Play Book Tag discussion

This book is a great revisit to King's short story format. Four stories are included and all are completely different. My favorite is the first one: "Mr. Harrigan's Phone". A young boy named Craig is hired by his elderly neighbor, Mr. Harrigan, to read to him several afternoons a week. Mr. Harrigan's eyesight is poor but his mind is sharp. The two bond over many books and Mr. Harrigan tells Craig of his past life as a business magnate. Craig gets the idea to gift the older gentleman with a phone, at the time the IPhone 1. Harrigan is fascinated with the instantaneous feed from the NY Stock Exchange, the news outlets and internet searches. When the elderly man passes away, Craig slips the phone into the casket. Knowing Stephen King, it's not difficult to imagine where the story goes.

The second story, "The Life of Chuck", is an interesting study of the worlds we all possess inside our own brains. What if we are all only part of another's imagination and once they are gone, are we?

Story #3 brings back Holly, a character from "The Outsiders". This entry is titled "If It Bleeds", the old saying about news as in 'if it bleeds it leads'. Holly is convinced she is dealing with another outsider as she watches a news reporter at the scene of a horrific explosion at a middle school. The bomb was delivered by a uniformed man and Holly is convinced the two men are one and the same. Proving her theory puts herself and her friends in imminent danger from a ruthless being who feeds on the pain and suffering of others.

The last story, "Rat", concerns one of King's seemingly favorite character-type: a writer. Drew Larson is convinced he finally has all of the story line for that elusive novel he has dreamed of writing. Short stories? No problem. But, that full length novel has slipped through his fingers for years. Retiring to an old family cabin deep in the Maine woods, Drew finds that the words flow freely almost, as he calls it, like 'taking dictation'. A debilitating cold/flu and a vicious 'Norther' storm find Drew nearly catatonic for several days and hallucinating a large rat with a lot to say. Dealings with the rodent may end up having deadly consequences.

I enjoyed this book immensely and it's an interesting visit into the fertile mind of one of the greatest horror story writers of today. Recommended.