Unusually for genre authors, King has managed to master the short story as well as novel-length fiction. "Skeleton Crew" isn't one of those cash-in collections where the publisher throws together some old crap the author spun out twenty years ago, usually amounting to 300 pages of mediocre stories. Although some of the tales here are as old as King's first novels, the collection is a vast one with well over twenty stories, forming a heavy tome well worth the couple of quid you can get it for now. It includes some great stories that have earned their fame elsewhere, such as "The Raft", "The Monkey" and "The Mist", the last of which is possibly the best example of rising terror I've ever read, and recently made into a film (which I haven't yet seen - it's probably rubbish anyway). As in most collections of this size there are a few less inspiring stories, but most are short and even if they don't give you the chills you were after, you'll never feel like you wasted your time reading them. King's narrative style and dialogue are as good as ever-- A great collection, dirt cheap now online so pick it up!