The Cannibals

[Bev Vincent]

For the first time ever, you will be able to read an excerpt from The Cannibals. This is the story which originally inspired Under the Dome. On September 15th, it will be posted on StephenKing.com

[Ari_Racing]

Ok...it seems September 15th IS the date!

The S/L edition, the excerpt.

Will this be the same excerpt that it's supposed to appear on Entertainment Weekly?

[mae]

No, sounds like an excerpt from King's unfinished novel The Cannibals, written in the '80s about people trapped in an apartment building.

[Bev Vincent]

That's right -- and it's a long excerpt, too. Far from the complete thing, but enough to give you a sense of how different it is from UtD.

Sept 15 represents the launch of other promotional activities from Scribner, so it's a good day to keep checking back at King's official web site.

[Ari_Racing]

isn't the 1st part of the cover be released as well?

[Bev Vincent]

The first aspect of the cover will be unveiled on September 21, followed by the release of additional images on September 25 and September 28, and culminating with the full reveal on October 5, when the world will see that everything is UNDER THE DOME.

[Ari_Racing]

Oh.

Well...I think I had a good decision when I choose to visit USA for the release of this book. I can't remember such a huge marketing campaign for a King book.

[mae]

This is pretty tremendous news, by the way. It's cause for celebration. When I first read about The Cannibals in 1998, in Stephen Spignesi's book, I had no idea I'd ever get to read a part of it. This represents a very positive, in my view, tendency of late, which started in 2007 I guess when King released Blaze, albeit a bit rewritten. In the past King was pretty secretive about his unpublished stuff, with some rare exceptions (like the small pieces that were released in the 1990s). This is leading me to believe we may soon have an honest to God official collection of King's uncollected and unpublished fiction. It would be an amazing volume, especially if King could write little intros to each piece.

[Ari_Racing]

Well...my thoughts exactly.

Now, considering that these last years we managed to read Blaze, now The Cannibals (yes...I understand it's a different book, but the idea it's based on this one), are we getting closed to see more of the "old" unpublished books mentioned in so many books?.

I don't expect to read "The Aftermath" (even when I'd love to!), but we already had the chance of reading a part of Sword in the Darkness...I can't help imagine that it'd be finally published someday.

[Bev Vincent]

The Cannibals is especially rare, because it was never archived at the University of Maine.

[Ari_Racing]

Bev,

Which unpublished work you think it might have the same luck Blaze and The Cannibals had?

[mae]

The Cannibals is especially rare, because it was never archived at the University of Maine.

I wonder what was the reason? Most everything is there, isn't it?

[Bev Vincent]

If you've read Lisey's Story, you'll have a fairly good notion of King's attitude toward this sort of ephemera and unpublished work. The Cannibals is a failed novel -- he never finished it, and it was written at a time when he was having a hard time finishing anything--the two years after he completed It. So I don't imagine he will ever complete it, and this excerpt may be all we ever see of it. Who knows? Blaze, at least, was complete and had received some favorable feedback from his editor at the time. The other books, well, some things are just meant to stay in the trunk.

[mae]

But plenty unpublished novels have been printed. Most recently, Nabokov's last novel, The Original of Laura. Morbid it may be, but I wouldn't want to wait until King's death to see these things published, when he could supply his own commentary and just oversee the project. Of course it's still unlikely that'll happen, but possible - given things like Blaze, Sword in the Darkness, and now The Cannibals.

[Ari_Racing]

Yes. I understand. And I remember reading somewhere (probably in Spignesi or Beahm books) that he refused to publish several ones. But in the end, Blaze saw the light, he allowed a big chapter of Sword in the Darkness to be published, now Under the dome continues the idea of The Cannibals.

What I meant is that, considering you probably are one of the few people that read several of the unpublished works, is there a particular book/story you think it might be published (corrected or not) in the near future?

[Bev Vincent]

No, not really. And there are some that have been republished recently that I think he should have left behind. The Cat From Hell didn't belong in Just After Sunset, for example. It's a mediocre story, and it felt out of place with the rest of that collection. And The Old Dude's Ticker is atrocious and should have been left to molder in NECON XX, where few people could be subjected to it!

[Ari_Racing]

Well....I think big part of Nightmares and Dreamscapes should have remain unpublished as well in that case

[jhanic]

No argument there! The Old Dude's Ticker was pretty bad.

John

[mae]

It may not be very good, but it's interesting. At least from a historical perspective.

[Sam]

No, not really. And there are some that have been republished recently that I think he should have left behind. The Cat From Hell didn't belong in Just After Sunset, for example. It's a mediocre story, and it felt out of place with the rest of that collection. And The Old Dude's Ticker is atrocious and should have been left to molder in NECON XX, where few people could be subjected to it!

I really enjoyed The Cat From Hell Bev and didn't find it out of place. But that's just one opinion. As for The Old Dude's Ticker, haven't read it, and if it's that bad... I don't want to.

King is my favorite author by far, but he's far from perfect. The only author I can truly say I have enjoyed everything I've read that they wrote is Joe Haldeman, but I haven't read everything he's published either.

[mae]

Perhaps The Plant can unfurl its leaves once again?

[Bev Vincent]

It did -- you can get it by solving all the puzzles on The Office part of King's website. I doubt he'll ever go back to working on the story again, though. He's already given up on it twice.

[Ben Mears]

If you've read Lisey's Story, you'll have a fairly good notion of King's attitude toward this sort of ephemera and unpublished work. The Cannibals is a failed novel -- he never finished it, and it was written at a time when he was having a hard time finishing anything--the two years after he completed It. So I don't imagine he will ever complete it, and this excerpt may be all we ever see of it. Who knows? Blaze, at least, was complete and had received some favorable feedback from his editor at the time. The other books, well, some things are just meant to stay in the trunk.

I look at SK's unpublished works, especially his novels, as "demo tapes" that only his most loyal readers would be interested in "hearing". At one time SK felt that Sword In The Darkness was worthy of publication and I think there is a small group of his constant readers who would enjoy having an opportunity to read it. Novels like SITD, viewed in an historical context, could be released as small press/limited edition publications and not tarnish SK's legacy.

[herbertwest]

It did -- you can get it by solving all the puzzles on The Office part of King's website. I doubt he'll ever go back to working on the story again, though. He's already given up on it twice.

He gave up a few times as well for Cannibals ;-)

[mae]

Well I've had The Plant for a long time. I paid for each installment. I meant him finishing it finally. I think he may, one of these days. It's a rather uniquely written story, for King anyway.