Road Rage: 2 Novellas by Richard Matheson, Stephen King & Joe Hill

by:  Richard Matheson, Stephen King & Joe Hill
published by:  Harper Audio
publish date:  February 24, 2009

Road Rage unites Richard Matheson's classic "Duel" and the contemporary work it inspired--two power-packed short stories by three of the genre's most acclaimed authors. "Duel," an unforgettable tale about a driver menaced by a semi truck, was the source for Stephen Spielberg's acclaimed first film of the same name. "Throttle," by Stephen King and Joe Hill, is a duel of a different kind, pitting a faceless trucker against a tribe of motorcycle outlaws, in the simmering Nevada desert. Their battle is fought out on twenty miles of the most lonely road in the country, a place where the only thing worse than not knowing what you're up against, is slowing down . . .

This book has 2 novellas in it.  The first is Duel.  It tells the story of a business man in his little car that draws the ire of a truck driver.  Or does he?  That was my question throughout the whole story.  Is it the truck driver that has road rage or is it the man imagining everything and blowing it all out of proportion?  

Throttle is by father-son team Stephen King and Joe Hill.  I never knew they wrote anything together so I was pleased to read this story.  It was pretty good.  This story had a little more depth than Duel, but the story line was more clear cut.  It wasn't as debatable as Duel could be.  

This was great audiobook.  Stephen Lang did a great job with the narration.  It was fairly short, so it's definitely one you would want to get from the library, but worth the listen.  

Other Kingdoms

Author: Richard Matheson
Publisher: Tor Books

1918. A young American soldier, recently wounded in the Great War, Alex White comes to Gatford to escape his troubled past. The pastoral English village seems the perfect spot to heal his wounded body and soul. True, the neighboring woods are said to be haunted by capricious, even malevolent spirits, but surely those are just old wives’ tales.

Aren’t they?

A frightening encounter in the forest leads Alex into the arms of Magda Variel, an alluring red-haired widow rumored to be a witch. She warns him to steer clear of the wood and the perilous faerie kingdom it borders, but Alex cannot help himself. Drawn to its verdant mysteries, he finds love, danger…and wonders that will forever change his view of the world.

I'm on the fence about this story. I originally gave it 3 stars on Goodreads, but I have since changed it to 2. I think I needed to sit on this one for a while. For me, Other Kingdoms was just "OK".

What I liked: It was a pleasant rambling story. I listened to the audio book which was narrated by Bronson Pinchot. His voice gave real depth to the characters in the story, particularly Alex, the 82 year old man who is telling his true fairy tale from long ago. I think if I had picked this up in paperback, I wouldn't have finished it. Mr. Pinchot's voice as the old man was what really kept my interest, not the words themselves.

What I didn't like: It was a pleasant story. That's it. I kept waiting for something to happen and it really didn't. The ending was disappointing and left me with an empty feeling. I am a sucker for happy endings, but I have been known to like not-so-happy endings on occasion. I can see the need for them in some stories. That wasn't the case here. I saw no reason for it to end the way it did and felt very let down; like I had gone on this journey with the old man with nothing to show for it. I guess in the end, it is all a matter of preference.

If you are a fan of Richard Matheson, you might like Other Kingdoms. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't recommend it.

--Kari