Some of [Stephen King's plots in his short story collection "Night Shift"] are … imaginative, even ingenious. (p. 13)

But it seems not to have occurred to Mr. King that style is crucial to story, as are characterization and theme. His own characters seldom serve any purpose save as ballast for his bizarre plots…. His worst stories strain mightily to generate one last frisson, using twist endings that should have died with O. Henry, the hoariest clichés of the horror-tale subgenre ("I was shaking in my shoes") and lines that provoke smiles rather than terror…. It's baffling to think that anybody might find these stories fascinating or frightening…. (pp. 13, 23)

Michael Mewshaw, in The New York Times Book Review (© 1978 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), March 26, 1978.