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The Bazaar of Bad Dreams  By  cover art

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Stephen King, Dylan Baker, Brooke Bloom, Hope Davis, Kathleen Chalfant, Santino Fontana, Peter Friedman
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Publisher's summary

Named to the American Library Association’s Reference & User Services (RUSA) Listen List!

Other narrators include: Cotter Smith, Will Patton, Edward Herrmann, Holter Graham, Frederick Weller, Mare Winningham, Craig Wasson, Thomas Sadoski, and Tim Sample.

A master storyteller at his best - the O. Henry Prize winner Stephen King delivers a generous collection of stories, several of them brand new, featuring revelatory autobiographical comments on when, why, and how he came to write (or rewrite) each story.

Since his first collection, Nightshift, published 35 years ago, Stephen King has dazzled listeners with his genius as a writer of short fiction. In this new collection he assembles, for the first time, recent stories that have never been published in a book. He introduces each with a passage about its origins or his motivations for writing it.

There are thrilling connections between stories, including themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, and what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. "Afterlife" is about a man who died of colon cancer and keeps reliving the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again. Several stories feature characters at the end of life, revisiting their crimes and misdemeanors. Other stories address what happens when someone discovers he has supernatural powers: the columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries in "Obits"; the old judge in "The Dune", who, as a boy, canoed to a deserted island and saw written in the sand the names of people who then died in freak accidents. In "Morality", King looks at how a marriage and two lives fall apart after the wife and husband enter into what seems, at first, a devil's pact they can win.

Magnificent, eerie, utterly compelling, these stories comprise one of King's finest gifts to his constant fan. "I made them especially for you," says King. "Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth."

Please note: The audio edition of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams now includes an additional story: "Cookie Jar", narrated by Santino Fontana. Listeners who purchased this title prior to October 2016 can re-download the audio to get the new story.
©2015 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Each narrator is a perfect fit for the stories he or she reads - it's rare to find such a collection with no misses, but it's not unusual for King. Narrating the stories' introductions himself, King makes the listener feel like his confidant every time. Cotter Smith steals the show, masterfully performing several pieces, including the poem 'The Bone Church,' the best performance of the collection." ( AudioFile)

Featured Article: 35+ Quotes About Books That Truly Speak to Bibliophiles


Novels, memoirs, short stories, essay compilations, and more continue to shape who we are and how we view the world, no matter what format—physical book, ebook, or audiobook—we use to absorb and enjoy them. Books are pathways into different worlds and different lives, and one can never be truly bored with a good book. Celebrate your literary love with these quotes about books that will inspire you to dive into your next story.

What listeners say about The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

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HE'S A CUP OF COFFEE

COULD YOU GET ARRESTED FOR DRUNK BIKING?
If you have read any of my reviews on any of King's work, than you have heard me say this before, but it is so true in these stories. King writes stories about characters, about people. Lots of his books, have very little horror in them. They seem terrifying, because of the investment you have in the characters. Another writer might come up with more terrifying situations, but if you don't care about the people in the story, it is not as scary. I am constantly amazed in King's ability to look into the human mind and tear out, those items which are uncomfortable. For instance in one story, a guy's wife dies in a local convenience store. He is sad and he did love his wife, but at the same time, he is wondering what females will give him sympathy sex.

The stories
I read lot of anthologies and story collections. I actually prefer them. It is amazing what a good writer can fit into a small story and the wow factor is usually bigger than in a novel. If a story is bad, than I don't have that much time invested until I get to another story. Most collections have two or three really good stories, some good stories and several bad stories. This collection has an unusual amount of really good stories. Only two stories did I not care for and one of them was a poem. Mile 81, is typical King. No one does 8 to 12 year old boys better than King. Add to that a car that eats people. Premium Harmony, may dwell too much into reality to be comfortable for most. The Dune, has one of those surprise endings, you can only get in a short story. A Death, is a heart rending Western. Morality, makes you wonder, could that be me, in that situation? Herman Wouk Is Still Alive, is a good look at how the other half lives. It always amazes me that King, who has been rich and famous for so long, still can write about the down and out so well. Under The Weather, will stay in my mind for years. The horror in this story is, I know people who can lie to themselves that convincingly. I am not a big baseball fan, much more a football fan, but I loved Blockade Billy. I love a period piece with the language of the time and profession. It was very entertaining. Batman and Robin,hit my heart hard as, my mother died of Alzheimer's in October. Obits, really made me think. As a pet lover with an elderly dog, I teared up during Summer Thunder. All book lovers and anyone with favorite authors should love Ur. But that's not all.

Narrators
These are some of the best in the field. I am a huge fan of Will Patton and he reads two stories. Who ever did Blockade Billy made that story ten times better to listen to than read. The very first story Mile 81 is read in a slow monotone and needed to be put on 2x, but the rest were true professionals and made listening better than reading.

Genre
I agree with another reviewer, these are not very scary. They are more human interest stories. They are great writings on subjects that are hard to categorize. Be warned these stories include lots of sex, violence, bad language and some gore. I will think about some of these for a long time, but I will not have any nightmares over them.

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207 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Doesn't Belong in the Horror Genre

This is a really nice collection, but it doesn't belong in the Horror Genre. I realize that it is almost automatic to assume that "because it was written by THE ONE AND ONLY Stephen King", that it must be horror. Well I disagree. I've read quite a bit of King's work over the last 30 years, and what I've noticed is that the older he gets, the more his stories revolve around the issue of mortality. These stories range from "it was okay" to "wow, that was amazing". but the one thing that I believe holds true, is that these are not the type of stories the man used to write. While listening to this book, I found myself hoping that the next one would send chills down my spine. Well I'm almost through the book and "no such luck". I don't want to take anything away from this collection, as the stories are truly heart-warming. I also know that horror is somewhat relative to the perceptions of the reader. So I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. But to me, this is not Horror. Thanks for reading my review.

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Loved it

A breakdown of the book story by story:

Mile 81- Strange things can happen on a deserted stretch of road. 5 stars

Premium Harmony- One minute they are fighting, the next she is gone. 5 stars

Batman and Robin have an Altercation- Love is thicker than dementia. 5 stars

The Dune- your fate is written in the sand. 3 stars

Bad little kid- A "bad little kid" is sabotaging his life. Is he crazy?

A Death- I cant remember this one.

The Bone Church. - A poem. 2 stars

Morality- Such a little act for so much money! Is it worth it? 5 stars

Afterlife- an investment banker confronts his life after death. 4 stars

Ur- He discovers his kindle can tell him the future. 5 stars

Herman Wouk is Still Alive- depression is serious business! 5 stars

Under the Weather- Brad is a busy advertising rep. His wife is under the weather, but that's ok she is going to be better any day now. 5 stars

Blockade Billy - About Baseball. Meh.

Mister Yummy- Who will come for you when its your time? 4 stars

Tommy- A poem. Meh again.

The Little Green God of Agony- what if Agony was a living breathing thing living inside you? 5 stars

That Bus is another world- How responsible are we for the things that happen to a stranger? 4 stars

Obits- He writes the obit, and the person dies. 5 stars

Drunken Fireworks- a fireworks competition gets bit out of control. 4 stars.

Summer Thunder- its the end of the world. 4 stars.

Overall a fantastic read with some amazing narrators, and a book I would definitely recommend to a friend. 5 stars!



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139 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Little Supernatural, Horror, and Insight

Stephen King likens himself to a midnight street vendor peddling his tales, and if nightmares are what you seek than his short story collection “Bazaar of Bad Dreams,” delivers. This is an eclectic collection of some old favorites and new consisting of some real-life horrors, amazing supernatural fantasy, and even poetry Stephen King style. What makes these stories even more interesting, especially the Audio version, is each story is preceded by a few words of insight and inspiration from the author himself.
The ensemble cast of narrators does a great job bringing each story to life; which may or may not be a good thing since they are from Stephen King..

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92 people found this helpful

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whispering is so irritating!

it's a great book, and I loved listening to it. but I really need to point out to you that if the narrator whispers, I have to turn my volume way up to hear it. then the next line is normal voice, or even yelling, and my ears ring!!! volume balancing is a thing, ppl.

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How to get 100% Enjoyment from This "Book"

First off, believe the hype - this collection of short stories is worth your credit and more. I am thoroughly pleased with the stories and selection.

I am also very pleased to have little snippets between each story, told to us from Mr. King as well, because it really is great to hear his insight into his writing process, thought process and all of that.

The ONLY downfall (and the only reason i gave the Overall a 4 star) is that the comments on each story should come AFTER the story is finished. The reason is that he often gives away plot points, some minor - others major, about the story you are about to listen to. After the third or fourth time i decided to skip his comments and then come back to them after i listened to the story. It made the process much better and if the book audiobook was produced that way it would be 5 star for sure.

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I just love short stories ;)

every single story well read and fun to listen to ;) A good mix of stories it is as well.

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A short story/A kiss in the dark from a stranger

I'm no Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's "Misery" (1987), but I am a Fan with a capital 'F'. A friend once noticed that I've got an entire tall bookshelf dedicated to King. The books are arranged by publication order, although the Bachman books and King's collaboration with F-Stop Fitzgerald "Nightmares in the Sky" (1988) always look out of place. I put the anthologies like "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year" (2008) and "The Complete Masters of Darkness" (1989) in a separate section.

King's short story collections can be great. I read and reread "Night Shift" (1978) so many times the front cover of the paperback fell off. Personal favorite? "The Mangler", but "Graveyard Shift" is a close second. Both are stories of blue collar jobs gone horribly awry. And "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" (1993)? I've practically got "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" (1992) memorized. I pull the book down and revisit the story every October - along with "The Ten O'Clock People." I smoked for years and that story gives valor to a bad habit.

This collection is okay, but not great. I'd already read or listened to some of the most memorable stories in "The Bazaar of Bad Dreams" (2015). "Mile 81" (2011) was first published as a limited edition Kindle book, and I downloaded the App special to read it. I drive a lot and pass closed rest stops, and I carefully look at them as I drive by now. Examine them, in fact. "Blockade Billy" (2010) was a Cemetery Dance limited edition. Unavoidable complaint about the listen: the cover artwork for "Blockade Billy" is nostalgic and intriguing, and it's too bad it's not with the Audible edition. "The Dune" (2011) is one of the great stories in "The Bazaar of Bad Dreams." I had chills running from my stomach up, and my hair tried to stand itself on end.

I didn't like Ur (2009 ebook) the first time I tried to read it, and didn't like it any better as an Audible - but I did at least manage to get through it. I wish I'd liked "Obits" (2015) more than I did - it echoes of Dinky Earnshaw in "Everything's Eventual" (1997, short story; 2002, collection of short stories), and the Dinkster is an interesting if uncurious character. And "Herman Wouk is Still Alive" (2011)? I didn't think I'd liked it - but I can't stop thinking about it. It did win the 2011 Best Short Fiction Bram Stoker Award for a reason.

There's a bonus to the Audible edition that every true King Fan with a capital 'F' will love. The introduction to each story is read by King himself. If you want to be truly surprised by new stories, though, I recommend listening to his introduction afterwards. There's a different narrator for each story. Edward Herrmann performs Mile 81", and he's quite good - and so is Will Patton, as usual.

The title of the review paraphrases a quote from "Skeleton Crew" (1985), another collection of King's short stories.

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

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Thumbs Up From A "Constant Reader" of King


Mr. King addresses his constant readers with personal notes prior to each story in this new anthology. There is a lot of new material, but also some previously published stories that he has revised. He makes no apologies for the revision of old stories, and explains that what he writes is never finished until he dies.

Through the years, I would watch for, but never received, a lot about this author from the inside looking out. As years have gone by, he has gradually opened up more and addresses the important marks on the timeline of his life, and how those affect his writing. He kind of "unfolds" himself, which fits him, doesn't it.

Enjoyed every minute of this anthology, but most of all, really liked that he reached out to his "constant readers" with a much more personal focus. There was some real lateral momentum going on there.

I had been disappointed lately in the narrators chosen for the past few short story singles of King's on Audible, and felt the author/narrator match was totally whack. No disappointments here. Narration was a direct hit.

Mr. King mentions in one of his pre-story narrative essays, that he is now 69. That gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach. I can't imagine not having Stephen King new release dates to look forward to. Stay healthy, Mr. King.

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Captivating Storytelling

What a wonderful display of range and skill... King is an absolute master of the medium... There are stories for all here - the traditionally creepy King tales accompanied by many that show what a diversely capable storyteller he is... Sad, depressing, the uncomfortably real, the everyday dark and creepy, the horrifyingly fantastic, and so much more, and all w/ the trademark black humor... Niches and genres for everyone...Many of the stories had me thinking back on past loved reads and their authors, like rediscovering old friends... The narration was overall very good, although a couple of stories were negatively impacted by poor voices, but not enough to skip the story... I usually read collections slowly, coming back for a story everyday or so, but read this one through w/ only a couple of interludes... Spend the credit and enjoy

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