Y'all know me. Know how I earn a living. Quint here with a heads up for you Stephen King fans out there. You may remember that a while back King announced his retirement and it made big news everywhere. He has since said that wasn't an entirely true statement, more like he's tired of being the machine, pumping out book after book. He always said he'd still write, but was just going to stop publishing. That, of course, sent his constant readers for a loop, but it looks like he's found a sort of middle ground. He's not retiring from publishing, but just kinda putting space between him and the process.
For instance, he's releasing a book this very day, October 4th, called THE COLORADO KID, but he's not going through the traditional channels. Instead of going huge with his next book, he opted to give this story to the talents at Hard Case Crime, a small company dedicated to releasing the best crime fiction, whether it's new material or previously lost work from talents like Donald Westlake, Ed McBain and Wade Miller. These stories are released as soft cover, cheaply priced books in keeping with the pulpy origins of this type of book.
I got to read THE COLORADO KID a couple months ago and I apologize for not writing a full fledged review. The release date totally snuck up on me. I will say it was a very fun and quick read.
(slight spoilers follow)
The story is about a young lady interning at a small newspaper in an East Coast island community. Her mentors are a pair of old men who have been at the paper for half a decade.
The story is all about the two codgers telling this eager young woman a local mystery story, one they warn might piss her off because, like in real life, this mystery might not have a moment where the strings are all tied up, the bad guys caught and the case solved. In many ways King's attitude on this story is a twinner to his attitude on the fantastic Dark Tower series. For the adventures of Roland Deschain and his Ka-tet, King says that the important part is in the journey, not the destination. For THE COLORADO KID, King makes it quite clear that the important part of the story is the telling of the mystery, not the solving of it.
The book is a quick read, feeling more like a novella than a true blue full on book, but I really don't think he could have padded it without making it a bit of a chore to get through. He keeps it quick, lean and full of that character work he's so good at. It's got my approval, that's for sure.
Anyway, thought I'd let you folks know. If you're interested in what's coming up with King there are two big special edition re-releases on the horizon. The first is a nifty little Dark Tower book that Grant Books is putting out sometime early next year. It's a hardcover re-release of THE GUNSLINGER, the first Dark Tower novel. The book will contain new illustrations (new full color paintings and drawings) from Michael Whelan, the short story THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA and the revised text of THE GUNSLINGER. No real details are known about this one yet, but I know I'm already in line for it, being the Dark Tower junkie I am.
The other is coming out November 1st and is the trade version of that super rare limited edition illustrated Salem's Lot, filled lots of wicked photography (I'm sure... I haven't seen this one yet).
I might have more Stephen King news very soon as I'm interviewing George Romero in about 6 hours and we're sure to talk about his long in the works adaptation of THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON. So, I better hurry up and finish this nonsense so I can grab at least a little sleep before talking to the man. Be back soon!
-Quint
