Product Description
 

FIRST TIME ON AUDIO...

An Unabridged Novella Unavailable In Any Collection!

Tapping into our primal fears of modern technology that made Cell a #1 bestseller, Stephen King sets his sights on the latest high-tech gadget in UR, in which a mysterious e-book reader opens a disturbing window into other worlds.

Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book lover Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend's parting shot: "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" He buys an e-book reader out of spite, but soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he had never before imagined, discovering literary riches beyond his wildest dreams...and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his most terrible nightmares.

From vintage cars (Christine and From a Buick 8) to household appliances (Maximum Overdrive) to exercise equipment (Stationary Bike), Stephen King has mesmerized us with tales of apparently ordinary machines that take on lives of their own. UR gives this classic theme an up-to-the-minute spin, resulting in a horror masterpiece for our time and for the ages.Amazon.com Review
Since his first novel was published in 1974, Stephen King has stretched the boundaries of the storyteller as a writer who constantly redefines his readers' experience by working in various genres and formats . Whether in an epic horror novel, like THE STAND, a serial-novel like THE GREEN MILE, or a novella like SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION,King is able to deliver a reading experience like no one else can.As quickly as a spider spins its web, King reminds us why he's the master of the novella - a format which, up until now that is, one might have thought is fast disappearing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (274)

Mixed. Been a fan from his first book.
The beginning was slow and awkward. I almost stopped reading it.After a while, I started to use the text-to-speech to help me read it.It got interesting in the middle of the story. I was hooked.
The one thing I like about King's books, is that it sucks you into the book itself. It's like you're seeing what his characters sees. You're actually visualizing it yourself.This is different from his other works.Other books he's written when he was younger were his best.This is was mixed for me.This also had a few lines of humor in it.The ending of this really didn't have that much of an ending.Maybe there will be sequel to this book.I hope.All in all, still was a good read.

A Kindle User Manual By the Master of Horror
It took me a while, but I got around to reading UR. I am sorry I waited so long. This title should be included with every purchase of a Kindle.
It is one part how to use your Kindle, one part Twilight Zone with a whole lotta of Stephen King at his best. I am a fan of his short stories, and this one rates up there with some of his best.

Loved the concept
King can really come up with some great short story ideas that leave you wanting for more.I've read all of King's books, short stories, novellas, etc, (I do believe) and when he is "on", he can't be beat.He knows how to pack a novel's worth of suspense in very few words and that is what he did with "UR".I enjoyed the concept, the wordsmithing and just wish the story had gone on a bit longer.I always love his sly humor popping up at unexpected moments, too.

I found UR interesting and entertaining
I purchased UR because it was by Steven King, and about the kindle.What else is better than reading Steven King (or anyone else) on a Kindle?

While I don't consider this one of his best works, it kept my attention throughout and provided me with hours of pleasure (as opposed to TV, which I find boring).

The tie-in with the Dark Tower series was interesting also.The book was well worth the very low price I paid for it, and it you have a Kindle you should really get this Steven King "made for Kindle" novel.

Two Thumbs DOWN!!!
It was not very good. At times, it seemed like King didn't really care about the book. It also seemed too much like an ad for the kindle. It was almost as if Amazon had a gun to his temple, telling him to write. That is how forced it seemed. ... Read more

Product Description

STEPHEN KING “RETURNS TO HIS GLORY DAYS OF THE STAND” (New York Daily News) WITH HIS NEW #1 BESTSELLING EPIC

Just down Route 119 in Chester’s Mill, Maine, all hell is about to break loose. . . .

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day, a small town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener’s hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts. No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if—it will go away. Now a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome. But their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn’t just running short. It’s running out.Amazon.com Review
Amazon Exclusive: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan Reviews Under the Dome

Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan share their enthusiasm for Stephen King's thriller, Under the Dome. This pair of reviewers knows a thing or two about the art of crafting a great thriller. Del Toro is the Oscar-nominated director of international blockbuster films, including Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy. Hogan is the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Standoff and Prince of Thieves, which won the International Association of Crime Writer's Dashiell Hammett Award in 2005. The two recently collaborated to write the bestselling horror novel, The Strain, the first of a proposed trilogy. Read their exclusive Amazon guest review of Under the Dome:

The first thing readers might find scary about Stephen King's Under The Dome is its length. The second is the elaborate town map and list of characters at the front of the book (including "Dogs of Note"), which sometimes portends, you know, heavy lifting. Don't you believe it. Breathless pacing and effortless characterization are the hallmarks of King's best books, and here the writing is immersive, the suspense unrelenting. The pages turn so fast that your hand--or Kindle-clicking thumb--will barely be able to keep up.

You Are Here.

Nobody yarns a “What if?” like Stephen King. Nobody. The implausibility ofa dome sealing off an entire city--a motif seen before in pulp magazines and on comic book covers--is given the most elaborate real-life alibi by crafting details, observations, and insights that make us nod silently while we read. Promotional materials reference The Stand in comparison, but we liken Under The Dome more to King's excellent novella, The Mist: another locked-door situation on an epic scale, a tour-de-force in which external stressors bake off the civility of a small town full of dark secrets, exposing souls both very good...and very, very bad.

Yes, "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," but there is so much more this time. The expansion of King’s diorama does not simply take a one-street fable and turn it into a town, but finds new life for old archetypes, making them morally complex and attuned to our world today. It makes them relevant and affecting once again. And the beauty of it all is that the final lesson, the great insight that is gained at the end of this draining journey, is not a righteous 1950’s sermon but an incredibly moving and simple truth. A nugget of wisdom you'll be using as soon as you turn the last page.

This Is Now.

Along the way, you get bravura writing, especially featuring the town kids, and a delicious death aria involving one of the most nefarious characters--who dies alone, but not really--as well as a few laugh-out-loud moments, and a cameo (of sorts) by none other than Jack Reacher. Indeed--whether during a much-needed comfort break, or a therapeutic hand-flexing--you may find yourself wondering, "Is this a horror novel? Or is it a thriller?" The answer, of course, is:Yes, yes, yes.

"...the blood hits the wall like it always hits the wall."

It seems impossible that, as he enters his sixth decade of publishing, the dean of dark fiction could add to his vast readership. But that is precisely what will happen...when the Dome drops.

Now Go Read It. --Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Story Behind the Cover
Click on image to enlarge

The jacket concept for Under the Dome originated as an ambitious idea from the mind of Stephen King. The artwork is a combination of photographs, illustration and 3-D rendering. This is a departure from the direction of King's most recent illustrated covers.

In order to achieve the arresting image for this jacket, Scribner art director Rex Bonomelli had to seek out artists who could do a convincing job of creating a realistic portrayal of the town of Chester's Mill, the setting of the novel. Bonomelli found the perfect team of digital artists, based in South America and New York, whose cutting edge work had previously been devoted to advertisement campaigns. This was their first book jacket and an exciting venture for them. "They are used to working with the demands of corporate clients," says Bonomelli. "We gave them freedom and are thrilled with what they came up with."

The CGI (computer generated imagery) enhanced image looks more like something made for the big screen than for the page and is sure to make a lasting impact on King fans.

Meet the Characters

Dale Barbara Barbie, a drifter, ex-army, walks with a burden of guilt from the time he spent in Iraq. Working as a short-order cook at Sweetbriar Rose is the closest thing he’s had to a family life. When his old commander, Colonel Cox, calls from outside, Barbie's burden becomes the town itself. Julia Shumway The attractive Editor and Publisher of the local town newspaper, The Chester's Mill Democrat, Julia is self-assured and Republican to the core, but she is drawn to Barbie and discovers, when it matters most, that her most vulnerable moment might be her most liberating. Jim Rennie, Sr. "Big Jim." A used car dealer with a fierce smile and no warmth, he'd given his heart to Jesus at age sixteen and had little left for his customers, his neighbors, or his dying wife and deteriorating son. The town's Second Selectman, he’s used to having things his way. He walks like a man who has spent his life kicking ass. Joseph McClatchey Scarecrow Joe, a 13-year-old also known as "King of the Geeks" and "Skeletor, a bona fide brain whose backpack bears the legend "fight the powers that be." He’s smarter than anyone, and proves it in a crisis.

Chester's Mill, Maine(click on image to enlarge)

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1085)

Fantastic!!!!
I never wanted to stop reading this book right from the first page! It's very long so I had to. In the Author's Note at the end of the book, Stephen King says: "I tried to write a book that would keep the pedal consistently to the metal." That's exactly what he did.

The Dome
The story is about small town politics, greed, drugs, conspiracy and murder. It was interesting to read how the town reacts after being cut off from the world and trying to figure out how to get out of the dome. The ending was disappointing but the book was a good read until then.

SSDD
Love King, but it's his unique stories (The Green Mile, Shawshank Redmeption) that stand out. This book tracks isolated people, for whatever reason, in an encapsulated society describing how they go crazy. Ho-Hum. More military bashing too. Have you discovered Jesse's Wives, Intolerance, and Mattie Pumpken, by Annamaria Q. Proctor? Adorable yet annoyingly persistant child angels and beguilingly beautiful imps, human choices become incarnate characters, are silk threads that weave great stories together without being preachy or political. They're not "Same Story Different Day". If you've been mixed up in adultry, gay and being bullied and suffering, or you're fat and hate it, one of these tales is for you. They're mystical, exciting, romantic, dramatic and can't be contained by one genre. Great weekend reads! Definately nor SSDD.

Overlong and boring
Like pretty much all posted comments, let me state that I am a huge King fan. I have read pretty much all of his books, some of them twice. In fact, Stephen King is the main reason I started doing my own writing and was eventually published, although I do not really touch on horror that often. Under the Dome is a great concept and does have some interesting passages and characters. Some of the passages are so interesting that I really could not put the book down. Unfortunately, those passages are very few. The length of the book did not bother me at all. In fact, my reasoning was the longer the book, the more compelling story to read. This book could have easily been trimmed by at least four hundred pages and you would not have missed anything relevant. Also, I will not spoil it for you, but the ending is seriously lackluster. A few years ago I tried to read the book Linney's story. After forty pages, I simply could not take it anymore. I really hope King's next book is a lot better than these two because reading some of his classics were definitely some well-spent highlights.

Good story if you can stomach the political biasness.
Mr. King, along with other writers, have always added their own views on politics and religion in their writings. The biasness in Under the Dome slaps you in the face every time you turn the page. I found it a bit annoying, and at times rather distracting from the story.

With that said ;though, the story was pretty good. I have the audio book, and I listened to it while driving from Ohio to Alaska. The characters are witty, well written, and at times just darn creepy.

If you're a liberal you'll probably write a raving review and call Mr. King a literary genius.If you're a conservative you'll have a hard time getting past swamp of biasness, and close the book upset, and write a negative review.

If you can get past all that and enjoy a good story then you'll probably like it. ... Read more

Product Description
They were just kids when they stumbled upon the hidden horror of their hometown. Now, as adults, none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them all back to Derry, Maine, to face the nightmare without end, and the evil without a name.Amazon.com Review
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon thehorror. Now they were grown-up men and women who had gone out into thebig world to gain success and happiness. But none of them couldwithstand the force that drew them back to Derry, Maine to face thenightmare without an end, and the evil without a name. What was it? Read It and find out...if you dare! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (923)

Frightening, and not for kids...
Although, the first time I did read "It", I was a young teenager.I just read it again recently now that I'm in my 30's.This book, and to a lesser extent the mediocre TV miniseries, had young people scared of clowns for life.Like "The Stand", "It" is a long book at over 1000 pages.Full of not only wonderful character development but geographical history of King's fictional Maine.With the exception of the controversial sex scene towards the end I loved every minute of "It."I wasn't offended like many others were.I just thought the challenge the characters were dealing with in that moment could have been handled differently.Just my opinion but who am I to argue with the "King."A masterpiece of horror nonetheless.

A Piece of my Childhood
IT is not only one of my favorite Stephen King novels, but one of my favorite novels, period. IT is one of those too-rare books that completely engrossed me in its story, characters and prose. IT is a long novel, but I didn't want IT to end. I received this novel in hardback as a Christmas present when it first came out, and I had the whole of our winter break to read this. All I can say is 'Best Winter Break Ever!' I highly recommend this novel.

Joel Arnold, author of Fetal Bait Apocalypse; 3 Collections in 1

You'll float too. We'll all float....oneday.
Not exactly scary(although it could have been) what with all the boring minutia and irrelevant detail to wade through, but very entertaining at times.I loved the clown though.FYI..."Pogo" the clown(John Wayne Gacy) was a real clown that killed kids. He was photographed with Rosalyn Carter, to the Secret Service's embarrassment.

I had heard so much about this book, but once into it, you realize it's really a hybrid of a kid's fairy tale/monster movie(what? no Dracula??) on steroids, with adult material included.And a neighborhood bully thrown in for good measure.As with most SK novels, you must suffer through boring gunky to get to the good stuff. An improvement would be to have the clown make his appearance more frequently. If only I had lived next door to Stephen King when he wrote this, I'd have admonished him to... SEND IN THE CLOWNS!!!

Near the end of the novel, when they're in the sewers, I had a hard time knowing if they were adults or as kids in the sewers--there was little hint as to which, except for the time stamp.If I thought it was one, it was the other.And when the giant pregnant black widow appeared, the metaphysics was mind-boggling.King must've been doing some really good ganja or coke at the time.In addition, spiders don't have stingers, they have fangs that inject poison.(the ganja)If only Steve had stuck with the clown killer theme, the book could've been much scarier and believable, which after all, is what we seek in a SK book.As it is, IT is on par with the child crusades, or perhaps Harry Potter.(Although I never read any Harry Potter)In addition, I saw nothing redemptive in the gang bang--unless King was trying for a banned book.Ironically, Catcher in the Rye was banned, yet "It" was far more disturbing and escapes the censors unscathed.In fact, I wonder how many kids have read "It" and tried some of the things in It--like binge drinking, gang bang trains, switch blade assaults, rock throwing, physical mutilation, sewer exploration, etc.

The final scene was rediculous--riding an old bike, double, at break neck speed.The final pages were the hardest to get through.Looking, but not finding, anything meaningful.Where's a clown when you need one?

I'm not even sure if "It" belongs in the Horror section.It may rightly belong in the Fantasy or Sci Fi section.It's too racy for the Children's section.Too childish to be in the Adult section--one little gang bang isn't quite enough.It might float in the Humor section.Hmmmmm...if only there was an "It" section.


My 11th SK novel to date--"my life for you!!!" Needful Things, which maintained the tension unerringly (and with exceptional writing), was the best of the lot so far. Tommyknockers, Pet Sematary, and Salem's Lot were my other favorites after Needful Things, in that order.

The first book to ever really scare me.
Never have I been so spooked by a book that I had to set it down and take a break until I read "It".I think King does a fantastic job of opening the old, dark closets of the mind that we thought we had closed and barred tight some time ago in our young adult years.I have read roughly half of King's books by time of this review and this one scared me the most.I wont go into detail of what the novel is about, you likely already have a rough idea by now.As a kid I watched a lot of scary movies. After watching the Exorcist, I slept in a fetal position, careful to keep the blankets tucked securely under my feet; out of reach of anything that might have had a taste for exposed skin, for over a year.I am 37 now... Last night I woke up at roughly 2am to what I thought was the sound of my wife snoring, only it sounded more like a growl... a menacing growl... I immediately turned on the bedlamp only to discover my wife was not in the room... the sound was gone too and... my closet door was half open... I may need to get a lock on that door.

Read this and never sleep again
Like so many kids of my generation, I grew up watching and fearing the tv movie version of It. I've never been scared of clowns, but seeing Tim Curry's take on the homicidal dancing clown Pennywise kept me up many a night as a child. Compared to the Stephen King book, it's a Disney movie.

In the fictional town of Derry, Maine circa 1985, a recent string of horrific child murders reunite a group of childhood friends called The Losers' Club to finally annihilate a sewer dwelling, shape shifting monster from another planet they'd attempted to destroy as adolescents nearly 27 years before. The Pennywise character is just one of It's many forms. The others include a bloodthirsty Werewolf, a Leper so deformed it'll make your stomach turn, reanimated corpse's of It's victims, and It's true form The Deadlights.

There are too many scary scenes to list, but one location in particular still gives me chills. The House on Neibolt Street. I was so terrified I could barely get off the couch and it was during a sunny afternoon! The novel goes back and forth between the childhood years of the Losers and their final showdown with the creature. Just like the movie, I prefer the childhood chapters.

I don't know if Stephen King did this on purpose, but I found it interesting how he turned the often called "good ole days" view of the 1950's on it head. It may have been the good ole days to some, but it was anything but for these kids.

Ringleader Bill suffers from a stutter made more severe by the murder of his baby brother Georgie. Ben is a pudgie kid tormented for his weight. Beverly, the only girl of the group, has an abusive father and must also deal with bullying because she's poor. The wisecracking Richie uses his quirky humor to cover up his true feelings of fear. Little Eddie is a short asthmatic boy whose domineering mother keeps him afraid in order to keep him by her side. Mike is the only black kid in the group and harassed with constant racism. Stan is the only Jewish member of the group and chooses to rely on logic despite the incomprehensible cruelty of It. As if dealing with a child eating monster isn't hard enough, they also have Henry Bowers and his cronies on their heels. Henry is a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-semite and overall insanely sadistic bully. A real dream, huh?

One thing I didn't care for (and I'm glad to see I'm not alone) is the orgy scene. I don't care what explanation Stephen King used for why it was written. It was unnecessary imo. Other than that, I enjoyed the book. Don't let the daunting 1138 pages scare you away. Although he's definitely longwinded, King will hold your attention from beginning to end. Now read! "Nine, ten, never sleep again!" ... Read more

Product Description
From New York Times bestselling author Stephen King comes the haunting story of Blockade Billy, the greatest Major League baseball player to be erased from the game.   

Even the most die-hard baseball fans don't know the true story of William “Blockade Billy” Blakely. He may have been the greatest player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first--and only--player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Even his team is long forgotten, barely a footnote in the game's history.

Every effort was made to erase any evidence that William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse... and only Stephen King, the most gifted storyteller of our age, can reveal the truth to the world, once and for all.

Originally published through Cemetery Dance Publications on April 20, 2010 as a $25.00 limited-edition hardcover, Stephen King and Cemetery Dance have made an arrangement with Scribner to make available a less expensive hardcover edition of Blockade Billy, with an on-sale date of May 25th, the same date the audiobook goes on sale. The Scribner edition will be available in all U.S. and Canadian retail outlets. Both the Scribner book and the Simon & Schuster audiobook will feature a bonus short story ("Morality"). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (119)

Not bad for a short story...
Blockade Billy is a good and riveting tale. Though it's about one-tenth the size of most of his books, it does grab the reader for the few hours it takes to devour it. As a King fan from way back; lo, these past 30 years, the strangest thing about this book is that I was able to start and finish it in one quick afternoon on the beach; I'm just not used to King "small stuff." That said, the story was intriguing, interesting and suspensful, though a knowledge and fondness for baseball really should be a pre-rec for this one. King has done baseball and short stories before, and handled each extremely well.I have always been and always will be a King fan, but Blockade Billy is two celery stalks before the big plate of hot wings hits the table - really good, but not enough.

King shines
I loved this story of Stephen King's.Some of his material I like, some is mediocre, some makes me cringe (in a good way), some I could care less about and forget almost immediately after reading.But the very best shines.The words light up in my brain as I read and it seems I have no problem remembering the story, even years after I have finished reading it."Blockade Billy" is just such a story.It makes every word count and draws you to the inevitable bloody conclusion.

I can always tell when Stephen King is writing about one of the two things he really loves - baseball or music.When either of these are the subject of his prose, the words seem to light up and I can feel King's excitement and overwhelming interest in the "story".King has written previously about baseball.It was a very integral part of his novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, one of my all-time favorite King books.It was the subject of his poem "Brooklyn August" and the very outstanding essay "Head Down", both of which were included in his book of short stories, etc. Nightmares & Dreamscapes.He co-authored a non-fiction book on baseball called Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season by Stewart O'Nan (Author) Stephen King (Author).

I have found I enjoy just about anything King writes, AS LONG as he is enjoying writing it.He is doing a column now in the "Entertainment Weekly" magazine and I even enjoy most of those, especially the music-related ones.

I don't think you can go wrong buying this story, especially the Kindle version at $4.99.Forego your latte for the day and enjoy a good story.

Great Baseball Tale
If this book were longer, I'd give it five stars.I'm a huge fan of King's (but one who is able to recognize that not all of King's work is good), and an even bigger fan of baseball.This book is a delightful combination of two of my favorites from the world of entertainment.I'd love to see what King could do with a novel-length baseball story.I felt like I was following one of my favorite teams during the all-too-brief time it took me to read this 80 page story.

Very disappointed!
I have been a Stephen King fan from the beginning but I was very disappointed in this book. It was like he just wanted to show how much baseball "lingo" he could cram into one story and make himself sound like a "regular guy," "one of the boys" - whatever - whether it made sense or not. To me it just got in the way of the story, which was extremely weak. I was totallydisappointed in the plot and the "dark secret." And what was that short story tagged onto the back all about anyway - Morality? It was also stupid. I do not recommend buying this book.

Baseball fiction with a King twist
I usually do not read any of King's long novels or numerous short stories, because horror & thriller fiction doesn't interest me all that much.However, this book was simply a beautifully written piece of baseball fiction, with a twist.Yes, it included a horrific crime.Yet, King makes even the crime seem kind of ordinary & rational.The story is simple.A baseball team has many injuries & needs to find a catcher right away.they call someone up, sight unseen, as a stopgap measure. He turns out to be a star.He also turns out to have various eccentricities, which are all explained away or covered up because he's producing on the field.A case of mistaken identity, old friendships gone awry, betrayals, & murder all interfere in this young man's baseball career.King writes this book as if it's non-fiction & I think that a number of people might think it's all a true piece of unknown baseball history.This novella orlong short story, held my interest throughout & was well worth the read. ... Read more

Product Description
"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.Amazon.com Review
Short and snappy as it is, Stephen King's On Writingreally contains two books: a fondly sardonic autobiography and atough-love lesson for aspiring novelists. The memoir is terrificstuff, a vivid description of how a writer grew out of a misbehavingkid. You're right there with the young author as he's tormented bypoison ivy, gas-passing babysitters, uptight schoolmarms, and alaundry job nastier than Jack London's. It's a ripping yarn that castsa sharp light on his fiction. This was a child who dug Yvette Vickersfrom Attack of the Giant Leeches, not Sandra Dee."I wantedmonsters that ate whole cities, radioactive corpses that came out ofthe ocean and ate surfers, and girls in black bras who looked liketrailer trash." But massive reading on all literary levels was acraving just as crucial, and soon King was the published author of "IWas a Teen-Age Graverobber." As a young adult raising a family in atrailer, King started a story inspired by his stint as a janitorcleaning a high-school girls locker room. He crumpled it up, but hiswriter wife retrieved it from the trash, and using her advice aboutthe girl milieu and his own memories of two reviled teenage classmateswho died young, he came up with Carrie. King gives uslots of revelations about his life and work. The kidnapper characterin Misery, the mind-possessing monsters in TheTommyknockers, and the haunting of the blocked writer in TheShining symbolized his cocaine and booze addiction (overcomethanks to his wife's intervention, which he describes). "There's onenovel, Cujo, that I barely remember writing."

King also evokes his college days and his recovery from the van crashthat nearly killed him, but the focus is always on what it all meansto the craft. He gives you a whole writer's "tool kit": a readinglist, writing assignments, a corrected story, and nuts-and-boltsadvice on dollars and cents, plot and character, the basic buildingblock of the paragraph, and literary models. He shows what you canlearn from H.P. Lovecraft's arcane vocabulary, Hemingway's leanness,Grisham's authenticity, Richard Dooling's artful obscenity, JonathanKellerman's sentence fragments. He explains why Hart's War is a greatstory marred by a tin ear for dialogue, and how Elmore Leonard's Be Cool could be theantidote.

King isn't just a writer, he's a true teacher. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (959)

Why is the Kindle version so expensive?
This will be a brief review. The book is great for a writer and answers the question (at least for a lot of his books) where did he get the idea for this? I own it in both hardback and paperback, and wanted it for the Kindle but am just curious why the Kindle electronic version costs so much? If Amazon and the publishers would get the "long tail" concept through their head and lower the prices on the Kindle books it would increase the use greatly as well as increase profits as more readers switch to this medium.

"Hangin' wit Steve..."
The immediate impression I had upon finishing this fun and informative memoir from renowned novelist Stephen King was that this was largely a cathartic effort, one which I felt he needed to finish following his horrific roadside near death accident in 1999. True, the bulk of this comparatively short work deals with his thoughts and lessons learned on writing as a craft, but the, ironically, best writing here is when he describes his accident and subsequent recovery. I was overtaken with King's spirit and his seemingly underlying drive to recover that made his chapter on the accident marvelous reading and, thus, made this book another in the long line of King "must reads."

Beginning with a biography that extols his surprisingly (at least to me) destitute life as a young teacher and writer, we learn indirectly about his talent and, importantly, his cavernous and macabre imagination. Seeming to take stories out of this struggling life, King shares how rejection after rejection only fortified his resolve...justified with the "Carrie" novel as his breakthrough. Bouts with drugs and alcohol are, again, revelatory especially with the story of how he remembers little of his work on "Cujo", being "drunk throughout the writing of it."

The chapters where King essentially teaches the "class" on creative writing are helpful, but, I felt that the important points are the seemingly common sense attributes...write constantly, write what you know, stay true to yourself...etc. All these things seem to me to be common knowledge, but the notion that "to write well, one must read a lot" was, although again common sense, revelatory nonetheless. Giving many examples of expanding rough drafts into literarily useable works, it was his example of how he "cut" much out of the initial draft of his short story "1408" that really shows his expertise and, humbly, how far someone like me has to go to approach that level.

Fans of King may be turned off by a short non-fiction work as this, but "On Writing" reveals a lot of how King formulates his stories and does the most, I feel, to get to the core of the "mind of the master." And, as with virtually all King works, this one is also fun and easy to read. Highest recommendation.

Writing
As a newwriter, I found this book to be the best tool I have found to date.Every thing I read made sense and it was an easy delightful read.I have read extensively all of my life, and horror is not one of my fortes, but Stephen King is a wonderful writer and was willing to pass on so much knowledge that itwas breathtaking.I was born with a speech defect that was not corrected until I was a senior in high school so I have had a love/heat affair with words and he helped me realize how great words on paper really are.Thank you, Stephen King.

Not A King Fan But Loved This Book
I don't read scary books and I haven't read a single one of Stephen King's books until this one.I knew he was super smart and funny from the article he writes in Entertainment Weekly.After reading "On Writing," I just like him so much.Part-way through the book I went out and bought a copy for my best friend.I really don't know how someone could not like this book.I loved the autobiographical section and it made me hunger to know more about him and his life.The writing section is told with a passion for the craft and humor that somehow makes it all stick in the brain. Other reviews are far better at formulating what is really good about this book but I just had to write something to add another five star to the pile!

Entertaining and Informative!!
If I'm being honest, I have to confess that I've never read one of Stephen King's novels. Having said that, there is no mistake that the man is one of the best selling authors of all time, a true success.
I really, really enjoyed reading 'On Writing.' It was funny, enjoyable, educational, and interesting. Who better to seek advice on writing from than Stephen King.
Great book, even if you're not looking to become a writer. ... Read more

Product Description
On the first day of May, one hundred teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as "The Long Walk." If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (335)

Definitely Stephen King
The book was a great read. It was almost addictive to want to keep reading to find out what happens during the walk. My feet hurt just reading about it. There was a twist in the middle and the end just happened so suddenly that I wasn't sure it was the end. i was looking for the next chapter.

Dont waste your time
I have read 1000s of books and have rarely been disappointed. This story was a major disappointment. I will admit that it was an original idea for the time it was written but to be so invested in the characters and to simply end the story the way it ended was stupid. DO NOT waste your time. Go for a real walk and enjoy life! Hey King, you owe me $6.95 and 2 wasted evenings.

Great start; weak finish; poor Kindle formatting
I knew the premise of this story before I read it, and my disappointment does not stem from that fact.The first 3/4 of the book was great.King does his normally fantastic job of developing the characters, giving you incredible insight into who they are.He also dropped many tidbits of information that gets you thinking about side stories (was this an alternate time dimension, etc.)

Unfortunately, the last 1/4 of the book doesn't hold up well.Main characters are killed off almost unceremoniously.I expected DeVries to be the 99th one to buy a ticket, but he was dispatched much earlier.The end of the story came so suddenly, I had to go back and see who #99 was.The story Olson (?) told of the end of the walk he witnessed was far better than the end King gave us.I don't mind being left wanting more, but I was left wanting a real ending.Not King's best work.

A comment about the Kindle edition -- there were extra spaces sprinkled throughout the entire text, which I found annoying and, quite frankly, unacceptable.Seriously, how hard can it be to fix things like that?A simple spell-check of the raw document would have turned up most of those errors.This was my first Kindle ebook and, sadly, I'm disappointed in the quality.

Long Walk, Good Read
This is Stephen King at his best. King puts the readers in the worn out shoes of the Walkers. I found myself thinking over and over what I would do if I was on the Long Walk and thinking about how I would react to seeing everyone around me get shot down if they walked too slow or gave up. The Long Walk makes you think about life, and what we are willing to do to keep it.

Modern Interpretation of Roman gladiator battle
This has got to be one of my favorite books by Mr King because it has a sort of believability that makes it that much more terrorfying. Most of his novels have a super natural force as the antagonist, but in the long walk the only enemy is the human mind. ... Read more

Product Description
Stephen King -- who has written more than fifty books, dozens of number one New York Times bestsellers, and many unforgettable movies -- delivers an astonishing collection of short stories, his first since Everything's Eventual six years ago. As guest editor of the bestselling Best American Short Stories 2007, King spent over a year reading hundreds of stories. His renewed passion for the form is evident on every page of Just After Sunset. The stories in this collection have appeared in The New Yorker, Playboy, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Esquire, and other publications.

Who but Stephen King would turn a Port-O-San into a slimy birth canal, or a roadside honky-tonk into a place for endless love? A book salesman with a grievance might pick up a mute hitchhiker, not knowing the silent man in the passenger seat listens altogether too well. Or an exercise routine on a stationary bicycle, begun to reduce bad cholesterol, might take its rider on a captivating -- and then terrifying -- journey. Set on a remote key in Florida, "The Gingerbread Girl" is a riveting tale featuring a young woman as vulnerable -- and resourceful -- as Audrey Hepburn's character in Wait Until Dark. In "Ayana," a blind girl works a miracle with a kiss and the touch of her hand. For King, the line between the living and the dead is often blurry, and the seams that hold our reality intact might tear apart at any moment. In one of the longer stories here, "N.," which recently broke new ground when it was adapted as a graphic digital entertainment, a psychiatric patient's irrational thinking might create an apocalyptic threat in the Maine countryside...or keep the world from falling victim to it.

Just After Sunset -- call it dusk, call it twilight, it's a time when human intercourse takes on an unnatural cast, when nothing is quite as it appears, when the imagination begins to reach for shadows as they dissipate to darkness and living daylight can be scared right out of you. It's the perfect time for Stephen King. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (222)

Mediocre Short Stories by King
I was excited to read this collection of shorts stories upon finishing "Under The Dome," but the majority of these tales lacked in quality and were rather boring. The best stories here are The Gingerbread Girl, N., Mute, and a Very Tight Place. Skip the rest, because they seem to be just filler. Hopefully his new collection will be much better. WW

Very enjoyable read!
I really enjoyed reading this one. I bought it at the airport and read it very quickly. I really like King's short stories because I like the variety he brings in each one. Always a pleasure.

:(
What a load of crap.
I'm sorry Stephen, i really like you. I think you're a great writer.
I own every book you ever published including some rare editions and some special collector's editions.
But this book is sooooo boring. I read it as fast as i could just to put this behind me. I fell asleep so many times while reading it.
I still haven't read 'Under the Dome'. I really hope reading it will make me forget about this collection.

Enjoyed King's new collection of short stories
While I'm not a rabid Stephen King fan, I do enjoy his works & have read enough of his fiction over the years to give a fairly decent review of these stories.

Willa:The author admits to being overfond of this story since it was a trial run at getting back to short fiction.I think its well done and only falters in the creep-factor everyone seems to expect from King.It seems if this were from someone we'd never heard of, we'd all be terribly impressed & moved, but since its from King, not so much.Makes you better understand his desire to use the Bachman name to publish some of his work.That aside, its a touching & haunting story which left me a little disappointed.I wanted to know more about them, the restrictions or benefits of their changed selves...the world around them and how it functions, how they relate to it, if anyone else ever joined Willa & David.So, I guess with all its charms it still leaves you with too much left undone and gets a 3 out of 5 rating from me.

The Gingerbread Girl:I actually found the first of half of this tale a bit maudlin and dull.The second half kicks into high gear and we see our main character almost getting herself killed by a serial killer.There is such a contrast between the pitch & action in the first half and last half that it makes for almost separate stories.It may have been a deliberate move on King's part to jar the reader into the same panic the protaganist is experiencing, but for me it felt forced and detracted rather than added to the tale.Overall I give it 4 of 5 rating.

Harvey's Dream:Not my favorite of the bunch.It seemed to just be a blah story.A dire premonition within a disappointing marriage.2 out of 5.

Rest Stop:Enjoyed this one immensely.Loved the main character's dilemma, his terrible fear of getting involved or, even worse, not getting involved.His eventual action is choice!5 out of 5!!

Stationary Bike:Again, enjoyed this one a great deal.Seemed strangely terrifying while involving my sympathies for the Lipid Company crew.The final confrontation was beautifully done.5 out of 5.

The Things They Left Behind:I'm one who's willing to let a story unfold a bit, which this one does.I was tremendously impressed by this one and touched by how simple yet kind the resolution proved to be.5 of 5.

Graduation Afternoon:Very short & almost pathetic in its need to be dramatic and dreadful.1 out of 5.

N.:Now this is a story!I was creeped out, fascinated, frightened and painfully sympathetic to N.'s story.While his OCD seems somehow juvenile in its practice, it has come to rule him as has the terror at Ackerman's Field.The therapist is so concerned by N.'s story, he keeps notes and considers writing a book on this patient.But any good researcher knows you have to go to the source to understand a patient's behavior.Dun-dun-duuuuun!5 out of 5!

The Cat from Hell:OK, I admit it.I've read this before.This may be why I was less than impressed with it.Still, its a great little story that freaks you the hell out the first time you read it.So, 4 out of 5.

The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates:Don't we all, who have suffered loss, long for some sort of communication with those we've lost?This story speaks eloquently to that longing.It is tremendously heartfelt, somewhat desperate and struck me as both kind and cruel in its function.Would ALL the dead have words of comfort for us?I shudder to think what some might say if I picked up the phone and caught a call from the otherside.5 out of 5.

Mute:This is a tale of unintentional second-hand vengeance.Have you ever spilled out your current crappy life story to someone you were sure was indifferent to your plight?What if they weren't?What if they decided to help you?By destroying the people who were making your life a misery?(lol, Misery)What would you do?Thank God?In this case, our main character goes to Confession to figure things out.5 out of 5.

Ayana:This seems almost a repitition of the John Coffey character in some ways.But it seems that the Healer requires a Robin to his/her Batman.But in The Green Mile, didn't John need the help of the Guards to heal the Warden's wife? hmmmmm...Its a bit of a puzzler, but its also powerful in its impact.4 out of 5.Just because it seemed like regurgitation in some places instead of creation.


A Very Tight Place:This one was so gross and yet so compelling I could not NOT read it!The very idea of being trapped in a Portapotty...it makes my gag reflex flex!Excellent read.5 out of 5.

Hope that helps & doesn't spoil too much!Kick my butt if I spoiled things for you, it keeps me honest!:)

Great short stories-13
I have never read one of Mr. King's works because they are so scary, so I'd thought I would start here. They were not all that scary; in fact, they reminded me of the old "Twilight" series from the early 60's-I bet King was a fan.

I liked his writing style: the main character talks like he or she is your closest friend.

Of all the stories, "New York Times at a Special Bargain Price", was my favorite. Many loved ones die amidst unanswered questions, so it was sweet!!

And I would read other works from this author.

I am the author of Dreams in August: Life, Love, and Cerebellar Ataxia and Summer Born: A Life With Cerebellar Ataxia. ... Read more

Product Description
The ultimate battle between good and evilAmazon.com Review
In 1978, science fiction writer SpiderRobinson wrote a scathing review of The Stand in which heexhorted his readers to grab strangers in bookstores and beg them notto buy it.

The Stand is like that. You either love it or hate it, but youcan't ignore it. Stephen King's most popular book, according to pollsof his fans, is an end-of-the-world scenario: a rapidly mutating fluvirus is accidentally released from a U.S. military facility and wipesout 99 and 44/100 percent of the world's population, thus setting thestage for an apocalyptic confrontation between Good and Evil.

"I love to burn things up," King says. "It's the werewolf inme, I guess.... The Stand was particularly fulfilling, becausethere I got a chance to scrub the whole human race, and man, it wasfun! ... Much of the compulsive, driven feeling I had while I workedon The Stand came from the vicarious thrill of imagining anentire entrenched social order destroyed in one stroke."

There is much to admire in The Stand: the vivid thumbnailsketches with which King populates a whole landscape with dozens ofbelievable characters; the deep sense of nostalgia for things leftbehind; the way it subverts our sense of reality by showing us a worldwe find familiar, then flipping it over to reveal the darknessunderneath. Anyone who wants to know, or claims to know, the heart ofthe American experience needs to read this book. --FionaWebster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1046)

If you havent read this book, get it ASAP and read
By far one of the best novels i have ever read, and its definately Stephen Kings best work.Don't let the length of the book intimidate you. It will keep your attention from start to finish, and by the time you're near the end of the novel, you'll wish there was more.The book has adventure, horror, romance, suspense and its so darn epic.I can't possibly reccomend this book to anyone whos interested in post apocalyptic fiction, or just a damn well written story.

King's Post-Apocalyptic Masterpiece
Along with "It" this is my favorite book by the Master of Horror.King's descriptive detail of the breakdown of American society sent shivers down my spine.Filled with memorable characters and images that will stay with you long after you've finished the book.Not much more I can say that already hasn't been.If you're interested in post apocalyptic fiction put this book on your list.

Perfect
We had the black pest/the Bomb/9-11/Anthrax/H1N1..
What if a superbug would wipe out most of humanity ? What should become of us ?
Would we choose survival over what makes us good and decent ?
How could we survive ?
Does God has a plan for each and everyone of us ?
Does Evil walk on Earth ? In what form ?
Powerful questions. Powerful book.
The story and its characters are mesmerezing. An unforgettable tale.

Read the original when I was 16
I had a friend tell me I needed to read "Carry" when I was about 13 or 14. I did so riding back and forth on the the bus to school. It was a cool story and appealed to the teenager in me. It made me interested in Mr. King.
"The Stand" came out when I was about 16. I checked it out at the public library and I took it home, and paid the late fees. Which said alot coming from a poor family like mine was. TRUST ME, I had to finish this book. It was a lengthy novel and the characters ended up being like someone you knew personally and you had to know what thier fate was. In fact I missed a couple of days of school because I stayed up all night reading and faked it off the next morning.
This book still rates as the best Novel I've ever read, and it's been 30 years. I now have a grown Son in the Military who states that "The Stand" is only 1 of 2 books that ever made him cry.
I loved it so much I wrote Mr. King and asked him to sign a copy of the book for me when I was 16, I still have his written response to do just that and hope to follow up on that now that I'm 46 years old, as I search for a 1st edition of the book in antique stores and such.
This novel is worth your time. You will probebley cry also, because some stories surpass a time line. This is one of them.

The Stand
This is an amazing book. Downloaded it to my Kindle app on my Droid. Stephen King is great. ... Read more

Product Description
On an island off the coast of Maine, a man is found dead. There's no identification on the body. Only the dogged work of a pair of local newspapermen and a graduate student in forensics turns up any clues.

But that's just the beginning of the mystery. Because the more they learn about the man and the baffling circumstances of his death, the less they understand. Was it an impossible crime? Or something stranger still...?

No one but Stephen King could tell this story about the darkness at the heart of the unknown and our compulsion to investigate the unexplained. With echoes of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon and the work of Graham Greene, one of the world's great storytellers presents a surprising tale that explores the nature of mystery itself... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (229)

The Colorado Kid
I love a lot of Stephen Kings Material. This however was not a great book. it was interesting, but did not really peak my intrest. I only finished reading it cause I paid for it and hoped it would turn it self around. Like I said it is an ok book just not my taste I still gave it 3 stars, Cause i liked it. Just not as good as i thought it would be. I have heard others say it is a really great book, so it really just depends on if it grabs your attention.

If you are a "Haven" fan, you don't want to read this
I got this book after watching the first season of Syfy's show "Haven", which is supposedly based on this book.That being said I was extremely disappointed in the book.The story itself was ok, not what I'd exepect from King, but I managed to finish it.

Sadly Disappointing
As a decades long, huge fan of Stephen King, I was really disappointed in this book.I think it's the first time this has happened.I have been watching every episode of the new series "Haven", which proclaims to be based on "The Colorado Kid".Because of that, I purchased the book thinking it would provide some background on the characters I am so enjoying in the series.Didn't happen.

Audio Performance All But Unlistenable
Please note: This is a review of the audiobook performance only, not the actual writing.

Jeffrey DeMunn may be a fine actor, but as a narrator, he's unbearable. A straight reading by DeMunn might've been listenable, but his attempt at the rural Maine dialect is brutal, and worse, makes the listener strain to understand what is being said. What he produces sounds something like a cross between a Mainer and an Irish brogue caricature, perhaps close to Chief O'Hara on the Batman TV show.

Why the producers didn't get Ron McLarty to narrate is beyond me. For that matter, if anyone out there in Stephen King Land is reading this, why isn't Ron McLarty narrating everthing King releases on audio, old and new? Since Frank Muller's tragic accident, McLarty remains one of the only narrators who can convincingly add to a story through character voices. Plus, he's a native New Englander and has no trouble with the Maine dialect.

Do not waste your money on this recording. The story may be great, and maybe I'll read it in print soon. But at this point, I couldn't understand enough of it to tell.

He does it again!
I enjoyed this story very much! Stephen King is the "king" of writing after all :-)

I recommend this book to everyone ... Read more

Product Description
A writer is held hostage by his number-one fan in the novel that "demand[s] that we take King seriously as a writer with a deeply felt understanding of human psychology" (Publishers Weekly). His deeply felt understanding of what terrifies us doesn't hurt either.Amazon.com Review
In Misery (1987), as in The Shining(1977), a writer is trapped in an evil house during a Coloradowinter. Each novel bristles with claustrophobia, stinging insects, andthe threat of a lethal explosion. Each is about a writer faced withthe dominating monster of his unpredictable muse.

Paul Sheldon, the hero of Misery, sees himself as a cagedparrot who must return to Africa in order to be free. Thus, in thenovel within a novel, the romance novel that his mad captor-nurse,Annie Wilkes, forces him to write, he goes to Africa--a mysteriouscontinent that evokes for him the frightening, implacable solidity ofa woman's (Annie's) body. The manuscript fragments he produces tell ofa great Bee Goddess, an African queen reminiscent of H. RiderHaggard's She.

He hates her, he fears her, he wants to kill her; but all the same heneeds her power. Annie Wilkes literally breathes life into him.

Misery touches on several large themes: the state of possessionby an evil being, the idea that art is an act in which the artistwillingly becomes captive, the tortured condition of being a writer,and the fears attendant to becoming a "brand-name" bestselling authorwith legions of zealous fans. And yet it's a tight, highly resonantecho chamber of a book--one of King's shortest, and best novelsever. --Fiona Webster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (336)

It was a great read!!
I read this book when I was a sophmore in high school. I thought it was a good book then,and I think it is a good book now. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes Stephen King types of books. Also a plus is the movie, James Caan is one hell of an actor, so is Kathy Bates.

Very Disappointing
I found this book very tedious, boring, repetitious, inconsistent, padded, grotesque, gory, violent, wordy, unfocused, contrived, pretentious, unbelievable, and badly structured. Occasionally, it was suspenseful,frightening, and funny. I feel that it wasted my time. It should have been 200, not 300 pages.

But the movie was far superior, overcoming ALL of the above flaws because William Goldman, the screenwriter, knows how to structure, abridge, and balance a story so that it becomes believable and absorbing.

Misery by Stephen King
MISERY: BY Stephen King. "James Caan, and Kathy Bates, steal the show in this one, great acting!"I both read, as well as watched the movie. Stephen King has done it again! "This story draws you right into the nightmare, as a famous writer finds himself captive by a psychotic fan of his books." In the case of this writer, writer's block could prove to be fatal! I won't give it away. "The story draws you right into this writers living nightmare,as one wonders what this crazy woman has in store for him next?" "The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat!" The book keeps you on pins and needles right up till the ending."If you love Stephen Kings works as I do, this will be a must have book, as well as movie for your private collection."

Yours truly Garry E. Lewis author of "The Curse of the Devil's Wolf Strap" And "The Rileyville Mystery."

Scary book and movie
By then, I was a long-time fan of SK's early books. I loved his book and the movie. Kathy Bates and James Caan did a fine job in this movie. KB really shined in this movie like she did in the next movie of Dolores Claiborne, another book of SK.

Stephen King's Best Work
This book took my breath away when I read it. The predicament of Paul Sheldon and the insanity of Annie Wilkes makes for a novel that will have your teeth on edge. This novel is psychological more than anything which is why I liked it more than King's other works. I was never a true fan of King until after I read Misery. The horrors Paul endures are horrific and you will be on the edge of your seat waiting to see what Annie will do next. A favorite of mine ... Read more

Product Description
They're tearing down Bart Dawes's home, leveling his memories, and destroying his past, all for a new highway extension. Funny what that kind of progress can do to a man. Scary, too. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Just OK
This was just okay.Not up to what King has written to date.Too predictable for me.

Disappointing
Very well written and one I hadn't read before (thought I'd read all the Bachman books) and I kept waiting for that "Stephen King" thang to happen and it never did. The story was horribly depressing and, IMHO, pointless. If I had known it was going to be just another descent-into-madness story, I would never have bought it. It just lacked SK's magic.

Push a Man Too Far? Just ask Bart Dawes
I suppose one can be pushed so far until the breaking point is reached. Barton Dawes is such a man who reached that point in 1974.
The novel is a mainstream Richard Bachman work. There's no supernatural, occult, or ghosts in it. Only a man teetering on the edge of sanity.
Mr. Dawes hasn't gotten over the untimely death of his young son. The government is taking his place of business & his house through eminent domain to build a freeway extension. Other of life's problems add to his shaky psyche. The only comfort he finds is in Southern Comfort.
The book is a serious departure for King. It may be one of his lesser known works. There are better King novels. But, don't pass on this one by any means. It has Bachman written all over it and that's not a bad thing at all

The Asphalt Took Too Long to Dry
Roadwork buit a great deal of drama and suspense early but took too long getting to the payoff. Would have worked better as a short story.

Has Its Ups And Downs
"Roadwork", the Stephen King novel written under the pseudonym Richard Bachmann, is the book under the alias that I enjoyed the most.Unfortunately, given the three-star rating, that isn't saying a whole lot.

The book tells the story of Mr. Dawes, a man who seems to have everything going for him, including a loving wife, stable job, and a home within walking distance of work.However, a city road construction project is about to demolish (quite literally) all of that, and the novel details Dawes' "unique" approach to having his life turned upside down.

The first clue that this book is all "Bachman" and very little King is that there is no aspect of the supernatural involved.It is much more of a character study of a guy who must deal with a stressful situation...and doesn't do it very well.Sadly, the book seems to have all the elements of a great character study (interesting backstory, engaging plot, etc.), but never quite gels together all throughout the reading experience.I kept waiting for an interesting revolution or "OMG" moment that never came.

Thus, this is definitely one of the King collection that can easily be skipped.It is probably the most engaging of the Bachman books, but that says more about King's alter-ego than anything else. ... Read more

Product Description
No more than a dark pencil line on a blank page. A horizon line, maybe. But also a slot for blackness to pour through...

A terrible construction site accident takes Edgar Freemantle's right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. A marriage that produced two lovely daughters suddenly ends, and Edgar begins to wish he hadn't survived the injuries that could have killed him. He wants out. His psychologist, Dr. Kamen, suggests a "geographic cure," a new life distant from the Twin Cities and the building business Edgar grew from scratch. And Kamen suggests something else.

"Edgar, does anything make you happy?"

"I used to sketch."

"Take it up again. You need hedges...hedges against the night."

Edgar leaves Minnesota for a rented house on Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily undeveloped splinter of the Florida coast. The sun setting into the Gulf of Mexico and the tidal rattling of shells on the beach call out to him, and Edgar draws. A visit from Ilse, the daughter he dotes on, starts his movement out of solitude. He meets a kindred spirit in Wireman, a man reluctant to reveal his own wounds, and then Elizabeth Eastlake, a sick old woman whose roots are tangled deep in Duma Key. Now Edgar paints, sometimes feverishly, his exploding talent both a wonder and a weapon. Many of his paintings have a power that cannot be controlled. When Elizabeth's past unfolds and the ghosts of her childhood begin to appear, the damage of which they are capable is truly devastating. The tenacity of love, the perils of creativity, the mysteries of memory and the nature of the supernatural -- Stephen King gives us a novel as fascinating as it is gripping and terrifying.Amazon.com Review
Amazon Significant Seven, January 2008: It would be impossible to convey the wonder and the horror of Stephen King's latest novel in just a few words. Suffice it to say that Duma Key, the story of Edgar Freemantle and his recovery from the terrible nightmare-inducing accident that stole his arm and ended his marriage, is Stephen King's most brilliant novel to date (outside of the Dark Tower novels, in which case each is arguably his best work). Duma Key is as rich and rewarding as Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (yes, that Shawshank Redemption), and as truly scary as anything King has written (and that's saying a lot). Readers who have "always wanted to try Stephen King" but never known where to start should try a few pages of Duma Key--the frankness with which Edgar reveals his desperate, sputtering rages and thoughts of suicide is King at the top of his game. And that's just the first thirty pages... --Daphne Durham

Duma Key: Where It All Began
A Note from Chuck Verrill, the Longtime Editor of Stephen King
In the spring of 2006 Stephen King told me he was working on a Florida story that was beginning to grow on him. "I'm thinking of calling it Duma Key," he offered.I liked the sound of that--the title was like a drumbeat of dread. "You know how Lisey's Story is a story about marriage?" he said."Sure," I answered.The novel hadn't yet been published, but I knew its story well: Lisey and Scott Landon--what a marriage that was. Then he dropped the other shoe: "I think Duma Key might be my story of divorce."

Pretty soon I received a slim package from a familiar address in Maine.Inside was a short story titled "Memory"--a story of divorce, all right, but set in Minnesota.By the end of the summer, when Tin House published "Memory," Stephen had completed a draft of Duma Key, and it became clear to me how "Memory" and its narrator, Edgar Freemantle, had moved from Minnesota to Florida, and how a story of divorce had turned into something more complex, more strange, and much more terrifying.

If you read the following two texts side by side--"Memory" as it was published by Tin House and the opening chapter of Duma Key in final form--you'll see a writer at work, and how stories can both contract and expand.Whether Duma Key is an expansion of "Memory" or "Memory" a contraction of Duma Key, I can't really say.Can you?

--Chuck Verrill

"Memory" Memories are contrary things; if you quit chasing them and turn your back, they often return on their own. That's what Kamen says. I tell him I never chased the memory of my accident. Some things, I say, are better forgotten. Maybe, but that doesn’t matter, either. That's what Kamen says. My name is Edgar Freemantle. I used to be a big deal in building and construction. This was in Minnesota, in my other life. I was a genuine American-boy success in that life, worked my way up like a motherf---er, and for me, everything worked out. When Minneapolis–St. Paul boomed, The Freemantle Company boomed. When things tightened up, I never tried to force things. But I played my hunches, and most of them played out well. By the time I was fifty, Pam and I were worth about forty million dollars. And what we had together still worked. I looked at other women from time to time but never strayed. At the end of our particular Golden Age, one of our girls was at Brown and the other was teaching in a foreign exchange program. Just before things went wrong, my wife and I were planning to go and visit her. I had an accident at a job site. That's what happened. I was in my pickup truck. The right side of my skull was crushed. My ribs were broken. My right hip was shattered. And although I retained sixty percent of the sight in my right eye (more, on a good day), I lost almost all of my right arm. I was supposed to lose my life, but I didn’t. Then I was supposed to become one of the Vegetable Simpsons, a Coma Homer, but that didn't happen, either. I was one confused American when I came around, but the worst of that passed. By the time it did, my wife had passed, too. She's remarried to a fellow who owns bowling alleys. My older daughter likes him. My younger daughter thinks he’s a yank-off. My wife says she’ll come around. Maybe sí, maybe no. That's what Kamen says. When I say I was confused, I mean that at first I didn’t know who people were, or what had happened, or why I was in such awful pain. I can't remember the quality and pitch of that pain now. I know it was excruciating, but it's all pretty academic. Like a picture of a mountain in National Geographic magazine. It wasn’t academic at the time. At the time it was more like climbing a mountain. Continue Reading "Memory"

Duma Key How to Draw a Picture Start with a blank surface. It doesn't have to be paper or canvas, but I feel it should be white. We call it white because we need a word, but its true name is nothing. Black is the absence of light, but white is the absence of memory, the color of can't remember. How do we remember to remember? That's a question I've asked myself often since my time on Duma Key, often in the small hours of the morning, looking up into the absence of light, remembering absent friends. Sometimes in those little hours I think about the horizon. You have to establish the horizon. You have to mark the white. A simple enough act, you might say, but any act that re-makes the world is heroic. Or so I’ve come to believe. Imagine a little girl, hardly more than a baby. She fell from a carriage almost ninety years ago, struck her head on a stone, and forgot everything. Not just her name; everything! And then one day she recalled just enough to pick up a pencil and make that first hesitant mark across the white. A horizon-line, sure. But also a slot for blackness to pour through. Still, imagine that small hand lifting the pencil... hesitating... and then marking the white. Imagine the courage of that first effort to re-establish the world by picturing it. I will always love that little girl, in spite of all she has cost me. I must. I have no choice. Pictures are magic, as you know. My Other Life My name is Edgar Freemantle. I used to be a big deal in the building and contracting business. This was in Minnesota, in my other life. I learned that my-other-life thing from Wireman. I want to tell you about Wireman, but first let's get through the Minnesota part. Gotta say it: I was a genuine American-boy success there. Worked my way up in the company where I started, and when I couldn’t work my way any higher there, I went out and started my own. The boss of the company I left laughed at me, said I'd be broke in a year. I think that's what most bosses say when some hot young pocket-rocket goes off on his own. For me, everything worked out. When Minneapolis–St. Paul boomed, The Freemantle Company boomed. When things tightened up, I never tried to play big. But I did play my hunches, and most played out well. By the time I was fifty, Pam and I were worth forty million dollars. And we were still tight. We had two girls, and at the end of our particular Golden Age, Ilse was at Brown and Melinda was teaching in France, as part of a foreign exchange program. At the time things went wrong, my wife and I were planning to go and visit her. Continue Reading Duma Key

Customer Reviews (615)

A great read, hard to put down!
I grew up with Stephen King, my first novel by him was Cujo. I know, not really a book you'd want a 13 yr old to read, but I was hooked and read everything he had out at the time, It, The Stand, Four Past Midnight, The Bachman Books,ect. Really am enjoying this book and can't wait to finish it.

Spellbinding
I can hardly stand to put the book down. It keeps your interest. I would recommend it for anyone!

Great read. Very chilling...eventually.
Some of the best dialogue writing SK's done. I was just enjoying the atmosphere and turning pages until I wondered just where the story was going. Then the ultimate twist and I had to stop for a minute to rub down the goose bumps.

A good read and a wonderful story. Me? I liked the ending very much.

Good.
Another SK story with a twist.It's a different type of horror story and only your mind can determine if it is great/good/etc.I liked it and SK's writing is top notch in this one.

One of King's best recent books
Edgar Freemantle loses his right arm in a construction accident. During his recovery, his marriage breaks up, and he moves to a beach house in Duma Key, Florida to try and make a new start on his life.He meets the other somewhat unusual inhabitants of the Key and takes up painting, but soon finds that the painting may be controlled by forces beyond his control.

There is nothing terribly new here. A lot of things such as the ancient evil force and the artist protagonist whose art has some magical powers are ideas King has used before numerous times, but he does it very well here, and I found it to be one of King's most enjoyable recent books. ... Read more

Product Description
A spine-tingling anthology of twenty tales from the master of horror includes ""The Lawnmower Man,"" ""Children of the Corn,"" and ""Graveyard Shift,"" about the loathsome creatures living beneath an old city building. Reissue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (183)

Great Book
First of all let me start off by saying that this is the first Stephen King book I have read. I had heard good things about Stephen King as an author and decided to check out one of his books. This book consists of a few short stories that were mostly published in magazines prior to this book being released with a few previously unreleased stories. Since it was a compilation of short stories I figured if I got bored with one story then I would have a few other stories to choose from. To make a long story short I really liked all of the stories and found the book to be very intertaining. Jerusalem's Lot is the first story in the book and it was a kind of a weird story that was written in a letter type format. Next is Graveyard Shift which had a lot to do with rats, bats, and any other kind of vermin. The third story is Night Surf which to tell you the truth I didn't really even understand. I Am The Doorway had a lot to do with space and aliens. The Mangler is a murder/mystery story with a weird yet intriguing plot. After that story is The Boogeyman which starts off with a man talking to a therapist about his kids deaths then the story takes off from there. Grey Matter was one of my favorite stories in the book that i really can't explain and would require you to read it to really understand it. My top five favorite short stories in this book were (in no particular order) Trucks, The Ledge, Quitters Inc., Grey Matter, and Graveyard Shift. There are a few other stories I didn't review so get the book to read them and form your own opinion.

GREAT STORIES!! I LOVE U STEPHEN KING!
i can remember reading this book when i was in JHS and the story of 'the boogeyman'scaring me so badly that i literally had problems feeling comfortable with my closet for years! i had long since forgotten about this collection of short stories until recently a friend of mine brought up the title. Almost as though i was hypnotized, i had to go buy the book again and I am glad i did. I loved re reading all of these old stories again. definitely creepy! my favorites were the boogeyman, the man who loved flowers, battleground and quitters inc. check it out!!

An amazing collection of early work
Wow!That word sums up this collection of truly excellent stories.There was only one that I didn't love, and I still liked it ("The Man Who Loved Flowers").I have nothing else to say about this work.Read it!

short fiction lives
Stephen King is not really known for keeping it brief, but this collection offers a spooky and compelling variety from one of the best writers of our time. Short fiction will likely see a renaissance in the digital age, and you can't do much better from sampling the banquet offered here.

Scott Nicholson
The Red Church vs. They Hunger

You keep coming back to the classics.
I read this collection way back in the 1970s, not too long after it was originally published.
It was the first SK I ever picked up, even before I started with his breakthrough novel "Carrie."
Well, here I am, over thirty years hence, and I still pick up this book and read over some of the stories contained therein, many displaying King at the height of his powers, when he was still hungry, long before complacency had set in.
To those who so easily poo-poo some of the more fantastic stories in this, I would like to remind you that of COURSE these stretch well beyond the boundaries of believability.
This is not some documentary or true-to-life anthology.
This is the realm of horror and fantasy.
I would also like to remind the critics that this is where Stephen King truly shines, meaning his uncanny ability to pose a simply preposterous situation, then - using his incredible skills at character development, explanation, and imagery - to very effectively guide the reader into somehow following the story as if it were true.
He displays that gift no stronger than in probably his greatest book, "Salem's Lot," in which he deftly premises the mythological vampirism as a kind of super-virulent and fast-acting form of rabies.

With that said, here is my brief review of all the stories in this great anthology:

"The Lawnmower Man" was probably the one I liked the least of the lot, although it was incredibly weird and sardonic in the extreme.
It is about a man who wants his grass cut, but instead gets far more than he bargained for.
Many of you will remember a CGI free-for-all movie by the same title.
Forget completely about the movie if you have seen it, as it bears no resemblance to this story in any way, except for its strangeness.

"Jerusalem's Lot" was told in the style of Lovecraft or Poe, from a series of letters between close friends about some terrifying incidents in a damned and abandoned village.
This is also a kind of slightly unrelated prequel to "Salem's Lot," but with different types of dangers.
Spooky stuff, and the specter of sounds in the walls will really keep you shivering.

"One for the Road" is the other prequel to "Salem's Lot," this time with the story being much closer to the novel.
I loved the idea of setting this in the winter, and the imagery of confronting something truly horrifying in such a manner will really prop up your hackles.
You will never again look at the Bible as just a book after this.

"Graveyard Shift" is magnificently creepy, as King propels you inexorably into a place you never wanted to go, just as the characters in it are.
Just think giant industrial textile mill basement large scale cleanup, and just imagine what unexpected things might turn up in such a location over greater than a century's time.

"Night Surf" is another prequel, this time for King's epic "The Stand."
This is not the most uplifting material, yet he uses his powers of storytelling well even here to expertly convey despair and a feeling of inevitability, seasoned with a touch of horror, just to make it all the more chilling.

"Gray Matter" is where he really ventures forth into the area of stomach-churning material.
Just think of what could happen if a can of beer got contaminated with something far nastier than even E. Coli or Salmonella, and you will get the idea.
Keep your bottle of Pepto-Bismol handy for this one.

"Battleground" is just terrific, premised upon a particularly realistic and deadly toy kit, a kit whose parts actively seek out the recipient for cosmic vengeance in a completely unexpected way.
Intense story, with a very bad guy doing all he can to survive.
The ending is brilliant.

"Trucks" is an interesting what if type of story about trucks and construction equipment going sentient.
Think "Terminator" crossed with a Peterbilt, and you will get the idea.
Emilio Estevez was in a crappy movie called "Maximum Overdrive" based upon this, so don't let that bad movie dissuade you from reading this really very good story.

"I am the Doorway" is a really good first-person story of an alien invasion of a particularly nasty variety.
The cover of the edition of "Night Shift" that I originally read had a direct graphical reference to this story.
Creepy and disturbing, 'nuff said.

"Sometimes they Come Back" is a really good story about seeking justice and escape from childhood killers come back to life in a man's adulthood.
Very good, and it makes you want to get back at the villains...until you realize just what the cost of defeating them might be for the protagonist.
Tim Matheson starred in a movie version of this that really was pretty decent, albeit about one hour longer than it needed to be.

"The Ledge" is a not horror per se, yet it really is good at putting you right on the edge of your proverbial seat.
A mafiosa forces the man his wife is sleeping with to circle a building...forty stories up!
This was also used in the movie "Cat's Eye," and done pretty well at that, but this is still vastly superior.
Great suspense.

"The Last Rung on the Ladder" bears a similar theme of the possibility of falling from great height, again not a horror story.
The ending will tear your heart out.
Very well told, so don't be a ninny by skipping this one.

"Children of the Corn" is spooky, posing the idea of isolation, religious fanaticism curdled into nihilistic satanism, and you get a wonderfully frightening proposition.
The movies based on this were awful, so don't let them prevent you from reading this really good story.
He Who Walks Behind the Rows awaits you.

"Quitters, Inc." is another non-horror story, but that doesn't stop it from being really disturbing, taking anti-smoking crusades to their logical conclusion.
James Woods starred in the short movie version of this in the movie "Cat's Eye," and (unsurprisingly) he turned in a first rate performance.
You will really like this one, and the ending is definitely unsettling.

"I Know What You Need" is about a woman finding someone she THINKS is the man of her dreams.
But things just seem a little TOO perfect.
The answer, discovered at the end, is a kind of "Aha!" moment.

"The Man Who Loved Flowers" is a disarmingly pleasant love (?) story that takes a malevolent turn at the end.
Pretty good, but probably only a bit better than "The Lawnmower Man."

"Strawberry Spring" is magnificent, about a series of killings in a college town, committed by someone dubbed "Springheel Jack."
Now, just whom might THAT be?
Great atmosphere, and the layers are gradually peeled back to reveal something you don't want to see, but can't help but look anyway.

The last three are my favorites:

"The Boogeyman" is absolutely terrifying, especially if - like me - you have an active imagination and had some really colon-clenching nightmares as a young person.
What would happen if the monster actually WAS real?
What would you do if you were torn between believing - against all your worst fears - what your own eyes told you, or forcing yourself to ignore the horrifying reality?
You will never look at closets the same again.

"The Mangler" to me was the best of the scary stories, and King expertly uses his device of guiding the reader into accepting a completely ridiculous premise about a laundry steam press seized by a dark spirit.
There is some gross out here, but he also cleverly uses the device of pulling the reader right up to the edge, jerking the reins at the last second, forcing your imagination to fill in the blanks.
The protagonists in the story are up against something that wants to get out.
It would LOVE to get out!

Which brings me to what I consider his best story here, which is quite unlike all the others.
"The Woman in the Room" is neither scary nor suspense.
However, King uses his amazing powers to place the reader directly in the shoes of a man overwhelmed with grief and guilt at the lengthy and painful suffering of his own terminally ill mother.
You can practically smell the disinfectant of the hospital, see the winter light filtering through the window in his mother's room, and feel her withered hand in his.
This is what a master storyteller can do when he really sets his full focus upon it, and King rarely excels at that more than he does with this gripping story.
This is the harsh reality that we ALL must face.
No sense of the fantastic here, only cold truth.
You won't feel like dancing afterward, but please read it.
This will haunt you for a wholly different reason than the scary stories will. ... Read more

Product Description
There is something unearthly and mysterious deep in Acherman's Field in rural Maine.There is a Stonehenge-like arrangement of seven stones with a horrifying EYE in the center.And whatever dwells there in that strange, windswept setting may have brought about the suicide of one man...and harbor death for the OCD afflicted "N.," whose visits to the field have passed beyond compulsion into the realm of obsession.Based on the chilling short story from the recent Stephen King collection, JUST AFTER SUNSET, this adaptation will provide nightmares aplenty.Just keep counting the stories...keep counting...counting

COLLECTING:

Stephen King's N. #1-4 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

OCD and mental breakdown at its best!
I'm a fan of Stephen King stories adapted by Marvel (The Dark Tower, especially) and this one is great! The mobisodes excellently portrayed OCD and mental breakdown at brilliantly, theatrically, and very realistically. The graphics were gritty, photo-realistic, and added an extra element of chaos, disorder, and the very image of a man (and woman) going crazy, slowly. The graphic novel adaptation, including visual representations of elements in the short story, not included in the mobisodes, captured all of this brilliantly, as well. I say BUY IT! It's a piece of art in and of itself to become a classic years down the road. ... Read more

Product Description

A Stephen King ghost story in the grand tradition, Riding the Bullet is the ultimate warning about the dangers of hitchhiking.

A college student's mother is dying in a Maine hospital. When he hitches a ride to see her, the driver is not who he appears to be. Soon the journey veers off into a dark landscape that could only be drawn by Stephen King. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (37)

Misleading item description
As did some other reviewers, I decided to purchase this based on Amazon's description of it being 400 pages, and was surprised and disappointed when it ended just as I was settling in for a good read. I do enjoy Stephen King's short stories, but this one was just okay. Next time I'll actually READ the reviews before purchasing!

Stephen King
I am a constant reader.And will continue to be so.Have never been disappointed by anything Mr. King has published.

Misleading Item Description
Although the story was enjoyable, I based my purchase of the Kindle edition on the Print Length of 400 pages listed in the item description and was disappointed to discover that, rather than a full-length novel, I had received a short story.

Amazon, please correct your misleading item description!

S'okay, but it's a short story
Since the description of this book says it has 400 pages, I was a little surprised to find the digital version has just about that many 'locations' ... the DTB must have VERY LARGE TYPE or HUGE MARGINS. It's a so-so story, but awfully short. I had to go back to see what I'd paid for it. Too much: $3.99 for 400 locations while 'Infinite Jest' with more than 25,000 locations was $9.99 - what's up with *that!?

Along for the ride!

As a "Constant Reader" I found Riding the Bullet to be in the typical SK character developement with the always present twisted end. Well worth the time and money it took to purchase this Audiobook. So stick out your thumb and take the first ride to the world of SK! ... Read more

Product Description

Graphic artist Clay Riddell was in the heart of Boston on that brilliant autumn afternoon when hell was unleashed before his eyes. Without warning, carnage and chaos reigned. Ordinary people fell victim to the basest, most animalistic destruction.

And the apocalypse began with the ring of a cell phone....Amazon.com Review
Witness Stephen King's triumphant, blood-spattered return to the genre that made him famous. Cell, the king of horror's homage to zombie films (the book is dedicated in part to George A. Romero) is his goriest, most horrific novel in years, not to mention the most intensely paced. Casting aside his love of elaborate character and town histories and penchant for delayed gratification, King yanks readers off their feet within the first few pages; dragging them into the fray and offering no chance catch their breath until the very last page.

In Cell King taps into readers fears of technological warfare and terrorism. Mobile phones deliver the apocalypse to millions of unsuspecting humans by wiping their brains of any humanity, leaving only aggressive and destructive impulses behind. Those without cell phones, like illustrator Clayton Riddell and his small band of "normies," must fight for survival, and their journey to find Clayton's estranged wife and young son rockets the book toward resolution.

Fans that have followed King from the beginning will recognize and appreciate Cell as a departure--King's writing has not been so pure of heart and free of hang-ups in years (wrapping up his phenomenal Dark Tower series and receiving a medal from the National Book Foundation doesn't hurt either). "Retirement" clearly suits King, and lucky for us, having nothing left to prove frees him up to write frenzied, juiced-up horror-thrillers like Cell.--Daphne Durham ... Read more

Customer Reviews (982)

Great book.
I had put off reading this one due to the graphic violence and gore I had heard about from reviews and others, but finally picked it off my bookshelf (I own the 1st Edition Hardcover) this month and was sure glad I did. Its a great story and a page turner for sure. You really get connected to the characters and want to find out what happens to them. I was a bit shocked and surprised by the abrupt ending, but I guess he wanted YOUR imagination to go to work and make your own, since there are SOOO many possibilities here. I can see this one becoming a movie, but probably wouldn't be able to watch it due to the heavy gore in the beginning, if they did it true to the story. (I love King but am a sissy when it comes to visual graphic violence and gore on movies/TV. I can deal with it in print).
A great book and not too long.Definitely a keeper.

very good used book
the book was in very good condition, you can still tell it was used but it was very light wear, the pproduct was described accurately

It's the End of the World as we know it...
Cell didn't play to my expectations.I knew nothing of the book except for the premise (anyone who uses a cell phone goes crazy and tries to kill the rest of the population), so I went expecting something more akin to The Stand (grand stage view of the destruction of civilization, big cast of characters dealing with the aftermath, etc.)That is not Cell.This book is surprising intimate in scope, following mainly one character (with a few supporting side characters). I also expected Zombies, but aside from the very start of the book, we're given a very different monster to deal with.

Stephen King's strength is his characters.These feel like real flesh and blood characters, with real desires/fears/etc.King also does great "end of the world" destruction scenes...the first 30 pages of this book don't let up for a second.

I was not disappointed by the ending, but I can understand why some people would feel let down.There aren't a lot of answers here, but it didn't feel like a cop out to me at all.Our characters would only have supposition/intuition to go on throughout this ordeal, so whatever they thought is the only answers we have.Whether they were true or not...we'll never know.

This book made Twilight look great
The title for my review says it all and I hate Twilight, but this story was just awful.

The story starts out in a completely confusing manner. You have action... then our hero's thoughts... and then a bunch of detail all crammed together. Once you get through the confusion it starts to become a decent read until the school part. The story then takes a dive into complete and utter dog vomit.

The zombies, crazies, whatever are gaining superpowers. How? No idea. Maybe it is explained, but it became so unbelievable I had to toss it in the trash. I really can't imagine how King could have thought this was a good story... maybe he is becoming senile or something.

Anyone see that Family Guy where King comes up with the idea of a lamp monster... that would have been way better than this pile of garbage. If you pick this up make sure you have some alcohol on hand because you are going to need it.

Sorry, I was disappointed
Sorry, I was disappointed in this book.

Like most of Stephen King's books, the story started out well, but then it degenerated into a typical zombie novel.

... Read more

Product Description
Four mesmerizing novellas, including the ones that inspired the movies The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and Stand by Me.Amazon.com Review
Different Seasons (1982) is a collection of fournovellas, markedly different in tone and subject, each on the theme ofa journey. The first is a rich, satisfying, nonhorrific tale about aninnocent man who carefully nurtures hope and devises a wily scheme toescape from prison. The second concerns a boy who discards hisinnocence by enticing an old man to travel with him into a reawakeningof long-buried evil. In the third story, a writer looks back on thetrek he took with three friends on the brink of adolescence to findanother boy's corpse. The trip becomes a character-rich rite ofpassage from youth to maturity.

These first three novellas have been made into well-received movies:"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" into Frank Darabont's 1994The Shawshank Redemption (available as a screenplay, a DVD film, and an audiocassette), "AptPupil" into Bryan Singer's 1998 film Apt Pupil (also releasedin 1998 on audiocassette), and "TheBody" into Rob Reiner's Stand by Me(1986).

The final novella, "Breathing Lessons," is a horror yarn told by adoctor, about a patient whose indomitable spirit keeps her baby aliveunder extraordinary circumstances. It's the tightest, most polishedtale in the collection. --Fiona Webster ... Read more

Customer Reviews (181)

Great
The book came in only 2 days. The book is in great condition for being used, it looks almost new.

Only liked Shawshank Redemption
The first story was superb, and worthy of an award. The Body was barely decent. The remaining two? Totally depraived, utterly dreadful, and without any of King's charm or wit. The first story could have been published alone-- many novellas have--and there would have been no problem.

My Review
This collection of novellas should easily be counted among King's best works. Of the four tales contained here, three have been made into successful motion pictures, two of which I would rank among my top fifty favorite films. Contained in this collection are: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body (better known from the film version titled "Stand By Me"), and The Breathing Method. The stories are all very well different and for the most part stray away from the horror genre for which King is most well known although all of them do contain something fairly horrifying at some point or another and I would consider Apt Pupil to be among some of his scariest tales.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: This is a tale of the friendship between two men that happen to be incarcerated in Shawshank prison. this tale showcases King's strong character development skills and contains enough twists and turns to keep the storyline moving at a pace that keeps the reader interested. All in all an extremely enjoyable and well written story that translated into a great movie.

Apt Pupil: To be perfectly blunt, this one scared the bejeepers out of me. Not in a spooky scary sort of way, but in a holy crap the two main characters are truly evil sort of way. This "buddy" tale takes the notion of the evil that resides inside of each of us to an entirely new level as a young boy befriends an elderly gentleman who he believes is actually a Nazi war criminal in hiding. The resulting relationship formed between the two is truly chilling. I don't recall too much about the film version of this one, I guess I'll have to watch it again.

The Body: This coming of age story centers on a group of four boys on a journey to see the dead body of a boy that they all once knew. Their adventure takes place over a several day trek along the railroad tracks. Along the way, they all take a journey within themselves and an adventure that started out as something fun becomes instead a somber trek of self-discovery and maturing. The movie Stand By Me was made from this novella and follows the storyline very closely, I can't help but picture Will Wheaton, River Phoenix and the others from the movie cast when reading this.

The Breathing Method: This is actually a frame story in which an outer tale serves as the setting for a tale to be told within the story. The outer storyline focuses on a man who is invited to join an exclusive club of sorts by one of his coworkers. At the club, members take turns from time to time telling tales, the best of which are reserved for Christmas. The story of "The Breathing Method" is actually the Christmas tale for that particular year and is the strange story of a doctor and a pregnant unwed mother. Both the outer and inner tales contain an element of the supernatural. Some consider this to be the most well-written piece in the collection. While I don't necessarily agree with that notion myself, I did find it to be a fairly entertaining piece and a nice end-cap to a very strong collection.

4 powerful novella
I think I like Stephen King's short fiction better than his novels, but I am biases; I am a fan of short fiction above all else.Stephen King is a definite master of the art.

There are four novellas in Different Seasons and I will briefly address each of them.

1. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption".I'd seen (and loved) the movie, but never read the story.Having read the story, I immediately added it to my list of all time favorite stories.It's all about the voice, I think.There are elements that differ from the movie, but the voice is the same and I think it's the voice that made the movie as good as it was.Like all my "all-time favorites" it's the kind of story that I can and will read again with equal enjoyment.5 stars.

2. "Apt Pupil".This was a horrible story--in the traditional sense--I felt a sense of horror reading it.I was in constant discomfort, uneasy.And that's because it was a well-told story.Despite my feeling that it was probably the weakest story of the lot, I still think King demonstrated his ability to make the reader feel something about the characters. 3-1/2 stars.

3. "The Body".I'm ashamed to admit that I've never seen "Stand By Me" from beginning to end, but now I don't have to.I liked the story, a kind of coming-of-age tale typified by King's ability at getting deep into a character and his or her surroundings.There was a nostalgia to the story that I didn't quite feel, perhaps because I grew up in the 70s and 80s and not the 50s and 60s, but despite that, I think some of that nostalgia managed to sneak through anyway.3-1/2 stars.

4. "The Breathing Method".This story surprised me the most.It is the shortest of the stories, and while it's not the best story in the book, it is fair second.I loved the setting of the story, and the mystery surrounding the club (which in some ways reminded me of Asimov's Black Widowers).There was an unearthly quality to the story, and it is a story that I imagine could have been written by Jorge Luis Borges.It was perhaps the best page-turner in the book.4 stars.

Short Stories by Stephen King - including 3 that are movies
There are four nouvellas by Stephen King.None are horror genre - They shows King's breadth as a writer.If you have not read this book, it is a joy.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: I was less than impressed by the movie but enjoyed the story so much that I plan to watch the movie the next time it is on.

The Apt Pupil:The story was well told.The character development was psychological and woven well.The two main characters sadly had no redeeming qualities.It was not an easy read for me.The movie is a very poor adaptation.Do not judge the story by the movie.The endings are very different.This is the longest story and for me, the most difficult to read.It is about a student who recognizes a Nazi war criminal and is fascinated by the evil of the criminal's war crimes.

The Body:The film adaptation is "Stand By Me".The film is a great adaptation of the movie.I bought the book for this story as I enjoyed the movie.There is an additional short story contained within the short story that the movie did not show.This is a good read.

The Breathing Method:This was a story I had to force myself to read.Once I reached the mid-point, I started to get very interested.It is a well written story - definitely worth reading. It is a story within a story.

Afterword:King spends some time discussing his early career and his reason to publish these stories.If you buy this book and do not read the Afterword, you miss a great personal story by a great story teller.

If you are King fan and do not have this book, get it and read it from cover to cover.If you are not a King fan (I do not like the horror genre), this is not King's usual fare.This is an excellent book for non-King fans.I would say that I detected some struggle by King to write these stories.The works are very good.I am extremely happy with this book and recommended to anyone who likes a good story. ... Read more

Product Description
When an old Gypsy man curses Billy Halleck for sideswiping his daughter, six weeks later he's 93 pounds lighter. Now Billy is terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble...that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (155)

The book that killed Richard Bachman
This is the book that resulted in Stephen King being forced to reveal that he was Richard Bachman.It's very clear why.From the first page, this can only be a Stephen King novel.Looking back on it now, I'm amazed that King thought he could get away with this one being published under a different name.It's an excellent story that moves along at a quick page.At 300 pages, its one of Kings shorter works, but it will stick with you well after you read it.

I said that this is the book that killed Richard Bachman, because after this, Bachman "officially" died of cancer (though King did eventually release two more books under the Bachman name).

quick read
A quick reading book that is terrific. Stephen King shows his versatility with this book.

I Love Stephen King's Thinner!!
I love this book!! It's the first Stephen King book I have ever read and it took me by surprise! Great story, very sad, and when I first read the book early this year, I couldn't stop thinking about it, especially the ending. To me it was terrifying! I've always admired King, now I admire him even more!! Good job!! Waiting for Stephen King's "It" in the mail! Nice!

Review From Books & Wine
Stephen King is the master of giving me the creeps. This book was no exception. Billy Halleck, an overweight well-to-do lawyer, messes up big time and hits an old gypsy woman with his car and kills her. Billy gets off scot-free which pisses the gypsies off, so they curse Billy. Billy loses weight faster than an anorexic, wasting away to nothing. I guess what really creeped me out the most was how the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. It got me thinking about how much we depend on doctors to fix us if we get sick and how scary it would be to have a mysterious disease no one had seen before. Needless to say, this was worth a read during a long summer day.

Classic King
This might not be King's best, and it's a fairly short story compared to some of his other works, but if you're a King fan, you should not be disappointed. I actually saw the movie first before reading this book, and it was nice to compare. Overall, compared to King's other works, this might be considered a 'light' read, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

It's interesting to see the reactions of Billy's family to his sudden weight loss, and I also liked the parts with the Gypsies. Part of me says Billy had it coming for what he did to the Gypsy, but part of me also cannot help but feel a bit bas for him. One lesson is clear - don't **** around with the Gypsies. :D ... Read more

Product Description
This is knock-out classic horror about the loneliest town off Nevada's Interstate 50-and the scariest.Amazon.com Review
A notice to those who feel that Stephen King has lost hismagic touch: Desperation is the genuine goods. The ensemblecast of ordinary Americans thrown together by chance, including adisgruntled alcoholic writer and a child who is wise beyond his years,may be a bit too familiar. But the nearly deserted Nevada mining townwith an enormous haunted mine pit and an abandoned movie theatre wherethe survivors hang out makes for a striking battleground, and thegrisly action rarely flags. Best of all, though, are the characters ofTak, the ancient body-hopping evil who emerges from the mine, and of"God"--whom the New York Times describes as "theedgiest creation in Desperation. Remote, isolated, ironic,shrouded behind disguises, perhaps 'another legendary shadow,' thisdeity forms a sly foil, and an icy mirror, to Tak." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (615)

Amazing!
This is one of the greatest, scariest, seat clenchers of stephen kings extensive collection. Just dont make the mistake of watching themovie of this one.

A great premise turns out to be a letdown
This book had a great premise, but it ended up letting me down. First off, it took King nearly 700 pages (in hardcover) to tell this story when he could have done it in 300. There's literally 30 pages of back story for every character. Overblown, in my opinion. This could have been a much stronger read if cut in half.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. There are some great moments here that are a pleasure to read, but there are too many where I was left tempted to skip pages and a few times I did (which I hate to do) and didn't feel like I missed anything. The whole God thing got tiring after awhile and the end left me scratching my head.

I'm torn between giving this 2 or 3 stars. I've given other King books 3 stars, but I've also enjoyed them a lot more than I did this one, and I felt this could have been a lot better, so I guess I'll have to settle on 2.

Read The Regulators instead
I'm shocked that Desperation is rated higher than The Regulators.Granted, I did not read the entire book. However, I read nearly 200 pages and got to the point where I considered reading further to be a waste of time that could be better spent with better books.Desperation started off like it was going to be a real page turner, and I wanted to stay up all night to read more.But it peetered out as soon as the Carver family came into the picture.Bits were very entertaining, but wholly unsatisfying.The villian started off as quite frightening but his stupid, ridiculous dialogue and that of characters like Cynthia got on my nerves.I have to say I was glad to see the reference to Rose Madder (highly recommended), though.The Regulators was great, Desperation I couldn't get through.

same old King story
I have a great fondness in my heart for some of King's work. He has a gift as an author thats hard to ignore when it comes to genre writing. Mostly, I am partial to his short stories and novellas. I think that just about every story he tells could fit neatly into one of these tight packages. Maybe with the exception of an epic like the Stand. Its my belief that when King loosens up and publishes a longer piece, he's not really telling moreof a story, just using more words. And because 'Desperation' is a huge book, King is using a lot more words.

I think that the idea is good. And King is a good enough story teller to make it somewhat entertaining when he meticulously pulls in massive back stories to a half dozen characters. Its just if you have read enough King... these are not new characters. He's pretty much told these stories before. If he were to cut them out, using sparser language, he would have chopped half of the pages away and been left with a much stronger story.

Also, this book really feels like it could have some great horror potential. But it gets a little silly in my mind when King starts getting into the demonic animals of Desperation NV... Basically the story here is a half dozen people, three different groups from outside and a lone individual from Desperation are being tormented by a cop/some evil spirit from hell. A lot is left sort of unclear, like why them? Why not keep a few of the townspeople around instead? And King pulls in some silly aspects like a 'special kid'. Sort of reminded me of the hoakier Dean Koontz story angles.

I'd stay away from this King. If you have not read them, 'Skeleton Crew', 'The Stand', and 'Salem's Lot' are all really good.

Great story but poor Kindle quality
Loved the story, loved the characters.
Lots of periods where there should not be one.Lots of misspelled words. ... Read more

Product Description
In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...

New York Times bestselling author Stephen King suspends a small town in a haze of terror-as humanity makes its last stand against unholy destruction...

... Read more

Customer Reviews (126)

Great book!
I enjoyed the movie and enjoyed the book.Good stuff from the master of horror stories.

Compelling story
I read his short stories in the mid-80's, and The Mist had haunted me because it had felt so real. I was young then. When the movie, many years later, came along with that shocking ending, it was interesting, but I doubt that SK had meant for that ending to happen. It had felt wrong to me as well as my husband who also had read The Mist. It had felt aberrant to SK's real story-telling of this story, unfortunately.

I ordered this?
I honestly don't remember ordering this. But Amazon says I did so I'm writing a review for it. I probably did order it and its sitting in a drawer of books I have not had time to read. I think I remember seeing a movie or made for television movie based on this book. That might be why I bought it. Oh well. It's stephen king how bad can it be?

Another Great Stephen King Story
I just love Stephen King, there's no other way around it.I won't summarize the book for you because it would spoil it.I actually wish it was a little bit longer.A great read with a great ending.It was suspenseful but at the same time terrifying!!!Enjoy, constant reader!!!

Better than the movie
The book, THE MIST, was better than the movie.

It was an enjoyable easy read. ... Read more