Revisiting An Old Favourite – The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
Jamieson Villeneuve
January 31, 2008
I am currently reading one of my favourite novels of all time. That novel is The Colorado Kid by Stephen King.
I love this novel. It´s witty, light hearted and still has that sense of "What If?" that King is well known for. Being the curious sort, I went onto Amazon to see what others thought of the novel and was surprised.
A lot of people hated it and one reviewer went so far as to call The Colorado Kid a complete waste of time. On one hand, I can see their argument; on the other, I just don´t understand the negative reviews. King is known for doing things differently, doing things his way. Why should The Colorado Kid be any different?
Hard Case Crime is a wonderful imprint that publishes new and old pulp novels of days gone by. Novels where there are crimes, gritty streets, criminals and ravishing beauties. Where the good guys don´t always win and the story lines read like James Bond novels.
When I first picked up The Colorado Kid, I wasn´t sure what to expect. Never having read a pulp novel by King, I jumped right in and got my feet wet; and was treated to one of the best novels I have ever read.
Our story starts with Stephanie McCann. Working for The Weekly Islander before she starts out into the big world of newspaper reporting, Stephanie is astounded to learn that Vince Teague and Dave Bowie, the two old cronies who run The Weekly Islander, are hiding a real unsolved mystery inside their gray haired heads. The two old men decide to let Stephanie in on the unsolved mystery, hoping that it will make her one of them, an Islander.
The mystery revolves around The Colorado Kid, a man who was found on the beach one morning by two teenagers. He had been found with grease on his hand, a piece of steak lodged in his throat and a pack of cigarettes with one cigarette missing. No one knew who he was or how he had come to be on the island. He was wearing clothes unsuitable for cold island weather: A white shirt with no jacket, slacks and loafers with no socks.
Who was the Colorado Kid? How did he come to be on the island? Did he meet with fowl play? As Dave Bowie and Vince Teague take Stephanie through all the mysteries surrounding the Colorado Kid, Stephanie will learn that not everything is what it seems at first and that answers can be a long time in coming. Will she find the answers she is seeking or will she remain shrouded in the shadows of mystery? Only the Colorado Kid knows for sure…
Reviews of the novel were split right down the middle; King even says in his afterward to the novel that you will either love "The Colorado Kid" or hate it. There will be no ground in between. Thankfully, I am one of the people who love it.
While some would complain that The Colorado Kid isn´t a hard crime pulp novel, like it should be, I would have to agree. This is what makes "The Colorado Kid" such a treat. Instead of another potboiler like it´s predecessors, King presents a novel about the mystery of mystery. You will understand what I mean when you read the novel and it will be well worth the read.
King has done something beyond average here. It left me breathless. The novel reads like the hardest of crime novels but is something more: a commentary on the mystery that runs in our lives. "The Colorado Kid" was one hell of a read and I, for one, am glad that I went along for the ride. Hopefully those that left negative reviews will revisit this book and change their minds. Maybe, maybe not.
Either way, King has put his own stamp on mystery, has done things his own way. Should we expect anything less from the King himself? The Colorado Kid is just as good reading it the tenth time as it was reading it the first time.
Pick up "The Colorado Kid." It´ll take you an afternoon to read it and your life will be much the richer for it.
I love this novel. It´s witty, light hearted and still has that sense of "What If?" that King is well known for. Being the curious sort, I went onto Amazon to see what others thought of the novel and was surprised.
A lot of people hated it and one reviewer went so far as to call The Colorado Kid a complete waste of time. On one hand, I can see their argument; on the other, I just don´t understand the negative reviews. King is known for doing things differently, doing things his way. Why should The Colorado Kid be any different?
Hard Case Crime is a wonderful imprint that publishes new and old pulp novels of days gone by. Novels where there are crimes, gritty streets, criminals and ravishing beauties. Where the good guys don´t always win and the story lines read like James Bond novels.
When I first picked up The Colorado Kid, I wasn´t sure what to expect. Never having read a pulp novel by King, I jumped right in and got my feet wet; and was treated to one of the best novels I have ever read.
Our story starts with Stephanie McCann. Working for The Weekly Islander before she starts out into the big world of newspaper reporting, Stephanie is astounded to learn that Vince Teague and Dave Bowie, the two old cronies who run The Weekly Islander, are hiding a real unsolved mystery inside their gray haired heads. The two old men decide to let Stephanie in on the unsolved mystery, hoping that it will make her one of them, an Islander.
The mystery revolves around The Colorado Kid, a man who was found on the beach one morning by two teenagers. He had been found with grease on his hand, a piece of steak lodged in his throat and a pack of cigarettes with one cigarette missing. No one knew who he was or how he had come to be on the island. He was wearing clothes unsuitable for cold island weather: A white shirt with no jacket, slacks and loafers with no socks.
Who was the Colorado Kid? How did he come to be on the island? Did he meet with fowl play? As Dave Bowie and Vince Teague take Stephanie through all the mysteries surrounding the Colorado Kid, Stephanie will learn that not everything is what it seems at first and that answers can be a long time in coming. Will she find the answers she is seeking or will she remain shrouded in the shadows of mystery? Only the Colorado Kid knows for sure…
Reviews of the novel were split right down the middle; King even says in his afterward to the novel that you will either love "The Colorado Kid" or hate it. There will be no ground in between. Thankfully, I am one of the people who love it.
While some would complain that The Colorado Kid isn´t a hard crime pulp novel, like it should be, I would have to agree. This is what makes "The Colorado Kid" such a treat. Instead of another potboiler like it´s predecessors, King presents a novel about the mystery of mystery. You will understand what I mean when you read the novel and it will be well worth the read.
King has done something beyond average here. It left me breathless. The novel reads like the hardest of crime novels but is something more: a commentary on the mystery that runs in our lives. "The Colorado Kid" was one hell of a read and I, for one, am glad that I went along for the ride. Hopefully those that left negative reviews will revisit this book and change their minds. Maybe, maybe not.
Either way, King has put his own stamp on mystery, has done things his own way. Should we expect anything less from the King himself? The Colorado Kid is just as good reading it the tenth time as it was reading it the first time.
Pick up "The Colorado Kid." It´ll take you an afternoon to read it and your life will be much the richer for it.