Lilja's Library (44 page)

It all begins with a visit from a reporter from a big newspaper who’s going around collecting stories of the unexplained. When he leaves, without a story, Vince and David tell Stephanie the story they didn’t tell the newspaperman, the story of the Colorado Kid.  

Because it doesn’t have an ending or all the answers, they know the big papers won’t be interested, or would only be interested in an altered version. That’s why they didn’t tell him about it. It was their story, and is now Stephanie’s.  

As with the big papers, I think that the readers of this book will either love it or hate it. I don’t think there will be many in-betweeners for this one.  

Personally, I love it. The tone King uses in the book is so fresh and entertaining to read! This book is in some cases very different from King’s usual books, but at the same time is so “King.” It’s a wonderful book. I bet Frank Darabont or Rob Reiner will turn this one into a blockbuster before long…it’s that kind of book.  

It’s also a rather short book. It’s only 184 pages, but King knows exactly where to end the story. If the book had been longer (or shorter for that matter) it wouldn’t have worked.  

Lilja’s final words about
The Colorado Kid
 

OK, I have been ranting on about this book for quite a while now, but is there anything not so good about
The Colorado Kid
? Well, no, actually there isn’t. I can honestly say that this is one of the best books King has written and I believe most of you will agree with me on that…or are you one of those people who don’t like a story that isn’t a true story? 

**** 

’Salem’s Lot: Illustrated Edition 

Posted: October 25, 2005  

So, now it’s time for everyone who didn’t get the limited edition of
’Salem’s Lot: Illustrated Edition
to get this book for the collection. Doubleday is releasing this trade hardback edition and I, for one, am really grateful that they are. 

Besides the look of the book being totally different from the limited, it is essentially the same book. You get the illustrations by Jerry N. Uelsmann, you get “One For The Road,” you get “Jerusalem’s Lot,” you get all the deleted scenes,
but
you also get a brand-new introduction by King that isn’t even in the limited edition. How about that? A trade edition that has something the limited doesn’t. That has to be a first.  

The neat thing about this book is all the deleted scenes. Yes, the book itself is a very good one, but these scenes make it even better. They give you a look into what King wanted to do with it when he wrote the book back in 1975.  

It would have been better if they had put the scenes back in the story instead of having them at the end though. It would have given them more of a connection to the story; now they are just listed at the end of the book. The problem with that, though, is that it wouldn’t have been as easy to see what parts were new…but then again, they could have printed the new ones in red or something like that.  

The fact that this is only the second time a book by King has been rereleased with added scenes makes it pretty unique. The other book is, of course,
The Stand
, and I hope this is a trend that will continue. It would be nice to get other books released with deleted scenes as well.  

The illustrations by Uelsmann don’t really have anything to do with the story, but they do give the book a nice feeling. They are very much in sync with the story, perfect for setting the mood.  

Lilja’s final words about
’Salem’s Lot: Illustrated Edition
 

’Salem’s Lot: Illustrated Edition
is definitely a book that should be in every King collection…even if you already have the limited. Don’t forget that there is a new introduction that you need to read. 

**** 

The Colorado Kid (audio) 

Posted: November 18, 2005  

After finishing
The Colorado Kid
for a second time (this time on audio) I can only repeat what I said after reading the book the first time; it’s one of the best books King has written. I know many of you think it’s a bit slow, but I don’t. I think it’s King’s way of setting the mood of the book. It is a slow-moving story, and this second time I surprised myself with having answers to many of the questions (or at least, I think so) while listening. 

Did the Colorado Kid arrive from The Gunslinger’s world through a door? Or was it a thinny? Or was the explanation just King’s way to disguise a mistake?  

Well, it really doesn’t matter. It has gotten my imagination running wild. What if
The Colorado Kid
is connected to
The Dark Tower
saga? Will he be in the comics that are released next year? Will King do another short story about
The Dark Tower
and
The Colorado Kid
? As before, that really doesn’t matter, I see a lot of possibilities while listening to the book. And I love every second of it!  

There is only a small problem with the audio version of
The Colorado Kid
,
and that is narrator Jeffrey DeMunn’s accent. While trying to give the characters as believable of a voice as possible, he overdoes it a bit. The accent gets so thick from time to time that it’s sometimes a bit hard to hear what he is saying. You can understand it, but you have to concentrate a bit extra from time to time. It’s a nice accent though. He sounds like a mix of Bubba in
Forrest Gump
and Sean Connery. Very smooth.  

Lilja’s final words about
The Colorado Kid (audio)
 

So, the best thing you can do is go out and get
The Colorado Kid
audiobook ASAP. Then listen to it—it’s only about four hours long, so you’ll have it done in an afternoon…and you won’t regret it, take my word for it! 

**** 

Bag of Bones (audio) 

Posted: December 6, 2005  

This summer Simon & Schuster Audio rereleased
Bag of Bones
on audio CD. I have just listened to it and I must say that I had actually forgotten what a good book
Bag of Bones
is. 

It’s good because of the story, but also because it feels so autobiographical. Sometimes it feels like King is describing his own life. And maybe he is to some degree. Maybe King, like Mike Noonan, has a stash of books in a safety box somewhere and just picks one or two each year…no, I don’t think that is the case, but when you read the book it feels like it’s possible. That’s the feeling King gives you in
Bag of Bones
. 

Another good thing about this audio is that at the end there is an interview with King. It’s done right after the recording of
Bag of Bones
, so it’s unique for this audio and is concentrated completely on
Bag of Bones
. Very entertaining and something I wish every audiobook would have.  

Bag of Bones
was also the first book King released with Scribner and was in somewhat of a memorable place in his career. If I remember correctly, King made a deal with Scribner in which they split the risk and King only got a very small sum for the book, and then a percentage of the sales. This wasn’t the way deals were made, and it made the news back in 1998.  

One thing that isn’t so good with this one is that on each CD there are only two or three tracks instead of the seventeen to eighteen that are usually on a CD. Why is that a problem, you might ask? Well, if you, like me, listen to it on your way to work and you have to pause, say, twenty-two minutes into track two, you have to first find track two and then fast forward twenty-two minutes to get to where you left off the next time you’re listening. It’s not impossible, but it gets a bit annoying. It is much easier when the tracks are only five to six minutes.  

My guess, though, is that this isn’t something that will appear on other audios. Why? Well, I think (and this is only a guess) that since this is a reissued title and all of the following titles have had seventeen to eighteen tracks on them, this was a mistake by the publisher (or they discovered that it was better with more tracks) that was then corrected in the next book. They left it on the reissued edition, though, since that one is probably identical to the first.  

Lilja’s final words about
Bag of Bones(audio)
 

Anyhow, don’t let this stop you from getting this audio. It’s worth all the fast forwarding to hear
Bag of Bones
. Oh, and I almost forgot, the best part of all is that it’s read by Stephen King himself. This alone makes the book very listenable, and combined with a good story, makes
Bag of Bones
a very good audio choice. 

**** 

Cell 

Posted: January 24, 2006  

I finished
Cell
, King’s latest book, yesterday and I’m seriously thinking about losing my brand new cell phone…well, maybe not, but
Cell
is a really scary story as well as King’s tribute to the entire zombie phenomenon. 

The book starts off with its main character, Clayton Riddell, out walking in Boston, feeling very happy because he has sold his first comic series, The Dark Wanderer. And that’s when everything starts going downhill… 

At exactly 3:03 the event that became known as The Pulse happens: every cell phone starts sending out a signal that turns everyone who hears it into some kind of raging zombie. People who overhear the signal only get a small dose of The Pulse, but go totally insane.  

Later, Clay hooks up with Tom McCourt and a teenage girl, Alice Maxwell, and together they start north toward Clay’s home where his son is. His son, who just got that new red cell phone he’s been pestering Clay about… 

During the course of the story the phone-crazies, as Clay and his gang call the zombies, start to evolve, and the rage they show in the beginning starts to fade away…at least for each other. The normies, like Clay and the others, are still fair game though. It’s like the zombies are starting all over again, with brains that are like clean slates. The book has some surprises, one that’s rather big, and the ending is a bit unexpected. Some will be disappointed and some will love it. Personally, I loved it.  

Cell
was the first book I listened to as an audiobook before reading it. Previously I have only listened to books I had already read. Now finished, I can honestly say that I enjoyed listening to it before reading it. At the same time, though, it really demands your full attention. It’s a lot easier for your mind to wander when you listen to a book compared to when you read (at least, it is for me), but if you manage to keep focused you’ll be very well rewarded.  

There is also a bonus with this book (not included in the audio though). At the end you get the first pages from King’s next book,
Lisey’s Story
, in King’s own handwriting. I liked what I read and it gives me the same feeling I had while reading
Bag of Bones
: a good feeling…but more on that later this year.  

Lilja’s final words about
Cell
 

So,
Cell
is definitely a book you want to check out. It’s a very strong King book that feels very fresh, but also gives you the same end-of-the-world feeling that you get when reading
The Stand
. 

If possible, I recommend that you try listening to it as well as reading it. It’s actually two quite different experiences, both very satisfying. 

**** 

Stationary Bike (audio) 

Posted: May 31, 2006  

Ron McLarty. What can I say? The man is a genius when it comes to narrating books. His voice is made for narrating books.  

I have listened to him narrate
’Salem’s Lot
, parts of
Faithful
and now also “Stationary Bike,” and as I said, his voice is made for narrating books. It’s dark, but still very smooth to listen to. A joy for the ear!