When in doubt, just read Stephen King.

So goes my mantra in 2012, and will continue on through next year and for many more to come. If I'm left conflicted between which of two books I want to read, I invariably drop both and end up going for Stephen King. Even with ones delivering a bizarre and unintentionally funny plot (*coughcough* The Tommyknockers), I usually always find something in it that ultimately leaves me happy and thrilled I read it. With this short story, I was extremely happy I settled into this for a rainy, cold evening in Virginia Beach.

A quick read at 230 pages, The Mist was originally published as part of an anthology of short stories included in the release of Dark Forces in 1980. It was released a few years ago as a novella and I guess now I'll have to rent the movie. (Although I will not hold my breath for it, King movies notoriously are poorly executed.)

David Drayton, his wife and young son live on Long Lake in Maine. After a particularly frightening series of storms one summer night forcing them to seek cover in their basement, the next morning unveils the beginning of an unnamed sense of dread. When David sees a weird mist of fog across the lake, quiet fear settles in. He heads to the store with his son and neighbor, and the mist moves even further, trapping the shop's customers in. It's here in this tiny supermarket, somewhere in Maine, that the battle for survival begins.

I marvel at King's ability to build tension.  It actually reminded me of the first part of The Stand and I was completely freaked out by the unknown constantly squawked to myself over and over "what is in the mist? Please, someone tell me, what the heck is that, oh my gawd, what is that??" and the subsequent breakdown of a group of people exiled from everything and other humans, a la Lord of the Flies. And while I was disappointed with one choice David made, he was otherwise a likable character.

The Mist hit the mark yet again for me; a great Stephen King tale to while away the time and scare the stuffing out of you. Diving once more into fear of the unknown, King doesn't meander into side stories much as it's confined to a shorter length, but don't expect for it to be tied up into one nice and neat little bow at the end, which even the main character points out. Instead, you can anticipate another solid story by the master of fear to keep you up late, late into the night.

The only thing missing? Stephen King's introduction or afterword of some sort. I have gotten used to reading his insights into the development of a story, most especially his self-deprecating humor, and I was looking forward to it.

Passage of Note

You know what talent is? The curse of expectation. As a kid you have to deal with that, beat it somehow. If you can write, you think God put you on earth to blow Shakespeare away. Or, if you can paint, maybe you think - I did - that God put you on earth to blow your father away.

Others said:

Bay State Reader's Advisory (audio review)

Publisher: Signet, a division of Penguin

Release Date: My copy is 2007, originally 1980

Pages: 230

FTC Disclosure: I purchased this from my local independent bookstore.

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty novels, including The Stand, The Dark Tower series, It, The Shining, oh...what more can be written that one doesn't already know. So here you go, click here to visit this wicked cool author's official website.

The Stephen King Project. My education (and others') continues. The Mist is another selection for the challenge Kathleen and I are hosting. The site can be found (with other participants' reviews) here.

...Alyce's blog, also known as At Home With Books, discussing the Best and Worst of author Katherine Neville. The Eight was her best, and her sequel to it The Fire, released almost twenty years later, was her worst, sadly. Have you read either of these? If so, please stop by and let me know your thoughts!

Last year, Carl held a readalong during RIP VI for Jim Butcher's Storm Front and I had it on my list to get to but couldn't fit it into my reading schedule. I was bummed since it seemed everyone had a good time with the story, so this weekend, I thought I'd dive right in. And while I didn't feel this introduction to the now-thirteen-book-series broke new ground, I don't think it needed to do anything other than set the stage for a very unique main character. I had a lot of fun with this story and am ready and excited to continue on with the series. I've heard it just gets better, so sign me up!

Harry Dresden is a wizard by trade. While not many believe his abilities, Lieutenant Karrin Murphy with the Chicago Police Department does, and regularly hires Harry to help out with more of her unusual cases. When the body of a top hired gun of Chicago's toughest mob boss is found murdered with a high-class escort in a brutal and seemingly magical way, it's up to Harry to find out what he can.  While many believe Harry is the only one who could conjure enough magic to commit the crimes, he has a limited amount of time to find out who really did the deeds since the secret White Council is scheduled to decide Harry's fate in a few days. And the ultimate sentence of death will be handed down.

This was just a lot of fun. Harry was a wonderful character who had sarcastic humor for days. The supporting cast of wildly bizarre demons, mob bosses, hired guns, and damsels in distress, set the stage for future books in the series and I'm looking forward to it. I found Butcher's ability to craft Harry's witty dialogue that delivered a zinger absolutely hilarious in certain scenes, and the working relationship Harry has with Karrin Murphy was refreshing. I enjoyed the barbs they threw back and forth at each other and am eager to see how this partnership develops. With an occasional noir-like atmosphere, Harry is the typical five o'clock shadow private eye helping the beautiful woman who walks into his office and asks for help. Sort of reminded me of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon and I dug it.

I've also read that the series gets even better, so you can bet I'll be committing to this one next year.

Publisher: A Roc Book, a division of Penguin
Release Date: 2000
Pages: 355

Others said:
Bibliophile's Corner
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Virginia Beach Public Library Recommends

About the Author:

A martial arts enthusiast, Jim Butcher has published thirteen installments to The Dresden Files series. It turned into a one season show on the SyFy Channel, cancelled for random ridiculous reasons leaving old and new fans confused. Hopefully, they'll bring the series back? Or make a movie? Either way, Jim Butcher is an author I'll be making time for in my 2013 reading experience.

Visit the author:

• On his website
• On Twitter
• On Facebook

When a trusted fellow blogger of audiobooks, The Guilded Earlobe, writes that he loved an audio so much he'd give it "a manly bear hug without bothering to take a moment to glance awkwardly around for witnesses," I pretty much knew that I'd have to download Legion, a two-hour audiobook (free on Audible.com until the end of 2012) immediately. And he was so right!

I've not experienced Brandon Sanderson's work previously, but his epic fantasy novels are ones that I have on my list and cannot wait to dive into. In Legion, Stephen Leeds is a fixer of many things and is well-paid to do so. What separates him from the rest of the fixers and investigators in this sci-fi/time travel tale is that Stephen has the help of an excellent team who are experts in everything from psychology, body language, military survival tactics, history, and linguistics. The only thing is that each member of his crack team are all parts of his multiple personalities, or as he calls them, aspects. He can see them, they talk to him, they are fully developed characters, and they are awesome. When Stephen is hired to find a missing person who has taken something that could have greater implications for all of humanity, the truth behind all religion, science, and more, the race is on, and Stephen and his aspects travel all the way to Israel to uncover the truth.

At only two hours long and narrated by one of the best audiobook narrators I've ever listened to, Legion is escapism literature at its finest. When the aspects are much more fully developed characters than in chunkster books I've read, you know it's going to be one of those stories that you make excuses to spend one-on-one time with, and no breaks to stop the flow. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in trying sci-fi, time travel, and speculative fiction, but don't want one that is highly confusing with a lot of separate story lines that you have to keep track of. This was a perfectly easy story to listen to, with such a unique approach that I, like The Guilded Earlobe, just wanted more. I wonder if he'll ever branch this out into a full book? I can only hope.

Others said:

The Guilded Earlobe (audio review)

Publisher: Audible Frontiers

Audio Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes

Release Date: 10/2/12

Narrator: Oliver Wyman

FTC Disclosure: I download this from Audible.com for free with their offer to all members that will expire at the end of this year. Hurry up and download this!

Audio Notes: Click here to listen to the incredible sample of Oliver Wyman. He was incredible! My favorite character, or favorite aspect of Stephen's, was Tobias, an older gentleman full of wisdom and historical knowledge. Or maybe it was JC, the military survival guy, who was absolutely hilarious in several scenes. I can't pick! The story and characters were so well-written, and with Oliver Wyman knocking it out of the park on audio, I just can't do a virtual standing ovation long enough!

About the Author

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author with almost a decade of published work. With the wildly popular Mistborn series I plan to dive into soon, he is also known for his stellar work in completing Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, another series I have on my list.

Visit the author:

• On his website
• On his LiveJournal
• On his main blog
• On Facebook
• On Twitter

About the Narrator

Oliver Wyman is an established audio narrator with an extensive selection available on Audible.com. Click here to see all of the options. He has voiced a wide range of options including sci-fi, fantasy, and even memoirs, particularly with Audie Award Winner It's Not About the Bike, by Lance Armstrong.