Review: The master mines scares from a junky old car and a dirty rest stop
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 12, 2011
For a longish short story, "Mile 81" manages to cram in some decent characterizations (even among the several victims who are only briefly seen) and many scares.  The scares, not so incidentally, are generated by a pretty well-crafted piece of imagination: essentially a monster from space who (at least currently) is shaped like a mud-spattered station wagon that's sitting alongside an abandoned rest stop like a Venus Fly Trap, just waiting for curiosity seekers to check it out.The story reminded me of those small gems that the author routinely included in his periodic telephone book-sized anthologies of decades past: an efficient little story that gets the job done quickly but not by cheaping out on the richness or drama or that all-important creepiness.  In this case, you'll never look at a moldy old station wagon again.A cool bonus (and possibly the main reason this "Kindle Single" exists in the first place) is also included with one's purchase: a meaty little promotional excerpt from "11/22/63", Mr. King's novel about the JFK assassination and the time traveler who tries to prevent it.  As rich and imaginative as Mr. King's short stories can be, it's his long, ambitious novels where those qualities will most often really shine.  And from this excerpt, "11/22/63" doesn't look to be an exception to the rule.So, if you're at all a fan of Stephen King, you can do worse than spend a couple of bucks and change for an early look at both a polished little short story (that will undoubtedly be a highlight of a future King anthology) and a late-career novel that just might be- judging by the subtle, intriguing, and nuanced excerpt seen here- right up there with "The Stand" in its creativity and memorability.  Heck, I'll be more than satisfied if "11/22/63" is as least as good as the decent, perfectly satisfying "Under the Dome" of a couple of years past.Anyway, "Mile 81" is fun, cheap, includes a meaty glimpse of a possibly great novel, and is only a click away on your Kindle.  What's stopping you?