Horror World
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Contents Cover Acclaim for Joyland by Stephen King! Also by Stephen King Title Page Copyright Dedication Joyland Author’s Note Available now from Titan Books Acclaim for JOYLAND by STEPHEN KING! “Joyland is a small marvel of a book, a novel of loss and heartbreak, of growth and discovery…a bittersweet paean to lost love, lost time, and lost youth…it stands with such shorter King masterpieces as The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption as one of the writer’s finest works, a highlight in a career that has had so many.” —National Post “[An] elegiac novel of mystery and imagination…Joyland presents itself as a hair-raising thriller (which indeed it is), but it is as much a bittersweet romance, a tribute to older times and sounder values, a celebration of family and friends and love and the wonder of existence.” —Wall Street Journal “The book [offers] an unexpected perspective…a neat trick to pull off in a thriller, and Joyland is definitely a thriller.” —Los Angeles Times “Some of King’s most graceful writing…ruminative, amused, digressive, marvelously unaffected, and finally, devastatingly sad.” —Entertainment Weekly “The book delivers chills [and] a mournful sense of life’s fragility…good fun.” —New York Times “A moving, immensely appealing coming-of-age tale… the real strength of Joyland stems from King’s ability to connect with his characters directly and viscerally. It’s that emotional bond that marks the difference between books that merely entertain and books that matter in a fundamental way.” —Washington Post “At its heart, this is a captivating story filled with more light than dark, more sweetness than horror, and plenty of grace…strip away all the mayhem and you’ll find a writer who has a fine handle on humanity.” —Christian Science Monitor “The story [possesses] an aching nostalgia…this reads like a heartfelt memoir and might be King’s gentlest book, a canny channeling of the inner peace one can find within outer tumult.” —Booklist “This is classic King…at times dark and intense, [but] there’s less of King’s trademark horror and more of the wistful nostalgia and emotion that will remind fans of Stand by Me and The Green Mile, especially for its bittersweet and moving conclusion.” —CNN “An enthralling, sweet and nostalgic tale of first love, loss and what comes after death…I couldn’t put this one down.” —Halifax Times-News “A true pulp novel…absorbing, emotionally intense.” —A.V. Club “Joyland is a far gentler, deeper, more thoughtful book…more a coming-of- age mystery than a horror-filled thriller…and all the more intriguing for it.” —The Guardian (UK) “Nobody writes about the young American male better than Stephen King and Joyland is one of his masterpieces.” —Ed Gorman “Joyland consumed me… it’s the best kind of Stephen King novel.” —Bookhound “Joyland is King at the absolute height of his game… With his second offering through the excellent Hard Case Crime…he’s hit the home run that I’ve been hoping for these last few years.” —Shadowlocked “A poignant, beautifully told coming of age story… Joyland is a standout of the genre, and an absolute stunner of a novel that will break your heart.” —My Bookish Ways “Much deeper, more personal, and ultimately far more emotional than you expect it to be.” —Cult Box “A masterpiece of pulp fiction storytelling, showing King at the height of his powers as a storyteller… What King has done is transcend genres as only our greatest writers can and tell an incredible human story.” —Book Reporter “Joyland is wonderfully nostalgic and evocative…totally engrossing…one of [King’s] best of recent years, perfectly balancing heartbreak and chills.” —The List (UK) “A must for King fans.” —Library Journal “One of the best novels of King’s career…Joyland soars with the energy and enthusiasm of a young writer and is built with the tools of a seasoned and confident craftsman…my favorite book of the year.” —Horror World “A beautifully written, heartbreaking coming-of-age tale that is sure to be remembered along with the best of Stephen King’s work outside of the horror genre…I haven’t come across a book of King’s that has resonated this strongly with me since The Green Mile.” —The Fiction Pub “It’s a ghost story, it’s a mystery—it’s a tale of crossing the line into adulthood. It’s also the perfect summer read.” —The Weekender “It stays with you long after you put the book down because King manages to write about eternal themes… love, life and death, memory and change and loss.” —Daily Kos “Another extraordinary and well-crafted story bought to you by the best storyteller alive. Do yourself a favor and pick it up today.” —Vancouver Weekly I stashed my basket of dirty rags and Turtle Wax by the exit door in the arcade. It was ten past noon, but right then food wasn’t what I was hungry for. I walked slowly along the track and into Horror House. I had to duck my head when I passed beneath the Screaming Skull, even though it was now pulled up and locked in its home position. My footfalls echoed on a wooden floor painted to look like stone. I could hear my breathing. It sounded harsh and dry. I was scared, okay? Tom had told me to stay away from this place, but Tom didn’t run my life any more than Eddie Parks did. Between the Dungeon and the Torture Chamber, the track descended and described a double-S curve where the cars picked up speed and whipped the riders back and forth. Horror House was a dark ride, but when it was in operation, this stretch was the only completely dark part. It had to be where the girl’s killer had cut her throat and dumped her body. How quick he must have been, and how certain of exactly what he was going to do! I walked slowly down the double-S, thinking it would not be beyond Eddie to hear me and shut off the overhead work-lights as a joke. To leave me in here to feel my way past the murder site with only the sound of the wind and that one slapping board to keep me company. And suppose…just suppose…a young girl’s hand reached out in that darkness and took mine…? SOMEO THER HARD CASE CRIME BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY: FIFTY-TO-ONE by Charles Ardai KILLING CASTRO by Lawrence Block THE DEAD MAN’S BROTHER by Roger Zelazny THE CUTIE by Donald E. Westlake HOUSE DICK by E. Howard Hunt CASINO MOON by Peter Blauner FAKE I.D. by Jason Starr PASSPORT TO PERIL by Robert B. Parker STOP THIS MAN! by Peter Rabe LOSERS LIVE LONGER by Russell Atwood HONEY IN HIS MOUTH by Lester Dent QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE by Max Allan Collins THE CORPSE WORE PASTIES by Jonny Porkpie THE VALLEY OF FEAR by A.C. Doyle MEMORY by Donald E. Westlake NOBODY’S ANGEL by Jack Clark MURDER IS MY BUSINESS by Brett Halliday GETTING OFF by Lawrence Block QUARRY’S EX by Max Allan Collins THE CONSUMMATA by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust THE COMEDY IS FINISHED by Donald E. Westlake BLOOD ON THE MINK by Robert Silverberg FALSE NEGATIVE by Joseph Koenig THE TWENTY-YEAR DEATH by Ariel S. Winter THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS by James M. Cain SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT by Max Allan Collins WEB OF THE CITY by Harlan Ellison A HARD CASE CRIME BOOK (HCC-112) First Hard Case Crime edition: June 2013 Published by Titan Books A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd 144 Southwark Street, London SE1 0UP in collaboration with Winterfall LLC Copyright © 2013 by Stephen King Cover painting copyright © 2013 by Glen Orbik All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Print edition ISBN: 9781781167694 E-book edition ISBN: 9781781168493 The name “Hard Case Crime” and the Hard Case Crime logo are trademarks of Winterfall LLC. Hard Case Crime books are selected and edited by Charles Ardai. Visit us on the web at www.hardcasecrime.com For Donald Westlake JOYLAND I had a car, but on most days in that fall of 1973 I walked to Joyland from Mrs. Shoplaw’s Beachside Accommodations in the town of Heaven’s Bay. It seemed like the right thing to do. The only thing, actually. By early September, Heaven Beach was almost completely deserted, which suited my mood. That fall was the most beautiful of my life. Even forty years later I can say that. And I was never so unhappy, I can say that, too. People think first love is sweet, and never sweeter than when that first bond snaps. You’ve heard a thousand pop and country songs that prove the point; some fool got his heart broke. Yet that first broken heart is always the most painful, the slowest to mend, and leaves the most visible scar. What’s so sweet about that? * * * Through September and right into October, the North Carolina skies were clear and the air was warm even at seven in the morning, when I left my second-floor apartment by the outside stairs.