Ali Karim was a Board Member of Bouchercon [The World Crime & Mystery Convention] and co-chaired programming for Bouchercon Raleigh, North Carolina in 2015. He is Assistant Editor of Shots eZine, British correspondent for The Rap Sheet and writes and reviews for many US magazines & Ezines.
Though penned by an academic, this examination of the work of writer Stephen King is a wonderfully accessible addition for the shelves of the ‘casual reader’, the ‘constant reader’ as well as aspiring writers wishing to delve deep into the process of writing horror fiction. The title comes with an apt coda “My Year of Fear with Stephen King”.
Caroline Bicks is an academic renowned for her work as a Shakespearian scholar authoring several books and articles related to The Bard, as well as her teaching work. She gained extraordinary access to both the Author as well as early drafts [and miscellanea] when she was appointed the inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at University of Maine in Orono, outside of Bangor.
It opens with a personal introduction that acts as an anchor that provides context to this book and its genesis.
Monsters in the Archives consists of five chapters that explore four of his early novels, The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, 'Salem's Lot and his first collection of short stories Night Shift. Contained in these five chapters are earlier drafts of the published work, page excerpts, scans, anecdotes, observations and provocative commentary. Added are interviews and fragments from Stephen King himself that make Monsters in the Archives an excellent companion piece to King’s own non-fiction books ‘On Writing’ and ‘Danse Macabre’.
It is apt that the first book Bicks examines is the chapter that focuses on [arguably] Stephen King’s scariest work Pet Semetary. On completion of this opening chapter the reader is energised with the urge to revisit this 1983 novel, and track down W. W. Jacobs 1902 short story "The Monkey's Paw".
The subsequent chapters provide insight and entertainment as they probe into how the published work came into being. Particular mention should be made of the chapter exploring Night Shift, for King’s ability in penning memorable short fiction is examined as a precursor to writing his novellas.
It is of little surprise that this book is penned by an academic who is fascinated by the English playwright William Shakespeare, [who like Stephen King] wrote work that had popular appeal globally.
Forever the academic [with a small ‘a’], Caroline Bicks provides acknowledgements, text permissions and notes that form an insightful appendix that closes this unusually engaging peek into the work of one of the world’s greatest commercial writers.
One hopes that we get further volumes by Caroline Bicks that delve deeply and examine other works of Stephen King, especially the two novels of weird fiction From A Buick 8 [2002] and Revival [2014].
