Awaken

by Stephen R. King

Delve deep into the creative mind for new legends and visionary underworlds. Enjoy five short stories of madness and terror from Stephen L. King. Do you awaken after bad dreams and feel the fear still lingering in the room? Become aware in these vivid fantasies as you remember those strong feelings again.

WARNING: Not the famous Stephen King from Maine.

Genres: Horror

161 pages, Paperback

Published January 25, 2016

About the author

Stephen R. King grew up in the Midwest. He enjoys writing short stories in many different genres such as thriller, sci-fi, action-adventure, horror, supernatural, fantasy and more. If you enjoy a good late-night read, or want to spend some time away in another realm or universe, feel free to relax and go on many different journeys with multiple short stories to choose from.

Reviews

[Leighza · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read one story and about halfway through, I got suspicious. Googled it and yep, it's some guy who happens to share a name with a good writer. I hope no one spends money on this. It's pretty bad writing, and a clear opportunist.

[Lisamarie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've just had a quick scan through some of the other reviews and am genuinely shocked by how many 'fans' didn't notice that something was amiss, and are raving about the high quality of this book!!

It took me only a few lines to notice that something was wrong.
The stories just don't have King's signature voice.

I initially wondered if maybe King was experimenting with a different style, or had just somehow lost his magic...maybe become complacent after so long at the top.
I'm glad that this isn't the case, but its very irritating that someone thinks it's ok to try and fool people like this.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when the imitation is so poor, it's hard to agree.

This 'author' has a real nerve.
The graphics on the cover are in the exact same style as those of the real King, and the 'R' in his name so small as to be invisible.

The stories are dull and poorly written; there's really nothing to recommend them. The dialogue is unrealistic, the scenarios hackneyed, and the writer overly enamoured by adjectives.

In addition, the entire book is littered with grammar and spelling errors that made me want to tear my hair out. Proofreading is clearly a dying art!

Thank goodness I didn't have to pay for this level of disappointment.

[Virginia]

I'm a big King fan (the real one) and the guy has a distinctive voice. I got halfway down page 1 and I thought hang on...this doesn't feel right. Adverbs galore (a famous King quote is "the road to hell is paved with adverbs" afterall) and stale characters. Googled it and confirmed my suspicion. Not worth the data usage to download. Terrible writing.

[Katherine Gillen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, not my favorite of his short stories collection. Obviously he’s a great writer but the content of some of these stories wasn’t my cup of tea

[Bobbie Itrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book cause it kept me wondering what would happen next going to read the full series

I enjoyed this book kept my interest and plan on reading the whole series I hope that they will keep my interest as well

[Amy Savvides · Rating 2 out of 5]

First and foremost: I have the kindle version of this book which has removed the middle initial of the author, so of course I started reading it thinking it was *the* Stephen King. It was obvious less than a page in that it wasn’t.

This is a collection of short stories - some better than others - written mainly in the first person perspective. They aren’t terrible, but the author could do with an editor as there was lots of odd spelling and grammar issues.

Overall the author might do well as the root of the stories was pretty good, but the attempt at deception puts me off as I’m sure it does with others.

[Randy P · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been duped! This one is not by the famous Stephen King. I should have noticed certain clues. The cover was poorly designed and looked like it was printed out of a 90's HP printer. Despite being a small book to begin with, the font was large and widely spaced to fill length. Most of all telling, the stories did not take place in Maine or any other New England area state.

I do not believe though it deserves only 1 star. Honestly I've read worse. The main story Awaken probably could have had the potential to be something decent. Just needed some polish. The other stories in this collection did not hold my interest.

[joseph whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not his best collection of work. King seems to be coasting at this time in his long and illustrious career.

It reads like fiction written by Hitchcock. It is a good collection of short stories. After the first one is read.one can predict the other three. As a first book it's great. For long time readers, not so much.

[Trish Franks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories

I have read most of the stories this author has written, and I loved them. And I am smart enough to see the R for his middle name and realize that he is not the horror writer. I truly enjoy these stories. Some of them are kinda creepy. Well on to the next book!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

I was very impressed by this set of short stories. Very Recommended set of stories. Awaken is, in my opinion, the absolute best story in this book ;
but they are all good stories !! Bring more of them on !!!!!!!!!

[Kayla Sullinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was tricked into thinking this was a Stephen King novel. I read the first short story and thought this doesn't sound too much like Stephen King. It wasn't bad but I didn't like all the stories in the book.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew that this author was not THE Stephen King but some of his books were free on audible. His stories are so-so. They also used Virtual Voice which I am not a fan of. But free is free and they are relatively short listens.

[nancy schoenrock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I enjoyed these short stories. A perfect read for the times you want to read but don't have much time.

[Irene agnoli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the Stephen King

This was a mediocre book .I knew I'd made a mistake when I read all the stories in 1 hour.

[suzan bixler · Rating 1 out of 5]

WHATS UP? Didn't seem like the King novels I am used to reading.

[David Schramm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories by King. Quick read, but only so so compared to some of his novels.

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read....

Decent read. Needed a little something more. Hopefully the stories will be built upon in the future. I enjoyed what I've read so far. Just need a smidge more

[Michael Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that great.

Not as good as I was hoping. Though it did it did have some intriguing short stories. This book is not worth buying.

[Donita Kissick · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected!

Stephen King never lets his readers down. He always leaves us wanting more. His stories fit right in to today's crazy world!

[Mary Kulp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read

Wish the short stories were longer. You really get into one and it is over already. I did like the stories

[Lloyd Moate]

Horrible

[Veronica Fuentes-Castillo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good beginning, middle but bad endings

Not my favorite, hated every ending of almost all the short stories with the exception of the last one.
He's had better

[Dawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not the Stephen King you would expect. Bad writing too.

[Martyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Paul Triller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I too much a fan of King's novels to really find the shorts all that great.
Decent rainy night fare.

[riria · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit boring at the start

[Janey Glidden · Rating 3 out of 5]

short stories by Stephen king

Stories written( by the sound of it) while king was still on drugs. Some difficult to follow and seem incompetent. 5/10*

[Jeremy D Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, short stories

Well written and to the point. Typical king, if you have time to kill this will do until something else comes along

[Clayton Brendle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointed

I have been a fan of Stephen King from the start and always eagerly devoured his works. This body of work however seemed amateurish and pat. Most all of his stories made me want to prolong the experience and savor them. Not these, I couldn't wait to finish and be done with them.