So, the trend is slighty downward, but it’s a good read and still a lot better than a lot of other collections out there. If I had to choose, I would say the best stories here are The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet (which has the advantage of added detail, being a novella), The Mist (which is even longer), monster horror story, The Raft and the thought-provoking Survivor Type fighting it out for the top four spots. I’m sure there’s something in here for those who enjoy that kind of thing, but that ain’t me. Sci-fi is a tough sell for me, and this did nothing to change my opinion on the genre. Of the five pieces I didn’t recommend, Beachworld fared the poorest. This story is part of Future Tense Fiction, a monthly series of short stories from Future Tense and Arizona State.

75% is a pretty good win rate, although it’s not quite as good a number as I posted for Night Shift. I recommended fifteen of the twenty-two pieces on offer in Skeleton Crew, and if you take away the two pieces of poetry (which probably shouldn’t count towards the total anyway) that’s fifteen out of twenty. It was originally published in the November 1982 issue of Gallery, and later included in Kings own 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. It also feels less cohesive than that first book – more a bunch of stories put together than anything truly united. 01:30 Watch 01:33 Its a Me, Mario - The Loop ' The Raft ' is a short story written by Stephen King. Overall, it is a decent book, although if I had to put it side by side with Night Shift, it would probably come up a little short. Skeleton Crew came out in 1985 and was the second collection of short stories Stephen King published.

Skeleton crew short stories