Anybody else read this?
Personally, I'd say it's not a good story. It's very unpolished, and seems like the work of a kid who hadn't fully come into his talent yet. (Which is exactly what it is, so that makes sense, I guess.)
I know a lot of people would probably love to see it collected in King's next book of stories, but it'd feel very much out of place, if you ask me.
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I think it would be appropriate to include it in a collection of his early works. Agreed, it's not the best by far, but it is fairly representative of his very early work. (By the way, it was reprinted in the Fall, 1990 issue of Weird Tales.)Originally Posted by Bryant Burnette
John
I rather liked it, more than many of King's stories that have been published in collections. I would say that it echoes one Edogawa Rampo's story (whose name I forget at the moment), but I am not sure King read Edogawa at that time.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And in Cemetery Dance #68
Author of The Road to the Dark Tower, Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences and The Dark Tower Companion. Co-editor with Stephen King of the anthology Flight or Fright.
The story has an interesting image at its heart: the notion of the glass floor tricking you into thinking that you're hanging in mid-air, and once you believe that to be the case, you "fall" and break your neck. But the story is really weak, and is obviously reverse-engineered from the image itself. And the writing is very, very sloppy. It's by far the worst published King story, in my opinion, except maybe for "Man with a Belly."
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