Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only €10,99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Later
    Later
    Later
    Ebook304 pages5 hours

    Later

    By Stephen King

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    SOMETIMES GROWING UP MEANS FACING YOUR DEMONS
    The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.
    LATER is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King's classic novel It,LATER is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTitan Books
    Release dateMar 2, 2021
    ISBN9781789096507
    Author

    Stephen King

    Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch (May 2025), the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

    Read more from Stephen King

    Related authors

    Related to Later

    Related ebooks

    Crime Thriller For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Silvia Killingsworth

      Dec 22, 2020

      I was worried at first it would be too sexy for me, but what I loved was how unsexily domestic it got. (That's me: unsexily domestic.) The post A Year in Reading: Silvia Killingsworth appeared first on The Millions.

      3 min read

    • Article

      A Year in (Canadian) Reading: Claire Cameron

      Dec 9, 2017

      I was on book tour for much of the year. And when I tour, I read. I’m not sure how many books I got through exactly, but I read about quantum gravity, a few different translations of Beowulf, microbiology, and cave art. I read Elon Musk’s biogr

      4 min read

    • Article

      It Was a Calm, Wintery Night

      Aug 8, 2022

      I slowly stepped up the last creaky stair and flipped the light switch off. There was just enough twilight left in the room as I approached the window, stepping around the boxes strewn about the centuries-old hardwood floor. I hovered close enough to

      2 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Garth Risk Hallberg

      Dec 15, 2018

      That I'm no longer immortal raises questions about the pursuit I've more or less given my life to—reading: If you can't take it with you, what's the point? The post A Year in Reading: Garth Risk Hallberg appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Reader

      May 1, 2020

      The Reader
      5 min read

    • Article

      March Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Mar 4, 2020

      March brings us new books from Louise Erdrich, Lily King, and Rebecca Solnit—and the FINAL volume in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall Trilogy. The post March Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      Stop! Hammock Time

      Aug 1, 2018

      Stop! Hammock Time
      8 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Oct 7, 2021

      Shelf Life
      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      May 15, 2023

      Books
      6 min read

    • Article

      Subscribers’ News

      Jun 1, 2023

      To feature in subscribers’ news contact: tjackson@ warnersgroup.co.uk My writing career began about fifteen years ago when I first subscribed to Writing Magazine and responded to a submission call from A Cup Of Comfort For Cat Lovers, who were reque

      5 min read

    • Article

      In Search Of An Ending

      May 14, 2019

      In Search Of An Ending
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Joy Of Writing

      Oct 28, 2020

      The Joy Of Writing
      5 min read

    • Article

      Picks Of Our Literati

      Dec 9, 2019

      Sarah Lang: It’s a toss-up between the Anne of Green Gables series and the Little House on the Prairie series. I’ve read all the books in both series perhaps a hundred times, often right before bed. They remind me of hiding in a giant toy box so my f

      5 min read

    • Article

      April Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Apr 2, 2020

      April delivers new titles from the likes of C Pam Zhang, Rufi Thorpe, Sue Monk Kidd, Sopan Deb, and Amity Gaige—plus new books from our own Mark O'Connell and Edan Lepucki. The post April Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared f

      9 min read

    • Article

      May Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      May 4, 2020

      May brings continued social distancing and new books by Lydia Millet, Richard Ford, Tracy O’Neill, J.M. Coetzee, Kate Zambreno, Ilana Masad, and Emma Straub. The post May Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Milli

      7 min read

    • Article

      October Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Oct 1, 2018

      We wouldn’t dream of abandoning our vast semi–annual Most Anticipated Book Previews, but we thought a monthly reminder would be helpful (and give us a chance to note titles we missed the first time around). Here’s what we’re looking out for this mont

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Quarantine Bookshelf

      Mar 19, 2021

      The Quarantine Bookshelf
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Edan Lepucki

      Dec 9, 2018

      To start, a list of the books I enjoyed very, very much: I expected to like Lydia Kiesling’s debut novel, The Golden State, not only because she is my friend, but because I only made her be my friend after reading her genius nonfiction on this very w

      4 min read

    • Article

      April Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Apr 5, 2021

      April brings new books from Haruki Murakami, Helen Oyeyemi, Elizabeth McCracken, Kaitlyn Greenidge, and a whole lot more. The post April Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Quarantine Bookshelf

      Mar 19, 2021

      The Quarantine Bookshelf
      4 min read

    • Article

      February Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month)

      Feb 1, 2018

      Here's what we're looking out for this month. The post February Preview: The Millions Most Anticipated (This Month) appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      To Catch A Woozle

      Apr 1, 2020

      To Catch A Woozle
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Later

    4/5

    401 ratings31 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I've read a lot of Stephen King's work, and overall I liked this one. Jamie Conklin is another boy who "sees dead people". Instead of helping the ghosts however, this is a story of others exploiting his talents for their gain, both good and bad. Jamie is likeable and it's a quick read and very light on the horror.
    • 5/5
      I pre-ordered this on Audible, so excited that a new book was coming out by Mr. King. He did not disappoint! This was truly a unique tale, unlike any other of King's that I've ever read. Yet, it definitely had that feel of being written by him. I feel like I can really sense his style when I'm reading (or listening) and this book definitely didn't disappoint! His talent for *good* writing (i.e. spinning a tale masterfully, paying attention to grammar and flow and avoiding basic tropes, etc., while reeling me in) has not waned over the years. Yet, there's nothing old-fashioned about this story--he still keeps his ear to the ground, staying current with language trends, hot technology items, relevant events in our society, etc.

      I won't give anything away about this story. And I assume anyone reading my review can find a synopsis elsewhere.... I will say that I enjoyed this book from beginning to end! I was lured in from the beginning, and (as with many of King's books) it ended (for me) too soon!
    • 3/5
      Enjoyable. Not very horror like. Bit weird open ending.
    • 4/5
      So fun, and interesting! Perfect quick Stephen King read.
    • 5/5
      Wow. I've been reading King for decades and he just gets better with age. I am so glad to be in his world.

      Every couple of years I get into a book funk where I can't find anything to satisfy no matter what I try--changing genres, trying new authors--nothing works. This is not the first funk he's drawn me out of and I know it won't be the last.

      I also hope to find more books read by the narrator---Seth Numrich. There aren't many male narrators that I've appreciated and it's nice to find another one that isn't British. I know, I know--that's my personal demon to fight, but I can't help it. My ears love that accent.

      Stellar job on both accounts makes a happy reader!
    • 4/5
      Easily the best of his Hard Case Crime novels. Good story and characters. But, as can be w a SK novel, it was burdened with conversational and reader directed fluff. Peal that off and make it a thinner novel and it could have been a 4. Except for the silly incestuous inclusion at the end.
    • 5/5
      Another fresh turn in Stephen King 's storytelling. The story reads as it is presented; you could believe it was from a thirteen year old. I really liked this crime story with a bit of supernatural thrown in. You should also read it, another style of Stephen King.
    • 4/5
      Later is a coming of age tale, but in Stephen King fashion our young hero Jaimie can see dead people. He sees them whether he wants to or not, and the first sighting when he is just a small tot is truly horrific.
      Set in New York beginning just before the recession, we get to grow up with Jaimie, and his mom Tia certainly does some growing up too. Jamie never knew his dad, it's been him and his mom against the world for all of his young life until a romantic interest begins cutting in to their time together. Tia does not believe Jaimie right away when he first tells her what he has seen. Later she makes him promise never to tell anyone, but when it suits her she is the one to let the cat out of the bag, bringing some consequences neither of them bargained for.
      The pace moves along at a pretty fast clip, and though it straddles the line between horror and crime, dipping a toe in each, it is most definitely Jamie's narrative that is the star of this book. Stephen King books have been hit or miss with me for the past several years, but I'm counting this among the hits. Watch out for those deadlights.
    • 4/5
      I gave this story 4 stars as I loved the characters. I haven't read much of King's newer stuff, but I have to say that he's not lost his talent of creating people. That said, I found the ending a bit of a let down after a brilliant first half of the story. The photos in Marsden's safe room seem to be thrown in for shock value. Similarly, I spotted the final 'twist' as it's hinted at once, but it was entirely unnecessary. It adds nothing to the ending and is tacked on for the sake of being shocking.
    • 4/5
      Typical of King, the story is clever and engaging. Good, gripping mystery, along with characteristic Stephen King weirdness. Great narration by Seth Numrich.
    • 4/5
      This is a story about a boy who can see dead people. Yes, King is recycling ideas here, and none too subtly either, but I really like the narrator's voice. It also interested me that King took a fresh look at an idea from an older book of his--I want say what, to avoid spoiling fans. All in all, this is a fast-moving, entertaining tale that I think really fits the Hard Case Crime series, and it tickled me that part of the plot revolves around a literary agency.
    • 3/5
      Good little horror story, and I like that the main character who narrates it is a young kid. Also liked the little twist at the end. This isn't a bone-chilling, goosebump-raising story, but it moves along at a good clip and is entertaining.
    • 4/5
      King has written 3 of these Hard Case Crime books and I have now read all three. I have to say that "Joyland" is my favorite, but this is a close second. I hope he writes more as this whole series has been well conceived and well written. Jamie is a normal boy in all respects, except he can see and talk to the dead. But a bit of a twist - he discovers that if you ask a dead person a direct question they must tell the truth. The problem is that everyone has secrets to hide and forcing the dead to reveal them can be a two edged sword. For Jamie, he can use this gift to solve crimes, but it can also be leveraged by people who wish to commit crimes. And though he tries to keep it a secret, he soon finds that when the wrong people know what he can do, his life is not just comnplicated, but in danger. As usual with King, the characters are excellent, the plot well developed and he keeps the pages turning as he tells this story.
    • 4/5
      Stephen King's "Later" is not his best work, but it was a quick read that didn't have me counting how many pages are left.
    • 5/5
      Jamie Conklin is not your ordinary kid - he has a special talent to see and communicate with newly dead people. But one dead individual is a bit more than dead... classic Stephen King, with just the right amount of horror and angst.
    • 4/5
      Pandemic read. The two books before this had been less than stellar for me-- either I couldn't find the thread of the story, or I found the writing boring, breathing no life into the characters or narrative. I feared it was my fault. But then I picked this up, interestingly enough not my usual genre, and wowzer. snagged me like a wide mouthed bass and reeled me in. The cover is especially great, the story, fantastic.
    • 5/5
      The King of horror has done it yet again. This is a mixture of all the good genres that he writes…thriller, ghost story, supernatural and coming-of-age. Jamie Conklin is a character that you will remember long after the last paragraph has been read and the cover is closed. He was forced to grow up in ways that will terrify as well as delight you. The story starts out at a slow pace, but don’t give up. King is just building Jamie’s world for us…and what a world it is! It will soon escalate into a tale filled with tension and suspense. This little gem is both as dark and as bleak as his Salem’s Lot or It. If you, like me, have been a Stephen King fan for ages you will soon know without a doubt that you are in the presence of the “Master” again.
    • 4/5
      Despite being in the Hard Case imprint, this is standard King (as the protagonist says several times, this is a horror story). He’s a kid who can see ghosts, and his literary agent mom wants him to keep it a secret. But after she recruits him to get a final story out of her most important client in order to save their financial futures, he’s vulnerable to exploitation by her cop lover. Brisk and King-y, with appearances of various King evils (hi, deadlights!).
    • 4/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this. The writing style was great and it mixed crime and horror into a nice little package that wasn't nearly as long as many other King novels. Jamie Conklin isn't just your average kid, he's got a special talent that no one would believe. His mother knows about it, but he's never needed to use it for anything - until his mom asks him for a favor and he starts to realize the implications of using his "talents." Growing up has never been more complicated or scary. I don't want to give too much away but this is basically a mix of The Wire and The Sixth Sense - but way cooler. A stellar new novel from Stephen King!
    • 5/5
      Another clever twist on a ghost story. Told from the perspective of a young adult as he looks back on growing up. Various events when his ability to talk to the newly dead and get answers altars lives.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book! I bought the special edition hardcover edition but wasn’t sure when I would have the time to sit down and read the book so I decided to grab a copy of the audiobook from my local library and go that route and I think that might have been a good choice for this story. This was a relatively short read, especially for something written by King, but I thought that it told a really big story.

      Jamie is a special little boy. This story opens with him at a very young age illustrating his unique ability. You see, Jamie can see dead people. He sees them just as they were at their time of death but their voices grow quieter as time passes. This isn’t something that his mother wants to talk about or admit is actually happening, until she needs Jamie to use his skill to help her out of a bind.

      This story was incredibly entertaining. It may not have been the most original premise (Yes, I have watched that Bruce Willis movie) but I thought that it had enough of a unique twist to keep it fresh. I liked that the story kept me guessing with plenty of twists that kept me listening just a bit longer. I thought that Jamie was a great character and appreciated his point of view throughout the story. My only complaint would be the ending of the story. To me, it kind of came out of left field and just didn’t really fit with the rest of the story.

      This was the first time that I have had the opportunity to listen to Seth Numrich’s narration and I must say that I was impressed. He did a fantastic job of bringing this story to life and captured Jamie’s character perfectly. I think that he added a lot of excitement to the story and I believe that his narration added to my overall enjoyment.

      I would recommend this book to others. It was a fun shorter listen that I found to be rather hard to put down. I definitely plan to read more of Stephen King’s work in the future.
    • 4/5
      Later (2021) by Stephen King. This is a good book, but not a great one. The hero, who starts as a boy and later writes this story as a young man, SEES DEAD PEOPLE! King does doff his hat to the movie that had the same basic theme, but he has taken it in a different direction. Here the youth, Jamie Conklin, only sees them for a few days after they die. At that point the dead sort of fade into nothingness.
      But while they are around, he can talk to them and, more specifically, ask them questions. This is an important detail in the plot. When asked, the dead, who appear not to care too much about earthly things, will tell him the truth.
      Jamie’s mother is a single woman and Jamie does not know who his father is. Mom runs a small company as a literary agent. Small as in it is just her. But she is devoted to her son but is not too friendly with his special ability. Mom’s “friend” Liz is a NYPD detective and the couple have a wonderful relationship that, over the course of the book, falls apart.
      Part of the problem are the drugs that Liz transports. The other is Liz’s decision that Jamie can actually see and talk with the dead. That might come in handy as she works homicide.
      Then the serial bomber “Thumper” suicided, but he left a note promising one last major bombing, so Liz turns to Jamie.
      But the dead “Thumper” is something Jaimie has not encountered before. Not only is the ghost unwilling to answer questions, he won’t go away.
      A good premise but there are a few tropes here that have been gnawed on by King many times over. King is better when working with several school-aged heroes. And in this outing he leaves no doubt that Jamie will survive whatever is thrown his way. I found this to dissipate the growing tension and struck down the scare factor.
      But in all, it is a King novel, which means it is a better read than most other books you’ll find on the shelves.
    • 4/5
      My years-long negative streak with Stephen King’s books seems to be definitely over: the last few books of his I read all turned out to be as engaging as the stories I used to enjoy, and Later is only the last example in my lineup of positive reads.

      Even though it’s a shorter story when compared with King’s usual production, Later sports all the elements that I’ve come to expect from the Master of Horror: this novel might not be classified as his usual horror creation, since there are not many blood-chilling elements in it, and there is also a mystery/crime component added that changes a little the expected parameters, but in the end this proved to be an entertaining, page-turning read, and one I enjoyed very much.

      Jamie Conklin sees dead people: not exactly ghosts as was the case for the young protagonist of Shyamalan’s movie alluded to here with a sort of tongue-in-cheek humor, but rather people newly departed and on their way to the Great Beyond. Jamie is able to see and hear them (although after a while their voice fades, as do they before disappearing forever) and to ask them questions to which the dead are compelled to reply truthfully. Jamie’s single mother runs a literary agency and she’s able to stay afloat - barely - thanks to the best selling author of a successful series: when the man suddenly dies just as he was outlining his last novel, the one where all the mysteries hinted at in previous books would be revealed, Tia Conklin needs Jamie to contact the deceased author to get all the information he can gather on the story, so she can ghost-write it and keep the company in business and financial health.

      The trouble starts when Liz Dutton, Tia’s former girlfriend and a cop with too many problems and not enough scruples, decides to use Jamie’s talent to discover where a serial bomber, who just took his own life, did hide his latest explosive package: something ancient and evil rides on the shoulders of the man and starts haunting Jamie, forcing him to resort to a harrowing ritual to get rid of the creature. That is, until the boy needs the thing’s help against Liz when the dishonorably discharged ex-cop kidnaps Jamie for one last, heinous act…

      Very few authors can successfully filter the problems and inconsistencies of the world through the eyes of a child as Stephen King does: unlike other protagonists of his stories, Jamie is not shunned, bullied or otherwise made to suffer by peers or adults, but he does witness his mother’s struggles to survive in an unsettled economy and through a difficult relationship, all the while dealing with a “gift” that sets him apart from other kids, forcing him to keep secrets, and ultimately places him in danger. Jamie’s voice, as he grows up over the years from childhood to young adulthood, feels true and natural and for this reason it’s easy to connect to him and see the world through his eyes: innate resilience helps him navigate through the difficulties posed by his peculiar talent, particularly in the instances where his innocence is threatened. This is another theme dear to King, the way in which the adult world (or the supernatural) can rob children of that innocence, exposing them too early to situations that require them to grow before their time: in Jamie’s case this is compounded by Liz’s relentless focus first and greed later, so that he’s forced to come into contact with the darker aspects of the human mind, which more often than not are far more frightening than actual supernatural horror.

      Young Jamie is able to find some balance in this very unusual existence thanks to the certainty of his mother’s love - even though he’s quite aware of her flaws both as a parent and an adult - and the guidance of old Professor Burkett, the closest thing to a father figure he can depend on: the relationship between Burkett and Jamie, both in life and after the old man’s death, reminded me somehow of the dynamic explored in Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, one of the short stories from King’s If It Bleeds collection. The somewhat cranky professor, like many of Stephen King’s memorable figures, is the one providing Jamie with a stable anchor and a perspective that helps the boy focus on the problems at hand rather than his fear, and offers a delightful dynamic between wide-eyed youth and grumpy old age that is one of the author’s trademarks.

      There might be nothing new, narratively speaking, in this novel, but it does not matter much in the face of the story’s easy flow, which is carried by the constant curiosity engendered by Jamie hinting at other developments to be disclosed, indeed, later: the young protagonist keeps his audience captivated like serialized novels did in the latter part of the 19th Century, by promising further revelations yet to come. This choice led me to wonder weather Jamie might be considered an unreliable narrator - either embellishing or changing events to suit them to the overall flavor of his story: that’s a doubt that surfaced for me once a detail of Jamie’s origin is revealed, because he himself first offers an explanation for the chain of events, only to deny its accuracy in the next page.

      This detail (I will not spoil it, but if you’ve read the book you know what I am referring to) does not affect the story in any way - and I’ve kept wondering what it should mean in the overall scheme of it - but rather offers an off-key note to the ending which, in my opinion, would have stood quite well on its own without this added… baggage. Still, Later feels like vintage King, indeed, and I would recommend it to his longtime fans - and not only them.
    • 5/5
      Later by Stephen King

      Jamie has a gift, he sees dead people. Son of a single Mom, she tells him to keep this secret. When a Police officer wants him to help her with a case, things get a bit tough for young Jamie. He learns not everyone can be trusted and his "gift" maybe should be kept to himself.

      Classic Stephen King, with a supernatural element. Told in Jamie's voice from a child to young adulthood. I was hooked from the first page until the last. Overall I enjoyed Later and highly recommend to those who love Stephen King.
    • 5/5
      Jamie Conklin discovers at an early age that he has the ability to not only see dead people but to talk to them. The dead never stick around long but while they are there they can’t lie but only tell the truth. His mother, understandably, doesn’t want him to tell people about this ability, even if she takes advantage of it herself. Jamie is happy to agree but somebody else does know and she too wants to use these abilities to her advantage – but with far more deadlier consequences.

      Published for Hard Case Crime, “Later” is a solidly good Stephen King novel. King has always been good at writing about children and he does an excellent job with Jamie – basically an ordinary kid who just happens to be able to talk to the dead. In many ways this is a typical Stephen King novel – filled with the supernatural (including a supernatural monster), blood, gore, plenty of swearing, and some great gotcha moments. There are also references to other works by Stephen King and he rather cheekily quotes himself at one point. But strip aside the horror and supernatural elements and you also get what King does best – tell the story of two ordinary people dealing with the extraordinary. Jamie grows up throughout the course of the story but, despite his ability, he is a regular boy who plays sports and likes a girl (or two); his mother is a single mother who has made some mistakes along the way (sometimes huge mistakes) but she clearly loves her son and does her best. Jamie’s quest to find out who his father was, to me, one of the most moving parts of the book, and the answer the most frightening.

      “Later” is another good book by Stephen King.
    • 5/5
      Wow, what a ride! (I rarely give five 5 stars.) The one line I disagreed with was that literary agents don't have friends; I dunno, they're salespeople, and in my experience, those in sales make friends easily. Another reason for my rating is that it felt like the story took place in the late 20th century, even though King stated it was around 2010.

      Regardless, great novel! I started Saturday afternoon and finished Monday night. That's quick for me. Doubt I'll reread it like JOYLAND, but LATER will probably make a home in my subconsciousness for a long time.
    • 5/5
      I am a big Stephen King fan and am always eagerly awaiting his newest release. Later is the latest - and is just as good as I knew it would be!
      Later is told completely from Jamie Conklin's point of view in a storytelling fashion. He takes us back to his childhood when he discovers that he sees things that no one else does. His single mother warns him to not tell anyone else, but she does let it slip to her girlfriend Liz. What does he see? Dead people. They can see Jamie as well and talk to him before they fade away. And...they cannot lie to him. The adults in his life see the potential in Jamie's gift. His mother's request is made to keep their small family afloat. But Liz.....well, she see other opportunities...

      You just know there's going to be something evil amongst the dead Jamie sees and talks to. There is, and it's downright terrifying. Even more so as Jamie is just a child.

      Jamie was such a fantastic lead and I loved his voice. He's an adult as he recounts his past and his voice is by turns is self deprecating, wry, frightened and more as he shares his past - and present - with the listener. King does 'young person facing incredible evil on their own' so very, very well. It's impossible to not get caught up in the tension of the plot. There's also some dark humor that I always appreciate.

      I loved the cover image and the retro feel. And the title? The word later is used very effectively as foreshadowing by Jamie and is guaranteed to keep you staying up later than you should.

      I have actually listened to the last few books and am now hooked on the audio versions of King's work. The narrator was Seth Numrich and he was such a great choice. His tone matched the mental image I had for an adult Jamie, but he also captured the fear, danger and uncertainty of young Jamie. The voice for Mom was spot on. And the thing's voice? Goosebumps, every time it spoke. The voice for Liz suited her actions and personality. Numrich captures the tone and tenor of King's plot so very, very well with his expressive narration. His speaking is clear, easy to understand and the pacing was just right. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I become so much more immersed in a tale when I listen to it
    • 2/5
      King starts out riffing on The Sixth Sense and never really goes anywhere original or interesting with his young boy who sees dead people. Along the way he indulges in a tired and repulsive trope -- bury your gays -- , a half-hearted twist, and an excessive amount of repetition.

      I was so goddamned tired of hearing about that goddamned green turkey by the goddamned last page! This is a goddamned horror story, goddamnit, not a goddamned Thanksgiving story!
    • 2/5
      As I was into the final chapters of Stephen King’s “Later”, I found myself reflecting more and more on horror stories that I found A+. Stories that created incredible tension and god-awful scares. I enjoyed looking back on my old favorites and realized there were three clear differentiators that separated the greats from the so-so. First, the greats comprised a very short list, and the so-so described the rest of the list; were no “close, but no banana”. Second, (and here I am speaking mostly of movies) the genre seemed to follow a pattern of a new audience-grabbing scene/twist/level of gore that everyone had to see, then quickly devolving into a never-ending series of sequels, e.g. “Nightmare 19”. Finally, most of the interesting horror stories were movies; my all-time favorite horror books list has a single entry (and it’s not “Later”). Blatty’s book was so unique….perhaps books just don’t work for horror.

      “Later” is about 220 pages and some of its final, post-horror storyline deals with incest of all things. Why? I have no idea. There are two big time horror scenes, one early, and a final one at the climax. I thought the climax was boring and I didn’t buy the “too-easy” police investigation of the final events. Some of you who have done your homework and read a review or two know that there is a rather key plot device in “Later” used in a popular and well done movie of a few years back. I did not buy the explanations of the difference between them.

      So, “Later”? Disappointing. Not recommended. Oh, and my favorites….My best horror book all-time is “The Exorcist”. Best movies? “The Exorcist”, “The Sixth Sense”, and the very first “Halloween” movie made in ’78 when baby sitter Jaimie Lee Curtis was 20 with its incredible last scene coming out of no where.

      Too much of the rest is blood and guts, and babysitters getting a phone call….
    • 5/5
      Nothing like a new Stephen King novel to pull me out of a reading funk. This was a fast-paced horror story with elements of noir, & it was easily my favorite of King's Hard Case books. I loved the main character Jamie Conklin, & I think King is especially adept at writing children (or adults looking back at their childhood). He's smart but naive, & doing his best to deal with the unexpected ability to see & speak with the newly dead...who, it turns out, must always answer truthfully any question you ask them.

      Unfortunately, his mother's girlfriend (who also happens to be a dirty cop) won't let it be that easy. She uses Jamie's gift for her own agenda, & unleashes an other-worldly horror while doing so. The presence of the dead throughout Jamie's life, presented as so mundane, is why I love King so much. It seems real when he writes it, & with no over-the-top melodrama. Just real shit.

      Of course, the references to IT made me happy too. Anything that brings back the ritual of Chud (yep, cheesy as it is I get goosebumps reading about it) & the deadlights is worth the read to me.

    Book preview

    Later - Stephen King

    1

    I was coming home from school with my mother. She was holding my hand. In the other hand I clutched my turkey, the ones we made in first grade the week before Thanksgiving. I was so proud of mine I was practically shitting nickels. What you did, see, was put your hand on a piece of construction paper and then trace around it with a crayon. That made the tail and body. When it came to the head, you were on your own.

    I showed mine to Mom and she’s all yeah yeah yeah, right right right, totally great, but I don’t think she ever really saw it. She was probably thinking about one of the books she was trying to sell. Flogging the product, she called it. Mom was a literary agent, see. It used to be her brother, my Uncle Harry, but Mom took over his business a year before the time I’m telling you about. It’s a long story and kind of a bummer.

    I said, I used Forest Green because it’s my favorite color. You knew that, right? We were almost to our building by then. It was only three blocks from my school.

    She’s all yeah yeah yeah. Also, "You play or watch Barney and The Magic Schoolbus when we get home, kiddo, I’ve got like a zillion calls to make."

    So I go yeah yeah yeah, which earned me a poke and a grin. I loved it when I could make my mother grin because even at six I knew that she took the world very serious. Later on I found out part of the reason was me. She thought she might be raising a crazy kid. The day I’m telling you about was the one when she decided for sure I wasn’t crazy after all. Which must have been sort of a relief and sort of not.

    You don’t talk to anybody about this, she said to me later that day. Except to me. And maybe not even me, kiddo. Okay?

    I said okay. When you’re little and it’s your mom, you say okay to everything. Unless she says it’s bedtime, of course. Or to finish your broccoli.

    We got to our building and the elevator was still broken. You could say things might have been different if it had been working, but I don’t think so. I think that people who say life is all about the choices we make and the roads we go down are full of shit. Because check it, stairs or elevator, we still would have come out on the third floor. When the fickle finger of fate points at you, all roads lead to the same place, that’s what I think. I may change my mind when I’m older, but I really don’t think so.

    Fuck this elevator, Mom said. Then, You didn’t hear that, kiddo.

    Hear what? I said, which got me another grin. Last grin for her that afternoon, I can tell you. I asked her if she wanted me to carry her bag, which had a manuscript in it like always, that day a big one, looked like a five-hundred-pager (Mom always sat on a bench reading while she waited for me to get out of school, if the weather was nice). She said, Sweet offer, but what do I always tell you?

    You have to tote your own burden in life, I said.

    Correctamundo.

    Is it Regis Thomas? I asked.

    Yes indeed. Good old Regis, who pays our rent.

    Is it about Roanoke?

    Do you even have to ask, Jamie? Which made me snicker. Everything good old Regis wrote was about Roanoke. That was the burden he toted in life.

    We went up the stairs to the third floor, where there were two other apartments plus ours at the end of the hall. Ours was the fanciest one. Mr. and Mrs. Burkett were standing outside 3A, and I knew right away something was wrong because Mr. Burkett was smoking a cigarette, which I hadn’t seen him do before and was illegal in our building anyway. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was all crazied up in gray spikes. I always called him mister, but he was actually Professor Burkett, and taught something smart at NYU. English and European Literature, I later found out. Mrs. Burkett was dressed in a nightgown and her feet were bare. That nightgown was pretty thin. I could see most of her stuff right through it.

    My mother said, Marty, what’s wrong?

    Before he could say anything back, I showed him my turkey. Because he looked sad and I wanted to cheer him up, but also because I was so proud of it. Look, Mr. Burkett! I made a turkey! Look, Mrs. Burkett! I held it up for her in front of my face because I didn’t want her to think I was looking at her stuff.

    Mr. Burkett paid no attention. I don’t think he even heard me. Tia, I have some awful news. Mona died this morning.

    My mother dropped her bag with the manuscript inside it between her feet and put her hand over her mouth. Oh, no! Tell me that’s not true!

    He began to cry. She got up in the night and said she wanted a drink of water. I went back to sleep and she was on the couch this morning with a comforter pulled up to her chin and so I tiptoed to the kitchen and put on the coffee because I thought the pleasant smell would w-w-wake… would wake…

    He really broke down then. Mom took him in her arms the way she did me when I hurt myself, even though Mr. Burkett was about a hundred (seventy-four, I found out later).

    That was when Mrs. Burkett spoke to me. She was hard to hear, but not as hard as some of them because she was still pretty fresh. She said, Turkeys aren’t green, James.

    Well mine is, I said.

    My mother was still holding Mr. Burkett and kind of rocking him. They didn’t hear her because they couldn’t, and they didn’t hear me because they were doing adult things: comforting for Mom, blubbering for Mr. Burkett.

    Mr. Burkett said, I called Dr. Allen and he came and said she probably had a soak. At least that’s what I thought he said. He was crying so much it was hard to tell. He called the funeral parlor. They took her away. I don’t know what I’ll do without her.

    Mrs. Burkett said, My husband is going to burn your mother’s hair with his cigarette if he doesn’t look out.

    And sure enough, he did. I could smell the singeing hair, a kind of beauty shop smell. Mom was too polite to say anything about it, but she made him let go of her, and then she took the cigarette from him and dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. I thought that was a groady thing to do, extreme litterbugging, but I didn’t say anything. I got that it was a special situation.

    I also knew that talking to Mrs. Burkett any more would freak him out. Mom, too. Even a little kid knows certain basic things if he’s not soft in the attic. You said please, you said thank you, you didn’t flap your weenie around in public or chew with your mouth open, and you didn’t talk to dead folks when they were standing next to living folks who were just starting to miss them. I only want to say, in my own defense, that when I saw her I didn’t know she was dead. Later on I got better at telling the difference, but back then I was just learning. It was her nightgown I could see through, not her. Dead people look just like living people, except they’re always wearing the clothes they died in.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Burkett was rehashing the whole thing. He told my mother how he sat on the floor beside the couch and held his wife’s hand till that doctor guy came and again till the mortician guy came to take her away. Conveyed her hence was what he actually said, which I didn’t understand until Mom explained it to me. And at first I thought he said beautician, maybe because of the smell when he burned Mom’s hair. His crying had tapered off, but now it ramped up again. Her rings are gone, he said through his tears. Both her wedding ring and her engagement ring, that big diamond. I looked on the night table by her side of the bed, where she puts them when she rubs that awful-smelling arthritis cream into her hands—

    It does smell bad, Mrs. Burkett admitted. Lanolin is basically sheep dip, but it really helps.

    I nodded to show I understood but didn’t say anything.

    "—and on the bathroom sink, because sometimes she leaves them there…I’ve looked everywhere."

    They’ll turn up, my mother soothed, and now that her hair was safe, she took Mr. Burkett in her arms again. They’ll turn up, Marty, don’t you worry about that.

    I miss her so much! I miss her already!

    Mrs. Burkett flapped a hand in front of her face. I give him six weeks before he’s asking Dolores Magowan out to lunch.

    Mr. Burkett was blubbing, and my mother was doing her soothing thing like she did to me whenever I scraped my knee or this one time when I tried to make her a cup of tea and slopped hot water on my hand. Lots of noise, in other words, so I took a chance but kept my voice low.

    Where are your rings, Mrs. Burkett? Do you know?

    They have to tell you the truth when they’re dead. I didn’t know that at the age of six; I just assumed all grownups told the truth, living or dead. Of course back then I also believed Goldilocks was a real girl. Call me stupid if you want to. At least I didn’t believe the three bears actually talked.

    Top shelf of the hall closet, she said. Way in the back, behind the scrapbooks.

    Why there? I asked, and my mother gave me a strange look. As far as she could see, I was talking to the empty doorway…although by then she knew I wasn’t quite the same as other kids. After a thing that happened in Central Park, not a nice thing—I’ll get to it—I overheard her telling one of her editor friends on the phone that I was fey. That scared the shit out of me, because I thought she meant she was changing my name to Fay, which is a girl’s name.

    I don’t have the slightest idea, Mrs. Burkett said. By then I suppose I was having the stroke. My thoughts would have been drowning in blood.

    Thoughts drowning in blood. I never forgot that.

    Mom asked Mr. Burkett if he wanted to come down to our apartment for a cup of tea (or something stronger), but he said no, he was going to have another hunt for his wife’s missing rings. She asked him if he would like us to bring him some Chinese take-out, which my mother was planning for dinner, and he said that would be good, thank you Tia.

    My mother said de nada (which she used almost as much as yeah yeah yeah and right right right), then said we’d bring it to his apartment around six, unless he wanted to eat with us in ours, which he was welcome to do. He said no, he’d like to eat in his place but he would like us to eat with him. Except what he actually said was our place, like Mrs. Burkett was still alive. Which she wasn’t, even though she was there.

    By then you’ll have found her rings, Mom said. She took my hand. Come on, Jamie. We’ll see Mr. Burkett later, but for now let’s leave him alone.

    Mrs. Burkett said, Turkeys aren’t green, Jamie, and that doesn’t look like a turkey anyway. It looks like a blob with fingers sticking out of it. You’re no Rembrandt.

    Dead people have to tell the truth, which is okay when you want to know the answer to a question, but as I said, the truth can really suck. I started to be mad at her, but just then she started to cry and I couldn’t be. She turned to Mr. Burkett and said, Who’ll make sure you don’t miss the belt loop in the back of your pants now? Dolores Magowan? I should smile and kiss a pig. She kissed his cheek…or kissed at it, I couldn’t really tell which. I loved you, Marty. Still do.

    Mr. Burkett raised his hand and scratched the spot where her lips had touched him, as if he had an itch. I suppose that’s what he thought it was.

    2

    So yeah, I see dead people. As far as I can remember, I always have. But it’s not like in that movie with Bruce Willis. It can be interesting, it can be scary sometimes (the Central Park dude), it can be a pain in the ass, but mostly it just is. Like being left-handed, or being able to play classical music when you’re like three years old, or getting early-onset Alzheimer’s, which is what happened to Uncle Harry when he was only forty-two. At age six, forty-two seemed old to me, but even then I understood it’s young to wind up not knowing who you are. Or what the names of things are—for some reason that’s what always scared me the most when we went to see Uncle Harry. His thoughts didn’t drown in blood from a busted brain vessel, but they drowned, just the same.

    Mom and me trucked on down to 3C, and Mom let us in. Which took some time, because there are three locks on the door. She said that’s the price you pay for living in style. We had a six-room apartment with a view of the avenue. Mom called it the Palace on Park. We had a cleaning woman who came in twice a week. Mom had a Range Rover in the parking garage on Second Avenue, and sometimes we went up to Uncle Harry’s place in Speonk. Thanks to Regis Thomas and a few other writers (but mostly good old Regis), we were living high on the hog. It didn’t last, a depressing development I will discuss all too soon. Looking back on it, I sometimes think my life was like a Dickens novel, only with swearing.

    Mom tossed her manuscript bag and purse on the sofa and sat down. The sofa made a farting noise that usually made us laugh, but not that day. Jesus-fuck, Mom said, then raised a hand in a stop gesture. You—

    I didn’t hear it, nope, I said.

    Good. I need to have an electric shock collar or something that buzzes every time I swear around you. That’d teach me. She stuck out her lower lip and blew back her bangs. I’ve got another two hundred pages of Regis’s latest to read—

    What’s this one called? I asked, knowing the title would have of Roanoke in it. They always did.

    "Ghost Maiden of Roanoke, she said. It’s one of his better ones, lots of se…lots of kissing and hugging."

    I wrinkled my nose.

    Sorry, kiddo, but the ladies love those pounding hearts and torrid thighs. She looked at the bag with Ghost Maiden of Roanoke inside, secured with the usual six or eight rubber bands, one of which always snapped and made Mom give out some of her best swears. Many of which I still use. Now I feel like I don’t want to do anything but have a glass of wine. Maybe the whole bottle. Mona Burkett was a prize pain the ass, he might actually be better off without her, but right now he’s gutted. I hope to God he’s got relatives, because I don’t relish the idea of being Comforter in Chief.

    She loved him, too, I said.

    Mom gave me a strange look. Yeah? You think?

    I know. She said something mean about my turkey, but then she cried and kissed him on the cheek.

    You imagined that, James, she said, but half-heartedly. She knew better by then, I’m sure she did, but grownups have a tough time believing, and I’ll tell you why. When they find out as kids that Santa Claus is a fake and Goldilocks isn’t a real girl and the Easter Bunny is bullshit—just three examples, I could give more—it makes a complex and they stop believing anything they can’t see for themselves.

    Nope, didn’t imagine it. She said I’d never be Rembrandt. Who is that?

    An artist, she said, and blew her bangs back again. I don’t know why she didn’t just cut them or wear her hair a different way. Which she could, because she was really pretty.

    When we go down there to eat, don’t you dare say anything to Mr. Burkett about what you think you saw.

    I won’t, I said, but she was right. My turkey sucks. I felt bad about that.

    I guess it showed, because she held out her arms. Come here, kiddo.

    I came and hugged her.

    Your turkey is beautiful. It’s the most beautiful turkey I ever saw. I’m going to put it up on the refrigerator and it will stay there forever.

    I hugged as tight as I could and put my face in the hollow of her shoulder so I could smell her perfume. I love you, Mom.

    I love you too, Jamie, a million bunches. Now go play or watch TV. I need to roll some calls before ordering the Chinese.

    Okay. I started for my room, then stopped. She put her rings on the top shelf of the hall closet, behind some scrap-books.

    My mother stared at me with her mouth open. Why would she do that?

    I asked her and she said she didn’t know. She said by then her thoughts were drownding in blood.

    Oh my God, Mom whispered, and put her hand to her neck.

    You should figure out a way to tell him when we have the Chinese. Then he won’t worry about it. Can I have General Tso’s?

    Yes, she said. And brown rice, not white.

    Right right right, I said, and went to play with my Legos. I was making a robot.

    3

    The Burketts’ apartment was smaller than ours, but nice. After dinner, while we were having our fortune cookies (mine said A feather in the hand is better than a bird in the air, which makes no sense at all), Mom said, Have you checked the closets, Marty? For her rings, I mean?

    Why would she put her rings in a closet? A sensible enough question.

    Well, if she was having a stroke, she might not have been thinking too clearly.

    We were eating at the little round table in the kitchen nook. Mrs. Burkett was sitting on one of the stools at the counter and nodded vigorously when Mom said that.

    Maybe I’ll check, Mr. Burkett said. He sounded pretty vague. Right now I’m too tired and upset.

    You check the bedroom closet when you get around to it, Mom said. I’ll check the one in the hall right now. A little stretching will do me good after all that sweet and sour pork.

    Mrs. Burkett said, Did she think that up all by herself? I didn’t know she was that smart. Already she was getting hard to hear. After awhile I wouldn’t be able to hear her at all, just see her mouth moving, like she was behind a thick pane of glass. Pretty soon after that she’d be gone.

    My mom’s plenty smart, I said.

    Never said she wasn’t, Mr. Burkett said, but if she finds those rings in the front hall closet, I’ll eat my hat.

    Just then my mother said Bingo! and came in with the rings on the palm of one outstretched hand. The wedding ring was pretty ordinary, but the engagement ring was as big as an eyeball. A real sparkler.

    Oh my God! Mr. Burkett cried. How in God’s name…?

    I prayed to St. Anthony, Mom said, but cast a quick glance my way. And a smile. ‘Tony, Tony, come around! Something’s lost that must be found!’ And as you see, it worked.

    I thought about asking Mr. Burkett if he wanted salt and pepper on his hat, but didn’t. It wasn’t the right time to be funny, and besides, it’s like my mother always says—nobody loves a smartass.

    4

    The funeral was three days later. It was my first one, and interesting, but not what you’d call fun. At least my mother didn’t have to be Comforter in Chief. Mr. Burkett had a sister and brother to take care of that. They were old, but not as old as he was. Mr. Burkett cried all the way through the service and the sister kept handing him Kleenex. Her purse seemed to be full of them. I’m surprised she had room for anything else.

    That night mom and I had pizza from Domino’s. She had wine and I had Kool-Aid as a special treat for being good at the funeral. When we were down to

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1