Stephen King has a new short story out only available in audiobook from Simon and Schuster, narrated by Tim Sample, and it’s called Drunken Fireworks.
After having experienced the audiobook of his novel 11/22/63, and finding it one of the best I’ve heard, I was excited to see what King had in mind with this project. King’s reputation all but promises to bring characters that come alive through their dialogue, and if Tim Sample and his audio producers create an experience half as powerful as 11/22/63, then I figured to be in for a treat.
One thing I wasn’t sure about coming in was the title, Drunken Fireworks, and what it meant for the story. In a way, King both exceeded and met my expectations. When I read that title, I thought, what kind of interesting story can come about from drunken people lighting off fireworks? It seemed too simple.
Unfortunately, that’s how I felt afterwards, as well. King delivers with some hilarious one liners and yet another display of why he writes the best dialogue in the business. Tim Sample did a terrific job adding accent and inflection to our narrators’ voices. I couldn’t ask for a better performance in that regard. Unfortunately, beyond the vocals and the cool fireworks descriptions, the ending fell flat, leaving me thinking, that’s it?
3.5/5 Stars for an enjoyable experience that could give or take on how high I recommend it. If you’re a diehard King fan, you should, and you’ll be rewarded for new characters to laugh with, but you might be disappointed with his ending.
Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for a review.
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