Skeleton Crew [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen King (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 3, 1986

In this brilliant collection of stories, Stephen King takes readers down paths that only he could imagine?A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction?a trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell?a woman driver finds a scary shortcut to paradise?an idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil?and a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the introduction to Skeleton Crew (1985), his second collection of stories, King pokes fun at his penchant for "literary elephantiasis," makes scatological jokes about his muse, confesses how much money he makes (gross and net), and tells a story about getting arrested one time when he was "suffused with the sort of towering, righteous rage that only drunk undergraduates can feel." He winds up with an invitation to a scary voyage: "Grab onto my arm now. Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way."

And he sure does. Skeleton Crew contains a superb short novel ("The Mist") that alone is worth the price of admission, plus two forgettable poems and 20 short stories on such themes as an evil toy monkey, a human-eating water slick, a machine that avenges murder, and unnatural creatures that inhabit the thick woods near Castle Rock, Maine. The short tales range from simply enjoyable to surprisingly good.

In addition to "The Mist," the real standout is "The Reach," a beautifully subtle story about a great-grandmother who was born on a small island off the coast of Maine and has lived there her whole life. She has never been across "the Reach," the body of water between island and mainland. This is the story that King fans give to their friends who don't read horror in order to show them how literate, how charming a storyteller he can be. Don't miss it. --Fiona Webster

From Publishers Weekly

This hefty sampler of King's shorter works, from all stages of the horror master's career, demonstrates the range of his abilities. Some of the stories here rank among his best, and "even the less successful ones are fun," PW observed.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Signet; First Edition edition (June 3, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451168615
• ISBN-13: 978-0451168610
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (178 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,785 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.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#9 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#3 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#2 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#3 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#9 in Books > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creepy, creepier, creepiest.....oo ee oo September 13, 2003

By Alex Diaz-Granados VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Before I shifted in literary tastes from mostly science fiction and fantasy to Tom Clancy-style military thrillers, I was a regular reader of Stephen King's macabre masterpieces. I have about two-thirds of his literary output, and if books were not as expensive now I'd still be a regular reader of King's works.

One of my favorite books by Steve-o is Skeleton Crew, his second collection of short stories, including the novella "The Mist." And as in any collection of short fiction, some of the 22 stories stand head and shoulders above the rest.

The creepiest, by far, is "The Mist," which begins with, as in all good King works, with a seemingly normal event (a storm) and a routine occurrence (a trip to the supermarket) and slowly but surely morphs into a situation which becomes scarier as the story progresses. While not wanting to give anything away, I can tell you this much -- I'll never go to the Kash n' Karry and look at it quite the same way again, particularly in the spaghetti sauce section.

"Survivor Type" is King's take on Robinson Crusoe. Its protagonist is Richard Pine, a surgeon who, unfortunately, has also been involved in the narcotics "business." Now, after he is shipwrecked and marooned on a desert isle, Pine is forced to face his inner demons and, by the way, cope with the problem of what to eat in a place where there is no viable food source. Suffice it to say that in his desperation he will have to use his surgical training to solve this dicey problem.

While there are other stories that give me the willies, I am always drawn to "Word Processor of the Gods...." I first read it before I ever owned -- or even used -- a personal computer, and its premise involving a word processor with supernatural powers, while silly on the surface, was very compelling to me as an aspiring writer. King asks: What if you simply typed a sentence like "I wish I were married to the loveliest, kindest person on earth," and by pressing ENTER, it came true? Maybe in the hands of a lesser writer the premise is silly, but King tells his story with a fine balance of spookiness and wit. The closing paragraph is a gem.

The beauty of an anthology like Skeleton Crew is that you can read as much or as little of it as you like, choosing whatever story strikes your fancy at any given moment. If you are a newcomer to King's storytelling and don't want to commit yourself to a major novel such as IT or The Stand, this is a fine place to start. Read more ›

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just Horror Stories January 29, 2008

By tvtv3 TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

SKELETON CREW is mostly a collection of Stephen King short stories (there are a couple of poems). The collection was published around 1986. King had been a world-wide publishing phenomenon for just over a decade at that point. The stories are mostly hits, including a few bona fide classics, including "The Mist", "The Monkey", and "The Raft" with just a few lackluster tales. Most of the stories are works that were published previously in various print sources. The stories are prefixed with an introduction by King explaining why he still writes short stories. The works in the book are as follows.

"The Mist"--recently published as a stand alone novella and adapted by Frank Darabont into a motion picture. "The Mist" is probably the strongest story in the collection and one of the better known and well-liked stories from SKELETON CREW. "The Mist" tells the story of a group of people that find themselves stranded at a local shopping center when a mysterious mist covers the town and surroundings and brings with it creatures from a prehistoric age. If you've seen Darabont's film, you really should read the story. The story has an ambiguous ending, but literally ends in "hope".

"Here There Be Tygers"--a little boy has to go to the bathroom but is scared because he believes that there is a tiger inside the stalls. Not everything is in one's imagination and children don't cry wolf as often as many adults think they do.

"The Monkey"--this is probably the best known tale from SKELETON CREW, after "The Mist". "The Monkey" is a story about a man who believes that a mechanical, cymbal-crashing monkey is cursed. He believes that every time the monkey crashes its symbols someone close to the man dies.... The man tried to get rid of the monkey before, but it keeps coming back.

"Cain Rose Up"--this story reminded me quite a bit like King's novel RAGE and the novella APT PUPIL. A young, seemingly together college student goes on a shooting spree after taking his finals.

"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"--a homespun yarn told by an elderly man about the wife of one of the "summer people" who used to go driving and was able to find all kinds of shortcuts through Maine, the United States, and even beyond. King is known for writing scary and horror stories, but he really shines as a writer in stories like this.

"The Jaunt"--a sci-fi story about the dangers of traveling through time in order to travel through space.

"The Wedding Gig"--a Prohibition-era story about a group of musicians who go to play at the wedding of the sister of a local gang boss. The festivities turn violent, but the narrator witnesses the turning point in the life of a female gang boss.

"Paranoid: A Chant"--a poem about paranoia.

"The Raft"--four college students, two males and two females, set out for a swim and a little excitement out on a raft in a private pond on the last warm day of autumn. They think they are alone, but there is something in the water that is hungry and just won't let them leave. This story was adapted into a film short as part of CREEPSHOW 2.

"Word Processor of the Gods"--a young man is married to a woman he that no longer loves him and has a good-for-nothing son. He's brother married the girl of his dreams and his nephew was like the son he never had. But they were killed in a car accident. His nephew made a special gift for his uncle and it's delivered to his writing studio not long after they die. The gift is a word processor of enormous power that changes his life forever.

"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"--a club of elderly gentleman gather together to tell stories (the group also appears in "The Breathing Method" in DIFFERENT SEASONS). George Gregson tells a story about a murder he witnessed caused by a man who would not shake hands.

"Beachworld"--a sci-fi story about a group of future astronauts from a different world crashing into the desert of an unknown world. All the have to do is wait for rescue, but they aren't alone because the desert sands are alive.

"The Reaper's Image"--there is a mirror that seems to be normal. However, it is incredibly valuable because there is only one other like it known to exist in the world. It is said that the mirror is cursed because if you look into the mirror and see the Reaper, you disappear forever.

"Nona"--a young man meets a dark and mysterious young woman and begins a night of intense violence that ends in the shed of a graveyard.

"For Owen"--a poem

"Survivor Type"--a story about a man shipwrecked on an island who eats himself to death.

"Uncle Otto's Truck"--an ancient broken-down antique truck left in the fields to rust causes a man to die and another to go insane.

"Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)"--the milkman delivers milk, but he also delivers death.

"Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)"--this story connects with "Morning Deliveries" and illustrates what happens to one of the people the milkman delivers to.

"Gramma"--young George is left alone with his gramma when his mother has to leave when George's brother breaks his arm. George doesn't like gramma. She's been dying for several years, but people say there isn't something right about gramma. People are scared of her because she's a witch.

"The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet"--an aging editor tells the story of the greatest story he never got to publish and how it caused him to go insane.

"The Reach"--a ghost story about an old woman who lives on an island who has never been to the mainland.

The stories are followed by a series of notes where King expounds upon some of the stories in the book. Out of all the stories in the book, the ones I liked best are "The Mist", "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut", "The Raft", "Word Processor of the Gods", "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands", and "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet".

Overall, a great short story collection full of tales from a variety of genres. A must read for fans of Stephen King. Also recommended for anyone who likes reading short stories (and who doesn't mind a few minor frights). Read more ›

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Skeleton Crew delivers you to a world of evil January 24, 2000

By Chris Moon

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Stephen King makes a wonderful effort in this, his second collection of short stories. All of the stories in this novel had been published in various magazines before they were collected together in this marvellous adventure into the unknown depths of King's imagination.

The first story to appear in the book, "The Mist", definetly is the cherry on the top. Where else could you see a supermarket being the site for one of the last battles for humankind?

The Jaunt is another amazing story, with parallels to "The Fly". The Jaunt invovles transportation technology, and the length of time a human mind experiences having to pass through it while being conscious.

The Raft and The Reach are also most noteworthy creations from King's mind. The Raft was actually a re-written version of a story King had written earlier called The Float, but the idea was similar. King's The Reach show's that he can write all kinds of genres, not just the horror.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Stephen King, and anyone who wants to be. An excellent place to start if you are new to the world of Stpehen King, or a great book if you have read King before, and are looking for more.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not King's Best May 22, 2001

By "mearwhen"

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I picked this novel up and decided to save it, Stephen King I have found is like a candy, something that should be stored and savoured.

The first story in this collection "The Mist" is in my opinion the best. It is classic King - slow in its rise before the true nature of a terror is known, terrifying and possibly (though not as plausible as The Stand) real. Other stories are quite good, such as "The Word Processor of the Gods" (immediately comes to mind).

Overall however, I must say this is not my favourite piece of his work. Of his other short story/novella collections, I enjoyed Four Seasons, Night Shift and Four Past Midnight more. Many of these stories are either less polished, less frightening or worst of all less interesting than I have come to expect of Stephen King.

Nevertheless this is Stephen King. Although this might be my least favourite piece of his, it is his still his, he is a master storyteller. These just happen to be some of his lesser stories.