TCCDM Dig & Flip: "Later" - Stephen King (2021)
This is the third in Stephen King's...Hard Case Crime...novels. It's a shortie and not King's best use of the QWERTY keyboard, but the story doesn't hurt none and reads like melted butter. LATER is told in the first person narrative by Jamie, a youngster who has the occasional brush with dead people who have recently passed. Jamie is quick to remind the reader that it's a horror story he is sharing, and I suppose it is, but it doesn’t smack you in the mouth. It's not a nerve-rattler, but it scratches a bit of the itch.
tccdm Arissa Chambers
Unlike King's previous Hard Case Crime offerings, LATER is told in a single "Point-A to Point-B" style plot. Not a bad thing. Some supernatural shenanigans are definitely going on, but LATER never reaches the level of "Get the fawck outta here" territory. And this might be a dealbreaker for some, but as I mentioned, the story reads like butter. There is a crime in need of being resolved within the pages, and the small handful of characters that further the story along are all interesting to meet. Not a great Stephen King story, but it's good for what it is and apart from what I thought was a bit of a letdown ending, I really enjoyed the book.
"Cosmic Dancer" - T Rex / "Electric Warrior" (1971)
Good stuff.
Casey Chambers
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