Customer Reviews

Riding the Bullet

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Stephen King first published "Riding the Bullet" as an online e-book in 2000. This was the first time a story by a top-selling author was first published electronically, and only later in traditional media, and because of this it got a lot of publicity at the time.

Since then "Riding the Bullet" has been released as an audio book on CD or cassette, and as an audio download. It is also included in "Everything's Eventual", a collection of 14 short stories in print form.

In his introduction to "Everything's Eventual" Stephen King bemoans the fact that "Riding the Bullet" got a lot of attention just because it was the first e-book-only publication by a major author, but absolutely no attention based on the merits of the story itself. So now I'll focus on the story, just in case Mr. King happens by - wouldn't want to disappoint him, right?

"Riding the Bullet" is a ghost story about a young guy who is hitchhiking home to visit his sick mother and gets picked up by a dead man driving a Ford Mustang. The dead man gives him a simple choice: either you or your mother die, and you get to choose which one!

The young guy in the story has to make a choice. You, the reader, also have to consider what you'd choose if you were in this situation. Come on, now, be honest, who would you choose?

There's a flashback to when the young guy was a 12-year-old boy visiting an amusement park together with his mother. He pestered his mother to stand in line with him to ride the scariest attraction, "The Bullet", but when they finally got to the head of the queue he chickened out. He made his choice then, not to ride The Bullet.

What will he choose now?

The story is not too complicated or sophisticated, but it is well told. In particular, the characters seem very real, even the ghost, and the story is told in a way that makes it believable and entertaining.

The audio version is read by Josh Hamilton who has just the right youthful voice to make it sound correct. It is only 1 hour and 33 minutes. (The cassette and CD versions say "approx. 2 hours" on the packaging, but this is deceptive marketing.)

Recommended, although the audio version is over-priced compared to buying "Everything's Eventual" as a book and getting an additional 13 stories.

Rennie Petersen

Although the story was enjoyable, I based my purchase of the Kindle edition on the Print Length of 400 pages listed in the item description and was disappointed to discover that, rather than a full-length novel, I had received a short story.

Amazon, please correct your misleading item description!

As did some other reviewers, I decided to purchase this based on Amazon's description of it being 400 pages, and was surprised and disappointed when it ended just as I was settling in for a good read. I do enjoy Stephen King's short stories, but this one was just okay. Next time I'll actually READ the reviews before purchasing!

Myself and my son listened to this story on a long drive. It scared him. He was looking for random people on the side of the road the rest of the trip. I loved the story. Its a true King tale.

Im not much into writing reviews but this one i had to.. This is the best audiobook i have ever heard.. hands down and i listen to alot of em... this is amazing.. creepy... heart wenching and powerful

I am a constant reader. And will continue to be so. Have never been disappointed by anything Mr. King has published.

This audio version of the short story is very well done. Josh Hamilton as the reader does a very good job. This is typical King material but lacks true punch as a horror novel. The underlying morale of the story was not lost on me and I do enjoy philosophical undertones the King adds to many of his novels. Still, the story did not scare me or even enthrall me. In that, I found it lacking.

Loved this one! If you know you're about to read a short story, you won't be disappointed! I enjoyed the main character's "personality" as he narrated his story. I felt like I was along for the ride. Very typical Stephen King work, rather spooky but also a bit lighthearded in a way... sort of like an old Tales From the Crypt kind of story but way better since it's from S.K.

Just as the story was short, so shall my review be short.

It is a quick read in which King amazingly gives you tremendous insight into the main character in such a short time. I found myself sympathizing with him and enjoyed the story which was richer than its length implies.

On March 14, 2000, shortly after his nearly fatal accident, King published Riding the Bullet as an e-book, exclusively, as his introduction to electronic publishing. Simon and Schuster worked with Softlock offering the 67-page novella for $2.50, payable by credit card.

On the first day the demand for download was so high that Softlock suffered a lockup, preventing eager readers from accessing Riding the Bullet for a few days. Loyal King readers complained that availability was limited to those with credit cards, e-readers, and pcs. Mac owners couldn't download the book. Barnes and Noble and Amazon offered the download for free.

In 2002 Riding the Bullet was published as one of 14 short stories in Everything's Eventual. In 2004 a movie version was released.