Yeah, I read another Stephen King book. Well, a book which King wrote along with Richard Chizmar, at least. This one was "Gwendy's Final Task," the third in a series of three books. The first one and this last one were co-written by King and Chizmar together, while the second one, as I understand it, was written only by Chizmar (I haven't read that one just yet).
Sometimes, it feels amazing just how much you can get out of Stephen King books. I have said before, and will say again: reading his books makes me feel like I am taking a vacation from myself, at least during those times while I am reading. While reading King's works, I have seen the world we know suddenly come to an abrupt end because of a super flu virus, grown familiar with communities in Maine, gotten psychic glimpses and saw the leader who would begin World War III, have seen paintings come to life, have felt like a woman running away from an abusive relationship and feeling good about things, have been a woman accidentally chained to a bed for several days and nights, have gotten lost in the woods with some mysterious creature stalking me, have gotten glimpses of life many decades ago, especially the 1960's, and have even traveled to other worlds than these. And that's only a small sampling of all the King works, and where they have taken me, one of his Constant Readers.
In this one, I got a taste of what traveling to space would actually be like, warts and all. Gwendy is now a member of Congress, and she is among a team of nine who travel to space. One of the other nine is an eccentric billionaire who plays more and more of a prominent role as the book goes along. Don't want to reveal any spoilers, although my guess is that you can guess what kind of a role this fictional billionaire plays in this book.
Gwendy is up there for a reason, of course. She has been tasked by Randall Flagg - a version of this character who actually seems to be a good guy, almost - because this is the only real way that she can finally get rid of her Button Box, which is, in fact, a serious threat to the world. We learn the price that she has paid personally in her own life, as well as presently, while the events in this book are going on. Again, no spoilers, but there is a reason why she feels she absolutely has to get this task done sooner, rather than later.
Of course, not all is what it seems. They finally dock with a station that sure seems like it is modeled on the International Space Station, and they are not alone. The Chinese are there, and it is clear in this book that they are not to be trusted. In fact, they play somewhat of a role, but never actually become a prominent part of this book, always remaining, at best, on the periphery of events. It is in this space station that events finally come to a head. Still, there are there for a reason, even if that reason feels a bit....well, stretching things a little bit.
Ultimately, there are challenges for Gwendy before she can finally take the space walk which will allow her to get rid of the box. The reason that she got on this space mission in the first place is that she finally trusted a friend in a very high place, and got her to understand the power - and the danger - that her wooden box poses.
As with most Stephen King books (or related to King), I enjoyed this one. Again, it both educated me on space travel, and allowed me to escape into my own imagination with the rich details that King provides, so that I actually felt as if I were the one traveling up in space. He makes it look easy to do, even though it is actually quite difficult. Anyone who is a big fan of space and such should read this book. And of course, any fan of Stephen King, anyone who identifies as one of his Constant Readers should read this book.
Otherwise, this is just a fun book. You do not have to be a fan of King to enjoy it, either. It's a fun read, and comes highly recommended here!
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