The Colorado Kid - Stephen King

...retiring, especially after publication of the final instalments of his "Dark Tower" series, which happened in 2004, news of the publication of "The Colorado Kid" came as something as a relief. Especially to someone like me, who has been such a fan for so long that when he addresses the foreword to his books to "Constant Reader", I feel as if he's talking to me.

What was interesting is that the book was ...
...working for "The Weekly Islander", the local newspaper of Moose-Look Island just off the coast of Maine. After telling a feature writer from the "Boston Globe" that there really are no unexplained mysteries around that part of New England, her colleagues and teachers of sorts Vince Teague and Dave Bowie proceed to tell her that Moose-Look Island does have one all of their own.

They proceed to tell Stephanie a story ... more

After hearing various rumours in recent years that Stephen King was considering retiring, especially after publication of the final instalments of his "Dark Tower" series, which happened in 2004, news of the publication of "The Colorado Kid" came as something as a relief. Especially to someone like me, who has been such a fan for so long that when he addresses the foreword to his books to "Constant Reader", I feel as if he's talking to me.

What was interesting is that the book was to be part of a series called Hard Case Crime, which publishes nothing but crime novels. Whilst this is an area that King has dabbled in before in short story form in "Nightmares and Dreamscapes", with "The Doctor's Case" featuring Sherlock Holmes and "Umney's Last Case" being an obvious homage to Raymond Chandler, it's new ground for him as a novel. That said, "The Dark Tower" wasn't exactly King's standard horror writing.

Stephanie McCann is a young intern working for "The Weekly Islander", the local newspaper of Moose-Look Island just off the coast of Maine. After telling a feature writer from the "Boston Globe" that there really are no unexplained mysteries around that part of New England, her colleagues and teachers of sorts Vince Teague and Dave Bowie proceed to tell her that Moose-Look Island does have one all of their own.

They proceed to tell Stephanie a story of a man found dead on the island early on November morning some twenty five years previously, with no identification and no apparent way of getting where he did. This isn't a story with an obvious ending, nor a mystery with an obvious solution. For Stephanie, school is in, and she learns plenty about what it means to be a newspaper writer as well as what it means to be a part of the Moose-Look community as she goes.

It's a pretty simply written tale, in contrast to the mystery the tale unfolds. King has always been a pretty good story teller and that is pretty much all he does here. There is little preamble and little back story, it's just these three sitting around whilst a story is told. It's a style that King has used before, with "The Breathing Method" from "Different Seasons" being written in a similar fashion, although that was more of a horror tale than a crime one. Indeed, of King's own novels, this comes closest to "Dolores Claiborne" in style and substance than anything else.

Despite the nature of the tale, the way it is told gives it an easy going feel. In King's books, and maybe for real for all I know, the people of Maine and especially the islands seem fairly easy going and laid back. This comes across in a lot of King's writing, especially when he's using a character to do nothing but recite a story and it is true here, too. Although there is death involved, it's told in a way that almost comforts the reader, as if King is trying to lull you into a false sense of security before hitting you with a huge twist right towards the end.

The disappointing part of the whole thing is that the twist never arrives. The book seems to end rather than conclude, leaving the reader a little let down. This is how it seems first time around, although on reading the story again, it actually made a lot more sense and was a lot more satisfying second time around. It was like the film "eXistenZ" in many ways, in that it takes a little while to appreciate the true beauty of what has happened. School is in for the reader, as well as for Stephanie McCann.

I suspect that regular crime thriller fans might be a little disappointed by this and it's clear that publication of this book - more of a novella than a full novel - in the Hard Case Crime series has been prompted more by the name of the author than how well the book itself fits in with the series. That is to say that crime fans may not get as much out of this as other books in the genre, purely due to the nature of the tale.

As with much of King, this is a decent story, pretty well told. Unlike with much of King, it doesn't go too far out of the way on the journey, so it's quite a quick and enjoyable read. Admittedly, fans who like King's horror work best may not be too pleased and fans of crime thrillers, particularly the old style kind, will most likely finish disappointed.

As a fan of King who happens to think his non-horror work has on many occasions surpassed his horror novels, this is a joy to me. It's rare that I find a book more satisfying the second time around, so this has also been a revelation in that aspect, too.

It's not a story that will win any awards, but if you're a fan of King, particularly "Dolores Claiborne" and his short stories, this is definitely worth picking up. Especially as it's only a small book and so a lot cheaper than you'll be used to paying, at £3.44 from Amazon or from £1.32 at the Amazon Marketplace. After so many years of reading horror stories and having to work around King's obsession with completing the journey to "The Dark Tower", this comes as a very welcome change of pace, style and page count and proves to be a delightful way to spend a quiet evening or a long journey. 

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