I preordered this, and it arrived this week. I was kind of taken aback at how small it was, given that the hardcover is priced at $19.95 (sold by Amazon at $11.99). The book is both physically much smaller than a standard hardcover and very short, around 160 pages. It’s barely more than an ambitious short story.
I did enjoy the story–it was a little weird and the ending wasn’t what I expected, but I did enjoy the interactions and growing friendship between the main character and the lesbian couple. But I think I’d have enjoyed it more if it had been a better value for the price.
Just finished it. Interesting, entertaining, and a bit of a departure from his standard stories. No real dark mysteries, other than whatever it is that afflicts the protagonist. No unredeemable characters, no tie ins to his multiverse, other than his tip of the hat to ‘larger realities’. And also a bit of an optimistic view of Castle Rock, and people in general. He must be mellowing in his old age.
But yeah, they’re charging all the market will bear for an SK short story/novella. But I’ve paid more for less, no regrets. Much better than that bloated predictable “Sleeping Beauty” he wrote with his son; his only ‘work’ I couldn’t finish.
I haven’t read it, but I’m loathe to criticize King for writing shorter - his best work is his shorter fiction, and he’s been allowed to ramble unedited for decades now on his novels. Plus, I really dislike the trend (not just with King) that page count makes books a better value. I’ve seen reviews on Amazon criticizing books for only being 300 pages.
I preordered it apparently; when it showed up on my kindle I was pleasantly surprised. I quickly finished what I had been reading, then quickly read King’s short story. It left me wondering how much I paid.
I don’t have any problem at all with the fact that it was short–it was the length it needed to be. But IMO $19.99 (or even $11.99) is too much to charge for something that short.
I liked it. I am, coincidentally, re-reading the back catalog in publication order and finished my 900th reading of The Stand today (cheating, perhaps, by reading the uncut edition in the original’s place). Going from one of the top 3 longest books to a novella I thought was a novel (ebook version - hence the ignorance to length) was a pleasant surprise. I generally find pub order a good way to re-read his stuff because the long-book streaks are broken up by the shorter story collections or even the “lighter” stories, like Eyes of the Dragon. It’s not 1000 page slog of terrifying monsters after 1000 page slog of terrifying monsters.
But yeah, $20 for it as a standalone novella is too much, imo. Maybe $20 for a 2018 Different Seasons wouldn’t be market value in the other direction. How about 2 novellas for $20?
I did enjoy it immensely. I hadn’t read word one about its content so it was a complete surprise. Was it up there with The Body or Shawshank? Of course not. Was it better than all of the stories in the last 4-novella release? Definitely.
I could have easily seen this story as an episode of Haven too.