 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into You Like It Darker . (Discuss) Proposed since May 2024. |
| "Finn" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Scribd |
| Media type | Digital, audiobook |
| Publication date | May 25, 2022 |
"Finn" is a short story by Stephen King, first published on Scribd on May 25, 2022. It was collected in King's 2024 book, You Like It Darker .
Finn Murrie, a young Irish man, experiences frequent bad luck while growing up, including having a little toe blown off by an errant cherry bomb at the age of five, breaking his arm by falling from monkey bars at the age of nine, and suffering a concussion from a lightning strike at the age of 14. His grandmother tells him that God will give him two bits of good luck for every bit of bad luck.
At the age of 19, while running home from his girlfriend's house, Finn collides with a similarly dressed young man. After he resumes running, he is bundled into a van by several men and tranquilised. He awakens in a cell, where he is tortured via loud music continually playing. Later, he is brought before a white-haired man, Mr. Ludlum, who believes that Finn is actually "Bobby Feeney". Rejecting Finn's protests that it is a case of mistaken identity, Mr. Ludlum quizzes Finn as to the location of a briefcase. After Finn continues to protest, Mr. Ludlum slaps him, then gives him a crudely written pamphlet titled "World-Approved Techneeks [ sic ] for Advanced Interrogation". Later, Finn is waterboarded by Mr. Ludlum's men, with Mr. Ludlum now demanding the location of a bomb factory and blueprints.
After Finn is brought before Mr. Ludlum again, Mr. Ludlum offers him a full Irish breakfast in return for Finn naming three songs by Elvis Presley. Mr. Ludlum's men "Doc" and "Pando" take him to a kitchen where a plate of food awaits, but then drag him back into the van. Doc and Pando tell Finn that the mushrooms in the breakfast were poisoned, and mention that most of Mr. Ludlum's men have abandoned him. Several hours later, Doc and Pando eject Finn from the van in his hometown, giving him four thousand euros "for your trouble".
While walking home, Finn passes Pettengill Park, where as a child he broke his arm and enjoying playing on a playground slide known as the "Twisty". Remembering the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, Finn wonders if he has really been set free, or if he is imagining his emancipation while drowning from a waterboarding or while having fallen into a coma after being knocked over by Feeney. Climbing to the top of the Twisty, Finn rationalises that "Either I'll still be here when I get to the bottom, or I won't be", then begins to slide down.
As recounted by King, "the first paragraphs of 'Red Screen' and 'Finn' existed weeks and months before I actually put them down. I could see every period and comma." [1] Michael Washburn suggests that the story was inspired by the 2005 work "The Black Phone" by King's son Joe Hill. [2] Bev Vincent suggests that "Finn" was "inspired by an Ambrose Bierce classic". [3] Mike Finn describes the story's ending as "Kafkaesque". [4] Sassan Niasseri (writing for Rolling Stone ) notes that "Finn" is a rare example of a story by King set outside of the United States. [5]
"Finn" was first published on Scribd on May 25, 2022 in ebook and audiobook format. [6] [7] [8] It formed part of Scribd's "Scribd Originals" program, which saw Scribd commission and publish original works; King received a flat fee and retained the rights to adapt and expand the work. [9] Marie Demay noted "Finn" as an example of King's habit of alternating the publication of "official" works with short stories on different platforms. [10] "Finn" was exclusive to the Scribd platform [11] until 2024, when it was collected in King's book You Like It Darker . [12]
The 1985 single "Madhouse" by thrash metal band Anthrax is mentioned in the story; Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian acknowledged the reference on Instagram, writing "I love that somewhere in some very small corner I am a part of the King-Verse". [13]
Writing in USA Today , Barbara Vandenburgh described "Finn" as a "darkly funny, unsettling tale". [14] Also writing in USA Today, Brian Truitt described "Finn" as a "playfully quirky mistaken-identity piece". [15] SFX described "Finn" as "wonderfully odd". [16] Writing for LifeIsStory.com, Josh Olds described "Finn" as "an evocative story, told in the typical King fashion [...] a recognizably King short story that begins and ends without much fanfare either way". [11]
A less positive review was received from Jenn Adams (reviewing You Like It Darker for Bloody Disgusting), who described "Finn" as one of the less developed stories in the collection, stating that it "present[s] ominous ideas, but offer[s] little more than snapshots of larger terror". [17] Mike Finn suggested that the story had a sense of dissonance, stating "I couldn't reconcile the almost jolly, sure-aren't-we-all-stage-Irish-here? tone and the nightmarish description of the torture of an abducted man". [4] Kelly Gorman criticized the writing of the main character, suggesting "maybe King needs to not write teenagers [...] there was something about the way the main character talked that tossed me right out of the story, and I was never able to really get back in." [18] Similarly, Brice Stratford, praising King's incorporation of contemporary elements into his stories, offered "Finn" as an example of how "these nods occasionally stand out a little awkwardly". [19] Justin Hamelin described "Finn" as "rather forgettable". [20] Nicole C. Luttrell stated "this story just didn't have a satisfying ending. Nor did it have a satisfying middle. There was just no real conclusion." [21]
Stephen Edwin King is an American author. Called the "King of Horror", he has also explored other genres, among them suspense, crime, science-fiction, fantasy and mystery. Though known primarily for his novels, he has written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections.
Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group is considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene from the 1980s and is part of the "Big Four" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They were also one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast. The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. Ian and Benante are the only two members to appear on all of Anthrax's albums, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing Lilker.
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surviving humans gather into factions that are each led by a personification of either good or evil and seem fated to clash with each other. King started writing the story in February 1975, seeking to create an epic in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings. The book was difficult for him to write because of the large number of characters and storylines.
The Dark Tower is a series of eight novels, one novella, and a children's book written by American author Stephen King. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western, it describes a "gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. The series, and its use of the Dark Tower, expands upon Stephen King's multiverse and in doing so, links together many of his other novels.
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King, who has appeared in at least nine of his novels. Described as "an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the Outer Dark", he has supernatural abilities involving necromancy, prophecy, and influence over animal and human behavior. His goals typically center on bringing down civilizations through destruction and conflict. He has a variety of names, usually with the initial letters "R. F." but with occasional exceptions, such as Walter o'Dim and Marten Broadcloak in The Dark Tower series.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the debut novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centred on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel. It inverts the Industrial Revolution conception of the North–South divide in England: in this book the North is romantic and magical, rather than rational and concrete.
Bifrost is a French science fiction magazine that is published every three months. It was first published in 1996.
It Chapter Two is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. It is the sequel to It (2017) and the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel It by Stephen King. The film stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. In addition to the latter, several cast members from the previous film also reprised their roles including Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Molly Atkinson, Stephen Bogaert, Jake Sim, Logan Thompson, Joe Bostick and Megan Charpentier. Set 27 years after the events of the previous film, the story centers on the Losers Club and their relationships as they reunite to destroy It once and for all.
"On Slide Inn Road" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the October/November 2020 issue of Esquire. It was collected in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
"The Fifth Step" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 2020 issue of Harper's Magazine. It was collected in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
"Laurie" is a short story by Stephen King, first published as a free download on his website on May 17, 2018. It was collected in King's 2024 book, You Like It Darker.
"The Turbulence Expert" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the 2018 horror anthology Flight or Fright. It was collected in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
"Red Screen" is a short story by Stephen King, first published as an ebook by Humble Bundle in September 2021. It was collected in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
You Like It Darker is a collection of twelve stories by American author Stephen King, published by Scribner in May 2024. The book was announced on November 6, 2023, via Entertainment Weekly, which provided a look at the book's wraparound cover, table of contents, and an excerpt from "Rattlesnakes", a sequel to King's 1981 novel Cujo.
Rattlesnakes is a novella by Stephen King, first published in 2024 as part of King's collection You Like It Darker. It is a sequel to King's 1981 novel Cujo, reintroducing the character of Vic Trenton.
"Willie the Weirdo" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in English in the June 2022 issue of Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. It was collected in King's 2024 book, You Like It Darker.
The Answer Man is a novella by Stephen King, first published in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
Two Talented Bastids is a novella by Stephen King, first published in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
The Dreamers is a novella by Stephen King, first published in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream is a novella by Stephen King, first published in 2024 as part of King's collection You Like It Darker.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)