Customer Reviews

Stationary Bike

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The middle aged hero of this story has gotten fat after the death of his wife and his cholestorol has gone sky high so he goes on a crash diet and buys a stationary bike. Being an artist he draws a picture of a lovely country road to a tiny town in upsatate New York on his wall. After a few weeks things get weird and our hero finds that while he's losing that flab he's also traveling on the road for real and somehow he's angered the workmen--- the guys, real guys somehow who maintain the road which is really his own body.

This is dreary cauationary tale for fat guys has too much cursing, too much product placement and there's only one good scary moment: the scene in Carlos's garage. Other than that one scene I did not care about the hero or what was waiting for him at the end of the road.

I don't want to say that the King is dead but maybe he's under a spell, or stunned or sleeping or something because this story just didn't take off. I'm not saying that I want King to write like he did in Carrie or Salem's Lot because that is impossible but I do wish he could get his literary groove back. Stationary Bike was just lackluster and wouldn't even scare a nervous two year old.

I read "Stationary Bike" a few years back in a "From the Borderlands" anthology and I'm having a difficult time believing they actually went the audo-book route with this one.

The hallmark of good fiction is that you care, sometimes deeply, about the characters. Near the end, if Sifkitz (the main character) he'd been beaten to death by "the workers" I wouldn't have been all that fussed. While it certainly wasn't as bad as Carol Berg's first "Bridges of D'Arnath" book, where I was actually hoping she'd kill off the main characters, the only thing one can muster for Sifkitz is mild concern and even that in short supply.

Truth be told I don't blame SK for this, all writers write a lot of [...] over the years in their quest to write good stuff. The problem is that SK is gold, everything he writes sells and sells a lot. People have joked that if he published his grocery list it would become a best seller... I'm not sure about that, but it appears this his publishers are about ready to ask him for it anyway.

Stephen King's stories usually work well as audiobooks. I think his books work well in audio because his stories are great entertainment and excellent readers are chosen to narrate his work. With Stationary Bike, King's story falters on both points. The story is okay but is very similar to a previous King story "The Road Virus Heads North." The narrator here, Ron McLarty, isn't bad, but he's not as good as Justin Long, who narrated "Everything's Eventual," Josh Hamilton who did "Riding the Bullet," or the great ensemble that performed "From a Buick 8."

The story centers on an artist who buys a stationary bike to get back into shape. To reduce the boring nature of excersing on the bike, the artist paints a picture of a landscape that he imagines he is traveling to. Pretty soon, the picture begins changing, and the artist keeps cycling to unravel the mystery. The big problem here is that when the mystery is finally revealed, you may be left scratching your head and thinking, "What? You got to be kidding me."

The story isn't that bad and would be better if it was part of a collection, but here, it's a standalone, and it isn't really worth the purchase unless you're a die-hard Stephen King fan.

Solid storytelling. I have to disagree with those that didn't like (better yet, love) this short story. Stephen King is at his best here. For those who loved, The Long Walk, I think this story is a sure-win to entertain. It kept my attention and made me feel like I was actually riding on Richard Sifkitz kick-pegs. Do it again, Stevie!

In Stationary Bike, Richard Sifkitz an aging overweight individual is told by his doctor in quite an amusing to the listener albeit unprofessional way, that he needs to loose weight. He decides to take this advice and purchases himself an exercise bike which he sets up in the basement of his building. He paints himself at what the time he believes to be imaginary picture of a road with workers who represent the workers inside his body who have up to now had to clear the road which represents his health of all the unhealthy stuff he's been shovelling in. Soon the workers in the picture become more than just a painting as he takes up his daily ride and he gets to know the details of their lives and finds out they are not too pleased with the situation he is putting them in.

King being one of the most successful writes of all times likes to occasionally ignore the written published novel format that most people want and puts out a story only accessible in a particular limited format. Previously he has had a story only available by download from the Internet and with this novella if you want to experience it the only way you can get it is through audio download or on audio CD. Ridiculous really, but if you write something it's up to you I guess.

This is the first story I've ever listened to on CD so I can't compare it to others. Ron McLarty the narrator has the same sort of American accent as Jack Nicholson which I suppose is supposed to make the story scarier but I just kept thinking this sounds like a Jack Nicholson impersonator reading a story. An all right tale but not in the masterpiece leagues of other stories King has written. Two CD's go for about 90 minutes.

2008 Review Update - At the time I wrote this review this was only available on audio book format. In late 2008 King's publishers released this story amongst other great (and average ones as well) short stories in King's anthology Just After Sunset.

Richard Sifkitz is overweight. Giving into his doctor's encouragement to get in shape, Sifkitz purchases a STATIONARY BIKE. Sifkitz is an artist and begins painting an imaginary scene in which to pretend he's traveling while riding his bike. Soon, his fantasy and reality begin merging together as Sifkitz can't stop riding his STATIONARY BIKE.

I expected better from Stephen King. The story meandered almost meaningless along the imaginary roads in a world populated with imaginary people... for no real purpose that I could discern. Sifkitz envisions the work crew that has been cleaning his system of all the junk he has eaten over the years, a work crew that is becoming increasingly disgruntled as Sifkitz is living and eating healthier now that he regularly rides his STATIONARY BIKE. We learn the identities of this imaginary work crew, but for what reason?

STATIONARY BIKE is a short audio to listen to but one I found myself struggling to stay engaged in the story. I didn't care about Richard Sifkitz's dilemma at all. He wasn't necessarily unlikable; he just didn't have much of a personality at all. In fact, the entirety of his character development focuses mostly on his weight and his efforts to lose that weight. Even the imaginary work crew is more likable and well developed than Sifkitz!

STATIONARY BIKE is not Stephen King at his best. Die hard King fans like myself with probably struggle through it and there may even be some who will insist that Stephen King cannot write a bad story. For me, however, STATIONARY BIKE is a major disappointment.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

There are two things that I look for in an audio book. First, is whether it can capture my mind so I am taken into the story like I was part of it. Second, is how much of the story I can picture months after I heard it. This book accomplished both. I felt like I was on that road experiencing the action with the rider.

Reason why it did not receive 5 stars are because it was a very short ride and I felt the end did not live up to my expectations.

'Stationary Bike' is just about everything you can expect from a traditional Stephen King story. It's not remarkable, but it's a tale well-told of an essentially ordinary guy who experiences something decidedly out of the ordinary. This is where King's strength lies, in exploring worlds and possibilities and how everyday people would react to them. He uses it to good advantage here.

It's the story of a man who discovers he's not as healthy as he used to be, and who buys a stationary bike to help get himself into better shape. Unlike many people, he actually put it to use. He's an artist by trade, and he paints himself a road and a forest to ride through. As he rides, he begins to imagine he's there, and more, he starts to feel it, and he starts to think that he's being followed.

A reader can make or break a story like this, and fortunately, Ron McLarty's reading is pitch-perfect. He reads the text with feeling and has a great ear for dialogue. His reading is natural and well-suited to the story. It's hard to imagine a better reading for this story.

'Stationary Bike' is about 90 minutes long, about the length of a short movie. For this one, though, you can close your eyes and let the voice paint a picture with words. It's a simple, uncomplicated story told in a simple, uncomplicated way. In other words, a good King story, and a great way to pass an hour and a half.

I loved Stationary Bike. Ron McLarty could read the phone book and I would listen -- intently.

Stationary Bike was a lot of fun. In the story we follow Siftkits (spelling?) as he takes a metaphoric journey down his metabolic path. The characters, the reality and the settings were all fun.

It wasn't too long or too short, it was just right. And did I meantion Ron McLarty is a great reader?

You don't have to be an SK fan to like this one.

- Dan.

I'm a Stephen King fan, but I was disappointed with this audio book. I've never purchased an audio book before, but this was the only format for this "novel." I'm not sure if I just couldn't really get into the story because I listened to it while I was driving (and, therefore, was too busy concentrating on driving), or because the story itself just wasn't all that interesting. It is a 2-disc set, and the story seemed very short. I am giving the audio book to my brother, who is blind. Maybe he will like it better than I did.