Night Shift [Paperback]

Stephen King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1979

Night Shift—Stephen King’s first collection of stories—is an early showcase of the depths that King’s wicked imagination could plumb.  In these 20 tales, we see mutated rats gone bad (“Graveyard Shift”); a cataclysmic virus that threatens humanity (“Night Surf,” the basis for The Stand); a smoker who will try anything to stop (“Quitters, Inc.”); a reclusive alcoholic who begins a gruesome transformation (“Gray Matter”); and many more.  This is Stephen King at his horrifying best.


From the Paperback edition.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

 
“A master storyteller.” —Los Angeles Times

“Eerie. . . . Ought to chill the cockles of many a heart.” —Chicago Tribune

“A master. . . . [King] will catch you in his web and reach you at an elemental level where there is no defense.” —The Cincinnati Enquirer

“Stephen King has built a literary genre of putting ordinary people in the most terrifying situations. . . . he’s the author who can always make the improbable so scary you'll feel compelled to check the locks on the front door.” —The Boston Globe
 
“Peerless imagination.” —The Observer (London)


From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are Full Dark, No Stars; Under the Dome; Just After Sunset; Duma Key; Lisey’s Story; Cell; and the concluding novels in the Dark Tower saga: Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower. His acclaimed nonfiction book On Writing is also a bestseller. In 2003, he was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2007 he received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives in Maine with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.


From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Signet (February 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451131312
• ISBN-13: 978-0451131317
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (203 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King's best book, May 21, 2000

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Shift (Signet) (Mass Market Paperback)

I've read over two dozen of Stephen King's books, and this one is his best. King's short story writing is what allows him to be mentioned in the same sentence with the likes of Poe as one of the best horror writers ever. There are so many King classics in "Night Shift" it is scary. "Graveyard Shift," "The Mangler," "Children of the Corn," "Trucks," "Gray Matter," "Quitters Inc.," the list goes on and on. Many of these were made into inferior movies, but the stories themselves are are among the scariest things he's written because they reduce fear to its most basic elements. This is one King book that qualifies as a "must" read.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The place to start with King, October 3, 2001

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night Shift (Signet) (Mass Market Paperback)

You know that friend of yours that notices you reading a Stephen King tome and says, "Ugh, you like that guy?" You know, the friend who hasn't ever actually read any Stephen King books and thinks his work is simply grist for very, very bad films? Well, slide them a copy of this and they'll be a fan for life.

This collection of his short stories is the first and best one he's ever done in tone, consistency and ideas. It's no mistake that out of the 20 stories collected here, no less than 12 of them have been made into cinematic adventures (though most of them have been bad films, they were originally great stories, trust me). All of the shorts that he's known for and that made him a household name come out of this collection as well: "The Lawnmower Man" (forget the movie...this is REAL horror), "Trucks" (which was made into 2 bad movies, but don't hold that against the book), "Quitters, Inc.", "The Mangler", "The Ledge"...this is all very concrete stuff that even a non-horror fan will take to because it's simply grand story-telling.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stephen King's Best Short Story Collection, The Boogeyman!, November 22, 1999

By 

Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Night Shift (Signet) (Mass Market Paperback)

I recommend this very highly if you are a fan of horror fiction mostly because this is King's anthology that includes one of the scariest, most disturbing short stories of all time (at least that I've read) entitled simply, The Boogeyman. That childhood monster that never really goes away. If you have any conscience what so ever this story will rattle you, I can only think of two other short stories that I would say are scarier; H.P. Lovecraft's The Rats in The Walls and Algernon Blackwood's The Wendigo. The rest of the stories in the collection are undeniably King (if you liked Salem's Lot you get a glimpse of the shadows in the town in Jerusalem's Lot, a fantastic atmosphere piece). It's fun reading, what short stories should be and IF (note the capitalization) you have a love of entertaining, interesting reading you just might want to pick this one up. If you're not particularly a Stephen King fan I'd recommend borrowing this book from your local library just to read The Boogeyman, 'cause it's gonna end up in future horror fiction text books.