It took me a while to truly engage with this particular piece.

The main reason being that the screenplay format is something I'm not accustomed to at all.

However, once I managed to get the hang of it, I rapidly fell head over heels in love with this captivating story!

I absolutely adore the fact that the entire narrative takes place within such a brief span of time.

It had my heart racing and my pulse pounding in the most amazing way.

It felt as if we were engaged in a frantic race against the clock, and it was truly thrilling.

I also thought that the story was deliciously creepy and horrifying.

Certain parts had shivers running down my spine!

If it hadn't been for my initial struggle with the format, this would most definitely have been a five-star read for me.

It's a shame that the format initially held me back, but overall, I still found the story to be a great and exciting read.

I look forward to exploring more works in this format and seeing how they can continue to surprise and delight me.

This is a script. Find on YouTube the 4-hour and 30-minute film that fully covers the book.

My advice is to read one act of the book and then watch in the film what you have just read. It becomes a suspense bomb.

The combination of reading the book and watching the corresponding part of the film can enhance the understanding and experience of the story. As you read the detailed descriptions and dialogues in the book, and then see them brought to life on the screen, it adds a new dimension to the whole experience.

You can observe how the director interprets the text, the choice of actors, and the setting of the scenes. This way, you can not only enjoy the story in different forms but also gain a deeper appreciation for the art of both the written word and the visual medium.

So, give it a try and let the suspense unfold as you alternate between reading and watching.

I first opened this book after I bought it, and then I realized that it is a script for a miniseries, not a real novel or thriller. I was rather disappointed. It didn't seem to me to be something worth reading such a scenario. Now I come back to it. It reads very smoothly, and the tension is well incorporated. Through the descriptions of the environment, you can envision it well. The story is very exciting and perhaps has something of a horror element. Between the dialogues, you can also see something of King himself, a kind of personal remarks about the events. In a normal novel, the author is of course never so present, so I found this nice for a change. All in all, it was a nice experience to read a scenario once. I will definitely watch the corresponding series.

I will forever hate Molly.

She has done things that are unforgivable in my eyes. Maybe it was her actions that hurt me deeply, or perhaps it was her words that cut like a knife.

Every time I think of her, a wave of anger and resentment washes over me. I try to move on, but the memory of what she did still lingers.

I know that hating someone is not healthy, but I just can't seem to let go. It's as if my hatred for Molly has become a part of me, and I don't know how to get rid of it.

Maybe with time, my feelings will change, but for now, I will forever hate Molly.

I was initially concerned that the format of this piece might be something I couldn't easily adapt to. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

I truly enjoyed it! The screenplay format added a much more realistic touch. The descriptions of the scenery were extremely detailed, allowing me to vividly envision the atmosphere and setting.

It was as if I was right there on the island with the characters, yet had the vantage point of seeing from above and being aware of everything that was happening at all times.

The story itself is quite engaging. I got to know the characters very well and developed a genuine empathy for them. And the villain is truly creepy!

The ending also elicited a range of emotions. I really loved the introduction by King. It was a great way to prepare me for this unique format.

I'm so glad I finally decided to pick up this work!

A captivating and spine-chilling screenplay, meticulously crafted for a series of TV specials. The outcome? A truly outstanding, edge-of-your-seat, and tension-filled narrative. The Little Tall Island finds itself under a dual siege. On one hand, it is battered by the Storm of the Century, a force of nature unleashing its fury. On the other hand, it is menaced by the homicidal stranger, Andre Linoge. Linoge is, without a doubt, one of King's most terrifying villains, and that's no small feat. I challenge anyone to read this and not be left thinking, "Damn, how did I not realize how amazing this was!" It earns a solid 9 out of 12.

In 2016, I had the pleasure of reading this thrilling piece. The story's ability to keep me on the edge of my seat from start to finish was truly remarkable. The vivid descriptions of the storm and the menacing presence of Linoge added an extra layer of authenticity and horror. It was a reading experience that I won't soon forget.

2016 read

Little Tall Island, located off the coast of Maine, is a small and closely-knit community.

On this island, what occurs tends to remain within its bounds.

One fateful day in February, two incidents happen almost simultaneously. Firstly, a storm is brewing, which the weather experts dub the Storm of the Century. This storm poses a significant threat to the islanders, with the potential for a blizzard of unprecedented proportions. Secondly, the first murder takes place since the "accident" involving Dolores Claiborne.

The perpetrator is swiftly apprehended as he fails to leave the crime scene. A man named Andre Linoge seemingly murders an old woman for no apparent reason. The only policeman in town, who also manages the local grocery store, incarcerates the man in a makeshift cell. Due to the恶劣的 weather conditions, it is impossible for the police from the mainland to come and retrieve the murderer.

As Linoge sits behind bars, wearing his inscrutable smile, more deaths occur among the good people of Little Tall. Gradually, the community begins to disintegrate. In the end, they are confronted with an insoluble moral dilemma.

I have read this for the second time, and I find that I enjoy it even more now that I am aware of the ending. Stephen King, once again, has created some truly remarkable characters. It is fascinating to observe how they develop (or regress, depending on the perspective) throughout the book. Andre Linoge is an extremely formidable villain. Additionally, the unique setting of a small island cut off from the world by the storm adds to the atmosphere. You can almost hear the howling winds of the blizzard throughout the entire book.

The only minor issue one might have with this book is that it is not a novel in the strictest sense. King wrote it as a movie script, complete with numbered acts and scenes, neutral descriptions, and stage directions. However, for me, it works. I was literally racing through the pages towards the end, and my mental cinema was in overdrive.

Of course, a film (specifically a three-part TV mini-series) was made from this "novel". Both the book and the film are almost identical. The film is not bad at all, but as a loyal member of the close-knit GR community, I still prefer the written word over the moving pictures, even if it is just a movie script.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Storm of the Century is a remarkable work that was specifically crafted for the screen. It's not a mere prose adaptation of a three-part series but an original screenplay, or as King himself describes it, a "novel for television". I procrastinated reading (and watching) this for many years, not having high expectations due to its atypical format. However, I now deeply regret that decision because I consider this to be a standout among King's 90's creations. It's unmistakably King - which might seem obvious, but when I approached Storm of the Century, I thought his voice might be, not exactly lost, but perhaps diluted. Yet, it comes through loud and clear in the dialogues, descriptions, and even the stage directions. This is very much a Stephen King Novel™, just existing in a different medium.

The year is 1989, and a colossal blizzard is about to strike the Maine Coast. The residents of Little Tall Island are no strangers to harsh winter storms and are ready to hunker down and ride it out. But this particular storm brings far worse than just arctic snow and hurricane-force winds. Just before the storm hits, cutting the island off from the mainland, a stranger brutally murders elderly Martha Clarendon - the first homicide on Little Tall since Dolores Claiborne (allegedly) killed her husband - and then calmly waits to be arrested. As the storm rages, André Linoge sits in the makeshift cell at the back of the grocery store, wearing his inscrutable smile. Meanwhile, all over the island, more residents meet horrible deaths. The townsfolk must witness his capabilities because he has a proposition.

  “Give me what I want and I will go away.”

This is a lengthy story - the show runtime exceeds four hours - but it never once failed to engage me. In fact, the screenplay format works to the story's advantage. It's a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat suspense ride that had my mental film reel running at full speed. The cast of characters is vast, yet King manages to bring each one to life with just a few words. The dialogues feel genuine, and the characters' (re)actions are believable. I wanted to keep the scenes fresh in my mind to spot any differences (and there were a few, along with a fun cameo by King himself), so I alternated between reading a section and then watching the episode, rather than binge-watching the full show at the end. The miniseries is very good and well-cast, but I couldn't help but imagine what a remake could look like because I found the screenplay far more chilling than the final result. The budget was a staggering 35 million dollars, but the end-of-the-millennium CGI technology simply doesn't hold up. However, the dark moral dilemma that Linoge places the town in is still just as horrifying, and the ending and epilogue are among King's finest.

  “This is a cash-and-carry world, pay as you go. Sometimes you only have to pay a little, but mostly it’s a lot. And once in a while, it’s all you have.”

Storm of the Century is a truly compelling, moral tale about being forced to choose between two losing options - King's supernatural take on the Trolley Problem, if you will. No good can come from either choice, but choose you must. What will it be, and how will you live with it?

  “Job gets down on his knees and says, ‘Why did you do this to me, God? All my life I worshiped you, but you destroyed my livestock, blighted my crops, killed my wife and my children, and gave me a hundred horrible diseases… (…) all your humble servant wants to know is—Why me?’. So he waits, and just when he’s about made up his mind God isn’t going to answer, a thunderhead forms in the sky, and lightning flashes, and this voice calls down: ‘Job! I guess there’s just something about you that pisses me off.'”

The story of the lost colony is both atmospheric and creepy.

It is a mystery that has intrigued people for centuries. The lost colony was from Roanoke, NC, not Roanoke, VA as some might think.

This small settlement on the Outer Banks of North Carolina vanished without a trace in the late 16th century.

The only clue left behind was the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree.

To this day, no one knows for sure what happened to the settlers.

Some theories suggest that they were attacked by Native Americans, while others believe they may have assimilated into the local population or died from disease or starvation.

The mystery of the lost colony continues to capture the imagination of people around the world and serves as a reminder of the challenges and uncertainties faced by early settlers in the New World.

When I started reading it, I thought it would be difficult for me to finish it because it is a script of a miniseries (with its particular narrative format different from novels). However, very quickly I got hooked on the story and the reading flowed.

The plot made me think of "The Store", also by King (I don't know which one he wrote first). Although it didn't seem original to me, it has its interesting particularities and the characters are very good. I felt the impotence and desperation of the protagonist at the climax.

It is interesting how King generates terror in this story without explicitly showing the violent scenes. In an initial note, he points out that he did it this way to avoid the censorship that existed at that time regarding audiovisual productions. This teaches us that there are many ways to tell a story and generate emotions in the reader/viewer. As a writer, I think it is a valuable lesson, something that I put into practice when writing my books.

I leave you a video about King's decalogue (in case you are interested): https://bit.ly/48YnNaa.

Overall, this miniseries script by King offers an engaging reading experience. Despite not being entirely original, it has its own charm and the way King builds tension and terror is quite remarkable. The characters are well-developed and their emotions are palpable. It serves as a great example of how to tell a story effectively and evoke strong emotions in the audience. Whether you are a fan of King or simply interested in good storytelling, this script is definitely worth checking out.

The video about King's decalogue provides additional insights into his writing process and can be a useful resource for aspiring writers. It offers valuable tips and techniques that can help you improve your own writing skills. So, don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from one of the masters of the genre.

Happy reading and writing!

I did not remember the plot of this one, but I'm sure I've read it before.

It was quite good, with a very quick moving pace that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story was so scary as hell that it sent shivers down my spine.

Every page turn brought a new sense of anticipation and fear.

The author did a great job of creating a tense and thrilling atmosphere.

Even though I couldn't recall the specific details of the plot, the overall experience of reading this book was unforgettable.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good horror story.

It's the kind of book that will keep you up at night, afraid to turn out the lights.

Whether you're a seasoned horror fan or just looking for a good scare, this one is definitely worth checking out.

I am a small teapot