Cztery po północy. Langoliery

Four Past Midnight #1

by Stephen King, Roch Siemianowski (Translator), Wojciech Żołądkowicz (Narrator)

Z tomu Cztery po północy

Minipowieść, na podstawie której nakręcono serial Pożeracze czasu.

Zapraszamy na pokład!

Dziesięć osób budzi się w czasie lotu z Los Angeles do Bostonu i odkrywa, że wszyscy pozostali zniknęli z pokładu, również załoga. Na szczęście wśród ocalałych pasażerów jest pilot i choć nie udaje mu się nawiązać kontaktu z żadnym z lotnisk – jakby ludność Ziemi w tajemniczy sposób zniknęła – lądują w Bangor. Port lotniczy sprawia jednak wrażenie wymarłego. A jedyne istoty, jakie się tam pojawiają, są niezwykle żarłoczne. Pochłaniają wszystko, co znajduje się na ich drodze.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Short Stories, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published September 24, 1990

About the author

Stephen 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.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shooting stars only! This is one of the most terrifying mixtures of sci-fi meets horror I ever read. Brian is flying to Boston since he got notice that his ex-wife has died. It's Flight 29. In the early morning only a handful of passengers is left in the 767. Where is the rest? Why can fillings, clamps and purses be found on the seats? At first Brian, an aircraft captain, thinks there must have been an accident. But something worse is waiting for them. One of the passengers, Craig Toomy calls them "Langoliers". What are those things and is there a possibility to fly out of this nightmare come true? This page turning novella is completely off the wall: Gaps in time, Mary Celeste mentioned, terrible monsters. When you enter this flight you're into a roller coaster trip of horror. Definitely no cure against fear of flying. You will also find this story in the anthology Four Past Midnight. Absolutely recommended. A modern classic!

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 re-read:

Heh, I'm an idiot. You see, I read this book back in 2016 when I was young (*cough*) and stupid. Not only did I not enjoy it, I have even gone so far as to mention it frequently as an example of SK books that are crap. Well, it is not. Oops?

We are reading King's collection Four Past Midnight in one of my groups right now. And I've been in the mood for something that takes place on an airplane or at an airport for quite some time now, so I thought, let's give it another try. Thank God my idiocy is not permanent. Apparently. Because this was fun.

A couple of people wake up during a commercial flight from LA to Boston and realize that while they were sleeping the crew and the other passengers have disappeared. What has happened? Well, that's the question, and as long as the answer isn't clear this story is super intriguing. To speculate about this was a lot of fun. Because I'm not only an idiot, I have also the ability to completely wipe any story from my memory.

It's true that when we are getting the answers, leave the land of sanity behind for a while and the whole thing is less and less grounded in reality the book isn't great. Or maybe it is just less enjoyable to me because of personal preferences. But when the characters are trying to find a way out of their situation and the story is nearing its conclusion I was again enjoying myself quite a bit. And the ending is actually rather cool.

So, yeah, I've changed my mind about this one.

3.5 stars. And I'm even rounding it up.

Now I'm curious to see what I'll be thinking about the other story that I've already read/rated/reviewed and if that will end up being less embarrassing.


Old idiotic review:

I once owned the paperback edition of this one but gave it away.

What the blurb doesn’t mention is that this is a collection of two stories. In addition to Langoliers it also contains Secret Window, Secret Garden (King’s collection Four Past Midnight, in which both stories are included along with The Sun Dog and The Library Police wasn’t available in German until 2016 – a mere 26 years after its original publication).

My rating is only for Langoliers (322 pages), which has been a huge letdown for me at the time. Back in 2016 this was only the second Stephen King novel I had ever read - the first one being Needful Things. Well, I love Needful Things and thought that Langoliers was crap. A sign of things to come for my relationship with this author.

Of course I very much enjoyed Secret Window, Secret Garden then and couldn’t make up my mind how to rate the book as a whole. So, I didn’t. Like I said, the blurb doesn’t even mention the second story and I guess it isn’t included in the original language edition either.

So, all this to say that I think that Langoliers sucked. And that my rating for the other story is to be found somewhere else.

Sorry.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Strange Plight of Flight 29."

THE LANGOLIERS....the bad something....had come. Too bad for exhausted 43 year old Captain Brian Engle who just flew flagship service from Tokyo to LAX amidst strong headwinds and a dangerous pressurization problem that developed during the latter part of the flight. Ready to hit the sack with his pounding headache, the Captain is shocked by tragic news that requires he immediately fly from LAX to Boston. As a deadheading passenger....luckily he can sleep.

Now at 36 thousand feet going 500 miles per hour over mid-America, Flight 29 experiences a strange otherworldly phenomenon and another shock for Captain Engle and a few passengers as they awaken.

THE LANGOLIERS are deadly creepy-crawling munchkins that you need to avoid....if you want to live.

From 1989, an entertaining Stephen King ride into the unknown......

[Chris Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I waded my way through this compact and thrilling novella, I couldn’t help but feel absorbed by the terror and helplessness of the diverse personalities onboard the cross-country flight. Even though I thoroughly enjoy every Stephen King book I get my hands on, this one hit a bit different for me. It has all of the spine-tingling bits, stab-stab situations, and humor that you have come to expect, but the overall premise is where it shines.

// A group of people board a red-eye flight are traveling from Cali to Boston. Some of them fall asleep, and when they wake up, the world is not as they left it when they drifted off. //

When I think of horror onboard a plane (or just about every time I look out onto the wing of a plane when I fly), my mind instantly drifts to Richard Matheson’s short story, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." It’s a classic story that plays with your emotions (and sanity) in a claustrophobic setting. Now, in the Langoliers, instead of crazed clowns or residents becoming vampires, these passengers are being stalked by something much more sinister. They are being ***** by a ***** in a ***** and ultimately end up *****. Wait, you didn’t think I would spoil the plot, right? Well, in all seriousness, there is not much to spoil, and if I told you what happens, I think you might just shrug and say "I’ll pass," but you would be missing out on a fun little story.

// “Brian realized that they were unzipping more than the world - they were opening all the depths of forever.” //

I do not want to talk about the story too much because I believe it is so much more fun to try and decipher what is happening as you go, but it basically follows a rag-tag group of passengers as they try and find out what is happening to them as something goes awry during their flight. We have an author, a pilot, a visually impaired girl, and a few other colorful characters who make their way through some bewilderment, shocking situations, and life-altering choices. One by one, each passenger gets a moment to air their theory on what is going on and ultimately decide if they are going to help or harm the situation. At this point, you might be thinking (and I did the same) that the passengers are just going to be attacked by some overtly strange creature and the plane will be brought down. It was a fleeting thought for me because this is King we are talking about here; it’s going to have that extra bit of symbolism and uncanny creative flair tacked on.

──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗── Mile high club ──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──

**This next bit does not spoil much, but I thought I would just throw that warning out there just in case.** Not all of the tension happens at 30,000 feet. The passengers eventually land in an airport that is deserted and have to try and figure out why nobody is around. Now, I have to think that at the time, this was pretty ground-breaking stuff. We have had an incredible amount of single-location, escape-style stories in the past few years, but this one is just so much fun, and original to boot!

──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗── Beach balls? ──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──

The Langoliers. What are they? Well, that would be a spoiler, but I love the fact that they are just an entity, nothing flashy; they just get down to business. Not unlike Michael Myers.

// “All the outside world beyond” //

All in all, I really had a fun time with this book. I mean, some of the characters are downright despicable and take advantage of others, but there is quite a bit of heartwarming material that elevates the doom and gloom. The time in the air and on the ground was refreshingly simple and not bogged down with clever explanations and exposition. It could easily be a Twilight Zone episode. You know what? It is all coming full circle. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was a Twilight Zone episode that featured (pause) a (pause) decent (pause) performance (pause) by the one and only William Shatner.

****Hopefully, ya got the joke. The pauses were an ode to his incredible acting style. 😁 ****

──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗── Extra 📝’s ──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──

●○ Andromeda Strain (one of my faves), Sherlock, and Poirot references. - GOLD
●○ Favorite character, and it’s not even a contest, is Dinah.
●○ What the Langoliers represent – Clever.
●○ The ending was surprisingly exactly what I expected.
●○ First half - 😲
●○ Middle - 🧐
●○ End - 🤯

──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗── 🎵🎵 Music queues 🎵🎵 ──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──

●○ AC/DC - Highway to Hell
●○ Spiritbox – Eternal Blue
●○ Copeland – I Think I’m Safer on An Airplane
●○ Vola – These Black Claws
●○ Caskets – Falling Apart
●○ Deftones - Passenger

──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗── 4 ★'s ──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once had a student ask me, "If Shakespeare is such a great writer, why does he use so many cliches?" I tried very hard to hide the hilarity bubbling up in my gut while I explained with the straightest face possible that it was actually Shakespeare who had in fact written those expressions first. I'm reminded of that conversation when I think about The Langoliers and it's continued relevance to sci-fi/horror literature today.

In the three decades following its publication, The Langoliers' basic plotline--a passenger plane flies through a time rift into a dangerous alternative reality--has become somewhat of a postmodern template for sci-fi authors and filmmakers. It's so recognizable to us now that identifying the potential for a time rift or an alternate reality in a novel or film is something my daughter could do at age 6. So the most important point to make here is that in 1990 when King wrote this novella, shows such as Lost and the The X-Files hadn't even premiered. Yet today, I'm sure we could all rattle off dozens of other popular shows and novels since the 90's which have employed time rifts and alternative realities on multiple occasions. The Langoliers, however, set the stage, popularizing these ideas as plot vehicles before most people even had an email account.

I have suggested to many friends over the years that if they want a short, accessible introduction to King's genius they should start with The Langoliers, and every few years or so I reread it again myself. There's lots to appreciate--a great balance of characters trapped in an atmosphere which is so unsettling that you actually start feeling compelled to start checking the air around yourself to make sure it still has a normal smell...to start straining your ears to make sure nothing is crackling in the dark. But ultimately, the truest test has already been administered--The Langoliers gave rise to what has become a recognizable pattern...an journey archetypal in today's literature. Any story so widely imitated surely deserves its due.

Of course readers born after its publication will find the basic premise old hat, but it's certainly worth taking the time to appreciate the hatter who made it so. And not to worry, beyond the premise itself, the monsters in this one--in all their wheeling, ripping hunger--are absolutely terrifying, and I've yet to see them equaled.

[Helga چـو ایـران نباشد تن من مـباد · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

It was about time to read something that wasn’t Nabokov, Beckett or Ernaux.

I had watched the miniseries The Langoliers (1995) many years ago, so I knew what the book was about, but still it managed to chill my blood, but in a good way, which is the specialty of Stephen King and no one else!

Imagine falling asleep on an airplane only to wake up and encounter an empty cabin; all the passengers except a few have vanished, leaving their belongings behind.
Imagine looking down through the airplane windows and see darkness where a city’s lights should be seen.
That is what happened to the plane and the ten passengers in the story.
Where are all the other passengers? Why did they vanish?

Special thanks to Chris for suggesting I listen to the audio book version narrated by Willem Dafoe! It was a treat!

[Kostas Papadatos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μισώ τα αεροπλάνα, αλήθεια τα μισώ πολύ. Προτιμώ να κλειστώ σε έναν υπόνομο και να τρώω κλαδιά και μούρα μέχρι τα βαθιά γεράματα παρά να επιβιβαστώ σε κάποιο από αυτά τα ιπτάμενα διαβολοαντικείμενα. Αδέλφια Ράιτ…σας ψάχνω. Αν ήταν στο χέρι μου, οι μετακινήσεις θα πραγματοποιούνταν ακόμα με γαϊδουράκια και θα έκανα τα πάντα να σαμποτάρω την εφεύρεση του τροχού.
Το βιβλίο λοιπόν ξύπνησε τους χειρότερους εφιάλτες μου, δεν φτάνει που εξαφανίστηκαν ως δια μαγείας οι περισσότεροι επιβάτες της πτήσης, δεν φτάνει που εξαφανίστηκε και ο πιλότος ανάμεσα σε αυτούς (νταξ), αλλά δημιουργήθηκε και μια ρωγμή στο χρόνο που έχει φέρει τα πάνω κάτω στον κόσμο όπως τον γνωρίζουμε γενικότερα. Ρε King? To τερμάτισες, γιατί δεν έβαζες και έναν καμικάζι αυτοκτονίας μέσα? Πως σου ξέφυγε? Το θέμα του βιβλίου? Πρωτότυπο, δεδομένου βέβαια και της εποχής που εκδόθηκε, όπου ο κόσμος διψούσε για sci-fi θεάματα.
Οι ήρωες μας? Όλων των ειδών, ο νταής, ο κρυψίνους, ο από μηχανής θεός, ο αδιάφορος , η << i see dead people>>, ο ουδεμία σχέση έχω με την υπόθεση και φυσικά ο μαλάκας της παρέας. Η πλοκή? Απρόβλεπτη, από την πρώτη μέχρι την τελευταία σελίδα δεν γνωρίζεις τι και πως. Κλασικός King. Ότι πρέπει για τις γιορτές.

Υ.Γ. Η ιδέα μου ή η σειρά Lost είναι η τραβηγμένη από τα μαλλιά εκδοχή, της Νυχτερινής Πτήσης?

[AziaMinor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall Rating : A+

“He remembered a pilot telling him once, 'They pay us a hundred thousand dollars or more a year, Brian, and they really do it for just one reason. They know that in almost every pilot's career, there are thirty or forty seconds when he might actually make a difference. They pay us not to freeze when those seconds finally come.”

You know, for a time I was one of those people who heard everyone raving about Stephen King and think, "Is he really that good?", and "Surely people are exaggerating." and, "I don't think his books are for me I'll never read them." Now here I am, loving the few books I have read and bashing myself on the head for ever doubting.

This book was so intense, so terrifying in a freezing way(if that makes sense), that I felt like I was part of the crew experiencing it with them. You relate so much to all of the characters, admire and judge and horrified by them as well, and it makes you really feel what exactly they are experiencing.

And that ending - "chef's kiss" - it made me experience a higher plan of living. Nothing I can think of can compare, it was amazing. It really puts a lot of things in perspective and I never would've imagine a book less than 300 pages doing that.

Also, if I see anybody ripping up pieces of paper like this, I'm going in the opposite direction. XD

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this novella not knowing anything about it before going in, and that was the way to do it. I thought it was so riveting and had so much mystery to unfurl.

All the characters were unique and despite the book being 233 pages at the end I felt like I knew them in a fully developed novel. Dinah had an interesting arc and I did predict how her and Craig's plot would play out; it was still interesting to see and very much deserved. I believe these characters will all remain very close after all the catharsis. It's like a found family story: I really love how it wound up.

At first the Langoliers seemed a little silly looking based off their descriptions but all told in this alternate reality what's the rules saying they can't look and behave like that. It grew on me.

*spoilers*
I also found the idea of traveling back in time and watching the langoliers eat the past world and watching it crumble around them and turn to darkness to be interesting. I never thought the past could still exist just to be destroyed by an entity but in another realm its still there waiting to be deleted.

I do have 2 issues with the novella which kept me from giving it a 5/5

How did Albert know about increasing the pressure in the plane so they all passed out? He's 17 and obviously not a pilot so how did he come up with this idea but the actual pilot didn't?

Also I know using Craig Toomey as bait for The Langoliers was Dinah's plan but if I were one of those other passengers that fool would have been dead the first time. He never would have gotten another change to damage the party with how blatantly psychotic as he was.

[Stratos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετική αφήγηση του Βασιλιά δικαιώνει τον χαρακτηρισμό του. Βασιλιάς του γραψίματος!

[Erin Clemence · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a red eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, ten passengers awaken mid-flight and discover that everyone else on their plane has completely disappeared, leaving only their identifications and various pieces of abandoned jewelry behind. Luckily, there is a pilot left among the leftover passengers, but he discovers something even more sinister- there appears to be nothing left on the ground either; it seems as if the entire world is being swallowed up below them. Cranky passenger Craig Toomey believes they are falling prey to the “Langoliers”, a creature that haunted his childhood that feasts on the “lazy” and “unproductive” of society. The remaining passengers all have different ideas on what has happened and what they should do next, and they all must avoid turning on each other as they face an unusual foe.

Stephen King’s “The Langoliers” was originally published as part of a collection in the 1990s, and was recently published in 2019 as its own delightful story.

There are a lot of characters in this novel, with similar names and personalities, they are initially hard to differentiate (Brian, the pilot and Bob, the author, are just two). But as the ten remaining passengers develop, they form their own personalities and, as is prevalent in King’s novels, some are extremely likable, and there are those that are very much less so.

The Langoliers are a creepy, round-shaped entity that demolish land, buildings and people alike, destroying anything in its way and turning it into a vast emptiness. What started as a creepy story told to Craig by his demanding father, comes to life in the scariest of ways, in pure King fashion. For the majority of the novel there are merely hinted at, described as crunching, static-type noises in the background, and they only make their appearance toward the very end of the novel, heightening the suspense to its very peak.

I prefer King’s original, 1990s era novels, right when he was hitting his stride, to some of his newer novels (although I am a huge King fan either way) and “The Langoliers” is exactly the kind of King novel I love. As it was initially published as part of a collection, it isn’t massively thick, making it completely readable.

Great characters, suspenseful storytelling, and eerie “things that go bump in the night” are pure King, and this novel is downright scary enjoyment from page one.

[Trudi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the years this has remained one of my favorite pieces of King's writing. In a phrase, IT IS AWESOME. The first time you read it there is so much mystery, tension, what the bleep mindfuck going on that it literally keeps you on the edge of your seat. As a science fiction story, I proclaim it a classic.

You really want to come to this novella completely blind, because the reveals are so rewarding you don't want to be robbed of them early. But I have discovered upon subsequent re-reads (and now my first "listen") that the story has legs no matter what you know or don't know when you begin it. As with The Long Walk, there are rewards every single time I read this story.

This isn't King at his most emotional or epic -- this is King at his most cut-throat, imaginative storytelling best. He is having delirious fun taking a group of people and putting them in an unknowable, impossible situation. He has created a locked room mystery -- a puzzle -- with a very real and logical solution, but I bet you five dollars he'll keep you guessing to the very end!!

This story is such kick-ass, high-octane energy you will fly through the pages and come out the end grinning like a monkey. I just love it.

[A word on the reader: Willem Defoe is pretty awesome except for the voice he uses when speaking for Bethany. Ahhhhh! Nails on a chalkboard. He makes her sound like an 80 year old Fran Drescher who's smoked and drank whiskey her whole life!]

[Nikoleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Τα ταξίδια στον χρόνο είναι ένα θέμα το οποίο με συναρπάζει. Έχω δει αμέτρητες ταινίες και έχω διαβάσει πολλά βιβλία. Όλα πάνω κάτω έχουν την ίδια άποψη επί του θέματος. Όσον αφορά το παρελθόν το μόνο που αλλάζει είναι το αν μπορείς ή όχι να αλλάξεις την ιστορία και αν ότι κάνεις σε ένα ταξίδι σου θα έχει επίπτωση στο παρόν. Φίλε όμως όχι! Ο Stephen King σιγά μην έμενε εκεί! Πριιιιτς! Δημιουύργησε μια σχισμή στο χρόνο, πέρασε τους ήρωες του απο εκει και ιδού! Έχουν βρεθεί σε μια νεκρή παγωμένη στιγμή στο παρελθόν, που τα πάντα έχουν παλιώσει κ τίποτα δεν λειτουργεί, ούτε ο αέρας, ούτε καν ο ήχος δεν ταξιδεύει! Μια νεκρή παγωμένη στιγμή που περιμένει να γίνει απλώς το… «τίποτα». Γουαου! Τι σημασία έχει να περιγράψω το ύφος ή την αφήγηση ή τους χαρακτήρες; (Αν κ όλα ήταν μια χαρά. Δράση αγωνιά, χωρίς περιττά σχόλια και περιγραφές.) Stephen King μας άφησες *&^%$#@! Πολύ καλό!!

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not one of my favorite of King's work, The Langoliers is a well paced story. It's real gift is in the character development. They start out like a dozen or so people we all know in our lives. As the circumstances become clearer we see each transform into their better and worse selves. As for round creatures with super sharp rotating teeth, whose purpose is to eat the past. All I can say is heck why not, it's a King story after all.

[Φίλιππος ²³ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Από τα καλά του Κινγκ, και όλως περιέργως χωρίς πολλή από την κλασική του ��λυαρία!!! Σε κρατάει σε αγωνία μέχρι το τέλος! Απολαυστικό!

[سارة سمير · Rating 4 out of 5]

“you must be careful each time you step out of your door, because your front walk is really a road, and the road leads ever onward. If you aren’t careful, you’re apt to find yourself… well… simply swept away, a stranger in a strange land with no clue as to how you got there.”

تجربة مثيرة جدا وممتعة بتفاصيل اقل من المعتاد مع كينج
تركيبة الشخصيات وتغيراتهم اثناء الاحداث كانت سلسة جدا
رحلة مغامرة عبر الزمن ��ع ركاب طائرة 29 المتجهة الى بوسطن
تجربة مختلفة وفكرة جديدة لنرى ما يحدث للماضي وما ينتظر حدوثه للمستقبل
شخصية مستر كريغ تومي كانت معقدة نفسيا جدا ووترني طول الاحداث

في المجمل القصة لطيفة اوي وسلسة وفكرتها جديدة
ودي كانت اول قصة في مجموعة Four Past Midnight
وفي انتظار تجربة الثلاثة اللي بعدها

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

You remember that first time as an adult when you watched an old Hanna-Barbera cartoon that you loved as a kid and you almost choked to death from hoarking up some stomach acid because you just discovered that you spent like 12 years of your life being a total dumbfuck?

That's The Langoliers.

I loved The Langoliers when I was a kid. And even today, creepy airplane stories just do it for me. So, with fall happening, this seemed like a perfect time to revisit a story I've loved for 20 years, but haven't read for a second time. If Lango still hit my shiver-button, my plan was to take a two-month journey down Joe Hill's Daddy's Memory Lane. So far, so THHHHHBBBBTTTTT.

Man, this was disappointing. The first third is still sufficiently creepy, with Stevie Boy adequately expressing the dread that comes with waking up on a plane to nowhere and finding most of your fellow passengers vaporized. As long as the characters remain confused and scared, so does the reader. The problem, and this is a factor in damn near every King story I've read over the last 15 years, is that EVENTUALLY, shit has to make some sense. WHOOPS. Explanation isn't one of Uncle Stevie's strengths.

But we kind of know that going in, right? So I was willing to accept a certain level of WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?-ness at the end of this. Which, obviously, happened because STEPHEN KING. Whatever.

No, the big problem I had with this was that the characters are just sooooo precious. They all have their signature quirk, and they all have this uncanny ability to connect dots when there isn't even an obvious puzzle before them. It's pretty irritating. Dammit, Stevie, why you gotta break my heart so bad?

Oh well. On to Salem's Lot, I guess.

[Μπάμπης M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10. Από τα καλά του King. Το συστήνω σε κάθε βιβλιόφιλο που αρέσκεται στο μυστήριο,αγωνιά, επιστημονική φαντασία και τρόμο. Δεν θέλω να πω άλλα μην σποιλάρω...Διαβάστε το!

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rezi: folgt

[ΔΕΣΠΟΙΝΑ Ντρέκη · Rating 5 out of 5]

Δεν φοβάμαι τα αεροπλάνα, αντιθέτως μου αρέσει πολύ να ταξιδεύω με αυτά. Σε αντίθεση με τον συγγραφέα που το έχει δηλώσει ότι τα τρέμει. Και σε αυτό το βιβλίο φαίνεται μάλλον γιατί τα φοβάται.Είναι ένα βιβλίο θρίλερ επιστημονικής φαντασίας, που αυτοί που φοβούνται ήδη τα αεροπλάνα θα δικαιωθούν. Αναφέρεται σε μια συγκεκριμένη πτήση την 29 που ταξιδεύει από το Λος Άντζελες για Βοστώνη και στην πορεία του συμβαίνουν απίστευτα πράγματα. Τα πιο απίστευτα όμως συμβαίνουν αφού προσγειωθούν, οι εναπομείναντες επιβάτες, σε έναν έρημο κόσμο και έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με τους Λανγκολιέρους. Τι είναι οι Λανγκολιέροι και που θα φτάσουν κι αν φτάσουν στον προορισμό τους οι επιβάτες, θα το ανακαλύψετε αφού το διαβάσετε. Περιττό βέβαια να σας πω ότι μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Das Ullstein-Taschenbuch enthält zwei Geschichten, die in der amerikanischen Originalausgabe FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT enthalten sind: LANGOLIERS und DAS HEIMLICHE FENSTER, DER HEIMLICHE GARTEN. Nicht aufgenommen wurden, sicherlich aus Platzgründen (immerhin hat die OA ca. 1000 Seiten) die beide Stories "Der Bibliothekspolizist" und "Zeitraffer". Den Originaltitel erwähne ich, weil er passend untertitelt ist: Right time, wrong place.

1. LANGOLIERS
Ein Linienflugzeug wird während eines Nachtflugs aus dem Raum-Zeit-Kontinuum katapultiert und fliegt durch eine Welt, die in zunehmender Auflösung begriffen ist. Nur die wenigen Passagiere, die während der Transition geschlafen haben, überleben. Alle anderen sind spurlos verschwunden. Wie es den Überlebenden ergeht, schildert King in dieser Story.
King selbst weist im Roman auf Vorbilder hin: Die Geschichte der MARY CELESTE sowie die Legenden, die sich um das Bermuda-Dreieck Ranken (Charles Berlitz).
Das Setting ist unheimlich und hat mir gut gefallen, es erinnert an die guten alten Folgen von TWILIGHT ZONE oder OUTER LIMITS, allerdings ist LANGOLIERS aufgrund seiner Länge von über 300 Seiten ein Roman und somit zigmal länger als die Episoden aus den vorgenannten Serien. Der Lesespaß hat bei mir aufgrund der Länge im letzten Drittel leider etwas nachgelassen.
Wie immer punktet das Romanpersonal, auch hier gibt es die für King "typischen" Frauencharaktere, die eben gar nicht so typisch und eindimensional beschrieben werden. Kommt bei King überhaupt irgendwo die klassische Damsel in Distress vor? Und wir haben auch wieder ein Mädchen, hier sogar blind und mit übernatürlichen Fähigkeiten begabt, das einen gewaltigen Einfluss auf das Geschehen nimmt. Kings taffe, oft auch tragische Mädchenfiguren lassen grüßen. Und die Männer sind erfreulicherweise längst keine Helden, sondern müssen mit ihren Ängsten und Dämonen umgehen.
Am interessantesten ist King der abstoßende Bösewicht Toomy geglückt: Von Kindesbeinen an von Vater und Mutter drangsaliert, wächst er zu einem Erwachsenen heran, der nur an sich denken kann und seinen moralischen Kompass gänzlich verloren hat. Toomy tut einem leid und zugleich wünscht man sich, er möge verschwinden, so, wie die Langoliers, mit den der Vater den kleinen Toomy verschreckt hat, wenn er nicht spurte, die Welt verschwinden lassen; sie in Streifen reißen wie Toomy zwanghaft Papier: ritsch, ritsch, ratsch....
Und noch einen Gedanken zu Toomy, der der "heimliche Held" der Story sein könnte:
Wilhelm Reich ist in seinen Arbeiten auf die Rolle der familiären Erziehung eingegangen und darauf, wie Triebe unterdrückt werden und sich ein erstarrter Charakter daraus formt. Reich beschreibt die Charakterstruktur als erstarrte Lebensgeschichte, als Ergebnis unterdrückter Triebe. Genau das schildert King bei Toomy: Eltern, die zu keiner Zuneigung fähig waren und ein Vater, der Toomy immer zu Höchstleistungen angespornt hat, ohne auch nur einen Gedanken an die Bedürfnisse seines Sohnes zu verschwenden. Entsprechend erstarrt Toomy in seiner Entwicklung (Charakterpanzerung) und lebt nur für den einen Zweck: Immer der Beste zu sein, die Erwartungen des schon lang verstorbenen Vaters zu erfüllen und sein Leben ausschließlich dem Bankgeschäft zu widmen. Diese Erstarrung ist auch als Aufhebung der Zeit zu verstehen, für Toomy gibt es kein Gestern und kein Morgen, nur ein Heute, das von einer einzigen Aufgabe definiert ist: fleißig und die Nummer Eins zu sein. Als er zu einem selbstzerstörerischen Schlag ausholt und dem Konsortium mitteilen will, dass er ein willkürliches desaströses Aktiengeschäft getätigt hat, um so herausgeworfen zu werden und endlich frei zu sein, kommen die Langoliers ins Spiel, mit denen sein Vater immer gedroht hat. Durch sie bleibt die Zeit nun faktisch stehen und die Welt (Toomys) ist dem Untergang geweiht.
3 Sterne

2. DAS HEIMICHE FENSTER, DER HEIMLICHE GARTEN
Wenn 400 Affen 400 Jahre auf 400 Schreibmaschinen rumhämmern, ob da wohl durch reinen Zufall ein Werk von Shakespeare unter dem riesigen entstandenen Papierstapel ist?
Oder, konkreter und anders gefragt: Wie groß ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass der Schriftsteller Morton Rainey tatsächlich eine Kurzgeschichte geschrieben hat, die fast identisch ist mit einer Story eines Mr. Shooters, der ihn urplötzlich aufsucht und des Plagiats beschuldigt? Mort glaubt nachweisen zu können, dass er seine Geschichte zwei Jahre früher veröffentlicht hat, als Shooter seine geschrieben hat. Aber, und das gilt für die ganz Geschichte, es ist kompliziert. Shooter ist kein Spaßvogel und lässt daran auch keinen Zweifel aufkommen. Rainey, nach seiner Ehescheidung deprimiert und vom Writers Block geplagt, scheint dem Konflikt mit dem Mann aus Mississippi nicht gewachsen. Das Gefühl, dass Rainey mentale Probleme hat, drängt sich dem Leser früh auf. Aber wie tiefgreifend sind diese Probleme, und wie weit ist Shooter bereit zu gehen?
Viele haben vermutlich die Verfilmung mit Johnny Depp gesehen, die auch ich gerne und mehrfach angeschaut habe. Depp spielt fantastisch und die Bilder sind großartig, trotzdem sollte man sich nicht von der Lektüre der Novelle abhalten lassen, nur weil man die filmische Umsetzung kennt. Tatsächlich ist Kings Novelle sehr viel komplexer und subtiler, als der Film es wiederzugeben vermag. Es gibt viele Details, die den Leser auf die Spur bringen, nur ob es immer die richtige ist?
Eine Novelle über die Nöte eines Schriftstellers, ein psychologisches Schaustück, und ich frage mich, wieviel von King selbst wohl in der Geschichte drinstecken mag.
5 Sterne

[Lee Collier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some say King can't write Science Fiction and maybe I agree...to an extent. However, for all intents and purposes his novel 11/22/63 has science fiction themes with regard to time travel and is one of the most beautifully well written novels of our lifetime. But this is the same man who just before this wrote The Tommyknockers which for many is a dud and proof point he is light on the sci-fi chops. In the end it doesn't matter because even the worst novels he writes, for me at least, there is always some redemption.

Side note: The Langoliers was never published by itself before the release of Four Past Midnight but 3 of the novels in the series have been released as stand alone just recently. This novella is the first within that collection which I will complete in short order, all remaining 600+ pages next...

This novel is about a plane scheduled from LA to Boston that accidentally encounters a warp in time, it's passengers fast asleep aboard the aircraft awake to realize that a large portion of the crew and passengers have disappeared causing chaos in mid air. The journey takes them to Bangor, Maine instead where they encounter the Langoliers which may be some of the worst depicted creatures King has ever created (this is where most of the hate comes in). They are little balls like pac-man with big teeth eating up space and time. They desperately find a way to re-board and take off to their intended destination, albeit with a bit of fluff in between and ultimately you will need to read the rest as to not have me spoil the excellent (yes I am saying that with a devious grin) ending to which you will surely throw the book across the room in short order.

The good parts of this book are few and far between but I loved that King took his shot. If there is one thing about King it is that he is never short on ideas and seemingly only borrows but a bit from his past catalogue (one could argue however Christine is just a more flushed out version of Trucks from Night Shift and there are a few others that fit this comparison). I think this is important because there are "bulk writers" that come to mind like James Patterson or John Connolly or even Haruki Murakami that seem to re-use the same ideas over and over again. Their reasons for doing so are simply that what they do works and it sells books but a writer trying to keep his bandwidth wide and explore is admirable to me.

This is becoming far too long so let me wrap it up by saying that the rating is based on my overall dislike of most characters here and those weird monsters that just didn't resonate at all. The book is an easy read but one that I am glad to be done with.

[Gorgona Grim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kada razmišljam o tome da li se plagijatori susreću sa osećajem krivice i moralnim sukobom unutar sebe, nadam se da to izgleda upravo ovako kako to doživljava Mort. Možda zlonamerno sa moje strane, ali karma je kučka. Sviđa mi se kako je priča napisana i što za promenu imamo dostojan kraj priče, potpuno atipično za Kinga, poznatog po nedorečenim krajevima čija je pretenzija da čitalac sam izvodi zaključke i priču zvršava prema ličnim idejama i afinitetima.

Pratimo Morta i njegov život koji se menja u svega nedelju dana. Promena je započeta znatno ranije, onda kada ga je žena prevarila sa drugim čovekom, a on ih je zatekao u postelji. Morta zatičemo u kući, osamljenog, a na vrata mu zvoni nepoznati čovek, tvrdeći da je Mort ukrao njegovu priču. Mort momentalno odbacuje takav scenario, ali neznanac je uporan, dok Morta kopkaju nedoumice - ko je taj čovek koji mu je doneo identičnu priču kao njegovu i kako dokazati da priču nije plagirao? Vrlo brzo shvata da neznanac, John Shooter, zapravo zna mnogo više o njemu nego što je Mort mogao da pretpostavi.

Obrti su zapravo odlični iako se rasplet mogao nazreti negde od sredine. Međutim, događaji se brzo nižu i radnja je celovita. Psihološki sklop likova je dočaran prilično autentično. Svakako preporuka za čitanje.

[Dave DelFavero · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say other than I’ve been a huge fan of the Langoliers since it first premiered on television screens in homes back in 1995. I was already a fan of David Morse, of course, and loved that he was chosen to play the pilot for this Stephen King adaptation.The role fit him perfectly!
I never actually read the novella before, though but I’m so glad I did. Although the film adaptation stays pretty consistent with the novella I still appreciated reading it this time around. Of course, I envisioned the actors in my head as I read it. I thought they were perfectly casted. The special effects, however, could do with some repolishing but it’s still fine.

I’ve always been pulled into good mysteries such as “Twilight Zone”. Time warps, time rips, going back in the past or into the future. Are they alive or are they dead… things like that. That’s why The Langoliers has always been a favorite of mine. I couldn’t recommend this one enough if you also are into time and space conundrums.

5/5 ⭐️

[Paul E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. Has mystery wrapped up in elements of Horror and Even a little romance.

[Maria Cecília · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen King consegue prender-nos até ao fim. Sempre surpreendente!

[Ron Sami · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book with unpredictable events. But its annotation needs to be removed.

Plot. Rating 5
Although events from the past of the characters are sometimes wedged into the plot, they did not bother me, since the plot developed dynamically. It has difficult puzzles that twist the plot. The feeling of the growing threat is perfectly conveyed. The behavior of the characters also brings a surprise to the plot. At first, one plot twist is shocking because of this, then another. The book is full of drama in the second part among other things. For example, one character sacrificed himself, since the autopilot could not exactly fly into the anomaly, as I understand it. The plot of the book keeps you in suspense until the very end - the characters overcome many obstacles.
However, I think the love line was unnecessary in this book or needed to be spelled out in more detail. In general, I believe that the volume of the book is too small to cover such a large topic and the many events that take place.

Characters. Rating 5
There are eleven characters in the book, not counting episodic characters that do not affect the plot. These eleven people are shown excellently. They differ in appearance, features, goals that keep them in the book, as well as their behavior in an extreme situation. The bearded passenger with a hangover seems to me to have taken the most advantageous position in the book. His thoughtful strategy, as well as steely endurance in the short break between his correct actions, were very impressive.


Dialogues. Rating 4
In the dialogues, the plot develops, as the characters actively discuss the oddities happening to them and their quest for a way out of their terrible situation. The dialogues are good enough; they convey a variety of riddles and conflicts. Although, I would not say that I liked them extremely.

Writing style. Rating 4
The writing style gives a clear idea of everything while avoiding lengthy descriptions.

Worldbuilding. Rating 5
Amazing worldbuilding, arguably one of Stephen King's best.
Spoiler:
The book discusses a great idea about a frozen or, more precisely, gradually freezing past, with its subsequent destruction. I think that living beings, as the most active objects, disappear first (missing people on an airplane), then physical processes stop, and then the space of the past itself is destroyed with the help of a certain process or some langoliers-creatures (most likely human perception adapts this process in the usual way ). The idea that the future is also frozen and is waiting for the arrival of the present is also interesting.

Conclusion. Overall rating 5
An extremely eventful book with an original fantastic idea. Science fiction, drama, horror, humor, and a love affair are all present.

[Robert Reiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen King is my favorite author and I've been trying to read his entire catalogue for the past 7 years or so. It's hard to believe that I'm just now discovering The Langoliers. This one radiates a vibe like it came straight out of a Twilight Zone episode. 10 strangers who have fallen asleep on a plane, wake up mid-flight to find that the rest of the passengers (including the flight crew) have vanished. I'm going to stop there to keep this spoiler-free, but I loved it. You get a dose of mystery, suspense, horror and adventure all wrapped up into one. It's a relatively short novel so you'll go through this one pretty fast. If you've never read The Langoliers, I highly encourage you to click that little green button on your app and mark it "Want to Read" right now....

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, this is one of those Stephen King books that I could just read over and over, and hey, I haven't said anything about the movie as yet, I've actually seen it about 5 times.
Imagine that a guy who's entire life is built on a fear of an imaginary thing!!

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a new favorite of Stephen King's book, it had some cool bits to it but nothing too exciting. It was alright