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Blood and Smoke

3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 · rating details · 2,269 ratings · 60 reviews

THREE SHORT STORIES FROM THE MASTER OF MODERN FICTION AVAILABLE ONLY AS AN AUDIOBOOKStephen King has forced us to confront our greatest fears. He has guided us through the depths of our imagination to places we never would have ventured alone. Now, in "Blood and Smoke, " he takes us inside a world of yearning and paranoia, isolation and addiction. It is the world of the sm...more

Audio CD, 5 pages

Published January 1st 2000 by Simon & Schuster Audio (first published December 22nd 1999)

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Nov 21, 2012 M.L. Rudolph rated it 1 of 5 stars

2000. Anything Stephen King writes will get published. This book is a perfect example.

A poor schmo working to get noticed by agents and publishers would never turn anyone's head with these stories.

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Jun 01, 2012 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, audio

I never was a big fan of audiobooks. So much depends on the reader’s voice that a good story could be ruined easily by its narrator’s phlegmy throat, nasal voice, or bored tone, and I prefer to judge a book by the story it tells, not by the person who tells it. A narrator’s odd accent, the smacking noise he or she makes while pausing between sentences, or even the speed at which he or she is reading can be distracting to the point that I forget the story entirely and become fixated on the narrat...more I never was a big fan of audiobooks. So much depends on the reader’s voice that a good story could be ruined easily by its narrator’s phlegmy throat, nasal voice, or bored tone, and I prefer to judge a book by the story it tells, not by the person who tells it. A narrator’s odd accent, the smacking noise he or she makes while pausing between sentences, or even the speed at which he or she is reading can be distracting to the point that I forget the story entirely and become fixated on the narrator instead.

That said, I picked up a copy of Stephen King’s Blood and Smoke, which I could only get on audiobook. But King himself is the narrator. He might not have the smoothest voice, but he sure as hell knows how to narrate a good story -- especially his own.

Blood and Smoke is about three different men, all three are smokers (or reformed smokers), and all three are involved in typical King-invented situations. In “Lunch At the Gotham Café,” Stephen Davis quits smoking the same day his wife “quits” their marriage; in “1408,” writer Mike Enslin will need more than his lucky Hawaiian shirt and lucky cigarette to survive his 17 minutes in The Dolphin’s haunted hotel room; and in “The Deathroom” … well, I haven’t gotten to that one yet. I was so spooked by the second tape (“1408”) that I didn't get to listen to the third and final part of Blood and Smoke yet.

I’ve read a lot of horror novels, watched many slash-and-hack films, and am very familiar with King’s previous works, but none of that seemed to prepare me for “1408.” I’m not sure if it was the substance of the story and how it reminded me (a little bit) of The Shining; the perfectly described details of a place that in all likelihood never existed, but could be real; King’s eerie, slightly nasal voice; or some combination of the three, but for the first time since I can remember, I had trouble getting to sleep because of a scary story.

Thank you, Stephen King, for being that damned good.(less)

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Jan 31, 2012 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, horror, short-story, anthology

I have been a Stephen King fan for a long time, and his short stories, like his novels, vary a lot in quality. This collection, read by the author himself, is unified by the odd theme of smoking. Cigarettes play a part in each story, though only incidentally.

The three stories are:

Lunch at the Gotham Cafe

The weakest of the bunch. A man meets his soon-to-be-ex-wife and her lawyer at a cafe, and the Maitre D' goes nuts and tries to kill them. King is able to make ordinary characters interesting in...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a collection of three Stephen King short stories: Lunch at the Gotham Cafe, 1408, and In the Deathroom.

Bad news first: "In the Deathroom" did absolutely nothing for me. I give that story 1 star. I didn't care about the characters and I didn't follow the plot intricacies because I didn't care to.

1408 was an intriguing and creepy story about the supernatural qualities of hotel room 1408 and their effect on a nonbeliever who foolishly tries to spend the night there. 4 stars to that story fo...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Todd Russell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, short-stories, narrated-by-author

It's nice hearing the author read his own stories. King is not nearly as polished an audio narrator as writer, but he does a decent job with these tales. I hated the sound engineering in "Lunch at Gotham Cafe." Sounded like King was talking through a paper bag. The second story "1408" was haunting but not as good as The Shining, but the audio was better. I couldn't get into the last story at all.

The blood part of the title is fitting, but the smoke, well ... it's more like cigarettes and smoking...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, supernatural

Stephen King hat sich immer wieder Gedanken um alternative Vermarktungen seiner Texte gemacht. Im vorliegenden Fall hat er selbst drei Erzählungen auf Band gesprochen, von denen zwei zunächst nicht in Buchform veröffentlicht wurden, sondern ausschließlich in Form des vorliegenden Hörbuchs. Der Titel „Blood and Smoke“ ist für alle drei Texte programmatisch, der Erzähler hat jeweils das Rauchen aufgegeben und gerät in eine Situation, in der er auf eine harte Probe gestellt wird. Die Präsentation d...more Stephen King hat sich immer wieder Gedanken um alternative Vermarktungen seiner Texte gemacht. Im vorliegenden Fall hat er selbst drei Erzählungen auf Band gesprochen, von denen zwei zunächst nicht in Buchform veröffentlicht wurden, sondern ausschließlich in Form des vorliegenden Hörbuchs. Der Titel „Blood and Smoke“ ist für alle drei Texte programmatisch, der Erzähler hat jeweils das Rauchen aufgegeben und gerät in eine Situation, in der er auf eine harte Probe gestellt wird. Die Präsentation des Hörbuchs ist gelungen und stilecht, die drei Audiocassetten befinden sich in einer überdimensionierten Zigarettenpackung, die in Farbgebung und Design einer Zigarettenmarke entspricht, die auch explizit in „In the Deathroom“ benannt wird.
Drei Audiocassetten, drei Erzählungen: „Lunch at the Gotham Cafe“, „1408“ und „In the Deathroom“.
Mit den Erzählungen ist es mir ergangen, wie es mir mit allen Büchern von King geht: Entweder ich mag sie sehr oder aber gar nicht. In jedem Fall gelingt es King, einleitend ein stimmungsvoll geschildertes Szenario zu entwickeln, in dem der Erzähler eingeführt wird und das Setting aufgebaut wird. Dieser erste Teil bestätigt in allen drei Texten einmal mehr, dass King schreiben kann und es meisterhaft versteht, Personen zu skizzieren und beunruhigende Szenarien zu entwickeln. Dann aber müssen sich die Protagonisten behaupten, und dieser Hauptteil fällt sehr blutrünstig aus. In „In the Deathroom“ hat King in jedem Fall die Grenze überschritten, die für mich zwischen guter Horrorliteratur und detailversessener Beschreibung brutaler Gewalttaten liegt. Diese Erzählung finde ich nicht nur zu blutig, sie hat auch keine andere Eben, auf der sie für mich interessant werden könnte bzw. funktioniert. Darum hat diese Geschichte nur einen Stern verdient.
„1408“ baut ein klassisches Setting gut auf, endet dann aber sehr abrupt. Hierfür gebe ich zwei Sterne.
„Lunch at the Gotham Cafe“ ist die Story, die mir wirklich gut gefallen hat. Der Erzähler ist sehr gut und vor allem psychologisch glaubwürdig beschrieben, die Story entwickelt sich gleichmäßig und kommt zu einem überraschenden Ende, das zugleich sich doch schon angekündigt hatte. Bester Stephen King, fünf Sterne.
Bleibt noch festzustellen, dass ich mich an die Stimme von Stephen King erst ein wenig gewöhnen musste, ihm dann aber gerne zugehört habe.
(less)

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Jun 09, 2012 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

BLOOD AND SMOKE features three of Stephen King's short stories as read by the author himself.

LUNCH AT THE GOTHAM CAFE is the first of the stories, and--except for some really nice writing--it's lousy. The whole thing basically feels like a long lead up for the story's twist ending--an a twist that is neither satisfying nor particularly surprising. King is a good voice performer when he sticks to straight-forward narration, but his voice lacks intensity and he sounds more absurd than scary whene...more BLOOD AND SMOKE features three of Stephen King's short stories as read by the author himself.

LUNCH AT THE GOTHAM CAFE is the first of the stories, and--except for some really nice writing--it's lousy. The whole thing basically feels like a long lead up for the story's twist ending--an a twist that is neither satisfying nor particularly surprising. King is a good voice performer when he sticks to straight-forward narration, but his voice lacks intensity and he sounds more absurd than scary whenever he reads the psycho-waiter's dialog.

1408 is the best story of the three, and the only one that doesn't stretch King's voice acting chops too much. In its first section, it's easily one of the most brilliant setups for a ghost story I've ever read. The writing is razor-sharp, and the characters are memorable. Plus, who does stories about haunted hotels better than Stephen King? The problem I had with the movie version that starred John Cusack was that the special effects ultimately hijacked the storyline at about the halfway point. The book version of 1408 unfortunately suffers from a similar fate. It starts out like gangbusters, but, once we get inside the hotel room, the story is basically over. All that's left is a roller coaster ride of horrific images that play out until the main character is willing to do anything to escape them.

IN THE DEATHROOM is something of an oddity for King. It plays out almost like a scene from a James Bond novel, but with more blood. I can't say I particularly cared for it. King tries to do a Hispanic accent for much of the story, but he ends up sounding just like the Kim Jong-il puppet from TEAM AMERICA. Needless to say, as a result, I had a hard time taking it seriously.

I honestly don't know why these three stories were chosen for this collection, other than that they all have something to do with cigarettes and smoking. With the exception of the brilliant beginning to 1408, none of these stories reflect King at his best. Still, as a fan of King, I do enjoy hearing him read his own material. And I'll gladly read any story he chooses to write, even if just for the quality of his prose.(less)

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Jan 27, 2009 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very very good. The second and third stories were a bit stronger than the first. Dark Love just didn't grab me. Maybe it was the divorce aspect of the story, I dunno. I listened, but only to get to the next story. But 1408 is a wonderful tale about a boogeyman journalist who taps into something cthonic in a haunted hotel room. There are hints of the Dark Tower, which I'm just assuming are in all of King's work. Uncle Steve reading this tale makes it even better. In the Deathroom is gritty and a...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Linda I rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: stephen-king, horror-story, short-stories

This is a great audiobook collection of short stories that King later released in a larger collection called "Everything's Eventual". These short stories "1408", "In the Deathroom" and "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe", all relate to cigarettes in one way or another (hence the name of the collection). "1408" is the story of Enslin, a popular "nonfiction" ghost writer who, admittedly, does not actually believe in ghosts. As part of research for his latest project, Mike decides to spend a night in the ha...more

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May 27, 2011 Linda Dershem rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review was originally posted at Book-Addicts

Like the description alludes to, Blood and Smoke has a centralized theme revolving around smoking, the addiction from it, and the habitual side effects caused long-term. This is a three-part review

The first of the three tales, Lunch at the Gotham Café was not the best of the three, but one of my personal favorites. Because I could not help a chuckle or two when I listened to Stephen narrating this one part during what is a very key and gory scene...more This review was originally posted at Book-Addicts

Like the description alludes to, Blood and Smoke has a centralized theme revolving around smoking, the addiction from it, and the habitual side effects caused long-term. This is a three-part review

The first of the three tales, Lunch at the Gotham Café was not the best of the three, but one of my personal favorites. Because I could not help a chuckle or two when I listened to Stephen narrating this one part during what is a very key and gory scene (“Eee!”) which had me wondering if I’m a little on the psychotic, sadistic side.

In this story, the main character, Steve Davis is blind-sided by a note from his wife requesting a divorce. As the man struggles to find the reason his wife wishes for a divorce, he goes through many emotional twists and turns. Why he quits his smoking habit and the eventful finale when he meets his wife and her lawyer at the Gotham Café for lunch are two very colorful, very poignant events that will keep me returning for another round of this story time and time again.

The second and featured tale is 1408about Mike Enslin, a writer who made his living staying at various paranormal hot spots and writing about his experiences. He’s the paranormal version of Myth Busters with the attitude that there’s an explanation for everything. With that in mind, Mike requests to spend the night in NYC’s most haunted room.

There’s a lot of dialogue in the opening section between Mike and the hotel manager. It’s during this dialogue – the manager doing his best to dissuade Mike from renting the room- that we learn of the many rumored tales of the room 1408 and why it’s thought to be haunted. Admittedly, it is a little slow at the beginning. But once Mike gets his key and heads to his room, the creepy stuff begins and you realize it was well worth the wait. It has a definite Rose Red feel to it and was very hair-raising!

The third and final story is In The Deathroom where a man, Fletcher, is being held against his will. The opening is a scene reminiscent to many gritty interrogation scenes where the interrogators are the bad guys. In this story, Fletcher’s in Central America being kept for questioning for his involvement with a member of a big drug cartel. A member who was just killed by Fletcher’s captives from a torture session gone wrong. I was drawn in from the beginning, horrified at the conditions Fletcher was forced through including his own torture session, and cheering him on as he put up the big fight. The story of what brought Fletcher to his capture was revealed at the end in such a way that was both rewarding and vindicating.

Normally I prefer reading my books and not put my faith in narrator of an audio book to interpret the writer’s intent for key dialogues. Nothing is worse than listening to an audio book and experiencing either disappointment or frustration when the climactic moment is disturbed by something as simple as the narrator doing a poor job of reading a line belonging to a character of the opposite sex.

Having it read from the King himself…well, let’s just say it’s an unforgettable experience. As if I don’t already put this walking legend up on a pedestal, I’ll go even further and say you can trust Stephen King as his own narrator for his creations. Not only does he pull it off well, but his unique voice and slight accent are just two reasons why I love this particular audio book – and future audio books of his that I plan to purchase.(less)

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Nov 25, 2007 Johnsergeant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiblecom, audiobook

Downloaded from Audible.com

Narrator: Stephen King
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 1999
Length: 3 hours

Publisher's Summary
This collection of short stories from the master of modern fiction is available only as an audiobook. In Blood and Smoke, Stephen King takes us inside a world of yearning and paranoia, isolation and addiction. It is the world of the smoker. In this audio-only collection, the now politically incorrect habit plays a key role in the fates of three different men in three unab...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Becca rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Have listened to 2 of the 3 stories in this collection. Both great. They do have smoking in common but are very different, and smoking is not the main plot of either. Lunch at the Gotham Caf� is my favorite so far, as Steve Davis suffers withdrawal from both his wife and cigarettes and has an adventure at a Manhattan restaurant. 1408 tells of a ghost story writer trying to spend the night in haunted room in a hotel, without his trusty smokes."

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Jul 13, 2012 Donald Kendall (The Goremet) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

King's audiobook original is jusst another example of his love of the art of writing. King's triumps with this threesome of tales tied together with smoking - a sin King knows all about. As a once smoker myself I was overcome with instant dislike for the horrid habit, but these tales also present some of King's most bizarre stories: a haunted hotel room, a tortune chamber and a seemingly harmless restaurant play location to the horrors he unleashes. The best part of this audio original is that K...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Kevin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed listening to this audio collection. I think that the circumstances under which I was listening to it gave it some extra oomph. I.e. driving at night in October on unlit roads. If you take time to listen to this collection of short stories, take the time to listen to it in a creepy environment.

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Feb 07, 2010 John rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really liked Room 1408 though I have trouble seeing how it could be a good movie (though I hear it is). I thought the other two "In the Deathroom" and "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" were a little too simplistic. Certainly not Stephen King at his best (though they did have their moments).

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Feb 20, 2013 Darren Sapp rated it 3 of 5 stars

This offers a selection of three short stories.
In the Deathroom: Three stars. The story interested me enough to read to the end.
Lunch the Gotham Café: Two Stars. This story lacked much of a plot.
1408: Four Stars. The best of King with thrilling, spine-tingling action.

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Dec 31, 2010 Peregrine 12 rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of short stories, suspense, King

I liked this one a lot. I listened to these short stories (audio CD) three times, at least. They're suspenseful without being too horrific, but if you're an ex-smoker you might want to avoid these - King's descriptions of smoking might make you want to start up again.

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May 04, 2013 Laura Jean rated it 1 of 5 stars

I've been reading Stephen King since 'Salem's Lot. Most of his works have been quite enjoyable. Alas, this proved to be an exception. It's redeeming quality was that, as an audiobook, the listener has the opportunity to hear the man himself.

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Sep 27, 2012 Sue rated it 1 of 5 stars

I didn't think that these stories made sense. They were just gratuitous blood and gore.
He left too many aspects hanging. 1408 was just how many ways can you gross a person out.
All the stories started out better than they ended.

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Oct 21, 2011 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

You can't really read this as it's an audio book but I really liked LT'S Theory of Pets. My friend Heather's dog is named Lucy and I call her screw-lucy like the one in this story as she has several loose herself :)

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Jul 13, 2011 Tracy Walters rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This audio book has 3 stories all written and read by Stephen King. The first and the third story are different and strange. The second story "1408" is about a possessed hotel room and it was really good and creepy.

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Jul 25, 2011 AJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

My fist audio book. It's perfect for my regular drive from Jersey to Mass. Great short stories but not the strong link to in each to smoking that i thought i was getting when i bought it. The first story, Lunch at the Gotham Cafe, is mt favorite. Great creation of characters and short horror story. Classic King! 1408 requires a bit of your imagination, but with the great descriptions the movie in your mind is fantastic. In the Deathroom, completes this short story set and gives you the victoriou...more

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Oct 16, 2010 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

ctual book.
not a dormunder
freddie urban noon became invisible and he's another of westlakes cros who are loveable.
i like when the bad guys get whats coming to them... finally.

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Jul 25, 2011 Keith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Three pretty good stories. I've seen the movie for 1408 and so was able to really visualize what was going on, though the story did take a different turn at the end. This was my favorite story of the three. The other two were entertaining, but I didn't really take anything away from them, so ultimately they were rather forgettable.

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Apr 10, 2011 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

I really enjoyed Gotham Cafe and 1408, but In the Death Room was just okay for me. Of course, it's after 4 in the morning, so I don't know how alert I am!

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Jul 26, 2010 Tonya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, audio, fiction, would-recommend

There was just something spooky about hearing SK's stories as read by him. An extra little oomph that just really sold the already riveting and scary stories.

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Feb 20, 2009 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

I "read" this as much as one can read an audiobook. That said, King's voice is creepy, his stories are creepier, and the combination is damn good.

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Nov 10, 2012 Manny du Mont rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am a HUGE Stephen King fan. His character development is simply amazing! This series of short stories, I feel, are his best!

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Jun 23, 2009 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars

An interest set of short stories that seem connected. I like them. This is the first of Stephen King that I have read.

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May 14, 2010 Amanda Kay rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked these stories. They all had to do with smoking cigarettes. Thought it was pretty clever.

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About Stephen King

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of the elderly couple. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and then Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. He met Tabitha in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono, where they both worked as students. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many of these were later gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.(less)

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