UR
Stephen King
Reeling from a painful break-up, English instructor and avid book lover Wesley Smith is haunted by his ex-girlfriend's parting shot: "Why can't you just read off the computer like everyone else?" He buys an e-book reader out of spite, but soon finds he can use the device to glimpse realities he had never before imagined, discovering literary riches beyond his wildest dreams...and all-too-human tragedies that surpass his most terrible nightmares.
- Genres Horror Fiction Short Stories Fantasy Science Fiction Audiobook Thriller
61 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 12, 2009
About the author
Stephen King
2,526 books847k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,579 reviews
Calista
October 9, 2021
This is a 60 page short story. I love the intro King gives. He tells us how this story came about. Someone asked him to do a short story about Kindle when it just came out. He wasn't going to do it, thinking people would feel he was shilling for Amazon, but the story came and he did it anyway.
The story has a strong Dark Tower connection. I had heard about this story, but I had no clue it was this connected to the tower. I'm a Tower junkie and so I was very excited for that.
The story revolves around a Kindle and some college English professors. It seems this Kindle is special and he can find works from authors who lived longer and wrote more story. In this Kindle, Poe lived 20 more years and published 6 novels. Man, I would love to read those.
I don't want to give anymore away, but this is one of my more favorite stories from the Collection 'Bazaar of Bad Dreams'. I'm a fan of this fun little story.
The story has a strong Dark Tower connection. I had heard about this story, but I had no clue it was this connected to the tower. I'm a Tower junkie and so I was very excited for that.
The story revolves around a Kindle and some college English professors. It seems this Kindle is special and he can find works from authors who lived longer and wrote more story. In this Kindle, Poe lived 20 more years and published 6 novels. Man, I would love to read those.
I don't want to give anymore away, but this is one of my more favorite stories from the Collection 'Bazaar of Bad Dreams'. I'm a fan of this fun little story.
Elizabeth Sagan
September 19, 2017
Duuuuude. I don’t know whether I should give it 4 or 5 stars. This is straight outta...
I even listened to the same song that I associate TDT series with (which is Heaven & Earth by Two Steps From Hell if you’re interested).
This is one of those stories when you think gosh, I wish it happened to me (at least in the beginning). What would you do if you’d have a Kindle and you could download the works of all the authors from all the parallel worlds? I honestly would starve to death because, really, who needs food?
Imagine having 3 other Harry Potter books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring and the last book in The Kingkiller Chronicles. By the way, have you checked Rothfuss’ review of the last one? It’s one of the most popular reviews on Goodreads and it talks about time travelers. But I know they aren’t time travelers. They’re people who own an UR Kindle and Stephen King is to blame because all things serve the Tower.
This is me fangirling. Omg, this book was so good.
So maybe 5 stars is the right choice.
*
P.S. – typing up one of those books and publishing it isn’t an option (yeah, I thought of it, they thought of it too). The Paradox Laws will fuck you up and The Dark Tower world isn’t a merciful one. How about total annihilation?
I even listened to the same song that I associate TDT series with (which is Heaven & Earth by Two Steps From Hell if you’re interested).
This is one of those stories when you think gosh, I wish it happened to me (at least in the beginning). What would you do if you’d have a Kindle and you could download the works of all the authors from all the parallel worlds? I honestly would starve to death because, really, who needs food?
Imagine having 3 other Harry Potter books, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring and the last book in The Kingkiller Chronicles. By the way, have you checked Rothfuss’ review of the last one? It’s one of the most popular reviews on Goodreads and it talks about time travelers. But I know they aren’t time travelers. They’re people who own an UR Kindle and Stephen King is to blame because all things serve the Tower.
This is me fangirling. Omg, this book was so good.
So maybe 5 stars is the right choice.
*
P.S. – typing up one of those books and publishing it isn’t an option (yeah, I thought of it, they thought of it too). The Paradox Laws will fuck you up and The Dark Tower world isn’t a merciful one. How about total annihilation?
Peter
July 13, 2018
a story every kindle reader has to read...
Gabriel
June 16, 2023
2.5★
Es probable que a este relato le pillen más el jugo los lectores de la saga "La torre oscura" del mismo autor.
Porque me suena que fue escrita en gran parte con ese propósito.
Y definitivamente no he encontrado nada resaltable desde mi experiencia. Será un relato olvidable.
Es probable que a este relato le pillen más el jugo los lectores de la saga "La torre oscura" del mismo autor.
Porque me suena que fue escrita en gran parte con ese propósito.
Y definitivamente no he encontrado nada resaltable desde mi experiencia. Será un relato olvidable.
Lou
November 6, 2011
"Kindle Ur King"
I confess! I have committed a sin I have avoided reading novels from The Grandmaster writer Stephen King!
I repent! I will make my upmost effort in reading my way through The Dark Tower series, one book a month minimum.
King was one of the first to delve into publishing via the kindle from this genre. This novella will be looked upon in the future as the genesis of the kindle era. His talent is to turn anything into a craft from kindle to Riding the Bullet. Great creative story.
EXCERPT “ Does this gadget of yours have a smell?” “Nope,” Henderson replied. “Not really. But when you turn the pages…here, with this button…they kind of flutter, like in a real book, and I can go to any page I want, and when it sleeps, it shows pictures of famous writers, and it holds a charge” ”
“ “The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as ofwinter.” ”
“ What seemed major—what loomed over his life and very sanity—were the riches hidden within that slim pink panel of plastic. He thought of all the writers whose passing he had mourned, from Norman Mailer and Saul Bellow to Donald Westlake and Evan Hunter; one after another, Thanatos stilled the magic voices and they spoke no more. But now they could. They could speak to him. He threw back the bedclothes. The Kindle was calling him. Not in a human voice, but in an organic one. It sounded like a beating heart, Poe’s tell-tale heart, coming from inside his briefcase instead of from under the floorboards, and— Poe! Good God, he had never checked Poe! ”
http://more2read.com/?review=ur-by-stephen-king
I confess! I have committed a sin I have avoided reading novels from The Grandmaster writer Stephen King!
I repent! I will make my upmost effort in reading my way through The Dark Tower series, one book a month minimum.
King was one of the first to delve into publishing via the kindle from this genre. This novella will be looked upon in the future as the genesis of the kindle era. His talent is to turn anything into a craft from kindle to Riding the Bullet. Great creative story.
EXCERPT “ Does this gadget of yours have a smell?” “Nope,” Henderson replied. “Not really. But when you turn the pages…here, with this button…they kind of flutter, like in a real book, and I can go to any page I want, and when it sleeps, it shows pictures of famous writers, and it holds a charge” ”
“ “The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as ofwinter.” ”
“ What seemed major—what loomed over his life and very sanity—were the riches hidden within that slim pink panel of plastic. He thought of all the writers whose passing he had mourned, from Norman Mailer and Saul Bellow to Donald Westlake and Evan Hunter; one after another, Thanatos stilled the magic voices and they spoke no more. But now they could. They could speak to him. He threw back the bedclothes. The Kindle was calling him. Not in a human voice, but in an organic one. It sounded like a beating heart, Poe’s tell-tale heart, coming from inside his briefcase instead of from under the floorboards, and— Poe! Good God, he had never checked Poe! ”
http://more2read.com/?review=ur-by-stephen-king
Becky
December 16, 2015
While I was listening to this one, I said to a friend on Google Chat, "You know... it's crazy how much Stephen King affects me.
I'm listening to this audio book and I have a knot in my stomach out of nervousness." This about sums up what I love about Stephen King. Even in his shortest stories, he is able to take me out of my world and transplant me into the one he's created. He's able to make me not only know his characters, but care about them and root for them and worry for their well-being.
I wish that this was something that more authors understood. It's not enough to tell me a story if I don't like or don't understand the characters in it. It's not enough to craft a complicated or ingenious plot if I can't identify with the people in the story enough to put myself in their place. I have never had an issue with identifying with a King character. I may not like them, but I don't have to like them, because, like real people, they have a life of their own and do with it what they will. What they do is organic and true to their characters, and isn't shaped by King into something fake to fit the storyline.
I don't mean to harp on like this, but it always amazes me how much I fall in love with King's characters -- especially after I've read other books where the characters are flat, lifeless things that just move from scene to scene doing whatever the storyline requires without a personality or free will of their own. Alright... harping to stop..... Now.
I loved the concept of this book, and it thrilled me to no end seeing the King universe tied into the story. The connection didn't feel as unplanned as some of his other books do, more like he sought to write a book that tied in the Dark Tower series with a story about a Kindle, but even so it was pretty cool. I loved the concept of what the UR edition Kindle could do. I would absolutely be searching out more of King's works... I would have to cover the Kindle in plastic to avoid ruining it by drool, but still... I would be in heaven.
If you haven't read this one, I recommend it. It's a short read, the audio is great, and it's a mind-trip, like most of the DT stuff is. :)
I'm listening to this audio book and I have a knot in my stomach out of nervousness." This about sums up what I love about Stephen King. Even in his shortest stories, he is able to take me out of my world and transplant me into the one he's created. He's able to make me not only know his characters, but care about them and root for them and worry for their well-being.
I wish that this was something that more authors understood. It's not enough to tell me a story if I don't like or don't understand the characters in it. It's not enough to craft a complicated or ingenious plot if I can't identify with the people in the story enough to put myself in their place. I have never had an issue with identifying with a King character. I may not like them, but I don't have to like them, because, like real people, they have a life of their own and do with it what they will. What they do is organic and true to their characters, and isn't shaped by King into something fake to fit the storyline.
I don't mean to harp on like this, but it always amazes me how much I fall in love with King's characters -- especially after I've read other books where the characters are flat, lifeless things that just move from scene to scene doing whatever the storyline requires without a personality or free will of their own. Alright... harping to stop..... Now.
I loved the concept of this book, and it thrilled me to no end seeing the King universe tied into the story. The connection didn't feel as unplanned as some of his other books do, more like he sought to write a book that tied in the Dark Tower series with a story about a Kindle, but even so it was pretty cool. I loved the concept of what the UR edition Kindle could do. I would absolutely be searching out more of King's works... I would have to cover the Kindle in plastic to avoid ruining it by drool, but still... I would be in heaven.
If you haven't read this one, I recommend it. It's a short read, the audio is great, and it's a mind-trip, like most of the DT stuff is. :)
Karla
January 5, 2021
Story 3.5 stars**
Audio 4.5 stars**
Narrator Holter Graham
Audio 4.5 stars**
Narrator Holter Graham
Rossy Montaño
January 6, 2020
Admiro la capacidad de S. King al tomar situaciones cotidianas y añadirles el tinte paranormal, que nos abre interrogantes a nuevas realidades.
Creativa, ligera y fácil de leer, así se resume la historia de un profesor de inglés de la vieja escuela que tomando la palabra de su exnovia decide probar las novedades tecnológicas y se hace con un kindle, pero cuando la orden llega se percata de que este no es un kindle cualquiera sino que tiene unas funciones "especiales" que inquietarán de manera alarmante a su poseedor, me pregunto que haría yo en esa situación...
Creativa, ligera y fácil de leer, así se resume la historia de un profesor de inglés de la vieja escuela que tomando la palabra de su exnovia decide probar las novedades tecnológicas y se hace con un kindle, pero cuando la orden llega se percata de que este no es un kindle cualquiera sino que tiene unas funciones "especiales" que inquietarán de manera alarmante a su poseedor, me pregunto que haría yo en esa situación...
Celeste
June 25, 2019
I don’t know that I’ve ever yearned from something as terrifying as Wesley’s pink Kindle.
Imagine a world ten years in the past. Electronic books and e-readers are just beginning to take the world by storm. Wesley Smith is a college English literature professor who, after a nasty breakup partially over his distaste for the new trend of reading on a device, has decided to bite the bullet and purchase his first ever Kindle from Amazon. It arrives sooner than it should, sans instructions and sporting an odd pink color instead of the white of all other Kindles. Also unusual is the fact that, under the ‘Experimental’ section is a handful of subsections called Urs. Ur is evidently representative of alternate realities in which authors lived longer or died younger, attached themselves to different genres or penned more and greater works than are present in our reality. If this doesn’t sound like an incredible and awe-inspiring addition to the Kindle store, you and I view the world very differently.
Unfortunately, there is more information about these other worlds available, and Wesley (along with a student and a fellow professor) plumbs the depths of how these other worlds differ from ours, and what events led to those variations. This information is enough to fracture even the strongest minds. But what really sets Wesley on a collision course with destruction is his discovery of information that will impact his own world, and the decisions he makes with that information could come back to bite him.
One of the most fun aspects of this little story, besides the amazing pink Kindle, is how it relates to other works from King. There’s a strong nod to 11/22/63, but the deepest link is with The Dark Tower. I’ve only ever read The Gunslinger, but this story rekindled (see what I did there?) my interest in the series. I’m now insanely curious and will hopefully get back to the Tower in the near future.
Surprise of surprises, I actually loved the ending to this little story. While there are elements of the concept that are undeniably scary, there was a level of happiness to the climax that left me feeling content. I just really wish I could find this magical Kindle. I think I could stay away from looking into the happenings of the other realities if I could just read new works from favorite authors. Isn’t that a literary daydream held by countless bookworms?
A final note: I love that this wasn’t available in a physical form for the first nearly six years of its life. First published as an ebook in 2009, UR didn’t make its first physical debut until its publication as part of King’s 2015 short story collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Isn’t that poetic?
“A crazy certainty had arisen in his mind: a hand - or perhaps a claw - was going to swim up from the grayness of the Kindle's screen, grab him by the throat, and yank him in.”
Imagine a world ten years in the past. Electronic books and e-readers are just beginning to take the world by storm. Wesley Smith is a college English literature professor who, after a nasty breakup partially over his distaste for the new trend of reading on a device, has decided to bite the bullet and purchase his first ever Kindle from Amazon. It arrives sooner than it should, sans instructions and sporting an odd pink color instead of the white of all other Kindles. Also unusual is the fact that, under the ‘Experimental’ section is a handful of subsections called Urs. Ur is evidently representative of alternate realities in which authors lived longer or died younger, attached themselves to different genres or penned more and greater works than are present in our reality. If this doesn’t sound like an incredible and awe-inspiring addition to the Kindle store, you and I view the world very differently.
“He also dreamed. No images; only words. Titles! Endless lines of titles, many of them of undiscovered masterpieces. As many titles as there were stars in the sky.”
Unfortunately, there is more information about these other worlds available, and Wesley (along with a student and a fellow professor) plumbs the depths of how these other worlds differ from ours, and what events led to those variations. This information is enough to fracture even the strongest minds. But what really sets Wesley on a collision course with destruction is his discovery of information that will impact his own world, and the decisions he makes with that information could come back to bite him.
“Most people are optimists, although they may claim they are not. People who call themselves realists are often the biggest optimists of all.”
One of the most fun aspects of this little story, besides the amazing pink Kindle, is how it relates to other works from King. There’s a strong nod to 11/22/63, but the deepest link is with The Dark Tower. I’ve only ever read The Gunslinger, but this story rekindled (see what I did there?) my interest in the series. I’m now insanely curious and will hopefully get back to the Tower in the near future.
“The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as of winter.”
Surprise of surprises, I actually loved the ending to this little story. While there are elements of the concept that are undeniably scary, there was a level of happiness to the climax that left me feeling content. I just really wish I could find this magical Kindle. I think I could stay away from looking into the happenings of the other realities if I could just read new works from favorite authors. Isn’t that a literary daydream held by countless bookworms?
“Because sometimes longshots came in. Both for good and for ill.”
A final note: I love that this wasn’t available in a physical form for the first nearly six years of its life. First published as an ebook in 2009, UR didn’t make its first physical debut until its publication as part of King’s 2015 short story collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Isn’t that poetic?
Brian
February 1, 2018
Update. 2.1.18
Reading The Book of Lost Tales by Tolkien, the first book of the twelve in the histories of middle earth. In Tolkien's earliest conception, he creates a magic sun, called "Ur."
-------
Read this in King's newest collection. I loved this story. It reminded me of how much I loved experiencing the Dark Tower world. The premise: guy buys a Kindle and connects with the DT world. Imagine your favorite authors in other worlds. They have more novels. I looked at my favorites of favorites shelf and felt the obsession of the idea. Steinbeck, Dumas, Tolkien, Jordan, Twain. Imagine reading novels they never wrote or even read in this world! I'm glad this Kindle's not real. I'm not joking. I'd be in my counsellors office for a new addiction, and maybe some antipsychotic medicine for embracing delusional realities. Excellent read! Classic King. The story starts slow but ends well. I've found the best way to enjoy King -- read other writers. If you compare King with King you may be disappointed because his style changes over the years. Compare him with other authors and see how great he stands out. I can't read King too much because he ends up my sole source of fiction. I also try to write like him and that never works.
Reading The Book of Lost Tales by Tolkien, the first book of the twelve in the histories of middle earth. In Tolkien's earliest conception, he creates a magic sun, called "Ur."
-------
Read this in King's newest collection. I loved this story. It reminded me of how much I loved experiencing the Dark Tower world. The premise: guy buys a Kindle and connects with the DT world. Imagine your favorite authors in other worlds. They have more novels. I looked at my favorites of favorites shelf and felt the obsession of the idea. Steinbeck, Dumas, Tolkien, Jordan, Twain. Imagine reading novels they never wrote or even read in this world! I'm glad this Kindle's not real. I'm not joking. I'd be in my counsellors office for a new addiction, and maybe some antipsychotic medicine for embracing delusional realities. Excellent read! Classic King. The story starts slow but ends well. I've found the best way to enjoy King -- read other writers. If you compare King with King you may be disappointed because his style changes over the years. Compare him with other authors and see how great he stands out. I can't read King too much because he ends up my sole source of fiction. I also try to write like him and that never works.
Nik
July 18, 2012
...... what the hell is this crap?! If you check out my reviews you'll know I am a serious SK fan, for over 12 years I have practically devoured any and everything he's written and while I can't list them all among my favorites, I will say I usually can find SOMETHING in them that garners a bit of affection for the story. Not with this dreck, I have never been more disappointed! I was so excited to find an SK novel exclusive to Kindle readers, and just like Charlie before me I could hardly contain my joy at finding my "golden ticket." I checked out the reviews and they were mixed but I usually make my own decisions about things like this so I ordered it anyhow... I should have listened to the reviews. It's almost as if he said "How can I exploit the success of my more popular novels without actually doing any real work?" Also why the Kindle infomercials, if this story is only available on Kindle doesn't it stand to reason that we already have a Kindle we're reading it on?! If I wanted a product description or quick start guide I would have read the crap that came in the box when I brought my own (possibly with much more satisfaction than this novella.) Such a disappointment (I know, I know, repetitious but true)and I KNOW my favorite author can do better. The book I'm currently in the middle of Full Dark, No Stars is a testament to that.
*EDIT* After my cooling off period I have come back to add on ONE additional star because I did like the premise of alternate dimensions and realities and an endless mine of untapped literary gold. That's like bookworm porn so 2 stars for that SK.... but none for the rest of it.
*EDIT* After my cooling off period I have come back to add on ONE additional star because I did like the premise of alternate dimensions and realities and an endless mine of untapped literary gold. That's like bookworm porn so 2 stars for that SK.... but none for the rest of it.
Trudi
November 2, 2011
The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as of winter.
I love this quote and I love this story! Not only is it a giant HEAP of fun, it's filled to the brim with Dark Tower references right down to an appearance by the low men in yellow coats - yes! more please!
The premise is pure King, and would have made an AWESOME Twilight Zone episode. I can just hear Rod Serling now:
Wesley Smith is a professor of literature and his mistress is the book. An unlikely impulse to purchase an electronic reader opens a window through which can be viewed infinite versions of time and space. If knowledge is power, then Wesley has just become the most powerful man in our universe. He has also just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.Whether you're a fan of the Dark Tower novels or not, this is vintage King.
Blair
August 7, 2014
UR is an extremely short novella, and also happened to be my introduction to Stephen King. The premise is pretty fascinating - a university English professor, Wesley Smith, orders an Amazon Kindle after a fight with his girlfriend, during which she rages at him for spending too much time reading books. When the device arrives (with alarming speed), it's inexplicably pink, and has a mysterious menu called 'UR Functions'. Wesley quickly realises that this menu gives him the ability to read a plethora of previously unheard-of works by famous writers. At first he assumes this is some kind of elaborate hoax, but the more he reads, the more he becomes convinced that the books are genuine, and that the Kindle offers a portal into alternate realities where they really have been written. But this discovery grows into an obsession and, of course, it comes at a price...
The story is a fun spin on the idea of ardent readers being hostile towards new technology, and the idea of having access to millions of undiscovered parallel-universe books by your favourite authors is thrilling - any book-lover can imagine how addictive this would be. It really is a short story, though, and although I loved the plot (especially the ) - and wished I could have explored the 'URs' further - I wasn't convinced by the characters and found some of the dialogue a bit off. Altogether, although this has made me interested in reading some of King's full-length novels, it hasn't exactly left me chomping at the bit to do so.
The story is a fun spin on the idea of ardent readers being hostile towards new technology, and the idea of having access to millions of undiscovered parallel-universe books by your favourite authors is thrilling - any book-lover can imagine how addictive this would be. It really is a short story, though, and although I loved the plot (especially the ) - and wished I could have explored the 'URs' further - I wasn't convinced by the characters and found some of the dialogue a bit off. Altogether, although this has made me interested in reading some of King's full-length novels, it hasn't exactly left me chomping at the bit to do so.
Pedro
October 25, 2017
INCREÍBLE. INCREÍBLE Y PERTURBADOR.
Qué bien hice al animarme por fin a leer esto. Desde que lo conocí que venía pensando en hacerlo por un tema de que llamaba mucho la atención al ser quizás lo más desconocido que ha escrito King. No tenía idea sobre que iba, solo sabía que era corto, y ahí estaba en mi cabeza "UR, UR, UR. Algún día lo leeré", y me encontré con un relato muy sorprendente. Hace algún tiempo una de mis obsesiones es todo lo que tenga que ver con la existencia de realidades paralelas, dimensiones desconocidas, y UR me lo ha dado en bandeja. Eso y más. Un relato claramente conectado con el mundo de La torre oscura (como la mayoría de lo que ha escrito el autor), así que cuando lea la saga seguro volveré a leer este gran relato.
¡5 de 5 estrellas sin dudarlo!
Qué bien hice al animarme por fin a leer esto. Desde que lo conocí que venía pensando en hacerlo por un tema de que llamaba mucho la atención al ser quizás lo más desconocido que ha escrito King. No tenía idea sobre que iba, solo sabía que era corto, y ahí estaba en mi cabeza "UR, UR, UR. Algún día lo leeré", y me encontré con un relato muy sorprendente. Hace algún tiempo una de mis obsesiones es todo lo que tenga que ver con la existencia de realidades paralelas, dimensiones desconocidas, y UR me lo ha dado en bandeja. Eso y más. Un relato claramente conectado con el mundo de La torre oscura (como la mayoría de lo que ha escrito el autor), así que cuando lea la saga seguro volveré a leer este gran relato.
¡5 de 5 estrellas sin dudarlo!
Kathryn
December 19, 2012
UR started kind of slow for me. At first it wasn't too interesting. Then, all of sudden, it picked up and I enjoyed it. I like the Dark Tower relation, and the idea of alternate realities. If you've read The Dark Tower series by King, you already know about this. Anyways, UR is a nice, quick read, with an interesting idea for a storyline.
Irmak ☾
December 6, 2021
I don't have much to say about it. It was an interesting and quick read.
Michael
January 7, 2012
I'm not quite sure what there is to say here. While King is one of my favorite authors, I'm not an apologist. Among some of the best books I've ever read are some real clunkers.
This... this is something special. And by special I mean horrible. Not since Dan Brown have I wanted so badly to throw what I was reading across the room. I could not, of course, as I was reading on a Kindle.
The Kindle shilling and advertisements are shameless, which is all the more frustrating as one can only read the damn thing on a Kindle - why give us the infomercial at the same time?
Sales pitch aside, this is still some of the most disappointing King work I've read. Perhaps having to write this with a deadline he reached into his protagonist hat and pulled out what seems to be the only tile (an English teacher who is writing a novel in his spare time), though to King's credit our hero is not, this time, from Maine. Blah blah blah Red Sox mentioned blah blah SPOILER Dark Tower dropped in at the end etc etc.
This... this is something special. And by special I mean horrible. Not since Dan Brown have I wanted so badly to throw what I was reading across the room. I could not, of course, as I was reading on a Kindle.
The Kindle shilling and advertisements are shameless, which is all the more frustrating as one can only read the damn thing on a Kindle - why give us the infomercial at the same time?
Sales pitch aside, this is still some of the most disappointing King work I've read. Perhaps having to write this with a deadline he reached into his protagonist hat and pulled out what seems to be the only tile (an English teacher who is writing a novel in his spare time), though to King's credit our hero is not, this time, from Maine. Blah blah blah Red Sox mentioned blah blah SPOILER Dark Tower dropped in at the end etc etc.
Delee
December 26, 2015
3.5
Ahmed Ismail
January 19, 2023
The novella marks the advent of Kindle.
The story has a strong Dark Tower connection, but you don't have to read the Dark Tower series to get it. As in most of his books, King sprinkles his story with some political talk.
The story has a strong Dark Tower connection, but you don't have to read the Dark Tower series to get it. As in most of his books, King sprinkles his story with some political talk.
Belinda
November 18, 2009
Strictly braincandy. Yummy, yummy braincandy. I do love Stephen King. Trust King to not only be an early adopter of new technology where reading and writing are concerned, but to be so totally immersed in it that he treats his fellow Kindle addicts to a delightfully personal novella!
This story was just plain fun. Mild-mannered English prof. finally breaks down and orders himself an e-reader: A Kindle. It arrives, in PINK, and with no instructions...and "experimental" features guaranteed to make every bibliophile drool. Just one example...what IF, on some plane of existence, Poe lived another 30 years, and published NOVELS?
But as with most things King, this gift comes with a price, and someone's gonna pay. And as an added bonus for King's Constant Reader, this story, like many of his others, has Dark Tower mythology woven throughout. Brilliant.
This story was just plain fun. Mild-mannered English prof. finally breaks down and orders himself an e-reader: A Kindle. It arrives, in PINK, and with no instructions...and "experimental" features guaranteed to make every bibliophile drool. Just one example...what IF, on some plane of existence, Poe lived another 30 years, and published NOVELS?
But as with most things King, this gift comes with a price, and someone's gonna pay. And as an added bonus for King's Constant Reader, this story, like many of his others, has Dark Tower mythology woven throughout. Brilliant.
Diana
July 28, 2019
Creo que una de las cosas que siempre me ha fascinado del buen King es como inserta lo paranormal en lo cotidiano y, en este caso, un hermoso lector de libros electrónicos rosa es nuestro medio para introducir la locura en nuestro protagonista. ¿Lo malo? Es una fórmula que el autor ya ha utilizado con el paso de los años, incluso este relato quedaría perfecto en su antología de Historias fantásticas ya qué hay varios relatos que comparten las mismas características. Bueno para pasar el rato 😉
Además se ganó mi corazoncito🖤 cuando mencionó a bebé Bolaño
J Jahir
July 31, 2019
Qué perturbador sin duda. creo que el kindle no lo veré de la misma forma, al menos el rosa... supongo que si consigo uno lo primero será preguntar por el color jeje. Corto pero interesante, increíble la mente que tiene este hombre para hacerte algo paranormal o terrorífico hasta para los que nos gusta leer!
Me gustó bastante, hubiera querido más y hasta es un poco raro ver que es una novelita corta teniendo en cuenta lo bíblicos que suelen ser sus libros. habría sido mejor extenderlo un poco más, pero creo que llegó al punto. cuidado con los kindle, lectores! jaja.
Me gustó bastante, hubiera querido más y hasta es un poco raro ver que es una novelita corta teniendo en cuenta lo bíblicos que suelen ser sus libros. habría sido mejor extenderlo un poco más, pero creo que llegó al punto. cuidado con los kindle, lectores! jaja.
Sumit RK
March 2, 2017
Stephen King can weave a great story even around the most common & inanimate objects. It can be a truck, a coin or in this case a 'kindle' (yes!). This story surely had the potential to be full novel but the even as a short story it explores some interesting themes which keeps you hooked till the end. Just don't read this excepting a horror story and you won't be disappointed.
?
April 22, 2023
Lo suficientemente olvidable para no haber recordado que lo leí hasta hace poco. Sigo confirmando que Stephen King no es para mí.
Ruth Turner
June 8, 2015
(Collected in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams)
I attempted to read his story a few years ago and gave up in disgust before I was even halfway through. It didn’t make much sense and I was bored witless.
Second attempt, the beginning is still slow, and it still bored me witless but I persevered and managed to finish it. Not a great read but certainly rates higher than some of his other short stories I’ve read recently.
CONNECTIONS:
Pot ‘o Gold (Rest Stop)
The Dark Tower:
Beneath the welcome message was a picture—not of Charles Dickens or Eudora Welty, but of a large black tower.
“The Tower trembles; the worlds shudder in their courses. The rose feels a chill, as of winter.”
“If there were dreams (of pink Kindles, women in roadhouse parking lots, or low men in yellow coats), he did not remember them.”
“All things serve the Tower,” the man-thing in the yellow duster said, and touched the hideous button on its coat with a kind of reverence. Both wore buttons bearing a red eye.
From The Stand - It looked like a black stone so dark it seemed almost resinous and pitchy. There was a red flaw in the center of it, and to Lloyd it looked like a terrible eye, bloody and half-open, peering at him.
****
This is in no way a connection, but…“And James Patterson’s probably written one (book) since he got up this morning!” she said, and went off chortling." *snicker*
Adam Light
December 9, 2014
Nice little side trip into the land of King wherein the protagonist purchases a Kindle, in an attempt to win back the affections of his ex-girlfriend. He should have stuck with good old paperbacks!
Oscar
February 8, 2016
El profesor de literatura Wesley Smith decide un buen día comprar un Kindle, aunque no está muy convencido. El aparato que le llega es de color rosa, en lugar del típico blanco. Pero ahí no acaban las particularidades del dispositivo, que Wesley irá descubriendo poco a poco.
‘UR’ (2009) fue el primer relato digital de Stephen King, que escribió para promocionar el lanzamiento del lector de libros electrónicos Kindle, de Amazon. Si bien hay algunas pinceladas más que evidentes de publicidad dentro del relato, que a mí particularmente no me han molestado, se trata de una historia interesante y amena, con tintes de ciencia ficción y universos paralelos. Además, incluye algunas referencias a la serie de la Torre Oscura y a ‘Corazones en la Atlántida’.
‘UR’ (2009) fue el primer relato digital de Stephen King, que escribió para promocionar el lanzamiento del lector de libros electrónicos Kindle, de Amazon. Si bien hay algunas pinceladas más que evidentes de publicidad dentro del relato, que a mí particularmente no me han molestado, se trata de una historia interesante y amena, con tintes de ciencia ficción y universos paralelos. Además, incluye algunas referencias a la serie de la Torre Oscura y a ‘Corazones en la Atlántida’.
Gary
March 25, 2021
This is a short story by Stephen King that features a college English Literature professor named Wesley Smith. Wesley has recently suffered a messy breakup from his girlfriend following an argument concerning his distaste for reading books off electronic devices. He decides to face technology head on and purchases a Kindle from Amazon, only when it arrives it is unusually pink. He also discovers under the experimental section there are subsections called UR’s. It appears that this is an alternative reality where the author lives longer or dies earlier and potentially writes other novels that do not exist in reality.
Stephen King is a master storyteller and it seems that he can make any subject sound interesting. This is a good short story that offers a very interesting idea,
Stephen King is a master storyteller and it seems that he can make any subject sound interesting. This is a good short story that offers a very interesting idea,
Jordon Greene
July 11, 2017
My First Stephen King Read
I've meant to read a Stephen King story for some time, so this one became my first when a fellow reader suggested it. I have to say, they were right. It's great! I would have never imagined a story about a Kindle like this and then what I'm assuming is a cross tie in with some other works of King's that I've yet to read. Definitely a great Stephen King story to start off with.
I've meant to read a Stephen King story for some time, so this one became my first when a fellow reader suggested it. I have to say, they were right. It's great! I would have never imagined a story about a Kindle like this and then what I'm assuming is a cross tie in with some other works of King's that I've yet to read. Definitely a great Stephen King story to start off with.
Chris Haught
September 30, 2010
Oh wow. It's only a novella, and not yet available as a "real" book. But King definitely delivers. Wirelessly.
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