Elevation

My major critique of  Stephen King's Elevation is that it felt like he was recycling his story Thinner to fit our current social times. It was as though he was inserting things like homosexuality and vegetarianism into this story in order to fit a more socially conscious era.  I was disappointed by the lack of the originality this book displayed by following a story arc that he had used back in the 80s.

After reading multiple reviews of the book beforehand I wondered if I would have a more favorable opinion of the book if I did not approach it as a horror novel. However, it did not help my perspective reading this book at all. I love short fiction--the novella length story did not bother me. I was introduced to King’s work through his short stories.   What was more troublesome for me is the sensation that I reread one of his older stories. 

 I am really disappointed  that it won the 2018 Goodreads Choice Award for horror.  While the Elevation does explore some darker themes it is NOT a horror story.  Also, other nominations: Cabin at the End of the World, We Sold Our Souls and Merry Spinster are amazing books that would have been more worthy of this award. It makes me wonder how many of the books people actually take the time to read before casting their votes. Stephen King is one of my favorite writers but it is obvious that he won this award based on his household name status, not on the quality of the work that he was nominated for.

If I hear that Stephen King is releasing a book, I tend to want to read it and to buy it as soon as possible. For me this only proves that even though I find much of his work amazing that he can still write something that is extremely disappointing. The main reason why this particular book will remain on my shelf and not in the pile of books that I will sell to the used bookstore is because I want to keep my collection of his books complete.

(Also published on Goodreads)