The Mist Unabridged

For years I have gotten emails and posts comments asking about the unabridged recording of The Mist.  I have audio tapes and the digital version of Frank Muller reading the Mist.  Turns out, for some reason that recording is  no longer in print.  That means that for years the only way to hear the Mist has been the 3D production.  The only problem is -- the 3D Sound recording just isn't the same as listening to the words themselves build the story.  It's like a radio play.  Super cool -- but just not the same.

I noticed today that audible has released an unabridged recording of Skeleton Crew.  And in the batch is The Mist.  It's not the Frank Muller recording, but it is The Mist unabridged.  Exciting stuff!

www.audible.com

Skeleton Crew First Edition

I found two copies of Skeleton Crew at a local used bookstore the other day.   Different boards and covers.  One cover wrap did not include the price and the copyright page did not have a number line.  Both clear indications it is a later edition.  However, the second copy had both.

Is  it "worth"  something?  I dunno.  Probably not  much.  I paid $1.99 for it.  But a find like that makes me pretty happy.  It appears to go on ebay for $15+.  I also have a British first edition of this book.  (I'm not sure why I bought a British edition of that particular book, except that I thought the cover cool.)

My favorite story in Skeleton Crew is by far The Mist.  The book as a whole remains among my favorite of King's short story collections.  As Kevin Quigley pointed out,

"Skeleton Crew is a frustrating instance, because a perfectly terrific version of Skeleton Crew on audio simply doesn’t exist anymore.  The collection Skeleton Crew: Selections is the only version available on audio, which is insane.  Sure, the narrators are fine – King reads “The Raft,” and it’s awesome – but there are only four stories.  Why let the terrific Frank Muller version rot in purgatory?" (interview with Kevin Quigley on THE MIST, at talkstephenking.blogspot.com)

Examiner's Stephen King Bibliography

Hey, check out David Finniss' series of articles "Stephen King bibliography."  (So far all I see is Skeleton Crew).

The articles are light, chatty and fun.  Finniss notes on the mist that he likes the film version better, and with each story takes a moment to explain its position within Skeleton Crew.  I never thought about this!  Of course the stories are put in a certain order for a reason.

I like his over-thinking The Monkey:

This is one of those stories where you find yourself armchair quarterbacking, imagining what you would do in such a scenario. My first thought was just to light the thing on fire. Fire can be pretty effective, even against supernatural elements. Heck, even shooting the thing with a gun might be effective as the bullet damage would disable the internal mechanisms. Maybe smashing it with a hammer? 

There are options, but at the same time, a direct assault is tricky as the monkey can drop you instantly if it wanted to. It's made clear that simply muffling the cymbals isn't enough. Much like Pinhead, it isn't the hands that summon death, it's desire. That doesn't mean that you couldn't cut off its arms though, right? It's an interesting hypothetical to ponder.

Skeleton Crew part 1: The Mist
Skeleton Crew part 2: Here There Be Tygers
Skeleton Crew part 3: The Monkey
Skeleton Crew part 4: Cain Rose Up
Skeleton Crew part 5: Mrs. Todd's Shortcut
Skeleton Crew part 6: The Jaunt

Neuroscience Looks At THE JAUNT

art: Darek Cokurek

Stephen King is everywhere!  How about in neuroscience?  Really. . . NEUROSCIENCE?!

Susana Martinez-Conde has a short review of The Jaunt, titled, "Neuroscience in Fiction: Stephen King’s The Jaunt."

Granted, Stephen King is not the first name that comes to mind when you think about neuroscience insights, but this week’s Neuroscience in Fiction pick will give you a lot to ponder. 

The Jaunt is part of King’s Skeleton Crew short story collection, and one of the most engaging sci-fi tales I’ve read. In the not-too-distant future, humankind has achieved teleportation, or as they call it, jaunting. Unconscious bodies and cargo can travel from the Earth to Mars in a fraction of a second, unharmed and unchanged. But the effect of the Jaunt on a fully conscious, sentient being, is a different creature altogether. 

The Jaunt explores the limits of sustained sensory deprivation on the mind, with just a little bit of gore thrown in for added effect. We’re talking about Stephen King, after all.

I like her conclusion, "We hope you enjoy The Jaunt. If nothing else, the ending will stay with you for longer than you think."

Mrs. Todds Shortcut on tape

The Skeleton Crew stories  are  some of my favorites -- and some of the hardest for find on audio.  Here's one for $4.99 at ebay.

notice the typo on the inside write-up below (Steven King)

THE RAFT paperback

Here's something pretty cool I got for Christmas, a paperback edition of The Raft.  According to Amazon, it was actually a pamphlet inserted into Nov. 1982 Gallery.  It looks fuller than it really is -- just 26 pages in a glossy cover.   I like it!

Funny thing, my mother in law got it for me.  "He wants an older paperback book?" she questioned my wife.  "You know, they have that same story in collections."  My wife reassured her that it was the old paperback I wanted.

So I looked up  what "Gallery" was, thinking the entire magazine might be of interest.  It's  porn!  Glad I didn't ask my mother in law for that!

Here is the back of the booklet:

Reviews and Thoughts by Derick From Brasil

My friend Derick is from Brasil. We talk often by email about Stephen King. He's sharp, as you'll discover in his article below. I asked him to write me an article about what it's like being a King fan in Brasil. My friend is 17, very sweetly humble and a very fast reader. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did! By the way, I like the fact that Derick is honest in his opinion; he doesn't gush and he's not afriad to share honest thoughts. So, here's one constant readers take on the Stephen King universe!

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Stephen King (SK) happened to me about one year ago.

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When I first saw him I said: This guy is nuts! Mainly because he's staring in a lot of his own movies.It happened while I was still in the school. A friend of mine said: "My brother loves reading his books." So, I tried. Started with The Shining and didn't like it, although it's not a bad book. The Shining (I read it in Portuguese) I thought was a great story with such a bad ending. I really think SK cannot make a great ending at all, but, anyway, I love his stories. Then, I tried reading English versions and the first was The Eyes Of The Dragon. Horrible book, to me, by far, the worst I've read from him (I may be wrong but that was I felt when it ended), kind of fairytales.

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I had many reasons to stop reading Sk but I didn't and won't. I really thought: "He's so famous, he has to write something good." That was when I read Needful Things. And, Oh My Godness, I really loved it. The plot itself is amazing but a lot of characters. The next one I read was Bag of Bones, and I have to say: Amazing beautiful great story. Kyra almost made me cry and I really enjoied it. There are a lot I read: Desperation, The Dark Half, The Gunslinger, The Drawing of The Three, The WasteLands, Wizard and Glass, Skeleton Crew, 'Salem's Lot and The Bachman Books (not a wide list but not short neither).

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I'll talk about each book I've read:

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- Desperation: Excelent story, good for those who like action books (like me), but the ending was bad. David Carver really got my atention.

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- The Dark Half: You can read it so fast, it happened to me and no other book did this to me. Very good plot, bad ending and so many questions not answered. I loved Thad's Twins... They're awesome.

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- Skeleton Crew: I had not read all of the stories but I read a few ones. Pretty good, it depends on each tale.

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- 'Salem's Lot: Horrible Book! The ending almost made me throw this book away. Messy most of the times.

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- The Bachman Books: I read The Long Walk which was amazingly good, the splot is wonderful and I wish SK could tell us what Ray asked after winning The Long Walk. I read Rage too. Indeed, I only bought this book because of Rage and it's a book full of nothing. It was a bad book (Rage).

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- The Gunslinger: Loved that book. The best I've read from The Dark Tower. It tells us exactly what Roland is and Jake.

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- The Drawing of the Three: Good book, it shows us all characters but boring at times, it only got my atention after Detta and Odetta story, but good.

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- The Wastelands: Another action book. Nothing to say unless It's good.

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- Wizard and Glass: Excelent in the beginning, stopped reading after flashbacks. Those flashbacks spoiled the whole story.

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I really have to say SK is a genious not only for writing books but having the ability to creat so amazing stories and be able to make them to come true. I love him and his books although not all are good. David asked me to write something. I really appreciate that but I don't know if I was capable to do such a thing, I wish I would. I'm a great SK fan but not like David. I wanted to introduce myself in the ending because being Bra"s"ilian boy is not a compliment at all. Sorry if I made any mistake but my English cannot be compared to yours.

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I'm from Bra"s"il, I'm 17 years-old and live in São Paulo. Here, in Brazil, SK is not famous here (everybody asks me "Who is Stephen King" and they can only know who he is when I say: "He wrote The Green Mile", and I really liked chatting with you and exposing my thoughts, it was good. Thank you once more,Dérick.

Stephen King And The Twilight Zone

This year is the 50th anniversary of Rod Serling's, "The Twilight Zone." Because Stephen Kng is a product of American culture, it is interesting to see the shows impact on his work. It is also worth noting that in the 1960's, Serling was as much a part of American culture as King is now.

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King talks directly about the Twilight Zone in his book Danse Macabre. In particular, The Eye of the Beholder episode. But from reading King, it wasn't any one episode that influenced him, but the entire series. And, perhaps more important, the series eator, Rod Serling.

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King on the popularity of the Twilight Zone:

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"That the Twilight one is. . . near immortal is something will not argue with; in big city markets like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francico it sems to run eternally, hallelujah, world without end, sandwiched into its own twiight zone just after the late evening news and just before the PTL Club. Perhaps only suh anient sitoms as I Love Lucy and My LIttle Margie can compete with the Twilight Zone for that sort of fuzzy, black-and-white, campiristic life which yndication allows." (Danse Macabre, 220)

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King gives a lot of ink to the Twilight Zone in the chapter of Danse Macabre titled: The Glass Teat.

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"Of all the dramatic programs which have ever run on American TV, it is the one which comes losest to defying any overall analysis. It was not a western or a cop show (although some of the stories had western formats or featured cops 'n' robbers); it was not really a science fction show (although the Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows categorizes it as such) not a sitcome (although some episodes were funny); not really ocult (although it did occult stories frequently -- in its peculiar fashion), not really supernatural. It was its own things, and in large part that fact alone seems to account for the fat that a whole generation is able to associate the Serling program witht he budding of the sixties . . . at laest, as the sixties are remembered." (Danse Macabre, 229) See his further comments from on Serling on pages 230-238

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Richard Matheson's Influence On King:
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According to the Complete Stephen King Universe (a great book), King was heavily influenced by Richard Matheson, one of the Twilight Zone's key writers.
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In The Twilight Zone Companion by Marc Zicree, King is quoted as saying, "[Matheson] was the first guy that I ever read who seemed to be doing something that Lovecraft wasn't doing. It wasn't eastern Europe -- the horror could be in the SevenEleven store down the block, or it could be just up the street. Something terrible could be going on even in a G.I. Bill-type ranch development near a college, it could be there as well. And to me, as a kid, that was a revelation, that wax etremely exciting. He was to puttng the horror in places that I could relate to." (p.57)
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Twilight Zone Episodes Influence On King:
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Think about it: Could the tite "The Dead Zone" have been at least inspired by "The Twilight Zone." It is certainly a story worthy of the Twilight Zone, isn't it?
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Paleycenter.org suggests that Christine was influenced by the driverless car from “A Thing About Machines." http://www.paleycenter.org/influencing-stephen-king-star-trek-cindy-sherman-and-more
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It is worth noting that a writer might have a thought planted from a T.V. show or a conversation, or any number of things. But as they add other ideas, the story becomes their own. And, just for my own notes, I seriously doubt there is a real connection between The Twilight Zone and Christine.
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If I may. . . I think if the Twilight Zone offered King anything, it was simply the power of a strong ending. Twilight Zone is all about the end. The story builds to a climax, gives a twist, and usually leaves you stunned. King has showed a gift for this same type of twisted ending, a skill perhaps enhanced by his love for the Twilight Zone.
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King Becomes Part Of The Legend:
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The admiration doesn't appear to be a one way street. Not only has King spoken of his love for the Twilight Zone -- the Twilight Zone has featured his work in many forms. Of course, the highest Twilight Zone honor is an episode. But there have also been contributions to the Twilight Zone magazine, and interviews. They obviously see that his work is compatable with their genre.
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In 1985 King's short story from Skeleton Crew, Gramma, was turned into an episode for the New Twilight Zone. Now I don't remember the 1960's. But 1985. . . I was a kid living in Los Angels. The Night Stalker was in our newspapers, Star Wars was all the rage, and the New Twilight Zone wasn't even spoken of. Go figure. And my parents were huge Twilight Zone fans. I guess this series just didn't take off.
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Twilight Zone Magazine
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April, 1981: The first issue of the Twilight Zone magazine had an interview with Stephen King.
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June, 1981: The Jaunt was published in Twilight Zone magazine.
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May, 1982: Several articles on the upcoming Creepshow.
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July, 1982: King did a review of the movie "The Boogens." (Neverheard of it!)
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September, 1982: Article on Creepshow
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November, 1982: King's article appeared "The Evil Dead: Why You Haven't Seen It Yet and Why You Ought To"
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April, 1983: Twilight Zone magazine had reviews of Creepshow and Different Seasons.
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June, 1983: Twilight Zone magazine published The Raft.
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December 1983: Articles on The Dead Zone appeared.
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Februrary 1984: Articles on Christine.
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June 1984: Reviews of Christine and Pet Sematary.
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August 1984: Reviews of Firestarter. (Movie)
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February 1985: Interview with Stephen King and Peter Straub about their book The Talisman. The cover for ths magazine shows both King and Straub wearing interesting headgear. (Straub looks like an SNL conehead)
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October, 1985: Has a letter from King to the editor.
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December 1985: An interview with Stephen King. (By the way, this issue is only $4 on ebay.)
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February 1986: The Twilight Zone Magazine prints King story, "The Fifth Quarter".
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December 1986: Interview with Stephen King.
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February 1987: Twilight Zone magazine review of IT.
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Interesting Links:
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The Shining and The Twilight Zone, http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4121-Pop-Culture-News-Examiner~y2009m9d13-The-Shining-and-The-Twilight-Zone
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Listing of magazines and covers that Stephen King was in. Very well done! http://jerodandlisa.com/king/mags/S-Z/
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King's bio on the Internet Movie Database includes his Twilight Zone episode, Gramma. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000175/
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The Twilight Zone's influence On Stephen King, http://www.paleycenter.org/influencing-stephen-king-star-trek-cindy-sherman-and-more
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Watch more here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=3556683

It can't possibly be worth THAT much!

Under the heading of -- "no way!" and "seriously?" and "is that really the price" -- is another auction on ebay. My favortie place to look and watch people who have no idea what things are really worth.

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So here's one: "Stephen King SIGNED DELUXE ZIPPERED SKELETON CREW."

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Price: $3,900.00

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But, before you say that's too much -- remember, it does come with free shipping!

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Seller writes: "This is the leather-bound lettered edition of Skeleton Crew, "PC" copy of 17 copies (out of 69 copies, 52 of which were lettered) divided between the author, artist and publisher. One of the scarcest and most elaborate lettered editions, this copy is bound into a black leather zipper case. The book's pages are bound into the leather itself. The book is signed in silver by King and the artist. The page edges are covered with silver gilt, and are protected by the case when fully zippered. The book is in excellent condition absolutely gorgeous production. The fold-out poster is present. Includes the publisher's letter, as shown in my photograph, designating the rarity of the PC copy. This is one that MUST be included in the finest King collections and it has been lovingly cared for as long as it has been in mine. Collectors know the value of this book. It is extraordinary."

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Extraordinary indeed. If only I could strike oil. Is it WORTH that? Well, same as your house, anything is worth what someone else will pay for it. Of course, like flipping houses, you may not want to be the last person willing to pay that price.

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3 questions:

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1. These are the same stories that are in the $6.00 paperback. Or, the $31.00 first edition hardcover.

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2. If that's true -- why do I want it so bad? Why do I think an asbestos covered Firestarter would be cool? Or a leather bound copy of The Stand? If it's about the stoires, why am I so attracted to the special bindings and stuff? But I am.

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3. If I owned it, would I read it? No way! I wouldn't even let my children breath toward it.

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So, at least for me, ownership of such items isn't about the literature. It's not about the story. I got the stories! Loved them. But there's something more. A desire to elevate the stories above other paper back novels and cheap hard copies. To say: These stories are special. They have meaning to me.
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http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2009/07/seriously-thats-price.html

Shrot Stories

I enjoy short stories the way I enjoy the Twilight Zone -- I look forward to the end and the final twist. But a novel allows you to enjoy each turn, the stories within the stories. It's like LOST verses the Twilight Zone.

One reason The Stand is such an engaging novel is that it is long and takes the time to build characters. King's novels are usually a series of short stories pressed together into a larger plot. Ray Bradbury literally wrote the Martian Chronicles as a series of shrot stories.

I do wish the Tommyknockers were a novella instead of a novel.

Here is a quick list of my favorite King short stories:
1. The Mist.
2. Riding The Bullet
3. Autopsy Room Four
4. Dolan's Cadillac.
5. Suffer the Children
6. The Ledge
7. Survivor Type
8. The Girl who loved Tom Gordon.
9. The man in the black suit
10. Willa

Okay, so the Mist is techincally a novella, but it's in a book of short stories!