Blood and Smoke [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Stephen King (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Stephen King has forced us to confront our greatest fears. He has guided us through the depths of our imagination to places we never would have ventured alone. Now, in Blood and Smoke, he takes us inside a world of yearning and paranoia, isolation and addiction. It is the world of the smoker.

In this audio-only collection, the now politically incorrect habit plays a key role in the fates of three different men in three unabridged stories of unfiltered suspense.

In Lunch at the Gotham Café, Steve Davis is suffering through intense withdrawal -- from both nicotine and his wife. His desperation for a cigarette and for his ex are almost too much to bear, but that's nothing compared to the horrors that await him at a trendy Manhattan restaurant.

In 1408, Mike Enslin, bestselling author of "true" ghost stories, decides to spend the night in New York City's most haunted hotel room. But he must live to write about it without the help of his ex best-friends, his trusty smokes.

And in In the Deathroom, a man named Fletcher is held captive in a South American stronghold. His captors will use any tortuous means necessary to extract the information they want from him. His only hope lies with his last request -- one last cigarette, please.

A cartonfull of chills and thrills, Blood and Smoke is classic Stephen King. The most mesmerizing storyteller of our time is at his inventive and compelling best.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stephen King had such fun recording the epic, unabridged audio version of his haunting novel Bag of Bones, he decided to publish the three-story collection Blood and Smoke exclusively on audio. They're horror stories, good and dark, loosely linked by the theme of cigarettes and a macabre humor. The flip-top cigarette-box package is amusingly cool, too.

In the first tale, "Lunch at the Gotham Café," Steve Davis quits smoking two days after his wife dumps him. King cleverly compares the two kinds of withdrawal: obsession blends with emotional flatness, and you're left "with a feeling the world has taken on a decidedly dreamy cast." Driven, Steve meets with his wife and her lawyer at a midtown Manhattan restaurant, where the nightmare begins. "I was pretty sure something was wrong with the maitre d' almost as soon as I saw him," says Steve, and gothic café events soon prove him right.

But the gory denouement actually worked better on the page, in the 1995 book Dark Love. King's two new stories, written directly for audio, outdo the first. In "1408," Mike Enslin, a writer who once studied with Jane Smiley, dreamed of being a Yale Younger Poet, and "starved on the payroll of The Village Voice," is reduced to hacking out stuff like "10 Nights in 10 Haunted Houses." For a follow-up, he visits room 1408 of the film noir-ish Dolphin Hotel. "Five women and one man have jumped from that room's single window, Mr. Enslin," notes the proprietor. "Twelve suicides in 68 years." Ah, but Mike is wearing his "lucky Hawaiian shirt--it's the one with the ghost repellent," and an unlit cigarette is tucked behind his ear.

"In the Deathroom" evokes another scary small space: a bloodstained basement Ministry of Information in which Fletcher, a reporter who quit smoking long ago, asks Escobar and his torturer's assistants--Ramon and a woman who reminds Fletcher of the Bride of Frankenstein--for a last cigarette. Fletcher recognizes the "we don't need no steenkeeng badges" cliché he's trapped in, and is "amazed to discover that one's sense of humor ... could function this far into a state of terror." But when Fletcher takes a drag, "knowing he might be dead before it burned down to the filter," you'll be tense. King's nasal, sarcastic delivery puts you right in there with his horrified protagonists. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This audio-only collection, read by King, contains two never-before-published stories, "In the Deathroom" and "1408," as well as "Lunch at the Gotham Caf?," previously unrecorded. After King came to record Bag of Bones, his first S. & S. title, he decided to do a linked collection. The stories all touch on smoking, and the first printing is in a special flip-top box suggestive of a cigarette box.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743568656
• ISBN-13: 978-0743568654
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( K ) > King, Stephen
  • #42 in Books > Books on CD > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories
  • #52 in Books > Books on CD > Horror

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner from Stephen King, November 24, 1999

By 

"theladypandora" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood And Smoke Cd (Audio CD)

This audio book was a nice surprise from Mr. King. Just in time for the holidays, like a Christmas present from my favorite author. This title is only available on audio, so don't bother looking for a book version. It is 3 stories read by the author himself, all dealing with smoking, hence the title, and you can't have a Stephen King book without a little blood. This audio is cleverly packaged like a cigarette box and even contains a warning label not to listen to in the dark. A true treat for any Stephen King fan.

"1408"~is about a bestselling author of true ghost stories who faces the ultimate challenge: spend a night in New York City's most haunted hotelroom--and he must live to write about it without the help of his ex-best friends, his cigarettes.

"In The Deathroom"~This one is about a man who is held captive in South American and discovers smoking isn't always hazardous to your health.

"Lunch at the Gotham Cafe"~is about a man going through some intensely painful times--his wife has just left him and he's just quit smoking. He's hoping for a reconciliation, but what happens when he meets his estranged wife and her lawyer for lunch at a cafe in NYC will shock you.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where There's Smoke..., January 17, 2000

By 

Kevin Wohler (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood And Smoke Cd (Audio CD)

I had never listened to an audio book in my life. In fact, I had done everything I could to avoid them. Friends and family recommended this one or that, but I politely avoided each one thinking to myself that this fad was heralding the death of the printed word. I probably would never have listened to one, but my favorite author made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Stephen King's new release, Blood and Smoke, is only available on audio.

Blood and Smoke is a collection of three stories (two never before published) with a common thread of smoking binding them together. The first story, "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe," is a story of addiction and withdrawal, as a man tries to quit smoking on the same day that his wife leaves him. In "1408," a writer who chronicles "haunted" places visits a supposedly haunted hotel room, unable to imagine that there are some things more frightening than ghosts. The last story, "In the Deathroom," follows an American journalist who is being interrogated in a South American prison, where a cigarette may be his last request or his salvation.

Each story in Blood and Smoke wonderfully showcases King's ability to write. From the everyday to the surreal, the descriptions he uses create a world in the listener's mind that eliminates the need for video. King could have made a fortune writing for old time radio theater.

While "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" and "In the Deathroom" are interesting in their own way, neither is particularly frightening. "1408," however, offers bone-chilling storytelling combined with King's personal brand of the unreal. I listened to this story, the longest of the three, late one Saturday night, unaware how unnerving it would be. King doesn't make it scary from the beginning, but first lets the listener drop his/her guard before delivering the punch. It's a wonderfully eerie story and highly recommended.

Several years ago, King lectured at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. It was a perfect night for him. The rainy October night had set a spooky mood, and fans of King filled the hall to hear him speak about his latest release (Insomnia) and read excerpts from it. From that experience, I came to the conclusion that an author's voice can lend something special to his/her words.

Hearing King read Blood and Smoke is like having him in your living room, sharing a tale with you in front of a roaring fire. There's just you and him. His Maine-accented voice comes out of your stereo speakers and sucks you into his imagination. It's not always scary, but it is entertaining.

Yet, there is something confining about an audio book. Unless you have a portable CD (or cassette) player, you can't take it with you. You can't pull it out of your backpack while you wait for an appointment or sit in your favorite coffee shop with a caffinated beverage. Worst of all, on a CD you can't bookmark your place and come back to it later. All in all, I'll stick with the printed word, but Blood and Smoke is a nice treat for any Stephen King fan.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Surprise, December 5, 1999

By 

N. Cassidy (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood And Smoke (Audio Cassette)

I found this on accident, while looking for what to spend a newly gotten gift certificate on. King has always been my favorite author and i was surprised that something of his was released without my being aware--i'm even on the mailing list for christ's sake! So, of course, i grabbed it as fast as i saw it, and, boy is it good! "Gotham Cafe," which i'd read in the Bad Love collection, is a great horror story, as is the next story "1408." What with his newer releases all more general fiction than horror, it's nice to see he'll never lose his guiginol touch. The last story is, of course, a remarkable character-driven story, and one which will hopefully reach a larger audience if placed in print. Either way, though, this collection is just as addicting as any pack of Marlboros, and even moreso recommended.