Horror

If It Bleeds

If It Bleeds

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  • Create Date：2021-07-10 06:51:19
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stephen King
  • ISBN：1982137983
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Summary

*#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*

From the legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new “exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm [King’s] mastery of the form” （The Washington Post）。

Readers adore Stephen King’s novels， and his novellas are their own dark treat， briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction。 Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films， including “The Body” （Stand By Me） and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” （Shawshank Redemption）。

Four brilliant new tales in If It Bleeds are sure to prove as iconic as their predecessors。 Once again， King’s remarkable range is on full display。 In the title story， reader favorite Holly Gibney （from the Mr。 Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider） must face her fears， and possibly another outsider—this time on her own。 In “Mr。 Harrigan’s Phone” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife。 “The Life of Chuck” explores， beautifully， how each of us contains multitudes。 And in “Rat，” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition。

If these novellas show King’s range， they also prove that certain themes endure。 One of King’s great concerns is evil， and in If It Bleeds， there’s plenty of it。 There is also evil’s opposite， which in King’s fiction often manifests as friendship。 Holly is reminded that friendship is not only life-affirming but can be life-saving。 Young Craig befriends Mr。 Harrigan， and the sweetness of this late-in-life connection is its own reward。

“Exactly what I wanted to read right now，” said Ruth Franklin in a rave on the cover of The New York Times Book Review。 “Phenomenal，" said Brian Truitt in USA TODAY。 “King still owns the fright business like none other。”

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Reviews

Andy ，

Characters - 5Plot - 4Imagery - 5Writing - 4Content - 3

Michael Goodwin ，

It took me a little while to get around to this one， but I had to get caught up on King's books before starting this one。 It's another collection of stories from King， each one different from the last， and each one is haunting。Reviews were mixed on this book， as I think some people go into newer King books expecting the King of old。 The man's still there， and the man can still scare， but these stories don't come out and hit you with it。 It gives you something that lingers， gives you imagery or t It took me a little while to get around to this one， but I had to get caught up on King's books before starting this one。 It's another collection of stories from King， each one different from the last， and each one is haunting。Reviews were mixed on this book， as I think some people go into newer King books expecting the King of old。 The man's still there， and the man can still scare， but these stories don't come out and hit you with it。 It gives you something that lingers， gives you imagery or thoughts that pervade your psyche。 He shows us that horror can be found in places beyond the grotesque。 I enjoy the introspective approach。I won't break down my thoughts on each story， but I will say that out of all them I enjoyed "If it Bleeds" the most。 After recently reading THE OUTSIDER and already missing Holly Gibney a little， it was nice to run into her again and see that she's still kicking butt。 。。。more

Bryan D ，

1988 to 2021。 It's been a long very entertaining journey。 Dark Tower overstayed it's welcome and I'm still feeling the pain of Elevation but besides that I've no complaints about the works of Stephen King。 If It Bleeds completes my reading of his books。The collection of stories are very strong， one was drawn out but its punchline made up for it。 If It Bleeds is a sequel to The Outsider， it's the 5th tale of Holly Gibney， one should read them before reading the novella， other than that the other 1988 to 2021。 It's been a long very entertaining journey。 Dark Tower overstayed it's welcome and I'm still feeling the pain of Elevation but besides that I've no complaints about the works of Stephen King。 If It Bleeds completes my reading of his books。The collection of stories are very strong， one was drawn out but its punchline made up for it。 If It Bleeds is a sequel to The Outsider， it's the 5th tale of Holly Gibney， one should read them before reading the novella， other than that the other three tales are stand alones。 So now I wait until August for King's newest offering。 。。。more

Olga Nebel ，

Оооооо ну это хорошо， это чертовски хорошо。Здесь четыре книги。 Три небольших повести и одна большая， продолжение цикла про Билла Ходжеса и， затем， Холли。 Это книга о Холли， и она отличная。 Слегка не хватило ‘детективной’ составляющей: когда герой идёт по следу， и еще непонятно， во что это всё выльется。 Но в целом классно！Повести все хороши。Крыса же， крыса теперь просто разобрана на мемы мной лично！ Это ж просто праздник какой-то — книга о писателе， который пишет первый в жизни роман！

Joanne Crymble ，

Awesome collection of short stories。 I especially like #4 Rat。 Any author or aspiring writer could relate to Drew， the main character。 If I had to put them in order from favourite to least favourite， it would be: #4 Rat， #1 Cell Phone， #3 Holly， #2 Chuck。

Sara ，

This was a great book， even though I thought it was a novel and not independent short stories。 Great reads; I especially loved The Life of Chuck。 In the end， in his letter to Constant Reader， King professes his fondness for Holly Gibney。 It is nice to see recurring characters in new situations， but I am not a fan of Ms。 Gibney。 Usually I root for the underdog， so I feel slightly ashamed， but I find her overly quirky and twee。

Melissa ，

Great！I was held interested throughout the stories。 I always want to read about Finders Keepers。 Its a great novel。 Fabulous！

Daffy Najib ，

A thrilling collection of short stories， one that will leave your heart pounding a bit faster than it should and your mind wandering into a world of possibilities。。。A decent enough work from King， but definitely not the most memorable。。。

Agnieszka ，

Unbelievable imagination。。。 I just don't like short stories。 My fault for not realizing this wasn't a novel when I picked it up at airport。 Unbelievable imagination。。。 I just don't like short stories。 My fault for not realizing this wasn't a novel when I picked it up at airport。 。。。more

Kemlo ，

What a fun read！ I haven't read many books by Mr。 King， but I enjoyed every one of these stories。 He's a marvelous writer （just stating the obvious）。 Highly recommend this selection if you're looking for page-turners with an element of the supernatural。 If you don't like horror or gore， don't worry。 These tales are creepy in a delightful way。 What a fun read！ I haven't read many books by Mr。 King， but I enjoyed every one of these stories。 He's a marvelous writer （just stating the obvious）。 Highly recommend this selection if you're looking for page-turners with an element of the supernatural。 If you don't like horror or gore， don't worry。 These tales are creepy in a delightful way。 。。。more

Richard Jackson ，

If It Bleeds was definitley my favorite although Rat was a close second

Ehalill ，

Peale seda raamatut olen King'i fänn。 Peale seda raamatut olen King'i fänn。 。。。more

Theresa ，

I was about half way through the book and was intending to give it three stars; then I read the last two stories and upped my review to four stars because I really liked the title story and Rat。 In the author note at the back of the book， King says that he loves Holly Gibney， that she was originally intended to be a minor player， sidekick to Bill Hodges， but he cared about her so much that she now has her own stories。 If It Bleeds， the story， stars Holly and is a continuation of The Outsiders。 I I was about half way through the book and was intending to give it three stars; then I read the last two stories and upped my review to four stars because I really liked the title story and Rat。 In the author note at the back of the book， King says that he loves Holly Gibney， that she was originally intended to be a minor player， sidekick to Bill Hodges， but he cared about her so much that she now has her own stories。 If It Bleeds， the story， stars Holly and is a continuation of The Outsiders。 I too love Holly， so my favorite story in this collection was Holly's。 After a bombing at a middle school， Holly becomes obsessed with something she felt was weird about the newscaster which led her to investigate further and she was horrified by what she discovered。 In Rat， a writer cannot finish a novel even though he is a successful short story writer and an accomplished teacher。 When he tries to write a longer work， he literally begins to lose his mind。 When a novel idea comes to him one day， he decides he has to try again so he goes alone to his cabin in the woods to overcome his block。 There is meets a rat who offers him a wish。 The first story in the collection is typical King creepy and the second has existentialist overtones。 。。。more

Chris Shores ，

Another great novella collection from Stephen King！ Like his other novellas， these stories -- a sequel to The Outsider， and three other standalone tales -- lean more toward thriller than horror。 I liked that King explored themes of writing and technology in these stories， beginning with my favorite in the collection: Mr。 Harrigan's Phone。 Another great novella collection from Stephen King！ Like his other novellas， these stories -- a sequel to The Outsider， and three other standalone tales -- lean more toward thriller than horror。 I liked that King explored themes of writing and technology in these stories， beginning with my favorite in the collection: Mr。 Harrigan's Phone。 。。。more

Kat Choolik ，

Good story telling as only SK can do。 Enjoyed “Chuck” the most out of the four short stories。 It made me think。 I also wonder why every story has to have a dig at the Conservative， Republican Party or the President？ Every story？ That part is so predictable and a little boring。 I like when you used to reference rock and roll instead of political crap。 Something you might want to try again。

Mary ，

There will never be enough Holly Gibney。

Marc ，

2 stories stood out for me: “Mr。 Harrigan’s Phone” and “If It Bleeds”…they were King at what he does best…the other two left me a little bit lukewarm， not saying that they are not worth inclusion here…just felt they didn’t knock it out of the park， though “Rat”did have some good creepy moments…curious to see how these turn out on the screen as all of them have been optioned…

TheHecticLife ，

This book took me a while to finish。 The first two stories were slow going for me but I was so hooked on the last two。 If you can make it through the first two， you will absolutely enjoy the last two。

Chad ，

Quick and dirty: King has trod most of this ground before， and it was done much more expertly in past iterations。 As you might expect， story 1 is his best。 It recalls some of the work of Ray Bradbury which is always a good thing。 Story 2 has interesting bits that were jammed together to make an incoherent soup。 Story 3 was the most literal retread as King yet again revisits his Mr。 Mercedes characters。 His love for Holly and crew make it something a little more than it might have been。 Story 4 i Quick and dirty: King has trod most of this ground before， and it was done much more expertly in past iterations。 As you might expect， story 1 is his best。 It recalls some of the work of Ray Bradbury which is always a good thing。 Story 2 has interesting bits that were jammed together to make an incoherent soup。 Story 3 was the most literal retread as King yet again revisits his Mr。 Mercedes characters。 His love for Holly and crew make it something a little more than it might have been。 Story 4 is yet another haunted writer story with nothing special to recommend it。 All in all， fine for passing the time。 。。。more

Rinnenotsubasa ，

I like "Mr。 Harrigan's Phone。" I like "Mr。 Harrigan's Phone。" 。。。more

Kat Stromquist ，

At this point， there really isn’t anything new for SK to say， but his stories are still a pleasure to read — like a cozy old sweatshirt to slip into。

Kat Dietrich ，

If it Bleeds by Stephen King is a collection of 4 novellas。My Synopsis and Opinions:I think it's only fair to give a brief synopsis of each of the novellas。  They are all classic Stephen King short （or rather long） stories。Mr。 Harrigan's Phone:  A young boy introduces the i-Phone to an old man。  When he dies，  the boy buries the phone with him， and continues to touch base occasionally。 True Stephen King。  Absolutely loved it。  5 stars。The Life of Chuck: Told in three segments， Chuck's relatively If it Bleeds by Stephen King is a collection of 4 novellas。My Synopsis and Opinions:I think it's only fair to give a brief synopsis of each of the novellas。  They are all classic Stephen King short （or rather long） stories。Mr。 Harrigan's Phone:  A young boy introduces the i-Phone to an old man。  When he dies，  the boy buries the phone with him， and continues to touch base occasionally。 True Stephen King。  Absolutely loved it。  5 stars。The Life of Chuck: Told in three segments， Chuck's relatively short life is told backwards。  From his deathbed （and that of the world）， to his encounter with a drummer， and back to his childhood， being raised in an old Victorian house with a creepy cupola。  Didn't really like the way this was written。  It wasn't so much the time slots， but the fact that it looked like the apocalypse was occurring in the first segment， and somehow I thought Chuck might be responsible for this， but nothing was cohesive。  The story was good， just didn't make sense to me。  2 stars。。。and this one story is why the whole book only gets 4 stars。If It Bleeds: Featuring Holly Gibney originally from the Mr。 Mercedes series， and then brought back for The Outsiders。  Note that you should probably read those prior to this one， as there are spoilers for those in this book。  Holly watches the news footage from a bombing at a school in Pennsylvania， barely keeping her tears at bay， but she is obsessed。  Something about the reporter is wrong。  OMG。。。I just love Holly。  This was definitely my favorite。  5 stars。Rat:  Drew Larson has struggled to write a full-length novel。  He has succeeded with short stories， but he knows he must complete one novel before he dies。 His first attempt ended in a nervous breakdown。  But this time he has it all laid out in his mind。  He leaves his wife and kids to spend a week or so at a cabin in Northern Maine， where he is sure that he can get a good start on his book。  Just as a wicked storm is headed his way，  Drew develops a cold and a raging fever， during which he meets a Rat。   Okay， I would recognize this as a King novel any day。  It was great。  5 stars。Stephen King's imagination knows no bounds。  He takes us from a normal every day event to a nightmare in 30 seconds。For a more complete review of this book and others （including the reason I chose to read/review this book， author information and a favorite quotation or two from the book）， please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog。wordpress。com/ 。。。more

xray iris ，

2nd read: changing up the order made this more enjoyable for me

Jellyjo ，

My husband picked this up for me in the airport during one of my family's crazy flights back and forth between Alaska and Kentucky。 I think I'm a bigger fan of King's long-form work than his short stories， and this collection is no exception。 "Mr。 Harrigan's Phone" read like an episode of The Twilight Zone。 There was no real terror in it， and it felt too hastily completed。 I would have liked to have seen more in the texts from Mr。 Harrigan， or something more substantial in the way of retribution My husband picked this up for me in the airport during one of my family's crazy flights back and forth between Alaska and Kentucky。 I think I'm a bigger fan of King's long-form work than his short stories， and this collection is no exception。 "Mr。 Harrigan's Phone" read like an episode of The Twilight Zone。 There was no real terror in it， and it felt too hastily completed。 I would have liked to have seen more in the texts from Mr。 Harrigan， or something more substantial in the way of retribution for Craig for using the dark powers he's discovered。 "The Life of Chuck" was my favorite in this collection。 I really enjoyed the layered story， and the interconnectedness of each vignette。 The idea of an entire world of lives falling to an apocalypse because a person on another level of reality is dying a mundane death。。。 terrifying。 With the insanity of the past two years， especially。 Is there a "Chuck" out there， dying in a hospital bed， and our reality is crumbling in response？ ::shiver::I struggled a bit with "If It Bleeds"， but through no fault of the author。 I know I've read all the Mr。 Mercedes books， but it's been a while， and much of the particulars were lost to me。 I found myself struggling to recall specific characters and incidents as they were referenced。 I would recommend reading this one only if your memory on the other Mr。 Mercedes books is fresh。 Finally， "Rat"。 This one was。。。 cute。 I'm sure that's not a term often used to describe King's writing， but here we are。 Drew's struggle to get his novel going read as a comedy of errors， and the appearance of our eponymous critter feels vaguely Lovecraftian。 Brown Jenkins， anyone？ Anyway， the whole effect is a bit campy， a bit folksy， and a bit comical。 Not all bad， but not really creepy at all。 Don't pass on this one， but don't expect many shivers， either。 。。。more

Linda Henry ，

Excellent， as always。

Cassidy Willis ，

Some of the stories were more enjoyable than others。 I enjoyed "Mr。 Harrigan's Phone，" as it had good character development， an interesting story and unique commentary on the social ills of our society （namely our endless connectivity and need to be "on call"）。 "The Life of Chuck" kept my attention because I love anything apocalypse related， although it was a bit confusing with time and character hops。 I did listen to this book， so that may not have helped to keep things straight， although Will Some of the stories were more enjoyable than others。 I enjoyed "Mr。 Harrigan's Phone，" as it had good character development， an interesting story and unique commentary on the social ills of our society （namely our endless connectivity and need to be "on call"）。 "The Life of Chuck" kept my attention because I love anything apocalypse related， although it was a bit confusing with time and character hops。 I did listen to this book， so that may not have helped to keep things straight， although Will Patton， who narrates many of King's books， is amazing。 "If It Bleeds" seems misplaced in this anthology as if King just wanted an appearance of Holly Gibney。 The story harkens to "The Outsider，" and becomes rather predictable and mundane。 The last story， "Rat，" offers some food for thought， but isn't anything new or exciting。 I always find it interesting when King includes writers as characters in his stories。 He of course has insight into the writer's mind like no one else。 Overall this was an enjoyable listen， but not as high caliber as I have come to expect from the King of the gripping thriller。 。。。more

Cristina Pitts ，

I liked the 1st story。 2nd would have been better if it was in the order of events。 3rd （the title story） droned on too long before getting to the action。 The ending was alright。 And 4th was again drawn out for the first part， and dry ending。

Michael ，

Chose to read because I wanted to see what Stephen King's writing was like。 Some of the stories were better than others。 Below are my rating for each of the stories individually。 The second story didn't really make any sense at all。 The 1st and 4th were actually kinda spooky。 Probably a good book to read during October or fall。 1） Mr。 Harrigan's Phone - 5/5 stars2） The Life Of Chuck - 1/5 stars3） If It Bleeds - 3/5 stars4） Rat - 5/5 stars Chose to read because I wanted to see what Stephen King's writing was like。 Some of the stories were better than others。 Below are my rating for each of the stories individually。 The second story didn't really make any sense at all。 The 1st and 4th were actually kinda spooky。 Probably a good book to read during October or fall。 1） Mr。 Harrigan's Phone - 5/5 stars2） The Life Of Chuck - 1/5 stars3） If It Bleeds - 3/5 stars4） Rat - 5/5 stars 。。。more

𝔎𝔩𝔞𝔯𝔞 ☾ ，

Since there’s four different short stories I find it more difficult to rate it as a whole。 First story was good。 Quite scary I’d say。 （4/5）The second one was just meh。 （2/5）The third ，the longest one， was the best one。 In this story you can’t overlook how strongly it is connected to The Outsider。 （5/5） The last one was decent。 Scary， but not that scary as I would expect。 （3/5）I suppose 3，5/5 ⭐️ is a compromise。 It was good， but not life changing （still meaning it as a positive review）。

Threaded Alchemy ，

I picked this up just to read more about Holly， and it was worth it for that。 I saved Holly’s story for last， but if I had read it first I may have given this book a 5 star review and not finished it， also would have been done in a day。 Others may enjoy the rest of the stories， but I really didn’t and my review is based on the book as a whole because I purchased the whole thing。 I was taken out of the stories often by the political digs and personal soapboxing throughout the whole book， which is I picked this up just to read more about Holly， and it was worth it for that。 I saved Holly’s story for last， but if I had read it first I may have given this book a 5 star review and not finished it， also would have been done in a day。 Others may enjoy the rest of the stories， but I really didn’t and my review is based on the book as a whole because I purchased the whole thing。 I was taken out of the stories often by the political digs and personal soapboxing throughout the whole book， which is rare。 If I’m not engrossed enough in the tale to look past an author’s opinion， which in this case was the opinion of nearly every character in every story， then I lose interest。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=If It Bleeds

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=If It Bleeds&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,If It Bleeds&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0