IF IT BLEEDS STEPHEN KING - A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES

Readers love Stephen King's novels, but his short stories are also a true feast for the senses. "If It Bleeds" is a collection of four new, excellent stories that are sure to become as famous as "The Shawshank Redemption". King once again shows his full mastery. In the title novella, Holly Gibney, readers' favorite heroine, must face her fears and perhaps another outsider - this time alone. "Mr. Harrigan's Phone" describes an intergenerational friendship that lasts beyond the grave. "Chuck's Life" illustrates the idea that each of us has many personalities. And in "Rat" an unfulfilled writer struggles with the dark side of his ambition.

• A feast for the senses - Stephen King's short stories
• Four new, excellent stories - as famous as "The Shawshank Redemption"
• Holly Gibney - readers' favorite heroine in a new role
• An intergenerational friendship - that lasts beyond the grave
• The multidimensionality of personality - in the story "Chuck's Life"
• The dark side of ambition - in the story "Rat"

These stories not only present the author's mastery in full, but also show that certain themes are timeless. One of the leitmotifs of King's works is evil, which also appears in "If It Bleeds", presented in the title novella as a "large, tattered, icy gray bird". However, the opposite of evil is also constantly present, often taking the form of friendship in King's work. King reminds us that everyday pleasures, although fleeting, are beautiful precisely because of this fleetingness - whether it is an unusually beautiful, sunny day after long weeks of gloom, the joy of dancing in which every step is perfect, or an unexpected, pleasant meeting. In such moments, we realize that Stephen King can not only cause shivers of terror, but also perfectly describe joy in its purest form.

In January 2021, a small padded envelope addressed to Detective Ralph Anderson is delivered to his neighbors, the Conrads. The Anderson family is on a long vacation in the Bahamas, from where they are scheduled to return on February 3, and the Conrads have agreed to pick up their mail until then. When Ralph opens the package, there is a USB drive inside named "If It Bleeds", which probably refers to the old journalistic saying "If it bleeds, it leads". The USB drive contains two things. One is a catalog of photos and sound spectrograms. The other is a kind of report, or rather a spoken diary written by Holly Gibney, with whom the detective conducted an investigation that began in Oklahoma and ended in a Texas cave.

This case irrevocably changed the way Ralph Anderson perceives reality. Holly recorded the last words of her report on December 19, 2020. She says in a hoarse voice: I've done my best, Ralph, but I don't know if it will be enough. Despite all my preparations, there is a possibility that I will not come out of this alive. If we should never see each other again, I want you to know how much your friendship has meant to me. If I should die anyway and you decide to finish what I started, please be careful. Remember that you have a wife and a son.

The book "If It Bleeds" is a collection of short stories that will satisfy every Stephen King fan. We find here both elements of horror and reflections on human nature. King masterfully combines these elements, creating unforgettable stories that remain in the reader's memory for a long time. This is a must-read for lovers of dark literature and the master of suspense.