Riding the Bullet
Encyclopedia
Riding the Bullet is a novella by Stephen King
. This work marks King's debut on the Internet
. Simon & Schuster, with technology by SoftLock, first published Riding the Bullet in 2000 as the world's first mass-market electronic book, available for download at $2.50. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection Everything's Eventual
.
With over 500,000 downloads, Stephen King seemed to pave the way of the publishing future. The actual number of readers was unclear because the encryption caused countless computers to crash.
The financial success of the electronic publication was doubtful. Initially offered at $2.50 by SoftLock and Simon & Schuster, Amazon and Barnes and Noble gave free downloads.
A movie adaptation
of the story, starring Jonathan Jackson
and David Arquette
, was released in 2004.
In 2009, the Riding the Bullet: The Deluxe Special Edition Double by Stephen King
and Mick Garris
was announced by Lonely Road Books
.
It is scheduled to be released as an oversized slipcased hardcover that is bound in the flip book or tête-bêche
format (like an Ace Double). It will feature the novella Riding the Bullet, the original script for the film with same name
by Mick Garris
, and artwork by Alan M. Clark
and Bernie Wrightson
. It will be available in three editions:
, telling him that his mother has been taken to the hospital after having a stroke
. Lacking a functioning car, Parker decides to hitchhike the 120-miles south to visit his mother.
His first ride is with an old man who continually tugs at his crotch in a car that stinks of urine
. Happy to escape this ride, Alan starts walking, thumbing his next ride. Coming upon a graveyard, Alan notices a headstone
for a stranger named George Staub: "Well Begun, Too Soon Done." Sure enough, the next car to pick him up is George Staub, complete with black stitches around his neck where his head had been sewn on after being severed and wearing a button saying "I rode The Bullet at Thrill Village, Laconia."
During the ride, George talks to Alan about the amusement park ride he was too scared to ride as a kid: The Bullet in Thrill Village, Laconia, New Hampshire
. George tells Alan that before they reach the lights of town, Alan must choose who goes on the death ride with George: Alan or his mother. In a moment of fright, Alan saves himself and tells him to "Take her. Take my Mother."
George shoves Alan out of the car, where he reappears alone at the graveyard, wearing the "I Rode the Bullet at Thrill Village" button. Alan eventually reaches the hospital, despite his guilt and the impending feeling that his mother is dead or will die any moment, his mother is fine.
Alan takes the button and treasures it as a good (or bad) luck charm, his mother returns to work and to smoking, he graduates and takes care of his mother for several years and another stroke.
One day he loses the button and knows what the phone call was about.... He finds the button underneath his mother's bed, and after a final moment of sadness, guilt, and meditation, decides to carry on.
praised the novella as "a terrific story, highlighting King's gift for characterization and his sheer narrative drive."
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. This work marks King's debut on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Simon & Schuster, with technology by SoftLock, first published Riding the Bullet in 2000 as the world's first mass-market electronic book, available for download at $2.50. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection Everything's Eventual
Everything's Eventual
"Everything's Eventual" is a novella by Stephen King. It was originally published in the October/November 1997 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. In 2000, it was included in the game Stephen King's F13...
.
Publication
During the first 24 hours, over 400,000 copies of "Riding the Bullet" were downloaded, jamming SoftLock's server. Some Stephen King fans waited hours for the download.With over 500,000 downloads, Stephen King seemed to pave the way of the publishing future. The actual number of readers was unclear because the encryption caused countless computers to crash.
The financial success of the electronic publication was doubtful. Initially offered at $2.50 by SoftLock and Simon & Schuster, Amazon and Barnes and Noble gave free downloads.
A movie adaptation
Riding the Bullet (film)
Riding the Bullet is a 2004 horror/thriller film, directed by Mick Garris. It is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella of the same name. The movie, which received a limited theatrical release, was not successful in theaters, earning a domestic gross of $134,711.-Plot:Set in 1969, Alan Parker is...
of the story, starring Jonathan Jackson
Jonathan Jackson (actor)
Jonathan Stevens Jackson is an American actor, best known for playing Lucky Spencer, son of supercouple Luke and Laura on the American daytime drama General Hospital...
and David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
, was released in 2004.
In 2009, the Riding the Bullet: The Deluxe Special Edition Double by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
and Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
was announced by Lonely Road Books
Lonely Road Books
Lonely Road Books is a small press publishing company founded in 2007 by Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar and based out of Forest Hill, Maryland. They are a publishing company that specializes in deluxe signed limited edition books...
.
It is scheduled to be released as an oversized slipcased hardcover that is bound in the flip book or tête-bêche
Tête-bêche
In philately, tête-bêche is a joined pair of stamps in which one is upside-down in relation to the other, produced intentionally or accidentally. Like any pair of stamps, a pair of tête-bêches can be a vertical or a horizontal pair. In the case of a pair of triangular stamps, they cannot help but...
format (like an Ace Double). It will feature the novella Riding the Bullet, the original script for the film with same name
Riding the Bullet (film)
Riding the Bullet is a 2004 horror/thriller film, directed by Mick Garris. It is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella of the same name. The movie, which received a limited theatrical release, was not successful in theaters, earning a domestic gross of $134,711.-Plot:Set in 1969, Alan Parker is...
by Mick Garris
Mick Garris
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker and screenwriter born in Santa Monica, California.-Biography:He is best known for his adaptations of Stephen King stories, such as directing the horror film Sleepwalkers starring Madchen Amick and is the creator of the Showtime series Masters of Horror...
, and artwork by Alan M. Clark
Alan M. Clark
Alan Marshall Clark is an author and an artist who is best known as the illustrator and book cover painter of many pieces of horror fiction. He was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel for his 2005 book Siren Promised .He has won the World Fantasy Award for his illustrations ,...
and Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
. It will be available in three editions:
- Collector's Gift Edition: limited to just 3000 slipcased copies (not signed)
- Limited Edition of 500 copies (signed by Mick Garris and the artist)
- Lettered Edition of 52 copies (signed by Stephen King)
Plot summary
Alan Parker is a student at the University of Maine, Orono who is trying to find himself. He gets a call from a neighbor in his hometown, LewistonLewiston, Maine
Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
, telling him that his mother has been taken to the hospital after having a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. Lacking a functioning car, Parker decides to hitchhike the 120-miles south to visit his mother.
His first ride is with an old man who continually tugs at his crotch in a car that stinks of urine
Urine
Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
. Happy to escape this ride, Alan starts walking, thumbing his next ride. Coming upon a graveyard, Alan notices a headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
for a stranger named George Staub: "Well Begun, Too Soon Done." Sure enough, the next car to pick him up is George Staub, complete with black stitches around his neck where his head had been sewn on after being severed and wearing a button saying "I rode The Bullet at Thrill Village, Laconia."
During the ride, George talks to Alan about the amusement park ride he was too scared to ride as a kid: The Bullet in Thrill Village, Laconia, New Hampshire
Laconia, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,411 people, 6,724 households, and 4,168 families residing in the city. The population density was 809.3 people per square mile . There were 8,554 housing units at an average density of 421.8 per square mile...
. George tells Alan that before they reach the lights of town, Alan must choose who goes on the death ride with George: Alan or his mother. In a moment of fright, Alan saves himself and tells him to "Take her. Take my Mother."
George shoves Alan out of the car, where he reappears alone at the graveyard, wearing the "I Rode the Bullet at Thrill Village" button. Alan eventually reaches the hospital, despite his guilt and the impending feeling that his mother is dead or will die any moment, his mother is fine.
Alan takes the button and treasures it as a good (or bad) luck charm, his mother returns to work and to smoking, he graduates and takes care of his mother for several years and another stroke.
One day he loses the button and knows what the phone call was about.... He finds the button underneath his mother's bed, and after a final moment of sadness, guilt, and meditation, decides to carry on.
Reception
F&SF reviewer Charles de LintCharles de Lint
Charles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
praised the novella as "a terrific story, highlighting King's gift for characterization and his sheer narrative drive."