Night Shift

xxii, 336 pp. 8vo. Introduction by John D. MacDonald. Night Shift - Stephen King's first collection of stories - is an early showcase of the depths that King's wicked imagination could plumb. In these 20 tales, we see mutated rats gone bad ("Graveyard Shift"); a cataclysmic virus that threatens humanity ('Night Surf,' the basis for The Stand); a smoker who will try anything to stop ('Quitters, Inc.'); a reclusive alcoholic who begins a gruesome transformation ('Gray Matter'); and many more. This is Stephen King at his horrifying best.