Funes The Memorious (Jorge Luis Borges)
"The title character's absolute, perfect memory — the result of a head injury — is useless, since every sensation or minuscule change in an object registers as a separate memory, requiring a specific name, to the point of near-sensory overload. He recalls everything he sees but is unable to use any of it, or even to make sense of it -- just like the Eye itself."
I Am the Doorway (Stephen King)
"After being exposed to an alien mutagen on a space trip to Venus, a disabled former astronaut describes the frightening changes he goes through. The narrator, Arthur, begins the narrative with his hands bandaged and complains of horrible itching both before and after the expedition. The transformation manifests as a swarm of tiny eyeballs on his fingertips. These eyes serve as the titular "doorway" for an extraterrestrial civilization, allowing them to peer into our world, but from an alien perspective, humans are hideous monstrosities that they fear and despise, according to Arthur.
Soon, the alien presence is able to not only peer through this portal, but also to take control of Arthur's shattered body and use him to perform heinous atrocities. Arthur douses his hands in kerosene and sets them on fire in a frantic bid to retain his humanity, only to discover that once the gateway is opened, it cannot be simply closed. For over seven years, he is able to keep the extraterrestrial presence at bay. However, as the aliens' eyes emerge on Arthur's chest, he announces that he intends to commit suicide with a shotgun to stop them from killing anyone else."
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Night Shift by Stephen King
I thought I had peeked over the rim of the universe and into the fires of hell itself.
No matter how great the stories within wind up being, short story collections are always such sluggish reads, for me. Compared to the last King short story collection I read, Skeleton Crew, I think Night Shift easily wins, though. There may have not been any stories in here quite as staggering as The Jaunt, but there were definitely more that I really liked/loved, in general. Plus, my Top 5 Stories - One for the Road, I Am the Doorway, Children of the Corn, The Ledge & Graveyard Shift - are absolute knockouts! Just brilliantly effective, exciting, nightmare inducing storytelling. Either way, rating and reviewing short story collections is a pain in the ass, for me, so I'm going with an approach that generally seems to work. Here are my thoughts on each story:
*As Always With This Type of Review... POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!*
Jerusalem’s Lot : It took me way too long for me to get into it, because of the letter format, but once I did I really liked it. The first visit to the Lot and then the exploration of the basement were extremely unsettling/damn near terrifying. Love the revelation that’s Charles isn’t the last Boone. - 7.5/10
Graveyard Shift : A Top 5 Story. This was great. Creepy, skin-crawling, claustrophobic. The raw material of so many nightmares. Rats... Ugh. Bats... Ugh. Subbasements... Ugh. Asshole foremen... Ugh. - 9.5/10
Night Surf : A Capt. Trips story. Unlikable characters in the aftermath of the Trips epidemic, wandering around a desolate ex-tourist trap beach. They just burned a man infected with Trips and are coming to terms with it (I guess?). One of them has it now. Totally meh story. Was very happy when I could move on to the next one. - 2.5/10
I Am the Doorway : A Top 5 Story. (Maybe #1?) Fantastic cosmic horror about a man who grows eyes in the hands after coming back to earth from an exploratory mission orbiting Venus. They’re a doorway to some horrific world that wants to destroy us. He goes to desperate measures to stop them. Then he goes further. It’s weird. It’s creepy. It’s hopeless. I loved it. - 10/10
The Mangler : An industrial ironer is possessed and killing or severely harming workers at the cleaners. A rock solid story about the machines we make to make our lives easier turning on us. It's a theme King tackles often, and when it works, it really works wonders. These stories generally work especially well for me because I’ve always had a fear/distrust of large, dangerous machines like this one. Whether it was the trash compactor or cardboard crusher when I worked at Target or the redemption machines at the liquor store I worked at as a teenager, or even the band saw in Jr. High shop class, I always felt like no matter how safe I was, it wouldn’t matter. That made this especially creepy. - 8/10
The Boogeyman : The reason I chose this collection as my next King. I wanted to get it in before seeing the movie. Since then, I've decided I'll probably be waiting for it to hit streaming, but whatever. This was often chilling. If you don’t take a second (or third, or… shit… fourth) glance at your closet door after reading this, you’re a fool. It’d likely be a 10 if not for how unlikable the main character is. - 8/10
Grey Matter : A super gross allegory for alcoholism. It’ll turn you into a grey gooey slug monster that destroys everything and everyone around you. Get it? Anyway, it's not bad. Not really great either, though. - 6/10
Battleground : A lot of fun. Hexed Toy Soldiers attack a hit man who just got home from assassinating a toy maker. I wanted more, but what we get is more than good enough. - 8/10
Trucks : Another one about the machines turning on us. Really good tension. Very cinematic prose. So much better than Maximum Overdrive. Ha. - 9/10
Sometimes They Come Back : Might’ve even worked better as a whole novel. There’s a bunch here that really could’ve been expanded on. But still it's really good. Not quite my favorite, but really good. - 8/10
Strawberry Spring : Meh. Feels like filler. There's a promising concept with which very little is actually done. The ending was a little too obvious, yet fitting for how the rest of it read. I didn’t quite hate it, but it needed more meat to it. - 4/10
The Ledge : A Top 5 Story. Absolutely Fantastic! This is gripping, unpredictable storytelling. It’s suspenseful, it’s mean, and it’s so immensely satisfying in its structural simplicity. - 10/10
The Lawnmower Man : Super weird. No, seriously, this story is f*cking WEIRD. Not in a bad way, but certainly in an extremely unexpected way. I knew this was nothing like the movie, but damn. - 8.5/10
Quitters, Inc. : Brilliantly cruel. A great idea executed with a wicked creativity and pragmatism. Not quite Top 3, but a favorite, for sure. - 8/10
I Know What You Need : Interesting premise and execution. Not sure on the direction it takes though. A be careful with you wish for type thing maybe? Or a grass is always greener scenario? Anyway, I liked the connection to witchcraft/voodoo. Too anticlimactic to be great, though. - 6/10
Children of the Corn : A Top 5 Story. Guess I’m not sleeping tonight. When I was ~6 years old, I somehow ended up watching Children of the Corn. It quite literally scarred me for life. To this day, more than thirty years later, just driving past a cornfield makes my breath catch and the hair on the back of my neck stand to attention. This story just twisted the knife. So atmospheric and creepy and grim. I simultaneously loved it and hated it so damn much. And it definitely refuels my desire to make a King show like Tales from the Crypt and Cabinet of Curiosities to faithfully adapt his short stories. - 10/10
The Last Rung on the Ladder : Way to break my heart, Steve. My goodness this was sad. A Cat’s in the Cradle vibe by the end, just brother/sister instead of father/son. A reminder to always make the time for those you love. The loss you may face for being there is far more bearable than the loss you’ll face not being there. This hit like a brick. That final line, "She was the one who always knew the hay would be there." tore my heart out. - 8.5/10
The Man Who Loved Flowers : Love kills. This one’s ending hits hard because of the contrast in tone. Nice and very short. Nothing amazing, but effective in its language and tone. - 5.5/10
One For The Road : A Top 5 Story. Hell Yes! The atmosphere is magnificent. Not only did I have to put on a sweatshirt, but I damn near went on the hunt for a rosary. I absolutely love this little corner of King's world. I want more... so much more. And now I also really want to reread ‘Salem’s Lot. - 10/10
The Woman in the Room : Sad. It really should’ve been shorter. No other thoughts really. Except, why close it out with this one? You had One For The Road RIGHT. THERE. It would've been such a bookends way to close out this collection. ::shakes head:: - 5/10
"I have walked beneath death's umbrella and thought there was none darker. But there is. There is."
8/10
-Timothy Patrick Boyer.
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some brief advice for characters with small scars from a head injury (from my specific experience) since i do see people give these types of scars to characters sometimes
mine is like this for reference:
specific info:
i didn't receive in-hospital treatment for it even though i lost consciousness
i was kicked by a horse, the metal horseshoe is what did it
it was a long time ago (over a decade now)
it doesn't effect me much day to day, it is always visible but it has become less prominent over time. certain expressions (anything eyebrow raising especially) make it very obvious.
it is physically raised and lacks pigment.
sensation wise, it used to itch but i haven't felt that for awhile now. if i pay attention when touching it, there's a slight difference in temperature from the rest of my skin. if i scrape it (even just lightly, like scratching with a fingernail) it feels like its bleeding even when its not.
if i accidentally hit it (i dont like doorways), it is extremely painful, it burns, my vision flashes white and i see stars, and it feels like its bleeding all over again of course. it feels like the irl equivalent of being stunned by an electric arrow. if your character has a scar like this, having them get hit on it in a fight is a good way to make them go down for a bit. the sensation also lingers for a decent amount of time afterwards, depending on how hard the hit was. the lingering feels like a heavy pulsing/throbbing, similar to a strong headache but localized on the scar. personally, it feels like even minor impacts can have a really strong effect still as long as its a pretty direct hit.
so yeah just my personal experience having a scar like this! i like seeing characters with similar scars but it often feels like it was just a cosmetic choice to show that they're tough. it's not something that is super high-impact for me, but it still has its effects, and when you aggravate them you can't really focus on anything else until it goes away.
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