Climb aboard Stationary Bike -- a streamlined fever dream of a tale, in which an ordinary household object assumes otherworldly powers and a familiar journey takes a terrifying twist. When commercial artist Richard Sifkitz finally gets around to having that physical he'd been putting off for years, and his cholesterol comes back dangerously high, he does what so many thirty-something, junk food-eating couch potatoes have done before him: he buys a stationary bike, and vows to ride it regularly. Unlike many a mid-life exercise convert, however, Richard actually starts to ride his new stationary bike. A lot. Soon he's spending so much time on his bike that he decides to put his artistic talents to use and paint a mural on the wall opposite his stationary bike. But it turns out that Richard's mural is no ordinary picture -- and soon his stationary bike is taking him places he doesn't want to go ...and can't stay away from. A riveting riff on artistic frustration, midlife mortality, and hard-won redemption, Stationary Bike is a thrill ride that could come only from the mind of Stephen King.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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From Publishers Weekly
In classic Stephen King tradition, this audiobook reminds the listener that even something as ordinary as a stationary bike can have a devious nature to it. After a tongue thrashing from his doctor, Richard Sifkitz turns his addiction to fatty foods into an addiction to a fantasy world created around his stationary bike, spending hours a day pedaling away. But as his obsession grows, the lines between fantasy and reality dim and he believes someone or something is trailing him on his path. Ron McLarty, who previously recorded King's Salem's Lot and Faithful, delivers this novella with an excellent pace and easy disposition. His controlled reading creates a much tenser atmosphere with surprises and plot twists made more shocking without the advance warnings of a more dramatic reading. The jazzy segues between chapters lightens the tone just enough to make the listener feel uncertain about where King is taking this story. King's writing style is quite agreeable to the audio format, making for an enjoyable although slightly dark tale. This novella was published in the anthology Borderlands 5(Reviews, Jan. 19, 2004). (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"'As artful as anything he has ever written.' - Booklist"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars
33 reviews
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not much here
July 20 2006
By Kimberley Wilson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
The middle aged hero of this story has gotten fat after the death of his wife and his cholestorol has gone sky high so he goes on a crash diet and buys a stationary bike. Being an artist he draws a picture of a lovely country road to a tiny town in upsatate New York on his wall. After a few weeks things get weird and our hero finds that while he's losing that flab he's also traveling on the road for real and somehow he's angered the workmen--- the guys, real guys somehow who maintain the road which is really his own body.
This is dreary cauationary tale for fat guys has too much cursing, too much product placement and there's only one good scary moment: the scene in Carlos's garage. Other than that one scene I did not care about the hero or what was waiting for him at the end of the road.
I don't want to say that the King is dead but maybe he's under a spell, or stunned or sleeping or something because this story just didn't take off. I'm not saying that I want King to write like he did in Carrie or Salem's Lot because that is impossible but I do wish he could get his literary groove back. Stationary Bike was just lackluster and wouldn't even scare a nervous two year old.
This is dreary cauationary tale for fat guys has too much cursing, too much product placement and there's only one good scary moment: the scene in Carlos's garage. Other than that one scene I did not care about the hero or what was waiting for him at the end of the road.
I don't want to say that the King is dead but maybe he's under a spell, or stunned or sleeping or something because this story just didn't take off. I'm not saying that I want King to write like he did in Carrie or Salem's Lot because that is impossible but I do wish he could get his literary groove back. Stationary Bike was just lackluster and wouldn't even scare a nervous two year old.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre Stuff
Aug 12 2006
By Phil Ainslie
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
I read "Stationary Bike" a few years back in a "From the Borderlands" anthology and I'm having a difficult time believing they actually went the audo-book route with this one.
The hallmark of good fiction is that you care, sometimes deeply, about the characters. Near the end, if Sifkitz (the main character) he'd been beaten to death by "the workers" I wouldn't have been all that fussed. While it certainly wasn't as bad as Carol Berg's first "Bridges of D'Arnath" book, where I was actually hoping she'd kill off the main characters, the only thing one can muster for Sifkitz is mild concern and even that in short supply.
Truth be told I don't blame SK for this, all writers write a lot of [...] over the years in their quest to write good stuff. The problem is that SK is gold, everything he writes sells and sells a lot. People have joked that if he published his grocery list it would become a best seller... I'm not sure about that, but it appears this his publishers are about ready to ask him for it anyway.
The hallmark of good fiction is that you care, sometimes deeply, about the characters. Near the end, if Sifkitz (the main character) he'd been beaten to death by "the workers" I wouldn't have been all that fussed. While it certainly wasn't as bad as Carol Berg's first "Bridges of D'Arnath" book, where I was actually hoping she'd kill off the main characters, the only thing one can muster for Sifkitz is mild concern and even that in short supply.
Truth be told I don't blame SK for this, all writers write a lot of [...] over the years in their quest to write good stuff. The problem is that SK is gold, everything he writes sells and sells a lot. People have joked that if he published his grocery list it would become a best seller... I'm not sure about that, but it appears this his publishers are about ready to ask him for it anyway.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Okay, But Stephen King Has Done Better
Feb 2 2007
By Anthony J Novak
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
Stephen King's stories usually work well as audiobooks. I think his books work well in audio because his stories are great entertainment and excellent readers are chosen to narrate his work. With Stationary Bike, King's story falters on both points. The story is okay but is very similar to a previous King story "The Road Virus Heads North." The narrator here, Ron McLarty, isn't bad, but he's not as good as Justin Long, who narrated "Everything's Eventual," Josh Hamilton who did "Riding the Bullet," or the great ensemble that performed "From a Buick 8."
The story centers on an artist who buys a stationary bike to get back into shape. To reduce the boring nature of excersing on the bike, the artist paints a picture of a landscape that he imagines he is traveling to. Pretty soon, the picture begins changing, and the artist keeps cycling to unravel the mystery. The big problem here is that when the mystery is finally revealed, you may be left scratching your head and thinking, "What? You got to be kidding me."
The story isn't that bad and would be better if it was part of a collection, but here, it's a standalone, and it isn't really worth the purchase unless you're a die-hard Stephen King fan.
The story centers on an artist who buys a stationary bike to get back into shape. To reduce the boring nature of excersing on the bike, the artist paints a picture of a landscape that he imagines he is traveling to. Pretty soon, the picture begins changing, and the artist keeps cycling to unravel the mystery. The big problem here is that when the mystery is finally revealed, you may be left scratching your head and thinking, "What? You got to be kidding me."
The story isn't that bad and would be better if it was part of a collection, but here, it's a standalone, and it isn't really worth the purchase unless you're a die-hard Stephen King fan.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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