each little discovery, each small ray of light shed? Of course. But mostly what drew me on was the thought of the Colorado Kid, propped there against that trash barrel and looking out at the ocean, an anomaly that stretched even the most flexible credulity to the absolute snapping point. Maybe even a little beyond. In the end, I didn’t care how he got there; like a nightingale glimpsed in the desert, it just took my breath away that hewas .
And, of course, I wanted to see how my characters coped with the fact of him. It turned out they did quite well. I was proud of them. Now I will wait for my mail, both e— and of the snail variety, and see howyou guys do with him.
I don’t want to belabor the point, but before I leave you, I ask you to consider the fact that we live in aweb of mystery, and have simply gotten so used to the fact that we have crossed out the word and replaced it with one we like better, that one beingreality . Where do we come from? Where were we before we were here? Don’t know. Where are we going? Don’t know. A lot of churches have what they assure us are the answers, but most of us have a sneaking suspicion all that might be a con-job laid down to fill the collection plates. In the meantime, we’re in a kind of compulsory dodgeball game as we free-fall from Wherever to Ain’t Got A Clue. Sometimes bombs go off and sometimes the planes land okay and sometimes the blood tests come back clean and sometimes the biopsies come back positive. Most times the bad telephone call doesn’t come in the middle of the night but sometimes it does, and either way we know we’re going to drive pedal-to-the-metal into the mystery eventually.
It’s crazy to be able to live with that and stay sane, but it’s also beautiful. I write to find out what I think, and what I found out writingThe Colorado Kid was that maybe—I just saymaybe —it’s the beauty of the mystery that allows us to live sane as we pilot our fragile bodies through this demolition-derby world. We always want to reach for the lights in the sky, and we always want to know where the Colorado Kid (the world is full of Colorado Kids) came from. Wanting might be better than knowing. I don’t say that for sure; I only suggest it. But if you tell me I fell down on the job and didn’t tell all of this story there was to tell, I say you’re all wrong.
On that Iam sure.
Stephen King
January 31, 2005
Raves for the Work of Stephen King!
“Excellent, psychologically textured…Stephen King is so widely acknowledged as America’s master of paranormal terrors that you can forget his real genius is for the everyday.”
—New York Times Book Review
“Mr. King makes palpable the longing and regret that arise out of calamity, and deftly renders the kindness and pettiness that can mark small-town life.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“The author is not only immensely popular but immensely talented, a modern-day counterpart to Twain, Hawthorne, Dickens.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Extraordinarily vivid…an impressive tour de force, a sensitive character study that holds the reader rapt.”
—Playboy
“Stephen King is superb.”
—Time
“A thoroughly compelling thriller.”
—Esquire
“Don’t start this one on a school night, kids. You’ll be up till dawn.”
—People
“A big, serious, scary novel…King is at the top of his game.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“As brilliant a dark dream as has ever been dreamed in this century.”
—The Palm Beach Post
“Breathtaking…awesome. Carries such momentum the reader must force himself to slow down!”
—New York Times Book Review
“A great book…A landmark in American literature.”
—Chicago Sun-Times
“Stephen King is an immensely talented storyteller of seemingly inexhaustible gifts.”
—Interview
“For those of you who think Stephen King writes only horror fiction, think again…King offers readers a rare blend of luminous prose, thought-provoking themes and masterful storytelling.”
—San Diego Union Tribune
“Wonderful…an illusionist extraordinaire, King peoples his fiction with believable characters. The power… lies in the amazing richness of his fevered imagination—he just can’t stop coming up with haunting plots.”
—Publishers Weekly
“He’s a master storyteller. Gather around the pages of his literary campfire and he’ll weave you a darn good yarn.”
—Houston Chronicle
“King is a born storyteller.”
—Library Journal
“King surpasses our expectations, leaves us spellbound and hungry for the next twist of plot.”
—The Boston Globe
“Top shelf. You couldn’t go wrong with a King book.”
—Michael Connelly
“By far the world’s most popular author…He never seems to use up the magic.”
—Chicago Tribune
“King has invented genres, reinvented them, then stepped outside what he himself has accomplished… Stephen King, like Mark Twain, is an American genius.”
—Greg Iles
“King has written…a novel that’s as hauntingly touching as it is just plain haunted…one of his freshest and most frightening works to date.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“Stephen King is much more than just a horror fiction writer. And I believe that he’s never been given credit for taking American literature and stretching its boundaries.”
—Gloria Naylor
“To my mind, King is one of the most underestimated novelists of our time.”
—Mordechai Richler, The Vancouver Sun
“An absorbing, constantly surprising novel filled with true narrative magic.”
—The Washington Post
“Stephen King is the Winslow Homer of blood.”
—The New Yorker
“Enthralling…superb.”
—Dallas Times Herald
“A spellbinder, a compulsive page-turner.”
—Atlanta Journal
“It grabs you and holds you and won’t let go…a genuine page turner.”
—Chattanooga Times
“Blending philosophy with a plot that moves at supersonic speed while showcasing deeply imagined characters…an impressive sensitivity to what has often loosely been called the human condition.”
—Newsday
