Four Past Midnight (Signet)
by Stephen King
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stephen KingEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1991-09-03
ISBN: 0451170385
Number of pages: 768
Publisher: Signet
Book Reviews of Four Past Midnight (Signet)
Book Review: It's Good t'be Da King (Second in a Series)
Summary: 5 Stars
Before we begin, I'll throw a practical disclaimer up here, just in case: any critique I write of Stephen King's work is going to fall suicidally close to fangirlish "Omigod he's the MAN I love him he rules there's nothing he can't do!" squealing and posturing. But while I might be obsessive enough to worship the mud he tracks across his foyer, I'm hardly delusional to the point of proclaiming his grocery list a masterpiece (thanks in advance for aiming that tranquilizer dart someplace else). Fanaticism on a mature and honest level doesn't involve plunking your idol onto some hopeless mythical pedistal and trying to claw out their humanity the way you'd gut a fish. To truly appreciate a person's artistic or entertainment prowess is to admire it from a respectful distance, and having the dignity to realize anyone's efforts are equally weak and strong, flawed and seamless, profound and banal. Celebrate the illusion, but don't lose sight of the reality in the process.In the author's note preceeding "L.T.'s Theory of Pets", from his recent <i>Everything's Eventual</i> anthology, King writes, "For me, that emotional payoff is what it's all about. I want to make you laugh or cry when you read a story...or do both at the same time. I want your heart, in other words. If you want to learn something, go to school." I find that to be a daring and noble statement, especially in this technologically enhanced culture determined to quantify both intelligence and self-worth through numbers...it seems like the only heights and depths we're encouraged to explore nowadays involve BMIs or GPAs. Stephen King is by no means a co-proprietor of the literary brain candy store...he's a challenge for your feelings, a threat to your comfort zone, an alchemist of characterization and human nature. More than any of his popular-fiction contemporaries, King is aware that the heart is perhaps the most powerful, fearsome--and yet underrated--of all internal spheres. He also displays a fiercely self-assured understanding that psychology has as much to do with feelings as it does with ideas and responses.Adroitly mixing this philosophy with a recurring theme of time (history, present, and future), <i>Four Past Midnight</i> becomes an enigmatic collection of short novels, meshing straightforward horror with abstract themes like isolation and desire. There is the occasional anticlimactic scene and awkward passage common to Stephen King's prose, but he rarely relies on cheap scares or takes the easy way out...and I for one appreciate his so-called "literary elephantitis." Maybe his frequent tangents have little to do with the plot, but as reflections of himself and his characters, there's truly nothing finer. In presented order:<b>The Langoliers</b> is more than a promising first step...it's a harbinger. Obstensibly a science fiction-inflected tale disguised as a typical air-travel disaster, this is a fascinating concept piece with a stark feel and one of the most interesting characters ever to grace the King roll call. I'm not referring to the blind, psychically gifted Dinah Bellman or to Nick Hopewell, the British assassin with the heart of gold...but to Craig Toomy, the "murderous deep-sea fish who only wants to be hauled to the surface so he can explode." I was unimpressed with the television miniseries' version of Mr. Toomy, dismissing him as the standard mentally unbalanced yuppie scum (!) you'd expect to throw a subplot into the proceedings. On paper, Craig Toomy is a complex character worthy of anyone's sympathy, despite the horrific acts his growing madness drives him to commit. King created a monster...with love.<b>Secret Window, Secret Garden</b> is arguably the weakest link in this chain, but is strong enough to keep everything intact, thank you. Its inspiration (told in the author's note) is compellingly common. This is a study in perspective, in looking at something in our everyday lives from a different angle...and wondering if measuring the depth of its dissimilarities might take us to a place we have no desire to go. When we stare at our surroundings, they stare back at us...and they, too have a story to tell.<b>The Library Policeman</b> is the spiciest and scariest of this collection. Building on an old childhood scare tactic, this one features the best kind of monster: a parasitic demon of uexplained origin and astronomical power. Dirty Dave Duncan emerges as the strongest character, telling one of the most harrowing and heartbreaking stories you could ever hope to hear. His past is wrapped in a blanket of spiritual vampirism, and while he lost his future, his dignity, and his mind...his heart remained intact. An event in the protagonist's past is similarly cruel and shocking, but like Dave, it can't destroy him inside and out. This is an important and deeply psychological tale wearing a dark suit of ghouls and goblins. You'll have to strip it nude and let it in to get the full point.<b>The Sun Dog</b> takes us back to Castle Rock--unless you're a King neophyte, you know this is the most famous of his fictional Maine towns--in the time between <b>The Dark Half<b> and <b>Needful Things</b>. Billed as a prequel to the latter, this is the story of a Polaroid Sun Camera and its supernatural manifestation alternately considered unusual, disturbing--and, strangely, boring. "Pop" Merrill, uncle to Ace Merrill of "The Body" (aka <i>Stand by Me</i>) infamy, steals the show in this one, evolving from cantankerous eccentricity to full-tilt insanity from his introduction to his exit. For extra nuance, the similar progression of the protagonist's father from paranormal skeptic to someone on a first-name basis with it is good for a knowing smirk. Watching him forcefully severed from his dependence on cold logic and having to give himself a sudden crash course in less concrete powers pretty much mirrors the reader's journey through any of Stephen King's best work.
Summary of Four Past Midnight (Signet)
Four Times Fear Equals Total Terror....
The Langoliers You are strapped in an airplane seat on a flight beyond hell.
Secret Window, Secret Garden You are trapped in the demonic depths of a writer's worst nightmare.
The Library Policeman You are forced into a hunt for the most horrifying secret a small town ever hid.
The Sun Dog You are focusing in on a beast bent on shredding your sanity.
You are in the hands of Stephen King at his mind-blowing best, with an extraordinary quartet of full-length novellas.
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