PositiveThe Boston GlobeThere’s...a notable thread of simmering anxiety woven throughout that feels very current ... In addition to the expected supernatural horror themes, the four novellas...are undergirded, to great effect, with more earthbound fears ... Unlike the other novellas in the collection, \'The Life of Chuck\' defies narrative categorization. Is it horror? Is it magical realism? Is it literary fiction? Or do each of the three stories carry their own identifier? The jewel in the crown of \'If It Bleeds,\' however, is the titular novella ... If the collection has any sort of an Achilles heel, it might be King’s occasional tendency to overplay his hand when writing the ethnic, racial, or age-related idiom of certain characters ... King’s work at its best is masterfully accessible, and so it is here in If It Bleeds. He has often referred to his work as the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries, and while that might indeed be the case, it perhaps more resembles the work of a sculptor who uses an axe instead of a chisel. The resulting work shouldn\'t be as refined or have as much depth and detail as it somehow does.
