haiku 1064

I was reading Stephen King's story "Summer Thunder" which is the coda for his collection of short stories called The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (Amazon affiliate).

spoilers — click to reveal

"Summer Thunder" is about two men named Timlin and Peter Robinson, and Robinson's dog, Gandalf. The world has ended in a nuclear holocaust. The survivors are being slowly killed by radiation poisoning.

In the story, Timlin, just before he ends his own life, says that dogs are "a little bit of grace". Shortly thereafter, Robinson puts the radiation-sick Gandalf to sleep with a shot of Demerol, and thinks about "the dooms of love".

This book is, for my taste, easily Stephen King's best short story collection. I was thoroughly engaged from start to finish, except for the poem, "The Bone Church". But, then, while I love haiku, I really do not care for poetry.

I'd read three of the stories before: Blockade Billy, Drunken Fireworks, and Morality. They are all excellent, and I was happy to visit with them again.

Check out The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (Amazon affiliate), if you are in the mood for some excellent storytelling!