solid premise that has great potential but kind of fizzles out at the end. One of the more effective stories in the collection, Obits is a simple premise carried out mostly well.
July 21, 2025
I wouldn’t be surprised if this story inspired Death Note. This would have made a great full length novel.
Michael Anderson unintentionally discovers that he has the ability to kill anyone in the world in any way he chooses by writing detailed obituaries for people that are still alive describing their time and cause of death. He only targets evil people that deserve it at first, but the effect of this dark magic spreads in sinister ways, tormenting Michael’s fracturing consciousness under the weight of the chaos he has set into motion.
Good story. The relationship between Michael and his partner in crime is a bit corny, but the drive of the plot and the weight of the consequences behind his actions were really cool to see play out. I wish it continued further with constantly elevating stakes.
It reminded me a lot of the manga Death Note. It could definitely function as a short story set in the same universe.
Michael Anderson unintentionally discovers that he has the ability to kill anyone in the world in any way he chooses by writing detailed obituaries for people that are still alive describing their time and cause of death. He only targets evil people that deserve it at first, but the effect of this dark magic spreads in sinister ways, tormenting Michael’s fracturing consciousness under the weight of the chaos he has set into motion.
Good story. The relationship between Michael and his partner in crime is a bit corny, but the drive of the plot and the weight of the consequences behind his actions were really cool to see play out. I wish it continued further with constantly elevating stakes.
It reminded me a lot of the manga Death Note. It could definitely function as a short story set in the same universe.
April 30, 2024
Within the compilation of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams this WAS a rather good book. Here we have an aspiring writer/ journalist who joins an online Reporting Paper. He stumbles upon a laptop that when he writes an obituary it actually happens. HOWEVER there is a price to pay.
A good story, it ended too quickly though.
A good story, it ended too quickly though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews