Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas, markedly different in tone and subject, each on the theme of a journey. The first is a rich, satisfying, nonhorrific tale about an innocent man who carefully nurtures hope and devises a wily scheme to escape from prison. The second concerns a boy who discards his innocence by enticing an old man to travel with him into a reawakening of long-buried evil. In the third story, a writer looks back on the trek he took with three friends on the brink of adolescence to find another boy's corpse. The trip becomes a character-rich rite of passage from youth to maturity. These first three novellas have been made into well-received movies: "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" into Frank Darabont's 1994 The Shawshank Redemption, "Apt Pupil" into Bryan Singer's 1998 film Apt Pupil (also released in 1998 on audiocassette), and "The Body" into Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986). The final novella, "Breathing Lessons," is a horror yarn told by a doctor, about a patient whose indomitable spirit keeps her baby alive under extraordinary circumstances. It's the tightest, most polished tale in the collection. |
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
He creates people who are so alive, you can almost sense them.
Voice of Youth Advocates - Mary K. Chelton
The superb writing lends itself to both booktalking and classroom teaching, although probably only at the college level because of the conservatism of the secondary school market over sex and 'dirty words.' The point of view is not young adult and the stories do not have either melodramatic plotting or emotion-laden incidents enough to offset that. . . . A neat read for YA librarians needing respite from brainrot.
Library Journal
It doesn't get any better than Frank Muller reading vintage Stephen King! In Apt Pupil, this master of suspense treats his readers to a sinister plot in which a 13-year-old boy, Todd Bowden, becomes completely absorbed by the life and true stories of a former Nazi, Kurt Dussander. When Todd uncovers the identity of a war criminal hiding out in his town, he blackmails Kurt into telling, and reliving, all of the concentration camp horrors so Todd can almost feel what it was like to have been there. The more involved the two become, the deeper and harder it is for Todd to remain the "apt pupil" that he once was. And, of course, the author's (Bag of Bones, Audio Reviews, LJ 12/98) plots always have twists. This audiotape is pure, unadulterated Stephen King; it's "must- have audio" at its best. Highly recommended.--Kristin M. Jacobi, Eastern Connecticut State Univ., Willimantic Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
The New York Times Book Review - Alan Cheuse
As a collection 'Different Seasons' is flawed and out of balance, but that shouldn't deter anyone with a taste for interesting popular fiction. Each of the first three novellas has its hypnotic moments, and the last one is a horrifying little gem.
Time
The only reader likely to find these long tales truly frightening is an old-fashioned book lover: they are spooky examples of what can be called postliterate prose. The genre is new, its methods still in the formative stage, butKing is its popular master. Different Seasons offers a dazzling display of how writing can appeal to people who do not ordinarily like to read. . . . In Apt Pupil, for example . . . 'Dick Bowden, Todd's father, looked remarkably like a movie and TV actor named Lloyd Bochner.' When Todd finds himself in a dilemma, he mentally goes to the movies: 'He thought of a cartoon character with an anvil suspended over its head.' Such perceptions spare readers the task ofpuzzling them out. They short-circuit thought, plugging directly into pre-fabricated images. . . . In postliterate prose, reality is at its most intense when it can be expressed as an animated drawing. |
