Novella Review: "Mile 81" by Stephen King

"Mile 81" is one of Stephen King's shortest novellas. Its scope is even small for a short story, but it packs the same punch as King's better works. Expect to read it in a single sitting and have a few, "Oh, King" moments when you read it. I should also point out that readers of "On Writing" will almost be able to see the advice King gives at work in "Mile 81." It might be the shortness of the novel or the smallish area of the setting, but he's bravely leaving a lot up to the imagination and this imagination took the bait.

This piece hearkens back to some of King's earliest works in many ways, but it also has some mentions more modern things than this reader of early backwoods King novels is used to. For example, he mentions the Facebook game "Words with Friends," and even has a cop playing it on an iPad. Slow down, Mr. King. I still want banana seated Schwinns from you, sir. Anyway, it all pans out in that eerie way that Stephen King makes you see a book as though through a '50s or '60s looking glass, and then, "Bam!" there's the token young man seeing a poster, but this one is shaved. (If you've read "Dreamcatcher," you know the kind of poster I mean!) It's a Burger King and not a vintage restaurant chain. It's an SUV instead of a pickup. Well, maybe that's me, but I liked the reminders of it being a modern time, as it contrasted with the novella's focal point -- a muddy station wagon.

When I say that "Mile 81" hearkens back to early King, I mean it in several ways, but none more than the monster car theme it has going. Part of me wonders what horrible or wonderful experience Stephen King had with a car when he was a child that made him able to imagine them in such a way. My favorite was "From a Buick 8," but the inevitable unanswered questions of such a short story make "Mile 81" tasty for me as well. I both love and hate unanswered questions in a story. Perhaps that is why I like King so much.

Before I go, there is one more thing I have to point out and that is that readers will likely appreciate the pace of this novella. Stephen King has a tendency to jump back and forth between dragging butt and hauling it in his full-length novels. Even some of his short stories are a little too verbose when I am chomping at the bit for something to happen, but not "Mile 81." Every break to a new chapter ends with something interesting and starts with the promise of the same. From a kid going to sleep on a questionable mattress in a questionable place to a couple of children stranded on the side of the road, there is plenty of suspense, but not one single pause before the suspense is satisfied.

Shelly Barclay

Book Review: The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

"The Wind Through the Keyhole" is a novel in the Dark Tower series that many of Stephen King fans never thought we would see. It arrived in 2012, much to my surprise, and fits between book four and book five. Most of the novel is a recollection of Roland's containing both his first job as a gunslinger and a story his mother used to tell him when he was a child. If you are anything like me, you think these types of moments in the series are the best. "The Wind Through the Keyhole" keeps up this belief for me. I was hooked into each story within a story, of which there are three.

The first layer of this story within a story within a story is that of Roland, Susannah, Eddie, Jake and Oy. They meet an old man who drops hints to Roland that something is coming their way. Roland eventually catches on. I would rather not give away what happens, so let it suffice to say that the ka-tet winds up holed up in a deserted town together. It is here that the two other stories fold into the first.

Roland first begins telling a tale about an early experience in his gunslinger life where he went up against a skin walker. In this story, he tells a small boy another story and this is the heart of the novel and the eponymous story -- "The Wind Through the Keyhole." While this story is an ostensibly fictional tale from Roland's childhood, it also has familiar figures, one of whom signs his name "RF." If you know who this is, you should already be reading "The Wind Through the Keyhole." If not, start with the Dark Tower series up until at least book four. If you really want to do it right, read "The Stand" as well.

Bottom line: I loved "The Wind Through the Keyhole." It was a wholly unexpected treat with both the horror that makes King so skin crawling and the touching moments that make his work so approachable. I know I sing his praises a lot, but there are definitely novels by Stephen King of which I was not a fan. It's just that I really love the ones I enjoy by him, and this is undoubtedly one of them.

Shelly Barclay

Book Review: "On Writing" by Stephen King

I'm sad to admit that this review is the first novel that I have read and reviewed for this blog in months and that it took me a few of those months just to finish "On Writing." I assure you, that fact has nothing to do with the quality of King's nonfiction work and everything to do with me slacking on my reading. Nonetheless, I am now done and have learned a few things about writing, but more about Stephen King.

The first part of "On Writing" is a mish mash of anecdotes from Mr. King's childhood, school years, early romance with Mrs. King, early marriage and early writing career. Some of you aspiring writers may read some of this and think, "Oh, crap! I didn't run a hodgepodge newspaper with my brother out of my mother's basement when I was a kid. I still had not thought of becoming a writer yet." Don't worry about it. I doubt Stephen King gave us a window into his life so we could compare him to ourselves. Besides, we can't all be Kings. There can be only one. (Yeah, I went there.)

After these characteristically brilliant disguised as blue-collar passages, Stephen King gets down to the writing part of "On Writing." His advice is rarely technical. You will only see a few words of advice about grammar. Apparently, Stephen King hates the passive voice. What you will see is advice about the meat and potatoes of your writing. He talks about the story. In short, he tells the reader to figure out what they are saying and say it. He says to be honest. Take these pearls of wisdom. They come from, in my opinion, the biggest oyster in the sea. Oh, and this is not a book about technical writing. Stephen King is not going to tell you how to go about writing a vacuum cleaner manual. You're on your own there.

Throughout the writing advice and beyond, Stephen King continues to add anecdotes about his life and career. He also adds bits that he has heard from other authors and even moviemakers. Then things get tough for Stevie (as he often refers to himself, but I only jokingly dare to refer to him). You see, while he was writing "On Writing," he was struck by a man driving a Dodge van and quite nearly died. He speaks about this harrowing experience near the end of the novel. Thankfully, he lived to write another day. Yes, I'm selfish, I know.

So, whether you are a freak that wants to read about someone's hardships, an aspiring writer or just a fan of Stephen King, get it, read it and let others borrow it. Now I'm off to read "The Wind Through the Keyhole" and then the list of books King suggested at the end of "On Writing." Get ready for more reviews!

Shelly Barclay

Website Review: The SCP Foundation

I believe this is a Cracked Spines first. Today, I'm going to give a little review/overview of one of my favorite sites. It has a user-generated content base with reading material ranging from science fiction/fantasy to horror. The site is called The SCP Foundation. I came across it by accident one night and spent a few subsequent nights reading as many entries as possible. Some of it is very good and the site is quite organized for the type of content it produces.

The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization that handles unusual objects and creatures. Think of it as a website version of that warehouse show, but obviously better or I would not be writing about it. Every item in the foundation's possession has a file on this website. When users generate a file, they have to follow a strict format that makes even me cringe and I have dealt with some lengthy client requirements in my day. I'm relatively sure that the users do this for a love of writing as well. If there is pay involved, I have not found a single word about it.

Now, each of these files can just be a description or it can contain notes that are like miniature short stories. Some of them are only a few sentences long. Others would amount to several pages in print format. There are files among them that were clearly written by very talented writers who, in my opinion, should really branch out from free content production. I've had my skin crawl more than once reading SCP. Nothing utterly rubbish makes it through as far as I can tell, but there are some blah entries. These don't even evoke the slightest curiosity. That is the worst. At any rate, there appears to be a filtering process in place that does a relatively good job. I can't even remember seeing a typo, but I'll admit that editing is not my strong suit.

If you are a fan of science fiction or you are a writer looking for a place to stretch your limbs, you might want to check this site out. It appears to have a decent-size fan base online and I'm definitely part of it at this point. Happy reading.

Shelly Barclay 

Pride, Prejudice and Sibling Rivalry

The Bennet family makes up most of the core characters in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." It consists of Mr. Bennet, a father who wishes to remain uninvolved, Mrs. Bennet, a tiresome and interfering woman, and their five children. The five children are all daughters. Jane Bennet is the eldest daughter with Elizabeth Bennet, the main character, following her. Their three younger sisters from oldest to youngest are Mary, Kitty and Lydia.

The sibling rivalry to be found in "Pride and Prejudice" is nearly always, if not always, perpetuated by the silly and annoying Kitty and Lydia. Jane is a sweetheart who gets along with everybody. Elizabeth is mostly just aggravated and ashamed of her two youngest sisters. She gets along with the other two and has no rivalries. No one sees poor Mary as competition.

Kitty and Lydia are very similar in both age and temperament. This not only makes them close, but it makes them vie for the same things. On at least one occasion, Kitty complains that her sister gets to leave town when she does not. Lydia, who is a careless braggart, seems not to care, despite her seeming closeness with her sister.

A common theme throughout the novel is marriage. Mrs. Bennet is obsessed with marrying off her daughters. Her older three daughters do not seem to dwell on the idea much (until the two eldest Miss Bennets fall in love). However, the two youngest Miss Bennets can think of little else. They want to flirt with officers, meet rich men, fall in love with one and get married. They are so open and obvious about their shallow desires that Elizabeth is quite embarrassed by them. Furthermore, they seem to be in a competition, in their own minds, to marry first. It is not said outright. However, after a botched and shameful marriage for Lydia, she brags to her sisters about how she was the first to marry.

Lydia is by far the worst when it comes to petty competition with her sister. Competitions that she seems to be the only one interested in, it is worth noting. However, Kitty and Mary are not exempt from sibling rivalry. Their incidences of it are simply on a much smaller scale. For Kitty, her rivalry tends to start and end with Lydia. Mary tries very hard to be a voice of reason (a somewhat dull one, at that) when her sisters are being ridiculous. It sometimes appears as if this is how she seeks to divert attention away from her sisters. She never prevails.

There are a few other sets of siblings in Pride and Prejudice, but no other sibling rivalry to speak of. Mr. Darcy gets along wonderfully with his sister, Georgiana. Mr. Bingley has a horribly shallow and scheming sister, but she does not appear to be in competition with him over anything, unless you include Mr. Darcy's attention.

Shelly Barclay