Alan Parker se ve obligado a hacer autostop para llegar al hospital donde su madre convalece de un grave accidente. Sin embargo, noimagina que durante el trayecto se enfrentará a la experiencia más terrorífica de su vida. En efecto, los sucesivos conductores que lo recogen encarnan macabras fuerzas del más allá capaces de anticipar e incluso modificar el destino de Alan y de su madre. La clave del pavoroso enigma radica en un parque de atracciones, concretamente en una atracción llamada La Bala, similar a una montaña rusa y que, para horror de los lectores y el protagonista, detenta un inexplicable poder sobre la vida y la muerte...

Book 73 that I have read from Stephen King. Was able to sacrifice some sleep last night to finish this book. So some time between 11pm last night and 1am this morning I was able to get this book completed. So its a really quick read and a nice teasing story that makes you think twice or thrice about hitching a ride especially late at night. I have hitched rides back in my college days but that's a long time ago now and they were short rides to campus and back home, I never really tried hitchhiking long distance. What surprised me most about hitch hiking was not who gave me lifts but who didn't "see" me standing on the side of the road. Folks falling into this category would be neighbor's, people who I though were friends turns out you get to know who your friends really are by hitch hiking. Anyway back to the story, it is fast paced, easy reading and will provide a though provoking read, nuff said. ( )

Hitchhiking is dangerous now days as you don't know what kind of a person is behind the wheel of the vehicle, but it is more dangerous if you are reading about it in a Stephen King book!

A college student is trying to get home as he finds out that his mother is dying and he decides to hitchhike to get there faster. His first ride is twilight zone weird (what do you expect as you are in a King book), but his next ride makes him go cold and shivery as the man behind the wheel is supposed to be dead.

Thus begins the ride of his life and he then remembers the warnings from his mother about hitchhiking. What happens on his ride with the ghost man? Does he make it in time to see his mother? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book.

This was a short and to the point kind of book which encompasses the fear of hitchhiking as you never know "who" or "what" will be picking you up.

Moral of the story: Do not hitchhike and if it is Stephen King behind the wheel, all I can say is: RUN!

Four stars for this one! ( )

Classic Stephen King ghost story - not over the top scary - but enough to give you the chills. A college kid gets the call that his mother had a stroke and she's in the hospital - he drops everything to go to her. The only problem is... his car isn't working. He decides to hitchhike the 120 miles because he is desperate to make sure his mom is ok - she's the only family he has. He thumbs a ride and then another - but the drivers aren't who they appear to be. In fact there is something wrong about the whole evening. It might take him a lot longer to get to his mother - if he ever gets to see her again. Quick, suspenseful, and satisfying. I thought the ending was particularly thought provoking and not what I expected. ( )

4*
Great details and attention to character the main character were given. I definitely could have listened to something a little longer than just this 1.5 hour story and thought it was well put together. There was some nice symbolism going on as well! ( )