“Not all the things which happen in small towns are known to the residents, no matter how sharp their eyes are or how energetically their tongues wag.”
The farewell to Castle Rock, an epic tale of corruption visiting the small town in the shape of shopkeeper Leland Gaunt. Seldom has villainy been so passive, yet efficient. Gaunt himself does very little – he only turns the people against each other in an intricate plan designed to create total chaos. Very entertaining.
Four more novellas, collected in one volume. These are generally longer than the ones in Different Seasons, and closer to horror. The Langoliers is an absorbing tale in the Twilight Zone vein. Secret Window, Secret Garden is another look at writing, focusing on plagiarism. The Library Policeman is a small gem, very King and very good. The Sun Dog is probably the weakest of the bunch, leaving no greater impression.
“And you know what happens to people who lose their happy thoughts, don’t you?”
“Part two” in what could be considered a trilogy of tales about books and writing, beginning with Misery and ending with Secret Window, Secret Garden. Drawing on his own experiences with Richard Bachman, King tells the story about a writer whose pseudonym refuses to be put to death. A many-levelled taut thriller, which was filmed by George A. Romero.
“This is that other world. the gunslinger thought.”
The gunslinger continues his quest for the vague dark tower, bringing travel companions from other times and worlds. The story takes place as much in our reality as in his strange, desolate world, and sets the stage for things to come in The Waste Lands. The start of the book is surprising, to say the least – not to mention frustrating for the main character.
“…if I write this novel for you, will you let me go when it’s done.” […]
“You speak as though I were holding you prisoner, Paul.”
One of King’s very best. As always with King there are several things going on at once, but mainly a story about enthusiasm turned into obsession and about the process of writing. Not cutely metaesque, but a deadly serious book about books.
“It was the doll’s house about which Flagg had had vague misgivings so long ago which was now Peter’s only real hope of escape.”
Written for King’s daughter Naomi – who did not like his horror stories – this is a cozy but unmistakably Kingesque fairy-tale about the sons of a mediocre king and an evil magician with the familiar name of Flagg in a kingdom called Delain. Being a kids’ book of sorts it may not be King at his most ambiguous or exciting, but it is a good story well told.
“Ugly fuckers”
A much needed renaissance for the alien from space as a creature of evil and corruption, rather than a cuddly saviour from the stars. Though not a fav among critics it has one of my favourite King characters, Jim Gardner. Reminiscient of The Bodysnatchers but the subtext is about nuclear power here, rather than communism.
“Come on back and we’ll see if you can remember the simplest thing of all: how it is to be children, secure in belief and thus afraid of the dark.”
Probably the greatest horror novel to be written in the 20th century. A rich book in every regard. Stories within stories withing stories, and then some, but without a trace of pretentiousness. Sometimes provocative, always fascinating, absolutely wonderful.
“Do you love?”
More short stories, very varied in theme and length. From the epic novella The Mist to the short poem Paranoid: a chant, it spans every aspect of human emotion, focusing, of course, on fear. My favourites include Nona, The Raft and Survivor Type, and the non-horror The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet.
King’s second collaboration with Berni Wrightson. Originallt intended as an almanac, with short texts by King and drawings by Wrightson, it grew into a short novel. No masterpiece but interesting as an experiment and nice to look at. Was poorly filmed as Silver Bullet.
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