Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay (School & Library Binding)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Stephen King started writing Storm of the Century as a novel, but it evolved into the teleplay of an ABC TV miniseries. Set in Maine's remote Little Tall Island, the tale is all about vivid small-town characters, feuds, infidelities, sordid secrets, kids in peril, and gory portents in scrambled letters. The calamitous snowstorm is nothing compared to the mysterious mind-reading stranger Linoge, who uses magic powers to turn people's guilt against them--when he's not simply braining them with his wolf-head-handled cane. Don't even glance at that cane--it can bring out the devil in you. Just as The Shining was concerned with marriage and alcoholism as much as it was with bad weather and worse spirits, Storm of the Century is more than a horror story. It's creepy because it's realistic.

But it's also unusually visual. Linoge's eyes ominously change color, wind and sea wreak havoc, a basketball leaves blood circles with each bounce. The 100-year storm no doubt hits harder onscreen than on the page, but the snow is a symbol of the more disturbing emotional maelstrom that words evoke perfectly. And the murders of folks we've gotten to know is entirely terrifying in print. The crisp discipline of the screenplay format makes this book better than lots of King's more sprawling novels--the end doesn't wander and the dialogue crackles. Here's the real test: It's impossible to read parts 1 and 2 and not read part 3, "The Reckoning." --Tim Appelo --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

For the first time in Stephen King's remarkable publishing history, the master storyteller presents an all-new, original tale written expressly for the television screen.

They're calling it the Storm of the Century, and it's coming hard. The residents of Little Tall Island have seen their share of nasty Maine Nor'easters, but this one is different. Not only is it packing hurricane-force winds and up to five feet of snow, it's bringing something worse. Something even the islanders have never seen before. Something no one wants to see.

Just as the first flakes begin to fall, Martha Clarendon, one of Little Tall Island's oldest residents, suffers an unspeakably violent death. While her blood dries, Andre Linoge, the man responsible sits calmly in Martha's easy chair holding his cane topped with a silver wolf's head...waiting.

Linoge knows the townsfolk will come to arrest him. He will let them. For he has come to the island for one reason. And when he meets Constable Mike Anderson, his beautiful wife and child, and the rest of Little Tall's tight-knit community, this stranger will make one simple proposition to them all:

"If you give me what I want, I'll go away." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• School & Library Binding: 352 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback Books: A Division of Sanval (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613175336
• ISBN-13: 978-0613175333
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (168 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,182,837 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A uniquely pure example of Stephen King the Storyteller, October 8, 2000

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay (Paperback)

Most of the time when you read the original script of a movie you have seen, what will strike you are the additions, deletions and alterations that define the difference between the script and the film. However, with Stephen King's original screenplay for "Storm of the Century," what will most catch you attention is the depth of detail. Early on in writing this screenplay and knowing that the Hollywood producers may well declare his story too expensive to film, King decided to hedge his bet. If Hollywood did not want "Storm of the Century" he would simply turn it into a book. However, this script was produced and that is why we have ended up with this interesting hybrid.

As King observes in his introduction to the screenplay, at its heart "Storm of the Century" is the dark counterpart to "The Green Mile," with each centered on the mystery of the man in the jail cell. Andre Linoge has come to Little Tall Island just as the fiercest winter storm in recorded history is about to hit. After murdering one of the residents, Linoge waits calmly to be taken into police custody by Constable Mike Anderson. But once in his cell he tells the townsfolk, "If you give me what I want, I'll go away." Then things start to happen, secrets are revealed and more people die, and suddenly the citizens of Long Tall Island are ready to agree to Linoge's proposition even before they know exactly what it is he wants. King has always been a moralist, knowing full well that most people are not inclined to do the right thing, and always striving to come up with a story that might actually inspire some people to listen to the better angels of their nature. His success has always been based on his ability to put his fantastic tales into the people, images and words of everyday life. With this book more than most tales by King, you have the sense of at the end of "There, but for the grace of God..."

Ultimately what makes this screenplay worth reading is that it is perhaps the purest example of Stephen King's storytelling. The script reads more like he was telling you the story rather than you were reading it, that he was telling you what was going on, with nudges and winks from time to time to help you pass the time. On that level it is certainly a more compelling read than you would be inclined to think, but I would clarify that I think it is to be read after having seen the mini-series, not as a substitute. So pick up a copy, put it on your bookshelf, and wait for a really heavy snowstorm to take it down and start reading.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of horror strikes again in Storm of Century...., October 22, 2003

By	Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay (Paperback)

Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" screenplay is further proof, if anyone doubts it, that he's not only adept at writing a horror story that gives one the creeps, but that he is not limited to writing in one format.

Most novelists are content with sticking to one literary branch, letting other writers adapt their work to screenplay form. Tom Clancy and John Grisham sell the film rights to producers such as Mace Neufeld and screenwriters (Donald Stewart and John Milius, for instance) rework their basic plots into adapted screenplays. King, too, has allowed others to adapt his works for Hollywood, but he has also learned the demanding format of the screenplay and written quite a few (Creepshow, Silver Bullet, and The Stand, just to name a few).

For the ABC-TV miniseries "Storm of the Century," King conjured up one of his darkest tales yet. As a severe winter storm of unprecedented fury approaches Maine's Little Tall Island, Martha Clarendon is murdered in an unspeakably violent manner. But instead of fleeing the scene of the crime as most killers do, Andre Linoge parks himself on his victim's easy chair and waits, his silver-wolf-head's cane in his hands, for the authorities to pick him up.

But with Linoge's arrest, Little Tall Island's woes do not end; they are only beginning. For Linoge is one of those not-quite-human fiends Stephen King often creates to create havoc in small Maine communities like Little Tall Island, Derry, Jerusalem's Lot, and Castle Rock. He can destroy people simply by revealing their darkest secrets and manipulating them from afar. And by the time the Storm of the Century passes, the citizens of Little Tall Island will be horrified when they discover the meaning of Linoge's simple request: "Give me what I want, and I'll go away."

The introduction to this published screenplay of "Storm of the Century" allows King to explain why he sometimes writes original teleplays rather than starting by writing a novel then adapting it. He also reveals why he sells his miniseries to a broadcast network with its stricter Standards and Practices staff (censors) instead of the more liberal cable networks (HBO, Showtime), and much more.

I saw the original miniseries when it aired a few years back, and I am sure (okay, I know for a fact) that there is a DVD version of "Storm of the Century." This book reminded me of how effective the three-part "Novel for Television" was, and it is a fascinating read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars after all these years , King has still got it, February 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay (Paperback)

Storm of the century is possibly the best book I have ever read. I could not put it down,and I haven't even read all of it yet. Andre Linoge has to be the most terrifying villian because there is nothing scarier than someone who knows all your secrets, the kind of things you would take to your grave. The ending was a complete shock. I was expecting all the townspeople to get rid of the villian somehow but they didn't and that made it more real because more often than not evil does triumph and that my friends is reality. It wasn't like a horror story either, it was more like a nightmare, the kind of thing that if it happened would be your worst fears become reality. I recomend this book to anyone who doesn't mind being scared, at least once and a while. After all these years, Stephen King has still got it.