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anythingstephenking · 3 years

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Buttons You Press, Not The Ones On Your Coat

Who would be a fun person to switch lives with? Richard Chizmar, that’s who.

It’s been a long time since I’ve researched the backstory behind the story, mostly because newer King doesn’t have fun stories like “the character gets nosebleeds cause Steve was doing so much cocaine when he was writing.” Bad example. I love sober Steve.

But this is a fun one, to me at least. So Rich Chizmar writes horror, and is a King Superfan. He runs stephenkingrevisited.com, which I referenced a lot starting out on my King journey. Dude can write. My reviews of King are like “CAN YOU BELIEVE HOW SCARY CUJO IS?!?! Lol” Here’s an excerpt from his Cujo synopsis:

“On that historic night, I remember staring over at the shadow-draped wardrobe for what felt like hours. Watching. Waiting. Until I finally heard it — the creak of the wardrobe door opening; just a crack at first, but then swinging all the way open, so she could emerge from the darkness within: the witch.”

Damn bro.

Ok, so Rich somehow becomes pals with Steve.

I still imagine all these horror dudes get together and discuss potential plotlines over games of cribbage and you can not convince me otherwise.

One day King, sitting on an unfinished version of Gwendy’s Button Box, mails it out to Rich and says “Do what you want with it.” The story needed an ending, and he just tossed it over the fence. Can you even imagine getting a half finished story from STEPHEN FRICKIN KING asking you to help? My entire body is filled with jealous bones.

So they colab, and finish the story up together, and another lovely, beautiful and endearing King bromance is born. Because Gwendy’s story was perfect and I loved it.

Here we go. Guys. We’ve got Castle Rock! We’ve got Dark Tower References! We’ve got an item of magical powers! And last but not least, we’ve got a compact 166 pages that I was able to read on a Sunday morning, finishing the novella before I finished my coffee.

Our heroine, Gwendy (great name BTW), is a 12 year old girl living in 1970’s Castle Rock. We’re pre Frank Dodd and Cujo, but Castle Rock’s still a creepy place with a creepy history. A man wearing a hat, named Richard Farris (A Randall Flagg pseudonym if I ever heard one) and invites her palaver. A PALAVER Y’ALL.

He gives her a box with 8 buttons on it. While reading I was 100% convinced the colors of the buttons matched those of Maerlyn’s Rainbow, which they don’t, but the box dispenses chocolates that sometime match the shapes of beam guardians, and whatever, it’s all Dark Tower nonsense and I loved it.

Side note. It took me until halfway through the story to realize the buttons on the box were like push-buttons, not decorative clothing buttons. I’m an idiot.

Anywho, Gwendy is tasked to protect the box. Each button represents a different continent, with the red button and black button being available for ad-hoc requests and also “mass destruction”. Gwendy protects the box, with her brief curiosity causing Jonestown (Kool-Aid Man says “oooooh yeah/ooops”), but mostly she protects the box at all costs, preventing unknown catastrophes, at least on our level of the tower. She’s rewarded by getting skinny (Jesus Christ, is that all that women have) and excelling at school. At the end of the day, the box saves her, and she returns it to Flagg, I mean Farris, and goes about her life.

Chizmar wrote a follow up, Gwendy’s Magic Feather, which I will gladly read before Gwendy’s Final Task, due out in 2022. I already put my faith, love and respect far deeper into Gwendy’s story than I ever invested in Bill Hodges, and for that, I am NOT SORRY.

8/10

First Line: There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs.

Last Line: Then she laughs and puts it in her pocket.

Adaptations:

None, yet, but I’m sure one’s coming.

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