Title: URAuthor: Stephen King
First Published: February 12, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 61
Genre: Science Fiction, Short Stories
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Rating:
Synopsis:
Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book lover Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend's parting shot: "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" He buys an e-book reader out of spite, but soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he had never before imagined, discovering literary riches beyond his wildest dreams...and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his most terrible nightmares.
Buy the Book: AmazonReview
I’ll come right out and say that this story was extremely gimmicky. King is very upfront about the fact that he was approached by a friend to write a story for Amazon to go with the launch of the second generation of Kindle ereaders. While I love my Kindle this little marketing ploy made me roll my eyes. I can’t rag on King too much about it, the man has an incredible talent for writing and he can write whatever he damn well pleases. I just didn’t really dig this story despite how wonderful King’s writing is, the plot felt pretty weak.
An English professor orders a kindle out of spite, receiving a unique pink kindle that isn’t available anywhere else. Besides the usual kindle selection he also finds a hidden selection of “urs.” Works by famous authors that were never published, in this reality anyway. While the exploration of the idea of alternate realities was intriguing, I spent much of the time asking myself where all of this was going. The story eventually picks up pace around the last twenty or so pages, but I found myself wanting a little more.
It is amusing enough for a novella if you like stories about paradoxes and are a fan of King in general. Sadly this short story just wasn’t for me. UR was originally released as a Kindle Single and later collected in the anthology The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
Quote
“It occurred to him that spite was a kind of methadone for lovers. Was it better to go cold turkey? Perhaps not.”
About the Author
About Stephen King
Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world’s most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.
Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.
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