Nightmares and Dreamscapes I

Well, for whatever reason, there is no list of stories on any of the three Nightmares and Dreamscapes downloads. Anyway, I downloaded this one, Vol I, and to help future shoppers, here is the story list, in order, for this volume. SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN, read by Whoopie Goldberg. CROUCH END, read by Tim Curry. RAINY SEASON, read by Yeardley Smith. (If you are a Simpson\’s fan, you will recognize the voice of this reader. For me, a horror story read to me by Lisa Simpson isn\’t a horror story. I laughed more than anything! Don\’t get me wrong, I adore Yeardley Smith, however, this was not a story for her talents.) DOLAN\’S CADILLAC, read by Rob Lowe. (This one is my favorite story of the lot.) THE HOUSE ON MAPLE STREET, read by Tabitha King. UMNEY\’S LAST CASE, read by ??? HEAD DOWN, read by Stephen King. BROOKLYN AUGUST, read by ??? As with any collection of short stories, everyone\’s tastes will be different. Dolan\’s Cadillac is the reason I downloaded this volume. I remember reading this one YEARS ago and thought is was one of Mr. Kings best non-horror stories he had written to date. The other stories are very good as well, but for me, a couple of them are quite forgettable. Bottom line; if you are a Stephen King fan, you will enjoy this download.

I loved all of the stories except for Head Down and Brooklyn August. My favorite was Dolan\’s Cadillac and Suffer the Little Children . I enjoyed this audiobook so much that I plan on watching the miniseries Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.

I\’m a big fan of Stephen King, but overall this volume of his short stories was rather disappointing. Of the small collection that this volume holds (inexplicably the collection is split into three volumes), there are only a few I can remember that much about to discuss with a friend. Some were really great, but not enough to make it on the top of any of my Stephen King lists. And as though that wasn\’t enough, some of the narrators do a horrible, horrible job! I don\’t think I\’ve ever heard some narrators that performed so amateurishly (with heavy breathing, monotone dull delivery) and some professionals were really miscast. And the death nail was the ending essay on youth baseball training. I just skipped it. I bought this audiobook for horror and thriller, not sportscasting. Again, I\’m a fan of Stephen King. However, I\’ll never miss this audiobook.

I originally bought these books on tape years ago and used to listen to them on my commutes, but I\’ve since lost them and none of my cars accept tapes anymore anyway! I was thrilled to see them on audible.com and plan to download all three volumes — some of the best short stories ever written. Have to disagree with the reviewer who said that \”Head Down\” was boring and didn\’t belong in this anthology. It was exciting, uplifting, and extremely well-written. The first time I heard it I was skeptical to see if King\’s exceptional horror writing abilities would translate well in a non-fiction story about baseball, but I was not disappointed. King could have written for Sports Illustrated….I don\’t know why I ever doubted him. Some of my other favorites include: Night Flier (great story with a great narrator who really brings out the cynicism of the protagonist), Umney\’s Last Case (outstanding narrator you really believe is a private eye during The Great Depression), Popsy (evil story that actually makes you root for the vampire, Joe M does a great job with it too), Dedication (Weird and almost lewd story, but well told. I love that woman\’s voice; she\’s so versatile), and It Grows On You (King\’s voice took some getting used to, but the descriptions in his adjectives and his allusions really make you feel like you\’re in Castle Rock.) I thoroughly enjoyed all these stories and if you stumbled upon them in your search here, I\’m sure you will too. Nightmares and Dreamscapes is a MUST HAVE for any Stephen King fan!

Since Nightmares and Dreamscapes is such a large collection, the audiobook is broken into 3 volumes. This Volume 1 contains the following stories read by these respective narrators: Suffer the Children read by Whoopi Goldberg; Crouch End, Tim Curry; Rainy Season, Yeardley Smith; Dolan\’s Cadillac, Rob Lowe: The House on Maple Street, Tabitha King; Umney\’s Last Case, Robert B. Parker; Head Down, Stephen King; Brooklyn August, Stephen J. Gould. The first 4 stories, all read by some of mine and many others favorite actors. My favorites stories from this volume are Rainy Season,mand Dolan\’s Cadillac. I first listened to these on CD when the book was first released while I was working a job that always was easier done while listening to music or books. All the narrators inbthis volume bring the listener into the story so well, you almost feel like you\’re there, or watching it on the big screen. Especially the favorites I mentioned. Smith relays the confusion and later fear of the characters as they hear about then experience The Rainy Season of the little town they are vacationing at for the night. Just as well is Lowe, portraying the school teacher turned vigilante (avenging his wife\’s murder). Then of course, nobody can narrate a Stephen King story better than himself, reading it in the way he imagines his Constant Readers do, in order to feel the full effect and rage of emotion. I highly recommend getting all three volumes of this excellent, and favorite of mine, collection of short stories. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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