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Word Processor of the Gods
Richard Hagstrom, professeur d'anglais et écrivain raté, a du mal à se préserver un espace vital entre une épouse dominatrice et un fils qui le méprise. Il est en revanche toujours amoureux de Belinda, la femme que son frère a épousée, et il adore leur fils Jon, un petit génie de l'électronique. Après que son frère, conduisant en état d'ivresse, a entraîné dans la mort Belinda et Jon, Richard reçoit un cadeau posthume de ce dernier : un appareil de traitement de texte bricolé à partir de pièces disparates. Il découvre alors que cette machine lui donne un droit de vie ou de mort sur les personnes dont il tape le nom...
Ces monolingues de la série VERSION ORIGINALE vous proposent
un texte intégral dans sa langue d'origine
des notes linguistiques et culturelles
un lexique donnant la traduction du vocabulaire rencontré
un enregistrement intégral sur CD du texte original
Ces monolingues de la série VERSION ORIGINALE vous proposent
un texte intégral dans sa langue d'origine
des notes linguistiques et culturelles
un lexique donnant la traduction du vocabulaire rencontré
un enregistrement intégral sur CD du texte original
105 pages, Paperback & Audio CD
First published January 1, 1983
7 people are currently reading
703 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,648 books883k 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 - 30 of 74 reviews
September 11, 2024
A failed writer turned high school teacher looks at the cobbled together electronic of his recently deceased nephew. For former child genius left him a home-made word processor for his birthday.
Now with unforeseen and strange consequences.
5/5 excellent setup and delivery.
Now with unforeseen and strange consequences.
5/5 excellent setup and delivery.
November 17, 2015
This story was predictable but good. Here's an alternate ending that I thought would have been better.
After Richard ends up with Belinda as his wife and Johnathan as his son, he finds out that Roger is now married to Linda and Seth is Rogers son. He is initially pleased with this swap of fate, only to realize after a while that though the people have changed his fate hasn't. Jon is an irritating version of Seth, while Seth is now the quite nerdy nephew, while Lina is now his brother's gorgeous, sweet wife. So basically he realizes that he has made his wife and son into what they are. Irrespective of whether Seth or Jon is his son, or whether Lina or Belinda is his wife they will still end up being the nasty irritating people they are, because that is what his wife and son are meant to be.
After Richard ends up with Belinda as his wife and Johnathan as his son, he finds out that Roger is now married to Linda and Seth is Rogers son. He is initially pleased with this swap of fate, only to realize after a while that though the people have changed his fate hasn't. Jon is an irritating version of Seth, while Seth is now the quite nerdy nephew, while Lina is now his brother's gorgeous, sweet wife. So basically he realizes that he has made his wife and son into what they are. Irrespective of whether Seth or Jon is his son, or whether Lina or Belinda is his wife they will still end up being the nasty irritating people they are, because that is what his wife and son are meant to be.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2022
Primer acercamiento a Stephen King. Y no será el ultimo. Me ha gustado y me ha parecido original.
November 17, 2022
an interesting idea but bogged down with kings typical fatphobia and a lot of dudely entitlement and misogyny.
October 21, 2023
A short story from Stephen King's Skeleton Crew collection. Not really horror, more like sci-fi.
Roger is gifted a word processor that can add or subtract people or things from his life using the "delete" and "execute" keys. Sounds like it would be a dream come true, right?
It's not as solid a story as some others by King. There is quite a bit of computer-speak that bogged it down here and there, but otherwise a fun idea for a story.
Roger is gifted a word processor that can add or subtract people or things from his life using the "delete" and "execute" keys. Sounds like it would be a dream come true, right?
It's not as solid a story as some others by King. There is quite a bit of computer-speak that bogged it down here and there, but otherwise a fun idea for a story.
April 19, 2022
Коли я читаю Кінга завжди є момент, коли я зупиняюся від жаху і просто дивлюсь перед собою, намагаючись осягнути усе те божевілля. Хороша історія, ознайомтесь, як у вас будуть зайві півгодинки, обов'язково
January 26, 2013
I need a Word processor of the gods. Not horrific but a good read nonetheless.
August 24, 2015
Another neatly woven story based on a very elementary concept. Wonder how he sees a story in such a common concept.
October 29, 2015
I found the book too predictable. I knew what was going to happen within the first 1/4 of the book. Good writing but just ok ending.
December 22, 2022
Alright, so I know there are people who probably didn’t like this short story and I get that, but the IDEA behind such a story was brilliant! I enjoyed the different pieces of the word processor working together and making a Frankenstein type of machine to basically edit or even delete aspects of life!! Even people! Morbid I know, but I actually liked this a lot!
October 22, 2025
It's the classic “What would you do if you could change reality?” story, which for the most part isn't really any different from other similar stories.
We also don't really get to know the other characters besides Richard, which makes the story even more shallow.
The only reason I'm still barley giving it three stars is because Richard is a huge, bitter asshole who actually gets a happy ending from his twisted perspective.
There's no reflection where he realizes how good he has it. No, he wipes his family out of existence and takes over his brother's family without any repercussions haha.
We also don't really get to know the other characters besides Richard, which makes the story even more shallow.
The only reason I'm still barley giving it three stars is because Richard is a huge, bitter asshole who actually gets a happy ending from his twisted perspective.
There's no reflection where he realizes how good he has it. No, he wipes his family out of existence and takes over his brother's family without any repercussions haha.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2022
I don't know, feels pedestrian.
August 10, 2024
Very reminiscent of that Twilight zone episode where the guys typewriter changes the world
October 1, 2024
First Stephen king ! Perfect introduction to spooky season !
July 18, 2021
3.5 stars
July 19, 2023
4.75*
From Skeleton Crew
From Skeleton Crew
October 23, 2019
I love when something reminds me of a Far Side cartoon.
I was feeling a "Monkey's Paw" vibe here, though there are plenty of differences. Maybe a "Monkey's Paw" as presented in Rod Serling's Twilight Zone? Because things end a lot better for the characters in this story than they do in "The Monkey's Paw." Isn't that what the Twilight Zone does? Takes something and gives it an unexpected twist? And since "The Monkey's Paw" ends badly, a twist would make it end well, right? And since things that are good here are bad in the Twilight Zone, then wouldn't things that are bad here be good there? Hell if I know. These were just some thoughts that crossed my mind.
This also made me think of other things. The main character gets a happy ending...
No, not that kind of happy ending, pervo.
He gets a happy ending, I say, but at what cost? It's possible that he technically hasn't committed murder, but has merely rewritten history and But I'm sure such a thing must be damaging to one's soul, or psyche, or something. I sure wouldn't be resting easy if I'd done such a thing no matter how much better off everyone was because of it.
Well, it was fun to think about, but since I'm not God and don't have access to any of His tools, I don't reckon I need to worry about it.
February 25, 2021
There are some stories that should be short stories and some that should be novels or novellas. That is, some ideas hinge on a single twist or concept or character and the brevity becomes part of the impact of the story. Other ideas require flesh—King, a master of overfleshiness—rarely underfleshes his stories, but this is one of them. Word Processor of the Gods is an intriguing premise that’s over all-too-quickly.
The story hinges on relationships and there’s not enough time for readers to get to know the characters or understand the relationships between the characters. In brief, the main character comes upon a word processor that has the ability to affect reality. Disenchanted with his family, he quickly writes them out of existence. It’s the type of story that needs time to develop and with little time to get to know the characters, we don’t care about their loss or understand why the main character was disenchanted with them. Expand this into a novella—maybe in a Bachman style—and it would be great.
The story hinges on relationships and there’s not enough time for readers to get to know the characters or understand the relationships between the characters. In brief, the main character comes upon a word processor that has the ability to affect reality. Disenchanted with his family, he quickly writes them out of existence. It’s the type of story that needs time to develop and with little time to get to know the characters, we don’t care about their loss or understand why the main character was disenchanted with them. Expand this into a novella—maybe in a Bachman style—and it would be great.
July 25, 2020
Specyficzne, ale ciekawe opowiadanie. Richard, który jest zgorzkniałą osobą, otrzymuje w spadku pewną maszynę, która została zbudowana z różnych części. Jednak to nie jest zwykła maszyna, ponieważ wpływa ona na rzeczywistość. Można tak naprawdę dzięki niej zmienić jak również stworzyć wszystko.
Ciężko jest czasami oceniać krótkie opowiadania, ponieważ zanim człowiek wdroży się to już cała historia ma swoje zakończenie. Na początku miałam kłopot, żeby właśnie wczuć się w tę historię i dopiero gdzieś przy połowie zaczynałam to wszystko rozumieć. Pomysł był ciekawy, ale mam takie poczucie, że można było jeszcze lepiej ten potencjał wykorzystać - miałam niedosyt.
Ciężko jest czasami oceniać krótkie opowiadania, ponieważ zanim człowiek wdroży się to już cała historia ma swoje zakończenie. Na początku miałam kłopot, żeby właśnie wczuć się w tę historię i dopiero gdzieś przy połowie zaczynałam to wszystko rozumieć. Pomysł był ciekawy, ale mam takie poczucie, że można było jeszcze lepiej ten potencjał wykorzystać - miałam niedosyt.
November 23, 2009
King's short story in one overarching way mirrors Under the Dome. The short story was also made into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Under the Dome A Novel
Under the Dome A Novel
April 26, 2010
Really enjoyed this short take by Stephen King which let us fear the worst before coming to an intriguing climax.
February 9, 2013
EPIC! xD
August 9, 2015
so much feels in the end. good one
October 19, 2017
Pretty cool idea, fun short read
August 27, 2019
This is an excellent place for a noob to start in the SK universe :)
June 25, 2020
Good story with a perfect ending, which I don't often say in regards to a Stephen King tale. Usually you get one or the other.
January 1, 2022
Loved the way this one ended: darkly wholesome with an albeit predictable outcome, yet it still brings comfort. Yes, some things do work out for the good guys in the end.
September 13, 2022
I'm not sure if I'm happy for the main character or if I despise him.
September 20, 2024
Overview: A failed author turned teacher gets a gift from his brilliant nephew, a word processor that once he starts using things around him change drastically.
Thoughts: I really liked the idea of this short story. It gave me dark matter vibes and it was so cool I wish I had the word processor but the ending was odd it was good but odd the way it just ended feeling as if there could still be a page or two more. Anyway 3.5 stars out of 5, it entertained me enough to finish it. It helped that it was short too but duh lol.
Thoughts: I really liked the idea of this short story. It gave me dark matter vibes and it was so cool I wish I had the word processor but the ending was odd it was good but odd the way it just ended feeling as if there could still be a page or two more. Anyway 3.5 stars out of 5, it entertained me enough to finish it. It helped that it was short too but duh lol.
April 17, 2020
Richard Hagstrom, a middle-aged writer; he is not happy with his life. His tyrannical wife Lena, his disrespectful teenage son Seth, his abusive nrother Roger. But he is ok with histeenage nephew Jonathan who had a tragic fate of him and his mother Belinda. Richard somehiw found a word processor which happened to do mysterious thing on itself. It's that word processor machine by which he want to rewrite his life again...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews