Review: Watch When You Drive, I-95
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 31, 2011
Stephen King was one of the first established writers to have his work published in e-book format. He published UR as an Amazon Kindle novella in 2009. Mile 81 is a Kindle Single published by Amazon this year, a terror story that takes place at a defunct rest area at mile marker 81 of Interstate 95.Mr. King returns to a topic he wrote about in a 1983 full length novel, Christine, the name of a 1958 Plymouth Fury with a terrible mind of its own. This time it is an old mud slathered station wagon, vaguely defined as a Ford or Chevy. It has a different mind than Christine that several characters discover at their peril.The prolific writer shows his talent for engaging the reader in the action and causing her to care about the characters. They are a random set of people in a variety of vehicles who pull off the highway where the station wagon is parked.  In his narrative, Mr. King introduces products and services current today that pull the reader into identification with the ordinary people driving on I-95 who make the bad decision to stop. For example, they eat brand name foods, drive well known vehicle models, use contemporary jargon, and talk about current events.  Mr. King has the unique talent to make the reader believe in the story and care about the realistic characters no matter how bizarre the premise of the work.This is a very good, satisfying novella for the reader offered by Kindle Singles publishers. It is well worth the very affordable price. The e-book also contains a teaser for Stephen King's new full length novel, 11/22/63.