Infested

by Stephen R. King

Four new horror adventures to let you discover courage in the face of fear. To push past the worries of death and try to continue on. Could you survive while frozen in your deepest fears? Find out what happens next in the tales of INFESTED.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories

144 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 13, 2017

Reviews

[Cora · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once I realized that the name was just a guise to make me think it was The Stephen King, I shut that shit down. I read to about page 11 and thought, this isn't his style? I would've given Stephen R King a chance if he didn't try insulting my intelligence.

[marcella muenzenberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cheap imatation

The R is small for a reason, this author wants to get recognised by the Steven King name.
He doesn't come close The stories could have been written by a grade schooler. A waste of my once a month free read.

[Ernest F · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok stories, bad misrepresentation

The stories were good, but I didn't like being tricked into getting the book because I thought it was authored by the Stephen King we all are familiar with.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well at first I thought this was Stephen king, wow was I wrong . The writing was so simple and not as complex as the king of horror. Though, it was a page turner the ending left more to be desired.

[Rewa Dowse · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dick move to pose it like a different Stephen king. The cover places the R so that it’s almost hidden and so you think it’s ala misery king. But it was almost a relief to find that out after reading the first two stories and then quitting because it was like an 8th graders idea of a horror story. Just poorly idealized junk. So I’m happy that it’s not the actual Stephen King, and glad I didn’t pay for it, but pissed that some book company thought tricking consumers was the way to go.

[JR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infested is a very short book with four short stories within. Highly entertaining. I did not want each to end and I wish they were all a little bit longer.
4.5⭐️

Infested 4.5⭐️
A story about spiders, taking over an attic and a little girl obsessed with them. My favourite of the bunch.

The Weekend 4⭐️
A weekend with a new man goes bad in a serial killer type of story.

Dolls 4.5⭐️
Typical doll goes bad, and then tries to convince a mentally ill woman to do bad things.

The Cove 4⭐️
A woman is chased by a mysterious figure and lands herself into a cove. Like the ending on this one!

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun short week, this one’s for you! 4.5⭐️

[Norma K Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Faker

Not cool


This guy is not Stephen King ! Do not be fooled twice constant reader.

What a scammer this guy is.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not Stephen King...

[Mary Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will not finish this book. Not well written and too sensational.

[Chuck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone tell me why I picked this up in the first place? It was an Amazon Unlimited so I gave it a shot. Ugh. If the author was twelve, ok, I get it. But an adult writing like this? Don't waste your time with this collection of "horror", it's laughable, awful and overall a stretch to call it "writing".

[Margaret Barney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dude. the font of your name is misleading even with the “R”

Why would Stephen King publish an unheard of book on Amazon for free?? I couldn’t believe my eyes.
I tried reading it with my kindle unlimited subscription.

What complete, unmitigated, basic, childish crap.

Do NOT bother with this book.

The R matters. This is not the Carrie, Gerald’s Game, Firestarter King. It’s a knock off who has no shame about it right down to copying the font of his name. Yes, his name is Stephen King. No, he’s NOT the author.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I, like everyone else, fell for the author name. Wow. I feel dumb.

Other than that, the stories had possibility, but were pretty juvenile. They need to be built out more. My favorite was The Cove. It’s the only reason I gave 2 stars instead of just 1.

[Kaye Emlaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Less than a half of a star.
I got duped. I did not see the R initial. I will be sure to not to make this mistake again.

[Leith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the REAL Stephen King

That was not great. I read all four stories and it was a quick read, but I would not recommend this to anyone.

[Erin Summers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Obviously, like everyone else, picked the book because he is using the tricky "Stephen King" moniker with the "r" hidden cheaply in artwork. Also, shame on Kindle unlimited to suggesting it as something I might like. Within 1-2 pages thought the Real King had lost all story telling and writing abilities or had handed the keyboard over to a 13 year old boy. The stories are familiar and adolescent. Yes I finished the book, they were a very quick basic read. *shoulder shrug* they were not great.

[Payal Pasha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read Stephen R King before and I liked the stories. Probably that’s why my expectations were high and so was my disappointment. The book contains four stories. The first was senseless and ridiculous. The rest of the three were bland with no surprise ends or any kind of punch. I failed to see any point in the tales. Not scary. Not at all gripping. In fact boring. Give this book a big miss.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have known about Stephen R. King for awhile. Originally publishing his work as Stephen King (without the initial). Pissing a lot of people off thinking they were getting a book by “The” Stephen King. His reviews are all over the place. A lot of 5 Star Reviews automatically given by people thinking the book was by the real Stephen King. A lot of 1 star reviews by people who were pissed when they realized it was by Stephen R. King and not the real Stephen King.

I was curious enough to purchase Infested by Stephen R. King. Going into it knowing what I was buying. The book contained 4 short stories. I thought they were all pretty solid. I enjoyed them. That said the books are a little over priced for paperbacks. Way overpriced for Kindle. Infested was 140ish pages but sentences were double spaced so it was really about 70ish pages.

[Joncen Phi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who doesn’t love short stories!?
I enjoyed this kindle edition for Kindle Unlimited.
It is an easy read, letting your imagination create the story rather than being overly descriptive for light reads. Gets straight to the point.
Not written by Stephen EDWIN King.
It is obvious and the writing style is slightly mediocre but I give this novel a 3 star for effort of creativity. Plenty of others were upset with the misleading name but you can not blame the guy! That’s just his name probably and he just happens to coincidentally be a writer as well!

Some of the stories are heavily predictable with lack of touch for details but at least it is direct.

Very short read of several short stories.

[Olivia Sorenson · Rating 1 out of 5]

70% of the reason I finished this book was for the book goal, but the other 30% was so that I could write this review. This was easily one of the worst books I’ve ever read. 4 short stories that are intended to be thriller/ horror, but are painfully told with overdramatic explanations & plots that make no sense. DO NOT READ.
Also, I was fooled by the “Stephen R. King”
THIS IS NOT STEPHEN KING. Any 5 star reviews on this book are people obsessed w the real Stephen King (fair) and so on the bandwagon that they convinced themselves this was his work. This is definitely some middle schooler.

[Ida · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't believe I actually PAID for this book. I bought it, thinking it was a REAL Stephen King book. As soon as I started, I was like WTF. Ol' Steve must've written this in hospital while he was doped up on pain meds so bad he forgot how to write, spell, or use correct grammar. The plots were awful too, just some overused, trite garbage you'd see in a middle school shorty story contest. I slogged through, just because I thought it was actual Stephen King so I felt obliged to finish it. At the last page, I came to the Kindle Author Section and realized it was a "Stephen King" rip-off, using his name to con people out of their hard-earned dollars. I was actually relieved, in a way, that it wasn't the REAL Stephen King. Because if Stephen E. King actually wrote something this terrible, there would be something very wrong and my world would never be the same.
Trite, repetitive, bad grammar, bad spelling, and bordering on plagiarism. Barely managing to legally squeak by, but only from adding that "R." initial. If this creep wanted to be a REAL writer, making money on his own merit rather than riding on the back of someone else's name, then he'd call himself something else. This is just pathetic. I'd give it zero stars if I could, but I have to blame myself in part; I should've paid more attention before wasting my money. I'm so disgusted right now. Ugh.

[Lee Richmond · Rating 1 out of 5]

I knew going in that this wasn't the real Stephen King. As a member of the horror writing community I am more than aware of this authors reputation for fooling people into buying his books by cleverly passing himself off as his more famous namesake.
I figured I'd give this book a read anyway, as it was free on KU. My review isn't about delving into the quality of this selection of short stories, although I will just mention that I'm baffled by the eclectic change of formatting from story to story. What the hell is that all about?
This is more of a critique on the writers underhand, and frankly insulting marketing ploy used to shift copies of his books to poor, unsuspecting King fans.
Sure, the dudes name might actually be Stephen King, and sure he technically uses his middle initial, but when you use the same font as King and craftily hide that middle initial on the cover, to the point where it is barely visible, it becomes one big con job.
I'm beyond confused as to how this author gets away with this. I can only assume that the real King is unaware.
Generally, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but with this author that is exactly what you should do.

[Sheryl Dawson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very lame stories...... sorry!

I have always been an avid reader of Stephen King. This book was not worth the money.
The credibility of the stories were quite lame.

[Satomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Infested, written by Stephen R. King (not to be confused with the famous author Stephen King), is a collection of four short horror stories available through Kindle Unlimited and audio book is free for Audible members. At first glance, the author's name and the book cover may evoke thoughts of Stephen King's signature style, but readers should be aware that this is an entirely different author who adds the middle initial "R" for distinction.

I decided to give it a try, and while Infested is a decent collection of horror tales, I found it to be mediocre at best. The stories themselves vary in their execution, but none quite capture the intensity or atmosphere of truly gripping horror. The language used throughout is quite simple, which makes it an easy read, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of depth or complexity. If you're looking for a more nuanced writing style, this may not be for you.

The ending of the book also left much to be desired. It felt unsatisfying, and the conclusion of the stories didn’t deliver the kind of punch I was hoping for. I was expecting more from the final twists, but instead, they felt rushed and a bit underwhelming.

Listening to the Audible version was an interesting experience. The narration is virtually done, and the voice chosen for the reading fits the tone of the stories. However, one downside is the lack of character differentiation, which made it difficult to follow at times. If you're someone who enjoys a more immersive audio experience with distinct voices for different characters, this might be a drawback.

Overall, while Infested does offer a few moments of suspense and eerie vibes, it doesn’t stand out in the crowded horror genre. It’s a quick read (or listen), but don’t expect it to leave a lasting impression. If you're looking for a deeper, more chilling experience, you may want to pass on this one.

[gigi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite collection of short stories.

I went into the book not knowing they were short stories, so you can imagine my surprise when the first story made absolutely no sense, and the pacing was all over the place. When I think of a good short story, I think of stories by Salinger, where the details of the story are very meticulously crafted. Out of all of the stories, The Cove was the best. It had the best quality of writing, and the best story, with a better cliffhanger at the end. If the entire book were to be written with that quality, I believe I would have given it higher stars. However, the first story was distracting and not in a good way. Although the details were gruesome and made me squirm in my seat, the shock factor was the only good part of that story. The dialogue was awkward, and the characters were sloppily introduced. I was hoping for a bit more from this book and it didn’t deliver.

[Dollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen King has written some of the scariest short stories I’ve ever read. Unfortunately, none of them were from Infested. I liked a couple of them, but I don’t feel like these were anywhere near his best. There were four stories. The first, Infested, about spiders, I liked. I also liked the second, The Weekend, until it started involving torture (not a lot, but enough to make me stomp my feet as I read and wish I’d never read it. I don’t handle anything about torture well). Dolls was good. Despite my name, as a child I never had a doll. I much preferred Teddy Bears and always thought dolls were pretty creepy. As an adult, I actually do have a doll who is not creepy to me at all - a 2” pink Voodoo Doll named Rhonda Wakanda. LOL. The Cove was very eerie and sinister, so I enjoyed it the most of any of them. Whether they’re good or not, I will always continue to read Mr. King’s stories, short or long.

[MiKia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was called Infested, and though it was only one short, it ended up being about three short stories. The beginning of the first short story was very good, and I saw that the author researched spiders, but the ending came too fast. It was like the author had a word limit or page limit for all the stories. When the huge spider came out of the blue and took the child, it was crazy. And I literally said out loud, "What the fuck am I reading?!?!?!?". The second short story was too fast-paced, and it felt like the author needed something to make the novel longer. The only thing I liked about the stories was when she asked why she did this, one of the men said, "Because I can." I really liked that line. The third story had me perplexed in the way of what is this American woman doing in the ocean. For most of the story, I thought that the man who was a part of her imagination was not there. That her fear has gotten the best of her. And then the man driving the car said I'm giving you a head start. And the end. Overall, the novel short stories were very fast-paced and crazy.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I paid $2 for this, so I don’t feel as betrayed by the scam of the author’s name. And at least it was mildly entertaining.

“Infested.” The titular story pretty much sets the tone of the whole anthology. Poor, if any proofreading or editing. Some passages are slower than others. And the story wasn’t that good. I had the end figured out in the first 10 pages.

“The Weekend.” Ever see the movie “The Strangers”? This story is a poorly executed rip-off of that story, only with more women getting their nipples getting ripped off with pliers. Overall:Weakest of the 4 stories.

“Doll.” I couldn’t tell which movie was being ripped off more: Child’s Play or Annabelle

“The Cove.” If the Weeping Angels were invented by Brian Lumley this would be the result. This story is what made the book worth $2.50.

[Daniel Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Infested is a collection of four short horror stories. These have been a perfect read for the lead up to Halloween. The short stories are all based around the theme of horror and different types of fears. The first short story was based on the fear of spiders. The second story was based on the fear of being watched and stalked. This also had a bit of psychological thriller feel to it as well as horror. The third short story was my favourite and it was based on the fear of dolls. This one gave me the typical horror vibes with this story. It also reminded me of Chucky and definitely gave the best horror vibes. The last story was my least favourite. I feel I couldn’t connect with it but it was called The Cove. This was based on the fear of water in my opinion. This is definitely a good and quick read if you’re looking for some short horror stories based on fears.

[Debra Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay

I read the reviews first because this book was rated #4 on Amazon's top 100 short story booklist list.
I pretty much HAD to get it because the reviews and the rating were contrary to one another.
(I don't understand how the list rating works because this book had over 2,000 customer ratings with the average being 3.5 out of 5 stars.)
I tried to keep an open mind going into it BUT I'm jaded when it comes to the King name in literature.
The first few pages had me laughing, not because the story was funny but because I took the audacity of Stephen R as a joke.
Two stars for the brilliance to ride the master's coattails to make a buck.
And I give NO recommendation to read this, unless you're an adolescent.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was so excited to read this because I thought this was from THE Stephen King (somehow missed the R on the cover of the book until I finished reading. 🤦🏼‍♀️) and will say some of the stories were pretty good. The title, Infected, started off strong then had a weak and rather stupid ending.

There were also quite a few grammar errors (which I thought was weird because the OG King knows way better than to finish a question without a question mark. Same for knowing the difference between its and it's.), but the reason I gave this 4 stars is for the last story, The Cove.

The Cove is *very* well written, incredibly well paced, and leaves you a little breathless allthewhile also leaving you at the edge of your seat. It's also centered in Ireland, so huge bonus.