Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Many people who write about horror literature maintain that mood is its most important element. King disagrees: "My deeply held conviction is that story must be paramount...All other considerations are 2ndary--theme, mood, even characterization &amp; language."<br /><br />These fine stories, each written in what King calls "a burst of faith, happiness &amp; optimism," prove his point. The theme, mood, characters &amp; language vary, but throughout, a sense of story reigns supreme. <i>Nightmares &amp; Dreamscapes</i> contains 20 short tales--including several never before published--plus one teleplay, one poem &amp; one nonfiction piece about kids &amp; baseball that appeared in the <i>New Yorker</i>. The subjects include vampires, zombies, an evil toy, man-eating frogs, the burial of a Cadillac, a disembodied finger &amp; a wicked stepfather. The style ranges from King's well-honed horror to a Ray Bradbury-like fantasy voice to an ambitious pastiche of Raymond Chandler &amp; Ross MacDonald. And like a compact disc with a bonus track, the book ends with a charming little tale not listed in the table of contents--a parable called "The Beggar &amp; the Diamond."--Fiona Webster