Well now I can now finally say I've read the Langoliers. I picked this book up on an Amazon deal for $4.99. It was worth it of course. But none of the four novellas in here horrified me or captivated me as much as I know King has the ability to do, even in just short stories. 
 The four novellas are: The Langoliers, Secret Window, Secret Garden, The Library Policeman, and The Sun Dog. I started with The Sun Dog, and then went back to the beginning. All the stories were good, but I can't help but feel like a couple of them would have been better as full size novels. There was just so much more to explore in some of them. The Langoliers for example, a plane that flies into yesterday, where the world is steadily being eaten up bouncy alien balls called the Langoliers. There's a brief stint at the airport of the past, and then they're flying back to the present/future. I just felt like there could be some fun had in all this, and it was stunted by the length of the story. Then again, this is one of his more famous works so what do I know? 
 Secret Window, Secret Garden was pretty great. Again, I would have appreciated a slower burn here, but I think I recall seeing this as a Johnny Depp movie, and found I knew the ending the very first time it's hinted at. I don't recall the movie being all that spectacular (mostly because I think it was confusing) but I might go back and watch it now that I've read the story behind it. If you've never seen the movie, please read the story first. I think the story is better, and will be much more enjoyable if it's not spoiled for you. 
 The Library Policeman was kind of brilliant and also somehow meh. I haven't been to the library in ages, because I still have a book, (a crappy book at that) that I completely forgot to return and I myself have been a little afraid of the Library Police for awhile. Not this kind of Library Policeman specifically, but I love how King takes such a mundane, silly little thing and turns it into a nightmare. What slowed this down for me was the long, tedious telling of Dirty Dave's love affair with Ardelia. I could have done without most of it. 
 Finally The Sun Dog. This was probably my favorite of all four. It's one of the Castle Rock stories, and evokes all the spooky, chilling feelings you want to get from a good ghost story. I loved everything right up until the manifestation of the dog. I think I was hoping for the dog to get loose and for Kevin to be peeking over his shoulder for it, but that wasn't quite how it happened. Again, something that might have been rectified by a few more pages. 
 Strangely enough, what I loved most about Four Past Midnight, was the author's notes. There's one at the beginning, and one for each novella. It was a little insight into King's mind and how his stories come to life and what they were inspired by. His secret window in the laundry room, showing him a secret glimpse of his wife's garden. His son's irrational fear, shared by him (and a little by me), of the Library Policeman. I think Mr King is a creative genius. And all these things, these silly mundane things that most of us take for granted every day, that he is able to turn into sometimes short, sometimes sprawling epic stories, was the best part of this book. All in all, worth a read for King fans, but not my favorite.