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Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
For the first time in Stephen King's remarkable publishing history, the master storyteller presents an all-new, original tale written expressly for the television screen.
They're calling it the Storm of the Century, and it's coming hard. The residents of Little Tall Island have seen their share of nasty Maine Nor'easters, but this one is different. Not only is it packing hurricane-force winds and up to five feet of snow, it's bringing something worse. Something even the islanders have never seen before. Something no one wants to see.
Just as the first flakes begin to fall, Martha Clarendon, one of Little Tall Island's oldest residents, suffers an unspeakably violent death. While her blood dries, Andre Linoge, the man responsible sits calmly in Martha's easy chair holding his cane topped with a silver wolf's head...waiting.
Linoge knows the townsfolk will come to arrest him. He will let them. For he has come to the island for one reason. And when he meets Constable Mike Anderson, his beautiful wife and child, and the rest of Little Tall's tight-knit community, this stranger will make one simple proposition to them
"If you give me what I want, I'll go away."
They're calling it the Storm of the Century, and it's coming hard. The residents of Little Tall Island have seen their share of nasty Maine Nor'easters, but this one is different. Not only is it packing hurricane-force winds and up to five feet of snow, it's bringing something worse. Something even the islanders have never seen before. Something no one wants to see.
Just as the first flakes begin to fall, Martha Clarendon, one of Little Tall Island's oldest residents, suffers an unspeakably violent death. While her blood dries, Andre Linoge, the man responsible sits calmly in Martha's easy chair holding his cane topped with a silver wolf's head...waiting.
Linoge knows the townsfolk will come to arrest him. He will let them. For he has come to the island for one reason. And when he meets Constable Mike Anderson, his beautiful wife and child, and the rest of Little Tall's tight-knit community, this stranger will make one simple proposition to them
"If you give me what I want, I'll go away."
- GenresHorror
400 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 3, 2024
810 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,395 books888k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 7, 2024
As a dreadful winter storm hits the island of Little Tall off the coast of Maine in 1989, a stranger forces the luckless inhabitants to make a terrible choice.
An interesting experiment from King. The plot is possibly the most horrific in his repertoire because it is, at its heart, the thing that keeps families awake at night, the monster of the piece is just window dressing. For a script, it's fairly easy to read for story purposes.
As far as the crossover references, is there a possible connection between Sonny Brautigan in ‘Storm of the Century’ and Ted Brautigan in “Low Men in Yellow Coats”? (Part I Act 1)? If so, there's nothing explicit.
The stage directions state: There hasn’t been a murder on this island for almost seventy years... unless you count Dolores Claiborne's husband, Joe, and that was never proved. ('Dolores Claiborne) (Part I: Act 3).
Linoge is an anagram of legion. The Ageless Stranger. Black Walter. (‘The Stand’; ‘Eyes of the Dragon’; ‘Needful Things'; ‘The Dark Tower’) (Part III: Act 1)
Cat is reading the children ‘The Little Puppy’. The stage directions point out it it was a great favourite of Danny Torrance (‘The Shining') (Part III: Act 2).
Could the wolf’s head cane appearing in the form of a smiling St. Bernard be a passing nod to ‘Cujo’? (Part III Act 2)
The reference to Salem in Part III Act 4 is more likely to be Salem, Mass. than Salem’s Lot in Maine.
An interesting experiment from King. The plot is possibly the most horrific in his repertoire because it is, at its heart, the thing that keeps families awake at night, the monster of the piece is just window dressing. For a script, it's fairly easy to read for story purposes.
As far as the crossover references, is there a possible connection between Sonny Brautigan in ‘Storm of the Century’ and Ted Brautigan in “Low Men in Yellow Coats”? (Part I Act 1)? If so, there's nothing explicit.
The stage directions state: There hasn’t been a murder on this island for almost seventy years... unless you count Dolores Claiborne's husband, Joe, and that was never proved. ('Dolores Claiborne) (Part I: Act 3).
Linoge is an anagram of legion. The Ageless Stranger. Black Walter. (‘The Stand’; ‘Eyes of the Dragon’; ‘Needful Things'; ‘The Dark Tower’) (Part III: Act 1)
Cat is reading the children ‘The Little Puppy’. The stage directions point out it it was a great favourite of Danny Torrance (‘The Shining') (Part III: Act 2).
Could the wolf’s head cane appearing in the form of a smiling St. Bernard be a passing nod to ‘Cujo’? (Part III Act 2)
The reference to Salem in Part III Act 4 is more likely to be Salem, Mass. than Salem’s Lot in Maine.
February 16, 2025
Not what I expected.
The storm of the century is the script for the show, reading it is difficult, you lose some of the terror you usually get with a Stephen King book. The storm of the century has come to Little Tall Island. Before it is over the islanders will have to make a horribleb decision.
O knew what that decision would be all along. How it ended was no surprise at all.
The storm of the century is the script for the show, reading it is difficult, you lose some of the terror you usually get with a Stephen King book. The storm of the century has come to Little Tall Island. Before it is over the islanders will have to make a horribleb decision.
O knew what that decision would be all along. How it ended was no surprise at all.
December 17, 2024
Didn’t need the storm
Art of art sake 10cc sang. Gore for gore sake the lighthouse bell rang. The story didn’t need the storm. The gore master character would have been scarier in open everyday life, picking off his victims. Senior King is still the master though the TV inserts at the beginnings of chapters interfered with the flow of running mentally with the story like “what’s that saying? Ah ok? Now where were we?”. Or maybe I’m just getting old :-)
Art of art sake 10cc sang. Gore for gore sake the lighthouse bell rang. The story didn’t need the storm. The gore master character would have been scarier in open everyday life, picking off his victims. Senior King is still the master though the TV inserts at the beginnings of chapters interfered with the flow of running mentally with the story like “what’s that saying? Ah ok? Now where were we?”. Or maybe I’m just getting old :-)
June 25, 2025
Only Stephen King could think up a story like this and make it believable.
"Give me what I want". Will haunt me for awhile, after reading this book . the only Stephen King book I wanted to read fast to find out " WHAT,do you want. I had an inkling of what, but did not want it to happen . of course he made it happen.. The Hugh question, could you do it, for the greater good of all? My decision is Absolutely "NOT". I would rather be dead, then make a decision like that!
"Give me what I want". Will haunt me for awhile, after reading this book . the only Stephen King book I wanted to read fast to find out " WHAT,do you want. I had an inkling of what, but did not want it to happen . of course he made it happen.. The Hugh question, could you do it, for the greater good of all? My decision is Absolutely "NOT". I would rather be dead, then make a decision like that!
January 25, 2025
Not a fan of writing style at all, very distracting and ruined a good story. Had I been able to read a preview I wouldn't have purchased but I preordered.Also way too many typos and misspelled words. Whoever proofed it should be ashamed.
December 28, 2025
Classic King
The usual fare from Stephen King - the pace, the tone. Classic.
The villian is terrifying, and the usual suspects are in the town. The stoic hero, the obnoxious town manager (and his kid). Amazing that so much happens in just a couple days. Good read.
The usual fare from Stephen King - the pace, the tone. Classic.
The villian is terrifying, and the usual suspects are in the town. The stoic hero, the obnoxious town manager (and his kid). Amazing that so much happens in just a couple days. Good read.
February 13, 2025
Good old school horror
Haven't read a book of his i didn't like. I tried to watch the movie but it's pretty bad. The book is always better.
Haven't read a book of his i didn't like. I tried to watch the movie but it's pretty bad. The book is always better.
February 28, 2025
Great story…would have preferred novel rather than screenplay
April 1, 2025
storm of the century
It felt more like king was just hanging out spinning a yarn instead of a screenplay, and not much different from the miniseries as I remember it.
It felt more like king was just hanging out spinning a yarn instead of a screenplay, and not much different from the miniseries as I remember it.
April 23, 2025
Read in 3 days, didn't sleep last night, won't be sleeping tonight. Interesting format to read it in.
May 5, 2025
This has the same flaws as the miniseries (the first 2/3 drag on too long and there’s too many characters so most of them kinda blur together) but the ending is absolutely fantastic
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews