The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
On sale
3rd November 2015
Price: £10.99
The short story OBITS won the 2016 Edgar for best short story.
The No.1 bestselling author delivers an ‘outstanding’ (USA Today) collection of thrilling stories, introducing each one with a fascinating piece on when, where or how he came to write it.
There is a treasure here for every reader: a man who keeps reliving exactly the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again; a columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries; a poignant tale about the end of the human race and a firework competition between neighbours which reaches an explosive climax. And, exclusive to this paperback edition (and the eBook from 6 September), a brand new story ‘Cookie Jar’.
‘I made them especially for you,’ says King. ‘Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.’
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS
Introduction
Mile 81
Premium Harmony
Batman and Robin Have an Altercation
The Dune
Bad Little Kid
A Death
The Bone Church
Morality
Afterlife
Ur
Herman Wouk Is Still Alive
Under the Weather
Blockade Billy
Mister Yummy
Tommy
The Little Green God of Agony
Cookie Jar
That Bus Is Another World
Obits
Drunken Fireworks
Summer Thunder
The No.1 bestselling author delivers an ‘outstanding’ (USA Today) collection of thrilling stories, introducing each one with a fascinating piece on when, where or how he came to write it.
There is a treasure here for every reader: a man who keeps reliving exactly the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again; a columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries; a poignant tale about the end of the human race and a firework competition between neighbours which reaches an explosive climax. And, exclusive to this paperback edition (and the eBook from 6 September), a brand new story ‘Cookie Jar’.
‘I made them especially for you,’ says King. ‘Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.’
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS
Introduction
Mile 81
Premium Harmony
Batman and Robin Have an Altercation
The Dune
Bad Little Kid
A Death
The Bone Church
Morality
Afterlife
Ur
Herman Wouk Is Still Alive
Under the Weather
Blockade Billy
Mister Yummy
Tommy
The Little Green God of Agony
Cookie Jar
That Bus Is Another World
Obits
Drunken Fireworks
Summer Thunder
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Reviews
Some of King's strongest work in recent years brought together to form an excellent collection
This collection of short works... reveals King's mastery of the novella
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is the title it more than lives up to, but just as interesting as the stories themselves are their prefaces, in which he reveals what inspired each one. Who besides King would conjure a flesh-eating station wagon from a drive to see his college sweetheart?
A meaty collection with interesting insights into the creative process of a writer who caused many sleepless nights
A more versatile writer than you might imagine
A tense inventory of stories... King manages to portray a remarkable depth of character within the swiftness of a short story and manoeuvres a vast range of plots...There are treasures to be found in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams and those who love King... will find much to savour
He seduces you with an intimate author's note introducing each tale, then proceeds to chill you to the bone. Do not read before bed
King is a laureate of small towns; his ear for dialogue is unerring ... He is also one of those rare authors who can write well about childhood. Most potently, King can sketch a full-blooded character in just a few pen strokes. This gift comes to the fore in his short stories, where every syllable counts
One of the best aspects of his new collection of short stories, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, is the commentary that prefaces each one, describing the creative process through which it travelled from brain to page
Short stories have a famous place in the King oeuvre, with the likes of The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption finding second lives on the big screen as Stand By Me and Shawshank Redemption... Like all the greats, though, his ability to grip the reader's mind, body and soul with his prose makes it all look easy