Book Reviews | Different Seasons, by Stephen King

Stephen King, the Horror Master Storyteller, Tries Something Different

And let me tell you, he gets it very, very right.

Nanie Hurley 🌿
ILLUMINATION
Published in
5 min readApr 26, 2023

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On the left, the cover for the book: a solitary tree, surrounded by purple and red brushstrokes. On the right, the info about the book Different Season. Author: Stephen King. 692 pages. Published in 2010 by Hodder and Stoughton. First published in 1982.
Book Details | Image by the author.

Tell me something: what comes to mind when you think about Stephen King?

Probably horror. A haunted hotel, vampires, a girl with telekinetic powers… or any scary, gorry tale. Am I right?

Well, in fairness, you’re right too. Stephen King is the master of horror. Most of his novels are about the supernatural, and they will make your heart beat fast.

But perhaps, you didn’t know that he also writes other types of stories. And they are good!

Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas:

  • “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”
  • “Apt Pupil”
  • “The Body”
  • “The Breathing Method”

As with all novellas, they’re slightly shorter than a novel and slightly longer than a short story. But that doesn’t stop them from being incredible.

In Different Seasons’ Afterword, King explains that all these novellas were written immediately after he finished one of his books. He claims: “it’s as if I’ve always…

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Nanie Hurley 🌿
ILLUMINATION

Bookworm, gamer, mom, writer, vegan, and human. I write about things that bring me joy. Top Writer in Books & Sustainability.