In a major publishing coup poised to re-write the early history of Stephen King’s writing career for his legions of fans, Panbendy Press, based in Glendale, CA, will shortly announce the publication of a forgotten novel length manuscript by the critically acclaimed master of terror that will shine a new light into the darkness of King’s early writing career, prior to his meteoric rise to literary prominence.
Originally written between 1969 and 1973 under the pseudonym of Gus Pillsbury, a name King subsequently discarded in favor of the grittier Richard Bachman nom de plume, the unfinished manuscript, which runs to approximately 2,100 pages (with a tentative draft title of “Flairpool”, being the name of the Kansas City penitentiary where the story is set) was shelved by King in order for him to refocus his creative energies into completing Carrie.
Until the official announcement is made tomorrow, Panbendy Press is keeping the project tightly under wraps, with CEO John O Stralian, stating the novel, which is currently slated for a mid-2020 publication date, will be issued in two states only (Signed Limited and Lettered Editions) and that there are no plans, at this stage, to release any trade editions of the novel, either domestically or internationally.
As with the Dutton Limited Edition of “the Regulators”, the Panbendy Press editions will feature a device similar in concept to the “signed” Bachman checks employed by Dutton, thus facilitating the release of the novel under the Pillsbury pseudonym, as was originally intended by King.
Although at this point a comprehensive synopsis has not been released, Stralian did offer a teaser, stating that the novel is an epic psychosis driven Shakespearianesque (as written by Dante) love story of the undead apocalypse, with the two primary protagonists, Hemmer Joist and Dianne DeWitts, set to uproot and replace Stu Redman and Fran Goldsmith in the hearts and minds of long time King readers. So too, the antagonist, the mepthisophelian William Wild, may well challenge Randall Flagg as the epitome of evil incarnate.
A deadly virus rages indiscriminately across the United States and then beyond.
The survivors face a new terror - the undead creatures created in the wake of the infection.
Hemmer Joist is part of a group surviving out of the Flairpool high-security penitentiary near Kansas City. Resources are limited and it's down to a handful of people like Hemmer to meet the demands on food and supplies. The newly-made monsters are hungry, their leader, William Wild, undead and insane, and the survivors risk their lives scavenging the cities and highways.
On one fateful venture, Hemmer finds something, someone, with the potential to change a dark future, destined for blood and heartbreak, into one of hope and second chances.
He finds Dianne DeWitts.
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