Stephen King and Richard Chizmar venture back to the little
town of Castle Rock, Maine, the setting of many early King novels, for this
novella.
“There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of
Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the
summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are
held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside. At the
top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the
kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum
bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day
charity game. One day, a stranger calls
to Gwendy: ‘Hey, girl. Come on over here
for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me.’ On a bench in the shade sits a man in black
jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top.
On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has
nightmares about that hat...”
While King left Castle Rock after he published NEEDFUL
THINGS, as always with this author, we know that certain places, Derry in particular,
never are far away. This novella, published in book form by Cemetery Dance
Publications reads like an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. A young girl is given
a mysterious box with buttons on it. These buttons are powerful and very
dangerous. But they also offer a life altering treat for Gwendy, and as her
life is changed by possessing the box, she is also tempted by the mysterious
power it does posses.
The ultimate question is if you had the power to destroy,
could you wield it? But temptation is strong, and while Gwendy takes her responsibility
of safekeeping the box, she will succumb to the darkness that is emitted from
it.
This is not a scary novella, but more fast-paced a thriller (read
it in 90 minutes) with psychological overtones that King has employed over the
last two decades. I’ve never read anything by Chizmar, so it’s hard for me to
pass comment on his style. But beyond the setting of Castle Rock, it appears
The Man in Black is still around –the tale is set between 1974 and 1984- so
another alternate world. He goes by Richard Farris (another recurring theme,
with the character’s name always –or mostly- having the same initials) here and
seems more human than malevolent.
A great story to wield away a Saturday afternoon!
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