Justin

There is some controversy around this book surrounding the misinformation - but much of it is harmless, just leaps that Walker took for research. Such as his suggestion that lack of sleep causes cancer - which there is no evidence for that (but the point is that it is bad for your health).

But as an OT student, I knew most of the information already. There was very little new information, except at the end with anecdotes, and perhaps the political messages at the end calling for work reform. It is well written enough that the familiar information is enjoyable to read again, but this book does not go deep enough into the science for my liking. It talks more about the implications and results of the science of sleep rather than the neurological reasons. Too much theory for my liking.

Blood Meridian was my second attempt at reading McCarthy. I've enjoyed No Country for Old Men, with a slight preference in the movie adaptation's favor, but found the prose and writing style of the book to be an interesting take on how a book could be written: short, minimalist prose that heightens the tension in a grim, nihilistic world. My wish was granted - only it succeed so well that I found myself never wanting to read another one of his books.

It is so overly serious and cynical to the point it is nigh parody, making everything grim and gloomy that everything about it just becomes nullifying to read even the most gruesome of parts. It is almost as if the author is trying to hard to make a point about the “truth” of the genre, but completely swings too far to a side that it becomes a laughable attempt. There was not a single character that had an ounce of humanity which makes it hard to care about anything that's going on. The judge was the only interesting character, but that comes at the expense of every other character who does not nearly get enough attention - which includes the protagonist himself.

It is entirely possible to create a narrative that deconstructs the western by showing everyone at their absolute worst, but it substitutes critiquing the genre with nuance instead with overt descriptions of violence that it becomes overbearing and numbing. It definitely is not a “realistic” narrative McCarthy creates, but it also is not a very convincing one either.

The writing style is overtly dry and lends itself to incredibly bad pacing issues. So much of this book was describing scenery, making the plot move at such a glacial pace. You can sense that the world is being described as bleak and uncaring, but it comes at the cost of the narrative. There is not much of a balance between the setting and the story.

The way the author withholds information is so disorienting at times that it makes it hard to follow, and especially suffers during the action sequences. Much of this book is declarative statements strung together to act as a sense of urgency, but it just doesn't work for a book this long. Much of it seems structure-less, almost repetitive with the events that take place. Perhaps it is to comment on the neverending cycle of violence, but it also does not make for an engaging story.

This marks the longest I have ever went in a book before stopping completely - with only 75 pages left. Apparently the ending is good, but I just don't care enough to continue.

Even then, I still have faith in the author. If this is his magnum opus, this is more of a misstep that I just don't enjoy. The brilliance of No Country for Old Men keeps me hopeful to read another one of his works.

Night Shift: This is like Lovecraft but with actual good characters and comprehensive vocabulary! 7/10

Graveyard Shift - RATS. Probably should not have read in a loud café for the true immersion, but still kinda spooky - just doesn't feel very unique. Just big carnivorous rats. 7/10

Night Surf - oh boy, a post-apocalyptic drama about overcoming prejudice after the wake of a virus from “Hong Kong” that was downplayed as just a flu. 7/10 in retrospect to current events

I Am The Night - it's a slightly spooky body horror with a narrator descending into insanity, but it's not exactly scary or well written. Not much of consequence happens - the character dynamics weren't explored enough for it to make an impact to make it feel like anything did. So...eh. A very low 6/10

The Mangler - Seems like an experiment to make a mildly scary machine scary and it worked with the amount of mystery surrounding it. Was I scared? Not particularly, but it was well written given the concept. Interesting ending too. 7/10 (which if anything, this book has been consistent in delivering 7/10 stories)

The Boogeyman - 6/10. One of the more “serious” and non-pulpy horror stories here, but it doesn't make an impact like it's supposed to for me. Probably the minority in this, was wondering what the point was aside from making the reader feel miserable - up until the end which I found sort of cheap. Not a great horror story, but a sad tragedy.

Gray Matter - 7/10. A little disappointed since this was supposed to be THE best story out of the bunch. But aside from that ending, the story wasn't any better from the rest. Great ending though holy cow, and the way it builds up to that ending was cool. But it didn't exactly scare me.

Battleground - 7/10. I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be read as a dark comedy and honestly, it's pretty funny imagining toy soldiers absolutely destroying this dude. Man just can't catch a break.

Trucks - 6/10. Arguably the weakest story here. I get King's schtick to make the not scary scary, but sentient trucks taking over the world is far too much of a stretch for me. It's written fine, but there wasn't enough time to develop either the concepts or characters.

Sometimes They Come Back - 8/10. Actually a really thrilling and interesting character study about a man who abides by the law and is still haunted, almost arbitrarily, by gangs. Very interesting story, my personal favorite thus far.

Strawberry Summer (8/10). Surprise favorite thus far, so quaint and restrained in talking about the terror - which makes it scarier that the narrator has grown cold to it. I just really liked the vibe the story was giving off.

The Ledge - just a good story, and then that ending hits and it satisfies that primal instinct for revenge. One of the rare King endings where it's actually really really satisfying and outclasses the rest of the story. 7.5/10

Lawnmower Man - 7/10. I actually don't know what to rate this, but reading this literally minutes after watching some Chainsaw Man actually made this 10x more entertaining. Idk what tone this was going for, but imagining a Lawnmower Man drawn in the way of Chainsaw Man gave me a good laugh.

Quitters Inc - 9/10. Best story so far. Don't want to say more than that to preserve the story but this is the one that I am walking away from feeling a bit shaken. Taps into a now newfound fear of mine.

I Know What You Need - 6/10. It's good, but lacks that extra stuff that makes this story stand out from the usual fare. The protagonist is too passive and the romance as a result isn't very convincing, which is the point but it doesn't make the ending have that impact it should have had.

Children of the Corn - 7/10. Evil children can be scary, but the concept runs thin even for a short story. Typical scary cult story, but it is an interestingly macabre idea for it to revolve around Christ like that. Other than that, it's just another typical good story.

The Last Rung on the Ladder - 7/10. Surprisingly somber and bereft of any supernatural horror, it is probably the most out of place story in this collection. It's melancholic and tragic, but it just doesn't develop the deceased character outside of the tragic incident. It's still a good story nonetheless.

The Man Who Loved Flowers - 6/10. Interesting concept, but a little half baked in execution. Caught me by surprise but just lacked the build up for that ending.

One For the Road - 7/10. Another story that falls into the “it was good camp”. It builds the mystery as to what the secret is (even though I knew it bc of Salem's Lot's concept) and actually builds interesting foreshadowing around it. It's just the story itself isn't great and the climax isn't long enough to justify it. Still good.

The Woman in the Room - 8/10. Surprisingly realistic horror to end off on. Used the narrative trick of ending off a section mid sentence a bit too much, but it also is intentionally disorienting. A very painful scenario that I'm surprised made it in this collection, as it's not horror but instead a frighteningly realistic situation. Good story.

So even if the average is a 7/10, it is very consistent in delivering the scares and the concepts elevate it above its execution, if that makes any sense. My time spent with this book was time well spent.