If It Bleeds in RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off)

From the Bookshelf of RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off)…

If It Bleeds

Stephen King

Start date: October 1, 2020

Finish date: October 31, 2020

Discussion: Buddy-Reads

Discussion leader: Heena Rathore Rathore-Pardeshi

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BOTM-2-October'20 - My Dark Vanessa
By Heena · 6 posts · 34 views

last updated Oct 22, 2020 08:04AM

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last updated Oct 01, 2020 09:49AM

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What Members Thought

Apr 19, 2020 Mark rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, supernatural, stephen-king

Another year another Stephen King book this time containing 4 novellas and not another full novel, I have found that Kings shorter stories and novellas are actually quite brilliant and offer some amazing stories. I do love the cover and was in first view also wondering if the cover might depict Church from "Pet Cemetery" but that is not the case the cats nose seems to contain at least one of the books novella titles hidden very nicely.

Mr. Harrigans Phone
A bittersweet tale about a boy and an adu ...more

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Jan 07, 2021 Albert rated it liked it

If It Bleeds by Stephen King is a collection of four novellas from the American master of modern horror. Not all of these tales are about things that go bump in the night, but they all dance a little in the moonlight of the supernatural.

"...I thought immediately-and guiltily-of the call I'd made to Mr. Harrigan's phone. I told myself he was dead and couldn't have had anything to do with it. I told myself that even if stuff like that were possible outside of comic book horror stories, I hadn't sp If It Bleeds by Stephen King is a collection of four novellas from the American master of modern horror. Not all of these tales are about things that go bump in the night, but they all dance a little in the moonlight of the supernatural.

"...I thought immediately-and guiltily-of the call I'd made to Mr. Harrigan's phone. I told myself he was dead and couldn't have had anything to do with it. I told myself that even if stuff like that were possible outside of comic book horror stories, I hadn't specifically wished Kenny dead, I just wanted to be left alone, but that seemed somehow lawyerly. And I kept remembering something Mrs. Grogan had said the day after the funeral, when I called Mr. Harrigan a good guy for putting us in his will.
Not so sure about that. He was square-dealing, all right, but you didn't want to be on his bad side..."

In the first tale, Mr. Harrigan's Phone; a young man finds that calling the phone of his deceased friend ends up with frightening and fatal consequences.

The comes the fantasy, The Life of Chuck and then the sequel to The Outsider, the title story, If It Bleeds. The book ends with the Rat. A novel about a writer and his unique way of handling writer's block and the price he is willing to pay for it.

The first tale, Mr. Harrigan's Phone is a tense and fast paced tale that will remind you of the original Twilight Zone episodes that scared you so much as a kid. It set a tone for the remaining tales that book two just could not fulfil. The Life of Chuck is well, just boring. There is a sense, as the reader, that King was really trying to say something here. But the message is never really delivered and it is a tribute to his skill that I even completed it.

If It Bleeds, the title story and perhaps the whole reason the book was put together to begin with is a sequel of sorts to the Outsider. First and foremost, let me be honest here. I hated the Outsider. In fact, I found the whole Mr. Mercedes series to be crap. But I have come to be fond of the character of Holly Gibney and in If It Bleeds, Holly takes control. It is a good tale, far better in my opinion than the Outsider and well worth the read.

The final tale is Rat and it is perhaps, a glimpse inside the sheer torture that writing a book can be. It to, is a throwback to the earlier horror tales that were once featured in the Twilight Zone. But here, King allows a little humor to slide in and out of the story. It's good. It really is.

The problem with writing a collection of short stories or novellas is that at times, you're only as good as your weakest story. So for the whole book, I cannot give it more praise than its weakest entry. But i will say that this is a book well worth picking up and reading for the sheer enjoyment of it. Not all of the stories here within will wow you, but you will find one that makes it worth the experience. If nothing else, I hope that King's newer fans will go back and pick up his earlier collections and give them a try. Like Different Seasons and Night Shift.

A good book that suffers from a weak link.

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Oct 17, 2020 FlowerFairy rated it really liked it

Audiobook. Excellent narration all the way round. 4 1/2 stars for the Holly Gibney story. Three stars for the other stories.

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Feb 09, 2025 Molly rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, thriller, holding-breath-without-knowing-it

I don't know how, but I somehow read Mr. Harrigan's phone before. I don't know if I got it out of the library or read it somewhere as a standalone. It was creepy, but a bit samey for King. 4ish/5.

The Life of Chuck could have ended after the first section. I guess it had to be told in the order that it did not to ruin the reveal during the first part. It could have stopped there. 2.5/5

If It Bleeds. It's always good to hear from Holly Gibney. 4.5/5

Rat. Not the best King story, but not his worst. 3 ...more

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