Gwendy's Button Box

Simply wonderful. I love RF and this is one of those books that makes him ever so much more complex.

Cool little singe-serving read that I grabbed for an overnight trip. Pages flew, the story was not at all what I was expecting and had a pretty exciting climax. The overall idea of the plot is scarier than this story. I wonder if they will continue the story of the box and its handlers?

me, fully not paying attention to any lessons or themes of the book: yeah uhhhh where can i get these super delicious chocolates that look like animals?

Anyway, an interesting, well-written little novella; I will be continuing the trilogy. 3.5 little black hats out of 5, rounded up.

This trilogy was a collaboration between Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. King cowrote the first book and the 3rd book with Chizmar but the 2nd books was written by just Chizmar. I'm not really sure why King opted out of writing the 2nd one. 

I decided to write up a series review since I read all of these in one month back to back pretty much and they are all short quick reads and I pretty much had the same thing to say about each of them individually. I gave each of the books a 4 star rating and therefor the series is a 4 star overall rating as well. This was my first book by Chizmar and if you've been here for a while you know I've been on a King journey for like the past 2+ years. 

Anyways lets get to my actual thoughts on the books. After finishing the first book I felt like we only got the first part of a story. Everything in the book was pretty much wrapped up but I felt like we were missing some things mostly involving the button box. I felt like Gwendy's overall story was wrapped up nicely but the button box was still a mystery to me. It does skip forward a lot in time so it was hard to keep up with everything at times. 

For a book to be called Gwendy's Magic Feather the actual feather barely made an appearance in the book. I pretty much have the same feelings about this book that I did the first one. Gwendy's overall story was wrapped up but I still didn't get the answers I was wanting about the button box 

In the last book there is talk about Trump and Covid and while I wouldn't say it's a bad thing to include real life things in books I don't particularly care to read about real time things in my books. I want to escape the real world when I read a book. The authors reference several of Kings past book. I can't remember all of the ones off the top of my head but I know there's references to IT and The Dark Tower as well as many others. While I don't think you necessarily need to have read all of those books you will definitely understand them more if you do especially with The Dark Tower. Speaking of the Dark Tower I wish these books didn't have so much to do with The Dark Tower. If you didn't know I am not a fan of that series overall. We are still left with unanswered questions some of which didn't pop up until this book and some that I've had from the very beginning. I did also get a little teary eyed at this end of this one. 

Overall an enjoyable trilogy to read but don't expect to finish it with everything being wrapped up nice and neat with a bow. 

Pretty much perfect. Stephen as I love him, small town Maine, a little horror, great characters. Really interesting idea.

Audio read by: Maggie Siff

This was a very short read.I wish the story was scarier, however I was entertained.

Read in one sitting. Just finished at around 01:30 AM; I could not put this down. A short but wonderful little freak show of a story, please read it! Can't wait to devour book 2 tomorrow, and with how good it's shaping up to be, maybe start book 3!

This is more of a short story than a novella. Love the premise-kind of reminds me of a Bradbury story but without the depth, richness, and superior writing

3,5

Gwendy's Button Box is a story with tremendous promise that just kind of fizzled out and ended too quickly and neatly. The setting, characters, and atmosphere all have the feeling of vintage King and the tension in this story builds right up to the ending where none of that build-up pays off.

I remember that moment when, having read through S.K.'s Dark Tower series, I arrived at the final sequence and King wrote a teasing warning to all of us Constant Readers, saying that the story had reached a decent stopping point and we could put it down and walk away and that would be okay. Though, if you really want to know what became of Roland, you could read on, but be warned that the ending might not be what you're expecting.

I enjoyed that ending. I felt it paid the series off. This one? Not so much.

Gwendy parlayed this novella into another novel (and maybe a series) of her own, so maybe the larger story will pay off down the line, because this feels like the first third of a story - all set up, no ending.

————————————-

Long(ish) story short [SPOILERS AHEAD]: Gwendy is introduced as a regular pre-teen grappling with the pressures of her rapidly changing school and social worlds in the 70's. She's a little overweight and runs the "Suicide Stairs" in an attempt to get into better physical shape (and probably as a stress-reliever). Her home life isn't great, either parents on the verge of alcoholism and divorce and not quite as present as they could be. She meets a man dressed in black at the top of the stairs, his name is Richard Farris and he has a magic button box that he entrusts to her, telling her that it belongs to her and she must caretake it. He's a little creepy, says he's been watching her (and others), and offers a slightly menacing smile when warning of the consequences that could come with the box.And here I bet you're thinking, "Oh ho! It's our old frienemy R.F. and he's back causing trouble!" Well...The box dispenses chocolates that take, let's say, solve all her problems. Soon she's the most attractive, smartest, most popular person in school. A top athlete. Her parents stop drinking, the marriage is saved. Life is great! The box gives her uncirculated Morgan silver dollars. She accumulates a small fortune. The box also grants wishes in a monkey paw/Twilight Zone box way that always seems to have a much nastier edge to it than is anticipated. Gwendy goes through school. She loses a friend who later...doesn't make it to the end of the story. Gwendy believes the box is to blame. Gwendy meets the perfect guy, he doesn't make it to the end of the story. Gwendy believes the box is to blame (this time there's more direct evidence that this might be the case). And by this point in the story, you're thinking that there's going to be a payoff, some terrible price for using the box (even though by now Gwendy has weened herself from using it).Nope.R.F. shows up, explains away the fates of the two friends, absolves Gwendy and the box of both, shares some cake, tells her that she's about to have an amazing life, and leaves. Gwendy finds another coin that R.F. left for her, laughs, and puts it in her pocket.The end. No, really. That's it. She is living a more-or-less perfect life, there were no real consequences to the box, the dead friends—I don't know, wash out of her mind?—and she laughs and goes to an Ivy League college...that the box paid for. Everything tied up in a nice little bow. No harm, no foul. Somewhere in the distance, an audience applause track plays and we cut to the credits.That last chapter is the pinhole that lets the air out of this story. It's a case of the last 10% erasing the other 90% and all that's left to do is sigh, shrug, and remember the days of Castle Rock past.

Did you know that sometimes Stephen King is not scary, not all stories need terror. Sometimes existential dread will do the trick. If you are scared of the future and where you fit into the grand scheme of the world, then Gwendy's Button Box is the story for you.

In my quest to read all the King novels, including his more obscure stuff, I came across this little gem. It stars Gwendy, as in a mash-up of Gwendolin and Wendy, as a typical young girl in the 1970s. The first scene if of Gwendy doing laps on a dangerous set of steps called the Suicide Steps. One of her classmates called her fat, and this has caused an intense need to exercise and lose any pudge that the 11-year-old might be holding on to. The theme of self-acceptance comes up often as a significant theme throughout the story. Gwendy needs everyone to accept her, and the button box offers a way for her to be above reproach. Gwendy encounters a weird man in a black top hat on her way to leave the Suicide Steps. Again, strange people in top hats are a common occurrence in Stephen King's books. Still, I have no idea why top hats are a trigger point for the bizarre in King's worlds, but there you go. The enigmatic man offers Gwendy a choice, take the mysterious black box with buttons, a box that Gwendy feels to the marrow of her bones that belongs to her, or don't. Of course, Wendy accepts the responsibility of the box. And it is a responsibility because as the story progresses, we come to understand the innate power that the box has over the universe. Triggers and switches on the box can crush whole continents, buttons, and levers can make any desire that Gwendy has come true. Gwendy is not just some girl; she was, in a way, selected to protect the box for several years. In exchange for her acceptance and protection of the power of the box, Gwendy gets perks. She is gorgeous and healthy. Everything that she strives to do is effortless.

With an effortless existence comes a bit of ennui. What is she pulled a lever? Why does any of this matter at all? Coupled with typical teenageness, Gwendy has a difficult time controlling her impulses. That is the crux of the story more than the black button box. Given infinite power, what should Gwendy do? How does one weigh morals against exercising her power?

Gwendy is haunted by her ability to do destruction.

This is a good Stephen King story. Instead of gross-out scares, we have the haunting of the mind and soul, which is think is way more interested than just being scared or disgusted. King does this kind of dread well; you see it a lot in his novels. It makes me think of the existential dread many of the characters in The Stand face.

I loved this story, more so than some of the recent Stephen king shorts and novellas I have been reading. Elevation I am looking at you; you are lame-sauce.

If you are looking for dread laced in your horror like strychnine on a cookie, this story is for you. And, at just under 30k words, it isn't huge.

Give Gwendy's Button Box a try.

If you would like to read more of my reviews or various other bookish things please come by my blogat https://beforewegoblog.com/

This is cute little short story. It is written in pure SK style, even though it is a collaboration. It goes pretty fast and the read is very enjoyable. Not an unforgettable masterpiece, but definitely a nice way to spend a few hours.

Rating: 3.63 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3.5/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Story: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Genre: Thriller/Fiction/Supernatural
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes

For such a short book I wasn't expecting much. It did well enough and I really like the concept of the box and how the psychological fear it brings. I would not want to be in Gwendy's spot.

What would you do if you had a box that not only made everything better, but had the power to destroy whatever you wanted. Would you use it or would you hide it from yourself? Great Novella and Highly recommend.