Four past midnight is EASILY my favorite collection of novellas by Stephen King. I am just starting to review all of the books i've read, so I chose this one because I have so much to say.

The Langoliers:

“That was when Brian felt something—something like a bolt—starting to give way deep inside his mind. That was when he felt his entire structure of organized thought begin to slide slowly toward some dark abyss.”

This collection starts off with a bang! Or a rip I should say. A rip in the time space continuum. This novella is one of Stephens longest novellas, page count wise. It sort of drags in the middle but it sets up the characters very well. Would have really enjoyed this as a full fledged novel. This is very weird Stephen King, but for me, the weirder the better. The movie adaption is very cheesy, as are the majority of his movies of the time. The special effects are shockingly terrible but it was nice to see this novella brought to life. Heavy Dark Tower connections due to my opinion that the rips in time are thinnies (in my opinion).

Secret window, secret garden:

“Pissing and thinking have a lot in common, he thought. You can put them both off.. But not forever.”

One of Stephen's best twist endings. King is known for questionable endings but this is one of my favorites. He loves to write about writers. Mort Rainey was a very relatable character if you've ever gone through a rough separation. Being in the mind or Mort was a fun ride. Is he an unreliable narrator? I'll let you find that out on your own. The adaption had Johnny Depp. Enough said.

The Library policeman:

This novella is messed up. One of Stephen's most horrifying stories. When it comes to content.. there is a scene in this book..that is literally horrifying. I will say nothing further because that scene must not be spoiled. It is a trigger warning for some. I have no triggers and read extreme horror so it didn't bother me. I will never return a library book late, EVER again. Such a great novella. You will not forget this story. It will stay with you. My most recent re-read was in 2021 and the imagery is burnt into my brain, unfortunately. He intended to horrify and he succeeded.

The Sun dog:

“You never ever asked Lady Luck for a date; she had a way of standing men up just when they needed her the most. But if she showed up on her own . . . well, it was wise to drop whatever it was you were doing and take her out and wine her and dine her just as lavishly as you could. That was one bitch who always put out if you treated her right.”

Stephen might have saved the best for last in this collection. We get another appearance from Pop Merrill!!!!! I love my castle rock characters. That alone should give you the urge to pick up this collection. Love the references and it was nice to see what Pop was up to. Same old tricks. The Sun dog involves Kevin who, every time he takes a picture, there is a dog who is not present when the photo is taken...and it keeps getting closer...and closer....and closer. Another scary novella compared to most he's written and a great way to end this book. Reminded me a lot of the concept of needful things and we get another dog. This one is not as scary as cujo if you ask me. But this journey left quite a lot of disturbing imagery. Not even close to the library policeman's.

In summation this collection is perfect to me. 2 of the 4 have adaptions, and they will never make the library policeman into a movie..if they do..they will have to cut the best scene in the whole book. By best I'm referring to most horrifying. I will never get over that scene. Would love to see a Sun dog adaption. For me the weakest entry was secret window, secret garden, and I give that novella 5 stars. You cant go wrong with this book and this is Stephen King at his best. A little bit of everything. Science fiction horror from the midnight hour. ( )

I knew I had read this compilation of novellas, but it had been many years. I specifically wanted to re-read The Library Police, since I now work in a public library. It was hilarious and scary all at once! (Hilarious to me, maybe not to the typical reader... things about the workings of a library were very old-school and struck me as funny. But they were likely accurate, too--times have changed, for example, and we don't require SILENCE in the library!)
The other stories were great, as well. I really enjoyed The Langoliers more than I did the first time around.
Listening to these stories, read aloud, was very pleasing! (Even Secret Window, Secret Garden, which was read by James Woods--I didn't much care for his reading voice at first, but I pushed through and came to enjoy it.) ( )

#944 in our old book database. Not rated.

Four very good short stories.
The Langolier's: What happen's to today when it's over? A small group of traveller's finds out.
Secret Window, Secret Garden: While trying to prove his story was not plagiarized, a writer remembers a past event and feels guilty.
the Library Policeman: While borrowing books to help with a speech, a gentleman meets a strange librarian who threatens to send the Library Policeman. Why does that conjure up horrible memories.
The Sun Dog: A simple Polaroid camera causes fear in the great town of Castle Rock. No matter what you aim the camera at, the photo of a big mangy stray dog appears on the photograph.

I thoroughly enjoyed all 4 books. ( )

None of them memorable enough to remember them now, two weeks after finishing it.