buy Blood and Smoke by Stephen King at Amazon
Author: Stephen King
Release date: 22 November, 1999
Media: Audio CD
ISBN: 0671046179
"Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" is a darkly humorous, offbeat horror story revolving around a man (written from 1st person point of view) simultaneously struggling with divorce and quitting smoking. As if that wasn't bad enough, he finds himself at the Gotham Cafe having lunch with his wife, her lawyer, missing his own lawyer, and being confronted by the maitre-d from hell. This story was my personal favorite.
"1408" is a classic sort of horror story, good but my least favorite of the bunch. It is about a skeptical ghost-story writer who writes about the nights he spends in various so-called haunted sites. He is about to face the real thing for the very first time. The basic plot of "1408" is very cliché (writer spending the night in a haunted hotel room), but King manages to bring it to life with an interesting opening conversation and an unexpected lack of subtlety in the room itself.
"The Death Room" could be classified as part political thriller, although the modernized horror is the real focus. The main character is a reporter from New York, now in some unnamed South American country, being interrogated by the government about his knowledge of a rebel faction. It is clear from the beginning that there is no chance the reporter will leave the room alive without a lot of luck and perhaps a cigarette. King's characters really come alive in this tale with some of his best character descriptions ever.
One last note - Stephen King the reader is not as talented as Stephen King the writer, but he does a decent job (better than other works I've heard read by the author). He sounds a little self-conscious in the beginning of Gotham Cafe, but loosens up toward the end and gives the characters clearly recognizable voices. - an Amazon customer review