Mile 81 (Kindle Single) by Stephen King (MOBI)

Description

With the heart of Stand By Me and the genius horror of Christine, Mile 81 is Stephen King unleashing his imagination as he drives past one of those road signs… At Mile 81 on the Maine Turnpike is a boarded up rest stop on a highway in Maine. It’s a place where high school kids drink and get into the kind of trouble high school kids have always gotten into. It’s the place where Pete Simmons goes when his older brother, who’s supposed to be looking out for him, heads off to the gravel pit to play “paratroopers over the side.” Pete, armed only with the magnifying glass he got for his tenth birthday, finds a discarded bottle of vodka in the boarded up burger shack and drinks enough to pass out. Not much later, a mud-covered station wagon (which is strange because there hadn’t been any rain in New England for over a week) veers into the Mile 81 rest area, ignoring the sign that says “closed, no services.” The driver’s door opens but nobody gets out. Doug Clayton, an insurance man from Bangor, is driving his Prius to a conference in Portland. On the backseat are his briefcase and suitcase and in the passenger bucket is a King James Bible, what Doug calls “the ultimate insurance manual,” but it isn’t going to save Doug when he decides to be the Good Samaritan and help the guy in the broken down wagon. He pulls up behind it, puts on his four-ways, and then notices that the wagon has no plates. Ten minutes later, Julianne Vernon, pulling a horse trailer, spots the Prius and the wagon, and pulls over. Julianne finds Doug Clayton’s cracked cell phone near the wagon door — and gets too close herself. By the time Pete Simmons wakes up from his vodka nap, there are a half a dozen cars at the Mile 81 rest stop. Two kids — Rachel and Blake Lussier — and one horse named Deedee are the only living left. Unless you maybe count the wagon.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I bought this short story for my Kindle before I realized it was located in the short story collection Bazaar of Bad Dreams. At least now I can still get my SK fix, even when I don’t have an ink-and-paper book with me..Mr King has a thing about cars in his works. We all know that Christine just wanted to be loved, and a muddy station wagon at a rest stop just wanted to eat. Is that so wrong? There is no moral judgement or societal pronouncement in this story; it’s just a fun little read. Pete Simmons gets left behind by the “big kids”, so he goes exploring. When he finds the secret entrance and the liquor stash at an abandoned rest stop, our young hero gets drunk and sleeps it off. In the meantime, the aforementioned wagon shows up, and patiently waits for lunch to arrive..As with 99% of King’s short stories, just put reality in a holding pattern for a little while, and enjoy the creative, if slightly disturbed, mind of my favorite author.

⭐For a longish short story, “Mile 81” manages to cram in some decent characterizations (even among the several victims who are only briefly seen) and many scares. The scares, not so incidentally, are generated by a pretty well-crafted piece of imagination: essentially a monster from space who (at least currently) is shaped like a mud-spattered station wagon that’s sitting alongside an abandoned rest stop like a Venus Fly Trap, just waiting for curiosity seekers to check it out.The story reminded me of those small gems that the author routinely included in his periodic telephone book-sized anthologies of decades past: an efficient little story that gets the job done quickly but not by cheaping out on the richness or drama or that all-important creepiness. In this case, you’ll never look at a moldy old station wagon again.A cool bonus (and possibly the main reason this “Kindle Single” exists in the first place) is also included with one’s purchase: a meaty little promotional excerpt from “11/22/63”, Mr. King’s novel about the JFK assassination and the time traveler who tries to prevent it. As rich and imaginative as Mr. King’s short stories can be, it’s his long, ambitious novels where those qualities will most often really shine. And from this excerpt, “11/22/63” doesn’t look to be an exception to the rule.So, if you’re at all a fan of Stephen King, you can do worse than spend a couple of bucks and change for an early look at both a polished little short story (that will undoubtedly be a highlight of a future King anthology) and a late-career novel that just might be- judging by the subtle, intriguing, and nuanced excerpt seen here- right up there with “The Stand” in its creativity and memorability. Heck, I’ll be more than satisfied if “11/22/63” is as least as good as the decent, perfectly satisfying “Under the Dome” of a couple of years past.Anyway, “Mile 81″ is fun, cheap, includes a meaty glimpse of a possibly great novel, and is only a click away on your Kindle. What’s stopping you?

⭐”Mile 81” fits very well into the classic King short story/novella collection. It’s a classic King tale, that grabs you in the way that only King can.A young boy goes to a long abandoned highway rest stop. This is the building the older kids come to hang out, get high, drink and have sex. Finding the place deserted the boy discovers a stash of porno magazines and some liquor. Having a good time drinking and looking at the magazine, the kid passes out. When he awakens he sees an old station wagon pulling into the rest stop. There is something “off” with the car, and when the door opens and no one gets out, the boy knows there is something very bad about this car.Combining elements of stories like “The Raft” or “From a Buick 8”, “Mile 81” is a wonderful tale that once again showcases King’s ability to create characters and build tension in the short story format. “Mile 81” is a throwback to King’s earlier, grittier short stories, and I can see this tale falling neatly into the “Night Shift” collection, something similar to “I Am the Doorway” or “Grey Matter”. Definitely worth a download.

⭐Stephen King was one of the first established writers to have his work published in e-book format. He published UR as an Amazon Kindle novella in 2009. Mile 81 is a Kindle Single published by Amazon this year, a terror story that takes place at a defunct rest area at mile marker 81 of Interstate 95.Mr. King returns to a topic he wrote about in a 1983 full length novel, Christine, the name of a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a terrible mind of its own. This time it is an old mud slathered station wagon, vaguely defined as a Ford or Chevy. It has a different mind than Christine that several characters discover at their peril.The prolific writer shows his talent for engaging the reader in the action and causing her to care about the characters. They are a random set of people in a variety of vehicles who pull off the highway where the station wagon is parked. In his narrative, Mr. King introduces products and services current today that pull the reader into identification with the ordinary people driving on I-95 who make the bad decision to stop. For example, they eat brand name foods, drive well known vehicle models, use contemporary jargon, and talk about current events. Mr. King has the unique talent to make the reader believe in the story and care about the realistic characters no matter how bizarre the premise of the work.This is a very good, satisfying novella for the reader offered by Kindle Singles publishers. It is well worth the very affordable price. The e-book also contains a teaser for Stephen King’s new full length novel, 11/22/63.

⭐This felt like a rush job from Stephen. There are short stories and there are drafts of short stories and sadly, I felt this fell into the latter. I felt quite affronted to then have another ‘draft’ be presented at the end of this short short story, begging for feedback but looking like a desperate attempt to give the buyer more pages for their money. Mile 81 was not a good story. This was a miss for me this time

⭐Obviously you’d only buy this if you were looking for a Stephen King short story, right? That’s what you pay for, that’s what you are told you are going to get and – yes you’ve got it – that is precisely what you DO get. It’s short, very easy to read and filled the gap that I wanted to fill brilliantly.What is always amazing about Stephen King’s writing – and this is no exception – is the way in which he draws the scene so vividly that you can imagine being there with the greatest of ease. Here the atmosphere of the Mile 81 rest area is clear and true.It IS a short story in every sense, and so there isn’t that much that can fit in. I suppose that there is a slight repetition to some of the – erm – incidents, but actually they really underline some interesting points about human nature! Even when there is obvious danger curiosity draws you in further. Even when there is clear information about the danger itself, doubts about information given by children is overridden – and curiosity once again lures people to their deaths.In some ways I was disappointed with the outcome, but at the end of the day I quite like not being told absolutely everything. Don’t expect to be told precisely why this is all happening, and you won’t get too upset.So here we have a simple story, simply told, with a simple ending. It’ll take a few hours to read, but then that leaves time for some more. I went on to ‘In the Long Grass’ next, and that was altogether stranger.At the price I’m not sure you are going to be too upset with this purchase.

⭐Glad it was a short story or I don’t think I could of finished this nonsense. Found it all a bit silly from the annoying 10 year old to the man eating car, Stephen King is a great writer but why release something that is a start of a idea at best.

⭐Not sure how I’ve missed this one, but I’ve read it now. Stephen King just draws you in and you have to keep reading!!!

⭐im new to ebooks but certainly not to sk and one of the main reasons for buying my new kindle was to ensure i dont miss a word the man writes! i love short stories and novellas as a break from full length novels and believe sk to be a master of the genre. those who complain this is too short . . . go and buy a novel! those who write a synopsis of every book they review . . . please dont! i want the writers strory, not your version of it! i understand some of the criticisms described in the reviews but am glad to hear they mostly go on to say they enjoyed the tale regardless and wholeheartedly agree. classic king, worth every penny long. may he reign

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