Elevation: Literary suspense from the No. 1 bestseller

What a wondrous, horrific direction anyone could face as their possible conclusion to life. It's relentless yet you kind of hope for a reprieve, a solution, a change of direction to the inevitable way this is going. Finally, barely half-a-dozen pages before the end of the ending it becomes clear how it will become an end & ending. Good? Bad? Elevation is heartbreaking for we 'deep thinkers'. An onslaught of an interpreted movie with no intermission, no commercial breaks, when our own imagination splices together everything reading 'Elevation' from the imagination & words of Stephen King. Now THIS is why & how Mr King's books had me hooked & reeled me in when reading "Carrie" in my mid-teens & that hook is just as firmly still drawing me in. Stephen King's unique storytelling is so deep & perfectly able to get our brains & psyche mentally weaving us such visual abilities upon reading that I can honestly say no other writer of his genre comes close in my opinion. I highly recommend 'Elevation' to readers. All readers. Even if this is your first Stephen King book you will be back for more and you are oh, SO lucky to have such an amazing & comprehensive choice of previously written novels, novella's & compilations of short story pieces I am enviable of the places these works will take you, dear reader. You'll not be literarily needing for some time. Enjoy.

King’s output has veered towards suspense/mystery over the last 10 years incorporating aspects of detective fiction with a light touch of the supernatural. With ‘Elevation,’ he continues in this vein. The premise of Elevation, at first sight, seems to be a parallel with that of Billy Halleck in the Richard Bachman novella ‘Thinner.’ However, this time, the protagonist’s weight loss does not result in any change in his physical appearance. In scientific terms (if indeed one can apply science to weird fiction,) Scott Carey’s density is dropping. The story never reveals why this is so, therefore avoiding any risk of King losing grasp of the plot and having to come up with some kind of believable explanation. Suffice it to say, Carey gradually experiences the curse and benefit of feeling elevated. This includes being able to propel and exercise himself with an improved muscle to weight ratio (this is where the science breaks down but King takes you with him nonetheless.) The other main strands of theme are those that make the story engaging - small town parochiality (we see a return of the classic Castle Rock’ setting), and how people can overcome social barriers that would separate them if not for trying to ‘find a way through.’ King also explores the nature of same sex relationships and how different kinds of people perceive this. The usual King trademarks and strengths are all there: Inner dialogue, off-the-wall but memorable character surnames, engaging hooks, tension and rare, almost shamanic insights into human nature. How the author manages to keep me turning the pages in his account of a village charity run is beyond me. But you’re there in the race, feeling the burn in your chest, the exchanges with other runners and the intense mind-set required to complete such a fete. Many have criticised the marketing of this novella being brought out as a single and relatively expensive book. It follows the formatting vein of his recent collaboration with Richard Chizmar in ‘Gwendy’s button box’ and maybe this is something to expect more of in the future. In fact, an excerpt from this story takes up a further nine pages of an already concise volume. In the past, this tale would probably have been included in a larger collection. You’ll make your own judgements about this strategy. For me, the hardback version was a delightful read, nicely laid out with large print and a welcome stop-gap before, hopefully, King releases his next full-length novel. Overall, the story is one of loss and hope and adheres to King’s maxim of honouring the ‘White.’ A satisfying if short read.

GOOD VALUE

As always Stephen King writes yet another page turner of another that gets you hooked and wanted to keep reading to find out what will happen. This Storyline is unique and amazing poignant finish with amazing characters to the point I opened the kindle book and just couldn't stop until I had finished in one read. Definitely an UPLIFTING Storyline!

On the whole a really good story that reads well but you would expect that from Stephen King. My only gripe is that the price is a massive micky take, the book is short, very short in fact and I read it in an evening. Its sold as a novel, I would say its short for a novella and will no doubt show up in a short story collection in the future. I feel as though Hodder have taken the piss here. Rent from a library is my advice.

Finished this book in two hours which is very quick for a Stephen King book. It's a shorty but goody. Really not much more than a short story but worth the read. I liked the characters, they were well thought out and presented. The story was short but engaging. There could have been so much more to this! The potential for so much more. It seemed to rush at the finish line which is such a shame, I hate when a good book ends!

I very much enjoy Stephen King's work; I've read it all, pretty much, so I snapped this new publication up as soon as I saw it. It's a novella, and not a long one either, so some might baulk at the price but I'm a completist, and happily parted with my cash. Elevation sees King return to his Castle Rock playground, the fictional Maine town where strange things happen on a regular basis, so Constant Readers like me can have fun spotting references to previous works - I spotted mentions of Sheriff Bannerman (The Dead Zone, Cujo) and Pennywise (IT) without trying too hard. Other King staples are in place too, like the little group of "good guys" who are quickly drawn together - the difference here is that there are no bad guys to line up against; there is no conflict. Instead, this slim offering tells the tale of a man who loses weight uncontrollably, without losing mass. That's the hook, and the cover gives a clue as to how the story ends. There is a sub-plot though, and that's where the meat is - it feels like King wanted to write about attitudes in the US, about tolerance, social acceptance, liberalism... or the lack of all those things in the country he calls home. There are a couple of swipes at Trump along the way too, and if you follow King on Twitter those will come as no surprise. But anyway... I won't talk more about the plot, I don't want to spoil things for you, but I will say this rattles along in true King style and I swallowed it whole last night - I started in at 11.20pm and was done by 12.40am. That includes reading the nine page sample of another novella, Gwendy's Button Box, that is tagged on the end to pad the book out (and stopping halfway through to get some biscuits). Now I'm a fast reader but even so, this is a slim book, and that has attracted some negative reviews here. That's ridiculous, in my book, when the sales page clearly indicates that it is only 160 pages and the quoted reviews call it variously a novella or slim novel. Buyer beware, I say, but I guess many fans are used to heftier tomes from Mr King. I knew what I was getting though, and what I got was this: not Stephen's finest work but a well-told story with a curiously uplifting end. It's unlikely to win him many new fans, but most Constant Readers will lap it up, as long as they can get over the fact that it's a novella, not a 600-pager.

Another well crafted and superbly written story from the master of horror! The characters are well written and believeable. The story itself is a step away from a usual King story. I liked that. My only criticism is the length of the story. It is way too short to justify the price tag. It took less than an hour and a half to read. It felt like more of a teaser for Constant Readers. Come on King! Give us another meaty read!

Excelente servicio

Master storyteller, at it again!

Jag älskar Stephen King men denna var medioker för att vara han.

Interesting and original storyline. Always a fan of SK

Si legge in un paio d'ore ma quelle ore sono sentite e con tante lacrime. Sicuramente non il solito horror di King, ma un racconto bellissimo e umano per provare che sa scrivere non solo racconti dell'orrore.