Everythings Eventual by Steven King and Other Dark Reviews

The only thing I like better than reading a good short story, is reading a good short story that will scare the poop out of me. It is for this reason that I first picked-up Steven King's Everythings Eventual.

I have been a Steven King fan, and avid reader of any King titles I can get my hands on, for about 10 years. I find that his novels fall into two categories: Books that scare me so badly I won't read them when I am alone, and have nightmares about them for years to come, and books that I am not personally frightened by, but are still good stories anyway. It was no different with the 14 Dark Tales between the covers of Everythings Eventual.

Here are brief summaries of each of the stories. I'll try not to spoil any plots:

Dark Tale #1: Autopsy Room Four
The protagonist is scheduled to be autopsied, but he is still conscious, although unable to move or speak. Trapped in his own body, his thoughts race as he is wheeled into autopsy room four. Early on it's pretty easy to tell where this one is going. There are, however, some interesting twists along the way.

Dark Tale #2: The Man in the Black Suit
This is one of the stories included in Everythings Eventual that still scares me.
Perhaps what makes this story so terrifying is that it is told to us in retrospect by a very old man. When he was a small boy alone in the woods, he was met by a stranger in a black suit. It becomes clear that this stranger - with fire where his eyes should be, and who can take the lives of creatures by simply clapping his hands - is the devil.
This story won an O.Henry Award in 1996, and rightly so. Although not King's usual brand of horror, The Man in the Black Suit is well written and chilling.

Dark Tale #3: All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
This story was first published in the New Yorker, and has a distinctly more literary feel than some it's peers. The story is about a man who collects the wisdom scrawled on the walls of public restrooms. While the story is not too scary, and even humorous on the surface, the reader quickly discovers that the protagonist is bent on suicide.

Dark Tale #4: The Death of Jack Hamilton
This story is based on the John Dillinger gang. A good read for anyone who is interested in depression-era crime stories. The Death of Jack Hamilton tells the story of how John Dillinger got the scar on his lip. Parts are humorous, parts are disturbing. Overall I think this story is about the fragility of human life.

Dark Tale #5: In the Death Room
This story details the interrogation and torture of a man in South America. The interrogation ends badly... for the interrogators. Although said torture is more mental than physical, this story does have it's gory parts.

Dark Tale #6: The Little Sisters of Eluria
This story deals with the characters and ideas from King's popular Dark Tower series. While fans of the series may be interested to read about Roland before the series began, one does not have to have read the other books to enjoy this little glimpse into the Dark Tower world.

Dark Tale #7: Everythings Eventual
The title story is my favorite from this collection.
The gifted protagonist in this tale becomes faced with some serious moral dilemmas.
I know that was a very vague description, but honestly, I don't want to ruin this gem for anyone who might read it. This is one of those King stories that doesn't keep me up nights, but will remain forever etched in my mind because it was just that good!

Dark Tale #8: LT's Theory of Pets
This is a story about LT, his wife, their dog, and their cat. LT's wife leaves him, and he relates the story to some friends at work during their lunch break. There is an interesting pet theory and a creepy turn as more truth is revealed.

Dark Tale #9: The Road Virus Heads North
This is another one of the stories from this collection that still scares me!
The protagonist is drawn to a painting at a yard sale, and purchases it. As the day wears on he makes the unsettling discovery that the painting is changing. Of course, it's easy to see where this story is going, but in this case, I think the fact that it follows through to the unavoidable end makes it all the more terrifying.

Dark Tale #10: Lunch at the Gotham Café
The art work for the cover of this collection comes right out of this gory tale. A man, his wife, and their divorce lawyers meet for lunch at the Gotham Café. There is some subtle foreshadowing before the reader is blindsided by an eruption of gore and terror ensues.

Dark Tale #11: That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French
Another great story!
That feeling, of course, is deja-vu, and King masterfully guides the reader into the same scene three times over, without giving the impression that the same bit of story was printed thrice. I was reminded of the movie Groundhog Day. In the commentary at the end of the book King states that he has a theory that Hell is being trapped in a repetitive cycle from which one cannot break free. This story makes a strong case for his theory.

Dark Tale #12: 1408
Thanks to Steven King and his short story 1408, I can no longer sleep in hotel rooms alone. Even if the digits in the room number don't add-up to unlucky 13.
This story is slightly reminiscent of The Shinning, in that the 'evil' hotel(room) gets inside the mind of it's occupant, and slowly drives them mad.

Dark Tale #13: Riding the Bullet
Steven King's famous e-book, finally available in print!
A college student hitchhikes to visit his ailing mother. He is first picked-up by a creepy guy... and later by a dead guy! Before arriving at his mother's bedside, he must make a choice that will change his life forever.

Dark Tale #14: Lucky Quarter
This story is a character piece about a destitute single mother of two working as a chamber maid in a hotel outside Las Vegas. A patron leaves her a Quarter as a tip claiming that it is 'Lucky.' That night she dreams that she has won the jackpot, upon waking she feels as though with the lucky quarter it might be possible.
Nothing scary about this one at all.

I have to say that this collection of short stories reminds me a lot of the first piece of King's work I was exposed to: Night Shift. He is truly a gifted writer who understands the art of crafting a short story. I would recommend this book to horror fans looking of an easy read, and some maybe some not-so-scary excellent tales. Everythings Eventual contains some real gems.