Riding the Bullet

Rating:
Summary: King has become too predictable
Review: I long for the old days before King was so big that the editors weren't afraid to tell him the truth. Too long, too much repetition.
For a thrill ride to Hell and back read R. Douglas Weber's Protocol-17 a cross-genre thriller that reminded me of the old King's "Firestarter" and Koontz's "Watchers." Its gritty, gibbering, in your face suspense and horror. Also check out Doug Clegg and
Brian Keene.

Rating:
Summary: an appetizer
Review: I loved Riding the Bullet. After suffering through Hearts in Atlantis and Bag of Bones I needed a hint of the old Stephen King. Bullet fit the bill nicely. The story of a foolish but desperate young college student who runs into two very strange men as he tries to hitchhike home was fun. In the end the story makes a surprise twist that changed my view of the innocent young college boy entirely. Riding the Bullet may be found in print for in the Everything's Eventual collection but if you love King you may want to just go ahead and download it now.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best modern short story
Review: I must say that I am disappointed with most of the reviews I have read for this story. I am most disappointed because I understand why most do not like it.

This is the type of story that you would expect to read for an English class. It may not be all that exciting, or extremely intense, but that should not mean that it is not a good story to read. I don't care how many can say that they did not enjoy this story. What you have to remember is that for something to be good it will often be required to be unenjoyable.

The themes of this story were beautifully put forward. They were all told by the main character's actions and feelings. Most people I know would not be able to stand this story simply because only about 20% of it was the exciting portion of the story. The climax was practically in the middle. However, so much could be shown by this small portion that there was no way for King to end the story at that point.

You may not find this to be an enjoyable work, but I would still suggest it for that reason. When the enjoyment is not the focus of a story, then the focus is placed on the part that will truly matter after it has been read.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best modern short story
Review: I must say that I am disappointed with most of the reviews I have read for this story. I am most disappointed because I understand why most do not like it.

This is the type of story that you would expect to read for an English class. It may not be all that exciting, or extremely intense, but that should not mean that it is not a good story to read. I don't care how many can say that they did not enjoy this story. What you have to remember is that for something to be good it will often be required to be unenjoyable.

The themes of this story were beautifully put forward. They were all told by the main character's actions and feelings. Most people I know would not be able to stand this story simply because only about 20% of it was the exciting portion of the story. The climax was practically in the middle. However, so much could be shown by this small portion that there was no way for King to end the story at that point.

You may not find this to be an enjoyable work, but I would still suggest it for that reason. When the enjoyment is not the focus of a story, then the focus is placed on the part that will truly matter after it has been read.

Rating:
Summary: engrossing
Review: I read this book in one sitting. It is a first person story that catches your attention at first and by page forty you are dead on hooked. You have to know what happens next. Very savy. Classic King. Superior character development and unpredictable twists. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen, Stephen, Stephen.......
Review: It is true, this was is a dud. I hate to say it, but the guy or gal who spends their hard-earned bucks on literature deserves to know the truth. This story would have been great if it had been written by a high school junior for his/her Creative Writing class. Coming from a man with King's abilities it is inexcusably bad. It reads like a true account from some cheesy "Real Life Psychics" magazine. I could do better. My cat could do better. So could Stephen King. Why he chose not to is a mystery to me. Save your bucks, people, let this one ride the bullet into oblivion.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and perfect for this delivery medium
Review: Just as the story was short, so shall my review be short.

It is a quick read in which King amazingly gives you tremendous insight into the main character in such a short time. I found myself sympathizing with him and enjoyed the story which was richer than its length implies.

Rating:
Summary: riding the bullet
Review: me parece un libro muy interesante que tiene todo el misterio y terror que puede generar un hombre como stephen king. si bien lo sigo practicamente desde que naci (tengo 20 años) cada nuevo libro que hace me sorprende mucho mas. este libro tiene un encanto para mi , ya que ademas de desesperarme por encontrar la direccion del lugar donde estaba, lo unico que queria era poder leer un ultimo libro el cual escribio en tan poco tiempo. lo unico que puedo decir de este libro no es encontra del escritor sino de ustedes, en realidad hubiera sido bueno que lo traducieran al español,ya que este libro es realmente bueno y me gustaria poder tenerlo en mi lengua materna

Rating:
Summary: So-So
Review: not at all up to The King and his usual standards. save your money and buy a solid novel like "night of the beast" by harry shannon or "the hour before dark" by doug clegg instead and read it aloud to your girlfriend.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Riding the Bullet was a great book. It was exciting from the beginning to the end. There was never a time where I was bored or when the book was dull. It got right to the action and it was "short but sweet". It was about a man who gets a phone call saying that his mother had a stroke and is in the hopital. Even though he is told it is nothing serious, the man is very worried because his mother is an overweight smoker who is in her mid fifties. The hospital is 100 miles away and his car does not work. He decides to hitch a ride. An old man picks him up. he drives him about halfway there and drops him off near a graveyard. The man begins to walk through the graveyard. As he is doing this, he is also thinking about his mother, and all the things she used to say. One of her favorite sayings was "Fun is fun and done is done". The man looks at a tombstone. It says someone's name, and the date that he died. Underneath of that it said "Fun is fun, and done is done". The man is startled and falls backward. He gets up and then finds a ride with a young man about his age. The man has a button on his shirt that says " I rode The Bullet at Thrill Village." There is something strange about the man. It smells like chemicals in his car, and there is a huge scar going all around his neck. The man soon finds out that the man giving him a ride is dead. The dead man locks the car doors and speeds up. He starts questioning the man. The dead man knows all about the other man and his mother. He knows that she is sick and in the hospital. When the man asks the dead man who he is, the dead man replies, " I am like a messenger, except my job is worse than that of an angel." The dead man tells the other man that he must decide between his mother and him. Whichever one the man chose would live, and the other one would die. The man struggled to think but in the end he said "Take her. Take my mother. Spare me." The dead man reached back and touched the other man's chest. He then pushed him out of the car. When the man woke up he was back in the graveyard. He figured it was just a dream, but then he looked down at his chest and saw a button; the same button that the dead man was wearing. The dead man pinned it on his shirt just before he threw him out of the car. The man is scared and he hitches a ride to the hospital. As he walks in he doesn't know what to think; "Is she alive? Is she dead?" You'll have to read the book to find out how it ends. This was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes exciting horror books. If you like authors like Stephen King or R.L. Stine then you will love this book.