Hey, it's a collection of Stephen King stories out just in time for....Thanksgiving? Really, Scribner? You had a book from the master of modern horror in your pipeline and decided to release it three days after Halloween? I'm no marketing guru, but I think this may be a clue as to why the publishing industry is struggling so much these days. 
 On to the review... 
 Any long time Stephen King fan should be willing to admit that the man can shit the bed every once in awhile, and when he writes a real clunker of a novel then you're stuck with that bad taste in your mouth until the next, hopefully better, one comes out. The great thing about reading a bunch of short stories from Uncle Stevie is that even when there's a turd in the punch bowl you can just roll into the next one immediately and usually find something much better. 
 That's pretty much the case here in which the mixed bag of stories range from King at his wonky worst to some really strong character pieces on serious topics like aging, poverty, and morality. So while I might have been rolling my eyes at the ending of Mile 81 or the general goofiness of the villain in Bad Little Kid the mood only lasted until I hit one of the better ones like Afterlife or Herman Wouk Is Still Alive. 
 A lot of the stories have echoes to other King works. Ur has a link to The Dark Tower series as well as more than a passing resemblance to 11/22/63. The evil car concept in Mile 81 is something else he's done before in Christine and Trucks, and there's a lot of From A Buick 8 in there. Obits shares some DNA with the Everything's Eventual short story, too. 
 But King has been doing this a long, long time so coming up with something totally new is like asking The Simpsons to find a job that Homer hasn't already held. Mostly these are comforting echoes with enough upgrades and twists that you still feel like you're getting something new in the guise of the familiar. 
 Overall, it's a solid collection, and there are as surprising number of stories with no supernatural elements. That may disappoint some King fans, but I found those to be the best ones.