“Are there many more rooms upstairs?”
Novellas. What are those? Well, according to the afterword they’re stories of 25000 to 35000 words. These do not snugly fit into any category, and are difficult to publish, being neither short stories nor novels. So they collected four works into one volume, that shows a side of King that not everybody is aware of. Although there are elements of horror these are more “normal” stories, staying pretty much in the world of established fact. What makes them King are, of course, the sheer quality of the stories, their ability to grab the reader’s attention and keep it till the final sentence. Some very good films have come from these tales.
One of my favourite places in King’s world, the club at 249B EastThirty-fifth Street, is introduced here. Here, stories will always be told, and it is the tale that matters, “not he who tells it”.