Book Review: Just After Sunset by Stephen King

It has been six years since Stephen King's last short story collection, Everything's Eventual, and it must have been time well spent. King returns to the short story with Just After Sunset and this collection presents a truly fantastic collection of stories. He sites a guest editing stint for the 2007 edition of Best American Short Stories as renewing his interest in the format after he read through hundreds of submissions. Clearly, those submissions flipped the right switch because King is in fine form with this collection.

Just After Sunset contains 13 newly collected short stories that run the gamut of subjects from 9/11 (The Things They Left Behind), to running from the death of a child straight to the home front of a serial killer (The Gingerbread Girl), to OCD symptoms that may just save humanity (N.). King covers it all here and more.

The stories are genuinely creepy, some with laughs, some with a bit of sadness tucked in for good measure. Just After Sunset is King at the top of his game, proving that he is unparalleled when it comes to putting humanity into his works. His characters come alive and become almost real, even in stories that are just a few pages long. King is a master at giving life to these characters and there are very few others who can even approach him at this.

This collection truly is a brilliant set of stories. I really loved every one of them. My only complaint? I wanted more. The majority of the stories certainly have room for more. Especially N. and The Things They Left Behind. I also think these stories are fertile ground for some good movie adaptations as well.

King's new novel, Under The Dome, is scheduled for release next fall so if you read slow or read one of the stories a month you'll finish just in time for the newest book. I doubt you'll be able to hold out since these stories are so addicting. You won't want to put it down.

Just After Sunset is in stores now. It'll make a great gift for any fan of Stephen King, horror, short stories, or just great storytelling.