The Latest by Stephen King...If it Bleeds

If It Bleeds By Stephen King

A Review by Jonathan Hanson

As a lifelong fan of Stephen King, I always look forward to his books. In fact, I previously reviewed my favorite book from his catalogue, IT. His newest book, If It Bleeds, is a collection of four novellas.

Over the years, Mr. King has written a wide variety of short stories and novellas: Four Past Midnight, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Skeleton Crew, Everything’s Eventual, etc. I really enjoy his collections because it allows the reader to explore various aspects of King’s writing, from the eerie and gory to the subtle and supernatural. In fact, some of the most famous movies based on Stephen King books were short stories: Rita Hayworth & the Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Mist, and Jerusalem’s Lot are some examples.

This new book contains four novellas, one of which is a sequel to earlier works.

“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is about the friendship formed between a young boy and a wealthy old man. It’s a coming-of-age story as young Craig (now grown up) reflects upon the bond they shared. While he performed odd jobs around Mr. Harrigan’s house, his primary function was to read books to Mr. Harrigan. The story moves along at a steady pace and takes a creepy turn along the way. It reminded me of the story “Something to Tide You Over” (also written by Stephen King) from the movie Creepshow. This was my second-favorite story from the book.

“The Life of Chuck” is a story told in reverse, which was something I had not encountered before. The book begins with the end of Chuck Krantz’s life (trust me, it doesn’t spoil anything) and looks back on his life and how he lived it. What if the worlds we created in our minds through our imagination were real? Stephen King explores that idea. I have to admit, this was an interesting idea and story but not my favorite.

The title story, “If It Bleeds” is a sequel to King’s previous “Bill Hodges” trilogy: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers & End of Watch and another novel, The Outsider. Bill Hodges was the main character in the trilogy, but one character, Holly Gibney, who was supposed to only be minor figure, became a major player in the books and became the main character in The Outsider. This story picks up after The Outsider when Holly is running her own private detective agency. I will admit this story is easier to understand if you’ve read the trilogy, and especially The Outsider, where you can learn more about Holly’s personality, but it can be read on its own. Imagine if tragedies in the world (mass murders, house fires, plane crashes, etc.) were often intentionally created by beings that feed off of the misery they create? A good extension of the trilogy and King himself has admitted that he really loves the character of Holly Gibney (could other stories be in the works?) so this novella would allow him to frame even more depth into Holly’s persona. This was my third favorite story of the four.

The final story, “Rat,” was my personal favorite from this book. A writer who has never been able to finish a novel (although he can write short stories) hits upon an idea for his Great American Novel. He says goodbye to his wife and children and heads to his grandfather’s cabin in the woods to begin working. While there, he begins to suffer from writer’s block. This story had elements of The Shining, Misery, and The Dark Half (all works by Stephen King) as a writer pushes to finish his novel. There are also elements of The Twilight Zone as the writer considers a Faustian deal to finish the novel. This story grabbed me from the beginning and I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to know if he finished the novel or not. Overall, I heartily enjoyed this story.

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