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At Mile 81 on the Maine turnpike is a boarded up rest stop, a place where high school kids drink and get into the kind of trouble high school kids have always gotten into. It’s the place where Pete Simmons goes when his older brother, who’s supposed to be looking out for him, heads off to the gravel pit to play “paratroopers over the side.” Pete, armed only with the magnifying glass he got for his tenth birthday, finds a discarded bottle of vodka in the boarded up burger shack and drinks enough to pass out.
Not much later, a mud-covered station wagon (which is strange because there hadn’t been any rain in New England for over a week) veers into the Mile 81 rest area, ignoring the sign that says “closed, no services.” The driver’s door opens but nobody gets out.
Doug Clayton, an insurance man from Bangor, is driving his Prius to a conference in Portland. On the backseat are his briefcase and suitcase and in the passenger bucket is a King James Bible, what Doug calls “the ultimate insurance manual,” but it isn’t going to save Doug when he decides to be the Good Samaritan and help the guy in the broken down wagon. He pulls up behind it, puts on his four-ways, and then notices that the wagon has no plates.
Ten minutes later, Julianne Vernon, pulling a horse trailer, spots the Prius and the wagon, and pulls over. Julianne finds Doug Clayton’s cracked cell phone near the wagon door – and gets too close herself. By the time Pete Simmons wakes up from his vodka nap, there are a half a dozen cars at the Mile 81 rest stop. Two kids – Rachel and Blake Lussier – and one horse named Deedee are the only living left. Unless you maybe count the wagon.
Anonymous
Posted September 2, 2011
I pre-ordered this book and downloaded it today. Wow. Is it short. First 5 pages are intro and table of contents, etc. Story ends on page 43, then you get a preview for his next book. WTH????? 37 whole pages for $2.99? What a waste. Story was okay but weird. Beware! This is NOT an entire book!!! Barely a teaser. Very disappointed...
118 out of 141 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 25, 2011
I don't understand how anyone can write a review before the story is even released.
64 out of 100 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 2, 2011
Good idea but way too short for $2.99.... should have been .99. Disappointed.
51 out of 65 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.CyndiANC
Posted September 2, 2011
1. Please stop giving books bad reviews because you don't agree with B&N's pricing. 2. Please stop giving books bad reviews because you couldn't get it to download. (B&N techs are not reading your message) 3. Please stop giving books bad reviews because you paid 2.99 and didn't scroll down first to see how many pages were in it. Your one-star ratings for technical issues bring down the value of the CONTENT of the book. .If you read the book and hated it - give it one star. Otherwise call the B&N 800 number to work out your other issues or try to get your money back. Me and at least 2 million other people are sick of scrolling through customer reviews like 'Help! it won't download', or 'I just paid 2.99 for 52 pages!" before we can get to one honest person's opinion of the actual story.
48 out of 65 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 1, 2011
Book was short, only 43 pages I think, last 10 pages are a preview of next work. It felt rushed and thrown together, the part where he said "left the safety on on his Glock" annoyed me, Glocks dont have a safety catch. He pointlessly pointed out ATT as a carrier, for no other reason than naming a brand. Cover page was indeed set up in a shoddy fashion. All n all it was a good hour long read, can't help feeling slightly disappointed, however.
37 out of 42 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 11, 2011
I love Stephen King but this is not a book. A short story that is not up to his usual standards at all. Very disappointing.
25 out of 30 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 4, 2011
Dont waste you money on this one! Ive been reading King fotlr over 30 years. To day this book was s complete let down is an understatement. What a rip off!
25 out of 30 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 15, 2011
NOT EVEN WORTHY OF ONE STAR. AUTHOR HAS CASHED IN ON HIS NAME!! 38 PAGES OF A BOOK A 13 YEAR OLD COULD HAVE WTITTEN. I LOVE KING BUT THIS WAS BAD!!!!
24 out of 34 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 5, 2011
Having been a life long King fan I must say this was a waste and dissapointment. I'm upset. This is a silly pointless plot with a dumb "monster" and a really dumb ending. As in you find yourself saying "was that @#%& really the ending??? WTH???" Bad bad bad.
21 out of 25 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 1, 2011
This is a great story, so you should still read it. I am frustrated with the formatting though. The cover page only showed me half of the cover image, then the next page was off too. Finally, the book itself was poorly formatted. No justification of the text, and it was just not pleasing to look at. I know that it was only 2.99, but come on if we are going to push the ebook format, then spend some time and make sure it's good. This was heavily pushed as a pre-order, you would think they would make sure it was good to go. You almost NEVER see a book that is printed without the text being justified, why is it OK on the nook? Also, we need the option to change the justification. It's available on the free nook app, why not the nook? Good book, poor formating....please fix it.
17 out of 23 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 11, 2011
You didn't make clear that this is a short story, or I wouldn't have bought it.
16 out of 20 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 5, 2011
This book (should actually be called a short story) was such a disappointment. I have been a big Steven King fan but this did it for me. Maybe he doesn't care any more, but there are plenty of good writers out there who can deliver a much worthier story than this poor excuse. My time and money are better spent with another story
writer. Sorry to see it end.
15 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 18, 2011
Wasn't worth the 3 bucks I paid for it. Was more of a short story than a book.
10 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 16, 2011
Yeah, didnt read reviews either and YEAH sucked. No wonder he's wealthy; he can get any piece of crap published just because he once wrote great. We've all been f'd.
10 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 6, 2011
This is the most ridiculous story ever! Don't waste your time or money.
10 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 1, 2011
I like how this book is going. Already finished and wanting the next installment to come out. Like The Green Mile, it has caught my attention!
10 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 9, 2011
I have been a King fan for over 25 years, and I was so disappointed with this story. King`s version of how a 10 year old thinks and acts is ridiculous. The story ended so abruptly it felt rushed and forced. Even as a short story, it was just poorly done. It reminds me of something that might be published after the author's death to squeeze a few more million out of the estate, not serious work -- a literary doodle. Maybe King has finally sucumbed to his fame and thinks his fans will read anything with his name on the front. The excerpt from his new novel wasn't promising either.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 16, 2011
I would like a REFUND of $2.99 what a waste.
7 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 6, 2011
Too Short to be called a book. Not one of stephen King's best.
7 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.What a waste of time and money.shame on you!!
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Mile 81 Stand by Me meets Christine—the story of an insatiable car and a heroic kid.
At Mile 81 on the Maine turnpike is a boarded up rest stop, a place where high school kids drink and get into the kind of trouble high school kids have always gotten into. It’s the place where Pete Simmons goes when his older brother, who’s supposed to be looking out for him, heads off to the gravel pit to play “paratroopers over the side.” Pete, armed only with the magnifying glass he got for ...