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Gwendy's Button Box + "The Music Room"
The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told... until now.
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day charity game.
One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...
Journey back to Castle Rock again in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December. This book will be a Cemetery Dance Publications exclusive with no other editions currently planned anywhere in the world!
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day charity game.
One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...
Journey back to Castle Rock again in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December. This book will be a Cemetery Dance Publications exclusive with no other editions currently planned anywhere in the world!
3 pages, Audible Audio
Published May 16, 2017
6 people are currently reading
519 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,574 books886k 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 110 reviews
June 4, 2017
Hell yes! This was an afternoon of audio delight. I'll read it in print someday because I'm a completest, but I am very glad that I got absorbed into this novella by way of Audible and the narration by the fantastically wonderful Maggie Siff, who I grew to love on Sons of Anarchy: 
And the story! It was just..so Stephen Kingly. I mean.... And Castle Rock, circa 1970s. It was like going home.....
I should also add that the bonus story "The Music Room" was enjoyable in its own right. Creepy and short, it was a nice added bit to the package. As was the short interview with the authors, King and Chizmar.
I hope to see more of these kind of things. With the Dark Tower movie coming out this year and the new version of It and this Mist tv show, there's a lot to look forward to in the Kingiverse. Stories like this just wet the appetite almost as much as a gunslinger burrito.
And the story! It was just..so Stephen Kingly. I mean.... And Castle Rock, circa 1970s. It was like going home.....
I should also add that the bonus story "The Music Room" was enjoyable in its own right. Creepy and short, it was a nice added bit to the package. As was the short interview with the authors, King and Chizmar.
I hope to see more of these kind of things. With the Dark Tower movie coming out this year and the new version of It and this Mist tv show, there's a lot to look forward to in the Kingiverse. Stories like this just wet the appetite almost as much as a gunslinger burrito.
June 24, 2019
A really creative idea in the right hands is pure pleasure to read! I think bizarre thoughts and situations pop into our head all the time, but rarely do we sit and write the story, stretch our brain to see where the idea will take us. This story struck me like that. King had a bizarre, passing thought, then made a short novel out of it.
What would you do if you had a button box? One that called you to use it? One that could do good and horrible evil? One button for every continent, one button for the world, and a red button for your imagination.
The music box was tacked on to the end of this, which I wasn’t expecting, but who doesn’t like a creepy short story to bookend a novella?
What would you do if you had a button box? One that called you to use it? One that could do good and horrible evil? One button for every continent, one button for the world, and a red button for your imagination.
The music box was tacked on to the end of this, which I wasn’t expecting, but who doesn’t like a creepy short story to bookend a novella?
January 7, 2019
Прекрасни са и двете. Който не ги харесва, значи няма вкус :)
August 24, 2018
I realized I never reviewed this in October 2017. I enjoyed it! It was weird enough, creepy enough, quirky enough to be a King story and it was nice and short. Very enjoyable.
May 5, 2020
Really enjoyed this story. Clearly a great combination of writers!
May 31, 2023
I listened to this on audio and it is very short but a nice little bonus was an interview with King and Chizmar at the end.
March 11, 2020
Gwendy's Button Box is a story with tremendous promise that just kind of fizzled out and ended too quickly and neatly. The setting, characters, and atmosphere all have the feeling of vintage King and the tension in this story builds right up to the ending where none of that build-up pays off.
I remember that moment when, having read through S.K.'s Dark Tower series, I arrived at the final sequence and King wrote a teasing warning to all of us Constant Readers, saying that the story had reached a decent stopping point and we could put it down and walk away and that would be okay. Though, if you really want to know what became of Roland, you could read on, but be warned that the ending might not be what you're expecting.
I enjoyed that ending. I felt it paid the series off. This one? Not so much.
Gwendy parlayed this novella into another novel (and maybe a series) of her own, so maybe the larger story will pay off down the line, because this feels like the first third of a story - all set up, no ending.
-------------------------------------
Long(ish) story short [SPOILERS AHEAD]:
I remember that moment when, having read through S.K.'s Dark Tower series, I arrived at the final sequence and King wrote a teasing warning to all of us Constant Readers, saying that the story had reached a decent stopping point and we could put it down and walk away and that would be okay. Though, if you really want to know what became of Roland, you could read on, but be warned that the ending might not be what you're expecting.
I enjoyed that ending. I felt it paid the series off. This one? Not so much.
Gwendy parlayed this novella into another novel (and maybe a series) of her own, so maybe the larger story will pay off down the line, because this feels like the first third of a story - all set up, no ending.
-------------------------------------
Long(ish) story short [SPOILERS AHEAD]:
September 20, 2020
So-so but not great. A disappointing read for a Stephen King fan.
I thought going in, with the stairs bit, 'oh! this is going to be good!'
And the idea of the button box was fun!
Actually, when I read the concept of the book, I thought of Mare Winningham in 'Button Button', which was very good. But this wasn't as interesting as that.
I have a hard time with short stories and novellas. So maybe it's just me. They aren't long enough to get that good.
I will (probably) try the next book in the series and see if that one is better.
The Music Room? Not a bonus.
I thought going in, with the stairs bit, 'oh! this is going to be good!'
And the idea of the button box was fun!
Actually, when I read the concept of the book, I thought of Mare Winningham in 'Button Button', which was very good. But this wasn't as interesting as that.
I have a hard time with short stories and novellas. So maybe it's just me. They aren't long enough to get that good.
I will (probably) try the next book in the series and see if that one is better.
The Music Room? Not a bonus.
December 24, 2018
3.5/5 stars. I didn't realize this was a novella when I started listening to it. While I enjoyed the story, it felt incomplete. Because it was an audiobook, at first I actually didn't realize it had even ended; I thought The Music Box was a continuation of Gwendy's Button Box and kept waiting for it to tie in. I only realized my error when the final music started playing and the credits started. Not my favourite book by King.
September 17, 2020
Stories like this are Stephen King at his best. When he's not trying too hard to make the reader uncomfortable, this is when he publishes his really good stuff. Don't get me wrong, King is a brilliant author, but I feel like he takes the disturbing stuff too far sometimes (looking at you
It )
That being said, it wasn't until the end that I realized that this was a tag-team writing effort. So, I'm even more impressed! King and Richard Chizmar wrote this in a back and froth manner in a month.
Without getting into too much detail about Gwendy's Button Box, I'll say that we follow Gwendy growing up from junior high through college graduation and her special burden. Even though this is a novella, Gwendy is a naturally sussed out character. Thankfully, because the story is all from her perspective.
If you like metaphysical and such, there's a good chance that you'll enjoy Gwendy's Button Box.
The Music Room - meh.
It )
That being said, it wasn't until the end that I realized that this was a tag-team writing effort. So, I'm even more impressed! King and Richard Chizmar wrote this in a back and froth manner in a month.
Without getting into too much detail about Gwendy's Button Box, I'll say that we follow Gwendy growing up from junior high through college graduation and her special burden. Even though this is a novella, Gwendy is a naturally sussed out character. Thankfully, because the story is all from her perspective.
If you like metaphysical and such, there's a good chance that you'll enjoy Gwendy's Button Box.
The Music Room - meh.
December 12, 2018
Both of these are great stories. Gwendy's Button Box is excellent and makes you wonder what you may do with such a box...and the problems that go along with it. Novela in length, it was a good story to kill a couple of hours on the road. "The Music Box" was a great story too, but just short story in length. I think I may have read it before in a collection, but I can't remember.
September 5, 2018
One of the few Stephen King works I can read. A good short story. I didn’t find anything scary at all and I’m a huge scaredy cat.
Worth a read.
Worth a read.
February 25, 2020
A great short read! Mesmerizing! You can finish it in a day or two. Plus a bonus short story that's great! I love Stephen King!
October 18, 2020
Both stories enjoyable. Good narration.
February 12, 2022
Much like a tiny a chocolate candy of mysterious origins, this story satisfies. A collaboration by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, this story takes once again to the childhood home of every reader, Castle Rock. When a man in black with the initials R.F. seeks to palaver with young Gwendy, a story about the horror of power and responsibility takes flight.
-The Music room is a delightful short(er) story thrown in as a bonus here. A heartwarming tale of a married couple in hard times.
-The Music room is a delightful short(er) story thrown in as a bonus here. A heartwarming tale of a married couple in hard times.
April 24, 2019
5 stars for the Button Box - 3 stars for the Music Room (not box). Finally, a Steven King I enjoyed. Button Box, while still not possible to be true (I think this is why I don't like Steven King, I'm unable to suspend my belief in supernatural things), really makes you think. What if *I* had that box? How would I handle that pressure, that responsibility? Could I not use it whenever I got angry? I'd like to find out, so if anyone has an actual box like this, please contact me. Thanks.
I don't even feel like reviewing the Music Room. So, I won't. 3 stars.
I don't even feel like reviewing the Music Room. So, I won't. 3 stars.
December 21, 2019
(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).
These were okay but not as good as the other works I have read by King.
These were okay but not as good as the other works I have read by King.
November 22, 2019
I read this when it came out. I remember thinking it was ok. After listening to the audio to refresh my memory before reading Gwendy's Magic Feather, it still is ok. I enjoyed it but not great or (evidently) memorable.
October 23, 2018
Not my favorite...a little contrived...a little ho-hum.
May 18, 2021
Short. This idea has been visited before.
March 25, 2022
Disappointing. The healthcare/politics/“truth” didn’t age well and is forced and dusty.
The good guys are difficult to like. I prefer to like the good guys.
Glad to finish the series.
The good guys are difficult to like. I prefer to like the good guys.
Glad to finish the series.
January 31, 2022
Ⓐⓤⓓⓘⓞⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ
"𝑮𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒚'𝒔 𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒙" + "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒎"
𝙱𝚢: Stephen King & @richard_chizmar
𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛: Maggie Siff
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @simonschusteraudio
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: May 16th 2017
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.91
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 🔘🔘🔘🔘 / 5 Buttons
Ⓢⓨⓝⓞⓟⓢⓘⓢ
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...
Ⓜⓨ Ⓣⓗⓞⓤⓖⓗⓣⓢ
We've taken a journey back to Castle Rock again in this chilling novella by the King of horror and award-winning author Richard Chizmar.
What would you do if you had a button box? One that called you to use it? One that could do good and horrible evil things? One button for every continent, one button for the world, and a red button for your imagination to use. Give you what you wanted, needed or longed for. Would you be careful how you used the power? Or would it be everyone for themselves?
I really enjoyed this clever novella by these two authors and I'm excited that a 3rd final book will be out this month! I still have to read the 2nd one but I just have a good feeling about the whole thing in general that it'll be great because it's very rare do I not love anything Stephen King writes.
I also thought the short story of "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒎" by just Stephen King was very eerie and clever as well. I also felt a little humor with it too.
"𝑮𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒚'𝒔 𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒙" + "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒎"
𝙱𝚢: Stephen King & @richard_chizmar
𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛: Maggie Siff
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @simonschusteraudio
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: May 16th 2017
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.91
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 🔘🔘🔘🔘 / 5 Buttons
Ⓢⓨⓝⓞⓟⓢⓘⓢ
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: "Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me."
On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...
Ⓜⓨ Ⓣⓗⓞⓤⓖⓗⓣⓢ
We've taken a journey back to Castle Rock again in this chilling novella by the King of horror and award-winning author Richard Chizmar.
What would you do if you had a button box? One that called you to use it? One that could do good and horrible evil things? One button for every continent, one button for the world, and a red button for your imagination to use. Give you what you wanted, needed or longed for. Would you be careful how you used the power? Or would it be everyone for themselves?
I really enjoyed this clever novella by these two authors and I'm excited that a 3rd final book will be out this month! I still have to read the 2nd one but I just have a good feeling about the whole thing in general that it'll be great because it's very rare do I not love anything Stephen King writes.
I also thought the short story of "𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒎" by just Stephen King was very eerie and clever as well. I also felt a little humor with it too.
July 3, 2019
I am a big Stephen King fan so when I saw the audio copy of a book I had never read by him, I grabbed at the chance to listen to it, and I was not disappointed. This involves a young girl who feels she is a bit chubby (her nickname is "Goodyear" at school). One day she meets up with a strange man donning a black hat, who gives her a button box --- press one of the buttons and it gives her chocolate (but she never gains weight from it), another button gives her silver dollars (that are worth tons of money) and another box that will bring about consequences to situations (she compares this button to one the president of countries might have and use only in dire emergencies), and the last -- a black button --- that she shouldn't push under any situations. She tries hiding the box, and while she keeps it secret from her family, she is growing and changing --- losing weight, getting A's in school, dating nice looking and good men, etc. The story has a very suspenseful high point, and a nice denouement. This long story is followed by a short one entitled "the Music Box" that is perfectly stephen Kingish. I liked listening to both of them and would give this 4 stars out of 5 and thumbs up to this audio book.
July 9, 2019
I listened to this on audio today and enjoyed it. It’s a collaboration between King and Richard Chizmar; there’s a short conversation between the authors at the end and basically King had started this story bout couldn’t finish it, so he told his friend Chizmar that he could do whatever he wanted to finish it and this is the result. The audiobook is narrated by Maggie Siff of Sons of Anarchy fame (Tara) and she does a great job.
Just based on the title, I thought “button box” meant a box for storing buttons, like from clothing. Turns out, a button box is a box with buttons on it, buttons like the kind you push. Ha. Of course, the button box is a source of great power and its origin is unknown. Twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson meets a mysterious man at the top of the Suicide Stairs (you can guess how they got that nickname), which she climbs every day to try to lose weight, and she becomes the box’s custodian for the next ten years.
An easy and quick listen, very satisfying in that uniquely Stephen King way.
Just based on the title, I thought “button box” meant a box for storing buttons, like from clothing. Turns out, a button box is a box with buttons on it, buttons like the kind you push. Ha. Of course, the button box is a source of great power and its origin is unknown. Twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson meets a mysterious man at the top of the Suicide Stairs (you can guess how they got that nickname), which she climbs every day to try to lose weight, and she becomes the box’s custodian for the next ten years.
An easy and quick listen, very satisfying in that uniquely Stephen King way.
January 31, 2019
Gwendy's button box
There're lots of untold mysteries hidden in this world of ours. There're millions of secrets yet to be uncovered by mankind.
Let it be magic or anything else, it's still an unsolicited mystery lying unsolved in front of us.
This book revolves around magic & other mystical elements which have been infused into a mysterious box.
The protagonist - a young girl gets herself into a series of events & circumstances lead her to protect the box with her very life on the line. For, if it falls in the wrong hands could lead to the destruction of the world, with just a snap of a finger-second!
Language & narration is totally unique. Written & spoken from the perspective of a child. This beautiful book takes us in a journey of magic as the reader feels more like watching a movie, than reading a book. A must book for all Stephen King book lovers out there!
There're lots of untold mysteries hidden in this world of ours. There're millions of secrets yet to be uncovered by mankind.
Let it be magic or anything else, it's still an unsolicited mystery lying unsolved in front of us.
This book revolves around magic & other mystical elements which have been infused into a mysterious box.
The protagonist - a young girl gets herself into a series of events & circumstances lead her to protect the box with her very life on the line. For, if it falls in the wrong hands could lead to the destruction of the world, with just a snap of a finger-second!
Language & narration is totally unique. Written & spoken from the perspective of a child. This beautiful book takes us in a journey of magic as the reader feels more like watching a movie, than reading a book. A must book for all Stephen King book lovers out there!
February 27, 2020
Gwendy, a 12-year-old girl subject to societies rules about women, starts her journey off losing weight in Gwendy's Button Box. She doesn't want to start middle school looking like the good year blimp as her nemesis and local mean boy calls her.
I had no idea what to expect on Gwendy's journey. I didn't read any reviews in advance and I won't offer any spoilers here. I do know that I adored this story, but am left with so many questions. I'd love to see the button box show up again somewhere some day in someone else's story (eh...em...Mr. King and Mr. Chizmar).
I liked everything about this story from the characters, even the ones I hated, to the setting and the plot that could have taken a much, much worse turn than it did.
This is one of those stories I'll reread again and again. Now on to Gwendy's Magic Feather I fly...
I had no idea what to expect on Gwendy's journey. I didn't read any reviews in advance and I won't offer any spoilers here. I do know that I adored this story, but am left with so many questions. I'd love to see the button box show up again somewhere some day in someone else's story (eh...em...Mr. King and Mr. Chizmar).
I liked everything about this story from the characters, even the ones I hated, to the setting and the plot that could have taken a much, much worse turn than it did.
This is one of those stories I'll reread again and again. Now on to Gwendy's Magic Feather I fly...
June 28, 2019
Great story! Unfortunately (I guess), I had seen a movie with basically the same plot some time before. I don’t know who did it first, but this story was more enjoyable. The other went heart-breakingly dark. King (& Chizmar) toy with the reader, not surprisingly. Thought-provoking psychological, moral, sociological aspects of this changing story, give it greater impact.
The discussion with the two authors that follows adds a lot by revealing some of their process.
In this recording, a very short story (The Music Room), by King, follows. It is deliciously demented, and once again we wonder more about a people’s rationalizations for extreme behaviors, more than the actual actions.
The discussion with the two authors that follows adds a lot by revealing some of their process.
In this recording, a very short story (The Music Room), by King, follows. It is deliciously demented, and once again we wonder more about a people’s rationalizations for extreme behaviors, more than the actual actions.
February 20, 2020
Imagine a box that could destroy the world and give the bearer their desires for a price. Now hand it off to a young girl and see how she grows up. This is Gwendy's tale of responsibility.
This is a pretty short tale so I am not saying much more about it but it was a good story and very Stephen King with tragedy to a degree and a bit of a creepy vibe at times but still enjoyable as we see it unfold. The Music Room which is a little something extra is very much a creepy story set during the great depression that seems kind of normal until you realize something doesn't seem quite right with the couple relaxing in their Music Room. If you listen I hope you enjoy as much as I did. :)
This is a pretty short tale so I am not saying much more about it but it was a good story and very Stephen King with tragedy to a degree and a bit of a creepy vibe at times but still enjoyable as we see it unfold. The Music Room which is a little something extra is very much a creepy story set during the great depression that seems kind of normal until you realize something doesn't seem quite right with the couple relaxing in their Music Room. If you listen I hope you enjoy as much as I did. :)
February 23, 2022
This was a short but interesting story by Stephen King. It was a quick and easy read, however the irony of liberal writers don't make sense. He says the "republicans" in Maine don't want to spend money to take down the suicide steps, but if he knew his history he'd know that back in the 1970's, dangerous things like staircases, abandoned buildings, trees, etc were prevented from being removed by preservation societies, which most often were either political middle of the road, or, left leaning. A small by important detail he missed...still a good story an abrupt ending, but knowing that it was a collaboration it makes sense since King does tend to tie up all loose ends in detail.
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