Short Story Battle Royale: Bracket Two, Round One

[Shannon]

128 short stories, one winner! Choose your favorite short story in each of the battles below. The winners will advance until we have one winner per bracket. There are four brackets. Those bracket winners will then face off against each other. The short story in each of the battles that gets five votes first wins, that's when voting for that battle will end. You can vote in all, some, or none of the battles, it's up to you. Have fun!

Bracket Two, Round One

BATTLE OVER! 1. "Nona" (3) vs."Word Processor of the Gods” (5)

BATTLE OVER! 2. "The Reploids" (1) vs. "The Last Rung on the Ladder" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 3. "Jerusalem's Lot" (3) vs. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 4. "Quitters, Inc." (5) vs. "The Other Side of the Fog" (0)

BATTLE OVER! 5. "The Ledge" (5) vs. "Mute" (1)

BATTLE OVER! 6. "The Little Green God of Agony" (5) vs. "I've Got to Get Away!" (0)

BATTLE OVER! 7. "Premium Harmony" (1) vs. "1408" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 8. "Everything's Eventual" (4) vs. "N." (5)

BATTLE OVER! 9. "Popsy" (5) vs. "It Grows on You" (2)

BATTLE OVER! 10. "Under the Weather" (1) vs. "Gramma" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 11. "Stationary Bike" (5) vs. "The 43rd Dream" (0)

BATTLE OVER! 12. "Sometimes They Come Back" (4) vs. "The Moving Finger" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 13. "For the Birds" (0) vs. "Battleground" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 14. "The New Lieutenant's Rap" (2) vs. "The End of the Whole Mess" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 15. "I Am the Doorway" (4) vs. "The Cat from Hell" (5)

BATTLE OVER! 16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well" (5) vs. "Rush Call" (0)

[Shannon]

My Picks:

1. "Word Processor of the Gods”
2. "The Last Rung on the Ladder"
3. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"
4. "Quitters, Inc."
5. "Mute"
6. NONE
7. "1408"
8. "N."
9. "Popsy"
10. "Gramma"
11. "Stationary Bike"
12. "Sometimes They Come Back"
13. "Battleground"
14. NONE
15. "The Cat from Hell"
16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well"

[CRinVA]

Bracket Two, Round One

1. "Word Processor of the Gods”

2. "The Reploids"

3. "Jerusalem's Lot"

4. "Quitters, Inc."

5. "The Ledge"

6. "The Little Green God of Agony"

7. "1408"

8. "Everything's Eventual"

9. "It Grows on You"

10. "Gramma"

11. "Stationary Bike"

12. "Sometimes They Come Back"

13. "Battleground"

14. "The New Lieutenant's Rap"

15. "The Cat from Hell"

16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well"

[Jean]

1. "Nona"

3. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"

8. "Everything's Eventual"

9. "Popsy"

12. "Sometimes They Come Back"

15. "I Am the Doorway"

[mae]

Bracket Two, Round One

1. "Nona" vs."Word Processor of the Gods”

2. "The Reploids" vs. "The Last Rung on the Ladder"

3. "Jerusalem's Lot" vs. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"

4. "Quitters, Inc." vs. "The Other Side of the Fog"

5. "The Ledge" vs. "Mute"

6. "The Little Green God of Agony" vs. "I've Got to Get Away!"

7. "Premium Harmony" vs. "1408"

8. "Everything's Eventual" vs. "N."

9. "Popsy" vs. "It Grows on You"

10. "Under the Weather" vs. "Gramma"

11. "Stationary Bike" vs. "The 43rd Dream"

12. "Sometimes They Come Back" vs. "The Moving Finger"

13. "For the Birds" vs. "Battleground"

14. "The New Lieutenant's Rap" vs. "The End of the Whole Mess"

15. "I Am the Doorway" vs. "The Cat from Hell"

16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well" vs. "Rush Call"

Votes bolded. Go Nona!

[biomieg]

1. "Word Processor of the Gods”
2. "The Last Rung on the Ladder"
3. "Jerusalem's Lot"
4. "Quitters, Inc."
5. "The Ledge"
6. "The Little Green God of Agony"
7. "1408"
8. "N."
9. "Popsy"
10. "Gramma"
11. "Stationary Bike"
12. "The Moving Finger"
13. "Battleground"
14. "The New Lieutenant's Rap"
15. "I Am the Doorway"
16. ?

[mattgreenbean]

I'd have to reread all these to make a fair assessment. By the time I was done, the vote would be long over.

[Shannon]

Yep. I recommend checking out Wikipedia and reading the synopsis's's's.

[Jean]

bears can vote on number #4 now:

4. "Quitters, Inc."

[Stockerlone]

1. "Nona"

2. "The Last Rung on the Ladder" (3)

3. "Jerusalem's Lot" (

4. "Quitters, Inc."

5. "The Ledge"

6. "The Little Green God of Agony"

7. "1408"

8. "Everything's Eventual"

9. "Popsy"

10. "Gramma" (3)

11. "Stationary Bike"

12. . "The Moving Finger" (2)

13. "Battleground" (4)

14. "The End of the Whole Mess" (1)

15. "The Cat from Hell" (2)

16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well"

[Stebbins]

2."The Last Rung on the Ladder"

3. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"

5. "The Ledge"

6.

7. "1408"

8. "N."

9.

10.

11. "Stationary Bike" (4)

12. "Sometimes They Come Back"

13. "Battleground"

14.

15. "I Am the Doorway"

16.

[stkmw02]

My Picks:

1. "Word Processor of the Gods"

2. "The Last Rung on the Ladder"

3. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"

5. "The Ledge"

6. "The Little Green God of Agony"

7. "1408"

8. "Everything's Eventual"

9. "Popsy"

10. "Gramma"

11. "Stationary Bike"

12. "The Moving Finger"

13. "Battleground"

14. "The End of the Whole Mess"

15. "The Cat from Hell"

16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well"

[divemaster]

my pick = bold

Bracket Two, Round One

1. "Nona" vs."Word Processor of the Gods” (obvious choice; I did not care for "Nona" much at all)

2. "The Reploids" vs. "The Last Rung on the Ladder" (obvious choice; "The Last Rung on the Ladder" is my all-time favorite short story ever)

3. "Jerusalem's Lot" vs. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" (Lovecraftian overtones win out!)

4. "Quitters, Inc." vs. "The Other Side of the Fog" (a cheat on my part; I've never heard of "The Other Side of the Fog" but "Quitters, Inc." gets 4 stars [my highest rating] so it automatically wins)

5. "The Ledge" vs. "Mute" ("Mute" was ok, but I loved "The Ledge")

6. "The Little Green God of Agony" vs. "I've Got to Get Away!" (no vote: not familiar with either story)

7. "Premium Harmony" vs. "1408" (a cheat on my part; I've never heard of "Premium Harmony" but "1408" gets 4 stars so it automatically wins)

8. "Everything's Eventual" vs. "N." (close vote: I liked both quite a bit, but maybe "N." just a little more)

9. "Popsy" vs. "It Grows on You" (clear winner; did not care for "It Grows on You" much at all)

10. "Under the Weather" vs. "Gramma" (no vote: never heard of "Under the Weather" and "Gramma" did absolutely nothing for me, so can't give it any points)

11. "Stationary Bike" vs. "The 43rd Dream" (no vote: never heard of "The 43rd Dream" and "Stationary Bike" was really lame, so can't give it any points)

12. "Sometimes They Come Back" vs. "The Moving Finger" (but both were pretty "meh")

13. "For the Birds" vs. "Battleground" (a cheat on my part; I've never heard of "For the Birds" but "Battleground" gets 4 stars so it automatically wins)

14. "The New Lieutenant's Rap" vs. "The End of the Whole Mess" (no vote: while I liked "The End of the Whole Mess" quite a bit (3 stars), I haven't read "The New Lieutenant's Rap")

15. "I Am the Doorway" vs. "The Cat from Hell" (liked it a bit better)

16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well" vs. "Rush Call" (no vote: not familiar with either of these)

[mae]

Dive, I can understand you not being aware of very early stories like The 43rd Dream or The Thing at the Bottom of the Well, but stories like Premium Harmony and The Little Green God of Agony are very recent stories, and any new stories are always discussed over at The Oracle and usually Calvin's Corner, too.

[divemaster]

I'm not complaining in this thread. Just posting the rationale for my votes or lack thereof.


I'm sure most members here are hardcore enough to have read most if not all of the uncollected stories.

Allow me my fun to play even though I am obviously out of my element compared to the "real" King fans around here.

[mae]

I didn't say you were complaining. I just don't want you missing out on these stories.

[Jean]

Added:

2. The Reploids
13. Battleground

[Jean]

yes, I know that The Last Rung has won, but can you add my vote to the Reploids score anyway?

[Brice]

14. The End Of The Whole Mess

16. The Thing At The Bottom Of The Well

[Shannon]

1) Results updated.

2) Jean, once one of the stories in the battle reaches five votes, the battle is over.

[Jean]

I see... what a pity...

[mae]

Poor Nona.

[Jean]

yes, I voted Nona, too

[Stebbins]

How did Doorway lose to the cat from hell? That's my vote for spoiler in this bracket thus far.

[Jean]

How did Doorway lose to the cat from hell? Shame.

[Shannon]

Come on people, surely there is someone out there who hasn't voted yet!

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

The End of the Whole Mess.

[Stebbins]

How did Doorway lose to the cat from hell? Shame.

Apparently I need to 'Spread some reputation around before giving more to Jean again'. But I wanted to rep this. Glad we can agree on some things Bears :thumbsup:

[Shannon]

And Bracket Two, Round One is over! The final battle results are as follows:

1. "Word Processor of the Gods” (5) vs. "Nona" (3)
2. "The Last Rung on the Ladder" (5) vs. "The Reploids" (1)
3. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" (5) vs. "Jerusalem's Lot" (3)
4. "Quitters, Inc." (5) vs. "The Other Side of the Fog" (0)
5. "The Ledge" (5) vs. "Mute" (1)
6. "The Little Green God of Agony" (5) vs. "I've Got to Get Away!" (0)
7. "1408" (5) vs. "Premium Harmony" (1)
8. "N." (5) vs. "Everything's Eventual" (4)
9. "Popsy" (5) vs. "It Grows on You" (2)
10. "Gramma" (5) vs. "Under the Weather" (1)
11. "Stationary Bike" (5) vs. "The 43rd Dream" (0)
12. "The Moving Finger" (5) vs. "Sometimes They Come Back" (4)
13. "Battleground" (5) vs. "For The Birds" (0)
14. "The End Of The Whole Mess" (5) vs. "The New Lieutenant's Rap" (2)
15. "The Cat From Hell" (5) vs. "I Am the Doorway" (4)
16. "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well" (5) vs. "Rush Call" (0)

Bracket Two, Round Two will begin in another thread right now.

[mae]

Only one vote (mine) for Premium Harmony? :cry:

[Jean]

I haven't read it yet, I didn't vote on #7. But it's hard to beat 1408.