ELEVATION

Not so much a novel as a short story in search of a collection, Elevation is, according to King, “almost like a sequel” to his equally slim 2017 tome Gwendy’s Button Box (co-authored by Richard Chizmar). A dark fairy tale set in King’s favourite fictional locale, Castle Rock, Gwendy at least had some creepy illustrations by Keith Minnion to justify its standalone status. Elevation, however, merely has a few line drawings (possibly King’s own doodles) and an extract from Gwendy to bulk the story up.

So is Elevation simply a cynical exercise in milking King fans? Actually, no. It’s a delightfully charming tale with a very different vibe to Gwendy, which is so fully rounded and self-contained that its status as a volume in its own right feels thoroughly earned. Part moral fable, part sci-fi B-movie, it’s like It’s A Wonderful Life meets The Incredible Shrinking Man – except that the man, Scott Carey, doesn’t shrink; he mysteriously loses weight without losing any bulk.

This weird affliction plays out against a backdrop of intolerance to homosexuality, the resolution to which is downright cheesy but oddly life-affirming. There are also hints in the final moments that the 71-year-old writer is facing up to his own mortality with a cheery pragmatism. It may be brief, but King elevates it above a short story. Dave Golder