Despite these initial reservations, The Secretary of Dreams is a very interesting book and is actually one of the more interesting ones done lately. Whether you like the big text or whether you like that every word is there, you can’t deny that it’s a beautiful book. It’s very interesting to see King’s stories turned into comic versions and illustrated by Glenn. What I would wish for in Volume 2 is that some of the illustrations be in color. That would be very interesting to see.
The Secretary of Dreams was released in three different editions: a slipcased gift edition that will cost you seventy-five dollars, a signed and numbered limited edition that goes for three hundred dollars and a signed and lettered edition that will set you back fifteen hundred dollars. The last two sold out in less than three hours from the time they were announced, though, so if you want one of those you’ll probably have to pay even more on the secondary market…
Lilja’s final words about The Secretary of Dreams, Volume 1
I know that seventy-five dollars might be a bit much for a book, but if you can afford it, I definitely think you should get it. I think you’ll find yourself regretting it if you don’t!
****
Graduation Afternoon
Posted: March 16, 2007
“Graduation Afternoon” is a very strong story. It’s also a very hard story to review without giving away the ending…but I’ll try.
“Graduation Afternoon” tells the story of Janice, a not-so-wealthy girl who is dating Buddy, a very wealthy boy. His parents do not approve of their relationship, so Janice suspects that it will end pretty soon. What she doesn’t know is just how soon.
King doesn’t give us that much background about the characters, so we really don’t know much about these people. What King does do in this story, though, is build it up to the climax beautifully and then just executes it. Personally, I think it’s one of the best short stories he has done. And yes, it’s very short. It’s only five pages long, but it’s very effective.
King actually sums the story up best himself in the introduction to it. Here he talks about when he got the idea for it in London in 2006:
“When I woke, I slid to the floor, glad to be awake and amazed that any human brain could hold such a powerful image. I knew I had to write about it, I knew the story had to be short—no more than a vignette—and I knew I would never be able to do the image (God, don’t let it be a vision) justice.”
“Graduation Afternoon” can be found in Postscripts Magazine, issue 10, and besides King’s story you also get stories from Joe Hill (“Thumbprint”), Peter Atkins (“Between the Cold Moon and the Earth”), Graham Joyce (“The Last Testament of Seamus Todd”) and many, many more.
Lilja’s final words about Graduation Afternoon
Make sure you read “Graduation Afternoon.” It’s very short, but it’s among the best King has written when it comes to short stories!
****
Blaze
Posted: June 11, 2007
Richard Bachman is back from the grave…well, sort of. His latest book, Blaze, was written in the early 1970s, over thirty years ago. When King found it he edited it somewhat before he published it, and both he and Bachman were very careful not to reveal what year the story takes place. The book never mentions an exact date for any event. President Ronald Reagan is mentioned, though, so if you wanted to calculate the approximate time, you probably could.
The story is about Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., or Blaze, as his friend and partner George Rackley calls him. They are petty criminals who mostly deal with cons, but now have decided to do the big one—the last hit before they’ll be able to retire. They plan on kidnapping the small child of a wealthy family.
The only problem is that George now only exists in Blaze’s head. In real life he is dead. Blaze goes through with the plan anyway, and even though he isn’t very smart he has the luck he needs to be successful in grabbing the baby.
Now he just has to find a way to get the ransom money delivered without getting caught and then return the baby. Or maybe he should keep the baby? After all, he is starting to get rather attached to him…
Even though Blaze is an old novel it feels very fresh. I’m not sure how much King edited it before he released it, but it feels new. Personally, though, I think it’s more King than Bachman. The other Bachman novels were all more critical of the U.S. society, something Blaze is missing. Still, it’s fun that it’s released as a Bachman book. I like Bachman.
It’s revealed pretty early, though (in the foreword in fact), that it was really written by King and not Bachman. If there is one thing I would want to change with Blaze it’s that it should have less mentioning of Stephen King, like The Regulators had. That one was more of a Bachman book while Blaze is a King book, even though it has Bachman’s name on the cover.
Still though, it’s the story that matters and the story of Blaze is very well told and it deals as much with the kidnapping as with Blaze’s background. Bachman/King switches between the two timeframes in a very effective way.
Ron McLarty, who is a master, if not the master, of narrating books, reads the audio edition. The only one beating him in reading King’s books is King himself, if you ask me. He has a voice that’s perfect for narrating and you can really feel that he puts his soul into giving the characters their own personalities.
Lilja’s final words about Blaze
Blaze is a very good book and a very fast read, as it’s just under three hundred pages long. It’s nonetheless a very good book that gets you hooked from page one and doesn’t release you until the end…just as a good book should. All I wish now is that we’ll get to see more of Bachman in the future.
****
The Gingerbread Girl
Posted: June 25, 2007
“The Gingerbread Girl” is the story of Em, a woman who leaves her husband to go running (literally)…and ends up in her worst nightmare.
After finding their daughter, Amy, dead, Em and her husband can’t manage to get their marriage back on track. One day Em just decides to leave. When she does, she leaves for her father’s place at Vermillion Key, where she decides to start running to help her deal with the grief over her daughter. However, fate wants other things for her…
One day while out running she happens to look into the open trunk of a parked car on one of the driveways she passes. There, she sees a dead girl, and before she gets much further she’s knocked unconscious. She later wakes up inside the house, taped to a chair.
“The Gingerbread Girl” starts off rather soft and feels a bit like Rose Madder, even though Em and her husband aren’t in an abusive relationship. It then quickly changes into a totally different story that is very intense in that it finds Em fighting for her life.
I personally felt Em’s panic and fear when I read the story, and I must say that with “The Gingerbread Girl” King shows how he is such a talented writer. “The Gingerbread Girl” is a short story (twenty-three pages), but King still takes the time to give us a feeling of what’s going on in the mind of Jim Pickering, Em’s perpetrator, and also tells us a great deal about Em and her background. “The Gingerbread Girl” is King showing why he is the King.
Lilja’s final words about “The Gingerbread Girl”
“The Gingerbread Girl” is definitely becoming a favorite of mine and I’m really blown away by how well King channels Em’s panic and fear over to the reader. Whatever you do, don’t miss this one! It’s now out in the July issue of Esquire.
****
Ayana
Posted: November 1, 2007
King’s latest short story, “Ayana,” is a very soft tale about a miracle that happened a long time ago. The story’s narrator was advised not to tell it to anyone, but now, a very long time after it has taken place, he does…and that is what we get to hear in the story.
“Ayana” is about a man whose father is dying of pancreatic cancer. Just as he and his family are preparing for him to pass away, a young girl named Ayana appears in his roo
m at the hospital. She kisses the dying man, and guess what: he beats the cancer and goes on living for a few more years.
The girl also touches our narrator, and by doing so involves him in the miracle. Years later, while in the waiting room for a follow-up from kidney stones (from which he recovers very well), he is approached by a man, and his part of the miracle starts…
While reading “Ayana” I got the same feeling I got when I read “The Woman in the Room” and parts of The Green Mile, and I suspect King was in similar moods when he wrote those stories. It’s no secret that his mother died from cancer, and I guess that has put its mark on him. It’s good to see that he can transform those feelings into such a good story, though.
“Ayana” is just fifteen pages long and a rather quick read, and I must say I really enjoyed it. It’s an emotional story with a lot of heart in it.
Lilja’s final words about “Ayana”
“Ayana” is a very good story and I felt very good reading it, even though it’s a rather sad story. But at the same time, it’s a very happy story. Confused? You won’t be when you read it. Please, make sure you don’t miss this one!
****
Mute
Posted: November 7, 2007
“Mute” is a nice little tale about a man, Monette, and his struggle with his wife’s recent betrayal. After twenty-six years of marriage she has now confessed to him that she has had a lover for the last two years, that she has stolen money from her workplace and that she is leaving him.
Monette confesses all this to a priest, and during his confession he tells the priest about a deaf-mute hitchhiker in old clothes and dirty sneakers that he picked up not long ago.
Once Monette picks up the hitchhiker he tells him his story. It really doesn’t matter that his new friend can’t hear a word of what he is saying. It’s just nice to say everything out loud. While Monette visits a restroom along the way, the hitchhiker leaves without a trace and without a goodbye. The only thing that really shows that he has been there at all is a St. Christopher’s medallion that is missing from the car’s rearview mirror.
Monette gets it back, but only after his wife and her lover are found murdered in their hotel room, beaten to death with a pipe. The police think it’s the deaf-mute hitchhiker that has done Monette an unwanted favor and are now looking for him.
That is the story as we read it. However, if you look at the illustrations/photos that accompany the story you will find one of the priest on his side of the confession booth and one of Monette on his. And, if you look closely at Monette, you’ll see that he wears old clothes, just like the hitchhiker did, and a sign saying “Mute.” He also probably has dirty sneakers, but those we can’t really see.
This leads me to think that the deaf-mute hitchhiker and Monette are one and the same. That is why he kills his wife and her lover, and why he can disappear so completely while Monette is in the restroom. And why else would he have the deaf-mute’s sign?
****
Lilja’s final words about “Mute”
I like that “Mute” is so open for interpretation, and regardless if you agree with me about the ending, it’s a very good story that grabs you right from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the end.
Duma Key
Posted: January 21, 2008
King’s latest book, Duma Key, tells the story about Edgar Freemantle—a building contractor until the day his car (with him in it) is crushed by a crane. Edgar loses an arm and spends a lot of time in the hospital after the accident. As he gets better he also learns that he has a problem with finding the right words as well as controlling his temper.
After he tries to strangle his wife, Pam, she leaves him and Edgar finds it harder and harder to see a reason to get up each morning. Edgar’s doctor suggests that he finds something to do that really makes him happy. The only thing Edgar can think of is painting.
Newly separated both from his wife and his right arm, he moves from Minnesota to Duma Key, Florida, to start his “new life.” There he takes up painting and, to his surprise, is far more successful than he could ever dream of.
While at Duma Key he gets to know Jerome Wireman and Elizabeth Eastlake. Wireman is taking care of Elizabeth, who is sick with Alzheimer’s disease. Edgar himself gets his help from Jack Cantori, a young man who helps him with what he can’t do with just one arm. They all soon become very good friends—Edgar and Wireman develop a very special relationship.
During all this time Edgar paints like crazy and soon realizes that his paintings are special—that they are a way for him to see what has happened in the past, but also a way for him to change the future. The only problem is that Edgar doesn’t know if his newfound abilities are a good thing or not. Not until he sees the two dead twins…
Duma Key is a very strong book, and if I should compare it with other books by King they would be Bag of Bones and Lisey’s Story. I get some of the same feelings when I read Duma Key as I got when I read Bag of Bones. Duma Key is definitely a ghost story, but not only a ghost story.
We get the story told from Edgar’s perspective, but also in chapters called “How to Draw a Picture,” which tell the background story of what is happening at Duma Key. The first part of the book is kind of easygoing and we get to know all the characters: who they are and how they ended up where they are today. Then, in the second part, things intensify and you are swept into the story in a way that makes it hard to put the book down.
Another thing that impresses me with Duma Key is the depth of the characters, especially Edgar, Wireman and Elizabeth. You really feel for them and you also get a very good feeling about them, a feeling that makes the second part of the book so much sadder.
As usual, there is also an audio edition, and Duma Key is very satisfyingly narrated by John Slattery. He really makes the characters come to life and lifts the story to new heights with his narrating. His voice and narrating style are perfect for books like Duma Key, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we find him narrating more King books in the future.
Lilja’s final words about Duma Key
Duma Key is a very good book, and John’s narrating does the audio edition justice in a very satisfying way. It’s not only a ghost story, but also a rather sad horror story that really shows King’s strength as a writer and storyteller. Duma Key is a book you don’t want to miss!
“God punishes us for what we can’t imagine.”
—Wireman (Duma Key)
Section 2—The Dark Tower
The Gunslinger - Revised Edition
Posted: August 24, 2003
When Wolves of the Calla was announced, King also announced that he would re-release the first four installments. And that wasn’t enough. King also said he had re-written installment one, The Gunslinger. It’s supposed to be about nine thousand words longer and almost every page has been changed in some way. This was done to make the book connect more with the rest of the series and also to make it easier to read. Originally, The Gunslinger was written as five separate novels (even though they were obviously connected to each other) and therefore there wasn’t a one hundred percent seamless flow when they were put together.
So, what has King done, and has he succeeded in making the book easier to read and more in sync with the rest of the series? The answer is yes to both questions.
When it comes to the ease of reading the book there is a significant difference! Now it feels more like a whole book instead of segments placed within the same covers. The flow of the book is a lot better.
King also uses words and people that he hasn’t used before (so early in the story) to give the book a more Dark Tower feel and to connect it to the other books. I suspect that we will get the explanation of words like “bolt” and “bah” and also learn more about the Manni people and how to dance the Commala in upcoming books. To give the book the right atmosphere, King has also added phrases like “Long days and pleasant nights” and “Thank ya” to the characters’ vocabulary.
To further co
nnect The Gunslinger with the other installments, King mentions a billy-bumbler, which before this edition we didn’t hear about until later on. King also connects The Gunslinger with Wizard and Glass by putting the piano player in Tull (Sheb) at the scene of Susan’s death. We didn’t know about her death until Wizard and Glass before now. Further, Sylvia (also from Tull) claims to have the child of the Crimson King. The Crimson King didn’t enter The Dark Tower universe until later before this edition.
This goes on and on. We get to know that Roland will lose his fingers. Roland gets to know about Eddie, Detta and Jack from the oracle. The same oracle also tells him about his betrayal of Jake before it happens. We learn more about Gilead and how it looked when Roland left. He tells Jake he “sees” an invisible man hanged for rape and that he left a girl in a town called King’s Town. All in all, we get to know more about what’s in store for Roland than we did before, all to make The Gunslinger connect more with the other books.
The biggest addition is that King has added the number nineteen to the story. I personally believe that it will play a big role in the future books. Here, the character Allie from Tull gets a note from the man in black that says she should ask Nort (the man who is brought back to life) about death, and all she has to do is mention the number nineteen. This is just one example…
Other interesting information we get is that Marten and Farson are one and the same, that Roland’s parents had chosen a wife for him, her name was/is Aileen Ritter. We also get the names of Roland’s friends. This we had before, but I think/hope we will learn what happens to them later on since we don’t know at this point. Therefore, it can be a good idea to keep their names fresh. They are Jamie DeCurry, Cuthbert Allgood, Alain Johns and Thomas Whitman.
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