Click the link to purchase your copy of the Blood And Smoke Audiobook
| Author: | Stephen King |
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster Audio |
| Copyright Date: | 2000 |
| Foundational Characters: | “1408”: Mike Enslin, Olin”In the Death Room”: Fletcher,”Lunch at the Gotham Cafe”: Steve Davis, Diane Davis, William Hombolt, Gúy |
| Standard Rating: | A |
| Reviewer Rating: | 4 |
| Available Formats: | Audiobook only |
| Language: | English |
| ISBN-10: | 0671046179 |
| ISBN-13: | 978-0671046170 |
| Book Dimensions: | 5.7 x 4.9 x 1 inches |
| Page Count: | n/a |
| Genre: | Fiction |
| Sub-Genre: | Action, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Short Story |
| Tags: | Fiction, Action, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Short Story, Stephen King, Adult language, Violence, Gore, Disturbing images, Disturbing descriptions |
DescriptionIn Lunch at the Gotham Cafe, Steve Davis is suffering through intense withdrawal–from both nicotine and his wife. His desperation for a cigarette and for his ex are almost too much to bear, but that’s nothing compared to the horrors that await him at a trendy Manhattan restaurant. In 1408, Mike Enslin, bestselling author of “true” ghost stories, decides to spend the night in New York City’s most haunted hotel room. But he must live to write about it without the help of his ex best-friends, his trusty smokes. And in In the Deathroom, a man named Fletcher is held captive in a South American stronghold. His captors will use any tortuous means necessary to extract the information they want from him. His only hope lies with his last request — one last cigarette, please. (From the author’s website) The RevelationI had never heard of this short audio compilation of short stories before I saw it on the shelf at the library a couple weeks ago. I’ve been a Stephen King fan for at least 20 years, saw on the CD container that it was a quick listen (the whole compilation is only 4 discs long), and decided to try it on for size. I listen to a lot of audio books in the car on the way to and from work, and I had this one behind me, sadly, in 2-1/2 days. I say sadly because the stories are really good. Because I had never heard of this compilation before, I did a little internet research to discover more information about it. As it turns out, it was released in 2000 and only in the form of an audio book. It was never released in print form — either as a hardcover or as a paperback. This surprised me, but I also thought it was neat; it made listening to it more fascinating. One of the reasons I have been a fan of Stephen King for so long is that he is an awesome story teller. Many publishers hire performers to read and create the audio versions of their authors’ books, but Mr. King read the stories included in this compilation himself. Though King doesn’t read these stories with any amount of gusto or enthusiasm, the quality of the presentation wasn’t diminished at all. In fact, I thought his voice and reading style actually added a dimension to the narrators that you’ll need to hear in order to understand fully. Though the above description from the author’s website blurbs about each story, I want to add a little more to what’s said. Here we go. “Lunch at the Gotham Cafe”This story was crammed full of pain, stress, doubt, and dark humor. The narrator, Steve Davis, decides to quit smoking a day or two after receiving a note left by his wife telling him she wants a divorce. As if the nicotine withdrawals aren’t bad enough, Steve struggles to understand what happened. His marriage was short — only about two years, and the “last eight months” were more difficult than the rest for reasons unknown to the listener (reader). One night, a couple weeks after receiving the divorce note from Diane, Steve counts cigarette brands instead of sheep before going to sleep. When Diane, Steve’s soon-to-be-ex-wife left Steve the note, she told him to expect a call from her lawyer. When her lawyer calls the second time, he suggests a lunch meeting between the two parties so specific details can be settled. Steve’s lawyer cannot make it to lunch and Steve goes alone. It’s a good thing, too, because this is when Gúy comes along and puts a damper on their meeting. Here’s a great quote to reel you into listening to this audiobook: “Later, around the time I was starting to see the last three or four months of our marriage in a clearer light, as a matter of fact, I began to understand that my decision to quit smoking when I did was perhaps not so unconsidered as it once seemed, and a very long way from ill-considered. I’m not a brilliant man; not a brave one either. But that decision might have been both. It’s certainly possible. Sometimes we rise above ourselves. In any case, it gave my mind something concrete to pitch upon in the days after Diane left. It gave my misery a vocabulary it otherwise would not have had, if you see what I mean. Very likely you don’t, but I can’t think of any other way to put it. Of course, I have speculated that quitting when I did may have played a part in what happened at the Gotham Cafe that day, and I’m sure there’s some truth to that. But who can foresee such things? None of us can predict the final outcomes of our actions, and few of us even try. Most of us just do what we do to prolong a moment’s pleasure or to stop the pain. And even when we act for the noblest reasons, the last link of the chain often drips with someone’s blood.” “1408”Room 1408 of The Dolphin Hotel is haunted and has been for some time. The hotel opened in 1910 and that room has had a reputation ever since. Spontaneous suicide, murder, and insanity have taken their toll on anyone who stayed in room 1408. Mr. Olin has managed The Dolphin Hotel for some time and spends the bulk of the story trying to talk horror novelist, Mike Enslin, out of trying to make it through a night in room 1408. Olin reviews all of the horror that has taken place in that room, including his theories about why the room is haunted. Enslin has stayed the night in multiple haunted buildings for his other books. So why would room 1408 be any different? Mike will soon find out for himself. “In the Deathroom”The description above is enough to pique interest in this story. It is awesome! On a believability scale of 1 to 10, 10 being absolutely believable, this story scores about a 5-1/2. Fletcher is a newspaper reporter — not Jack Bauer (you’ll see what I mean). On an entertainment scale of 1 to 10, however (10 being the best), this story scores a 9-1/2. CharacteristicsAdult language, Violence, Gore, Disturbing images, Disturbing descriptions Click the link to purchase your copy of the Blood And Smoke Audiobook |
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