Under the pseudonym Richard Bachman lies Stephen King, who sought to expand his publishing output beyond a single book per year. King employed Bachman as an experiment to determine whether his success stemmed from talent or mere luck. The carefully constructed persona of Richard Bachman, complete with a fabricated biography, served to create an artistic separation for his works and test his own writing. The eventual revelation of Bachman's true identity led to a significant surge in sales, confirming King's pervasive authorial influence.
Billy Halleck aus Connecticut hat nur ein einziges Problem: er wiegt 50 Pfund zuviel. Als er einer alten Zigeunerin begegnet, nimmt sein bisher so angenehmes Leben eine verhängnisvolle Wendung. Billy verliert plötzlich an Gewicht. Zuerst ist er erfreut darüber, dann beunruhigt, schließlich zu Tode erschrocken.
The extraordinary (Booklist) novel of a cursed man's quest to find the source of his nightmare and to reverse it before he becomes...nothing at all. This #1 New York Times bestseller from Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, pulsates with evil...[and] will have you on the edge of your seat (Publishers Weekly). You can't do anything... It's gone too far. You understand, Halleck? Too...far. Attorney Billy Halleck seriously enjoys living his life of upper- class excess. He's got it all---an expensive home in Connecticut, a loving family...and fifty extra pounds that his doctor repeatedly warns will be the death of him. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Halleck commits vehicular manslaughter when he strikes a jaywalking old woman crossing the street. But Halleck has some powerful local connections, and gets off with a slap on the wrist...much to the fury of the woman's mysterious and ancient father, who exacts revenge with a single word: Thinner. Now a terrified Halleck finds the weight once so difficult to shed dropping effortlessly--and rapidly--by the week. Soon there will be nothing left of Billy Halleck...unless he can somehow locate the source of his living nightmare and reverse what's happened to him before he utterly wastes away...
When a highway project leaves him unemployed and threatens to destroy his home, one man takes on the forces of progress as he embarks on a vengeful showdown of epic proportions. Reissue.
Transcurre una apacible tarde de verano en Wentworth, Ohio. Como es habitual, en la soleada calle Poplar todo es normal: el chico de los periódicos los reparte en bicicleta, los niños juegan en las aceras, las barbacoas se preparan en los jardines y patios. Lo único extraño es la furgoneta roja que hay aparcada en una esquina. El misterioso vehículo no tardará en ponerse en marcha... y con él se desencadenará una atroz matanza. Cuando la noche caiga, los supervivientes del vecindario se encontrarán en un mundo pavoroso donde cualquier cosa es posible, en particular la macabra posesión de las mentes y de los cuerpos.
Dal genio visionario di Stephen King, un eccezionale esperimento letterario. Due romanzi legati indissolubilmente in un unico imperdibile volume. Pubblicati per la prima volta in Italia nel 1997, I vendicatori e Desperation sono due romanzi complementari, uniti dallo stesso, mostruoso protagonista: Tak, la forza oscura, una creatura diabolica e informe, in grado di scatenare un apocalittico scontro fra bene e male. È quello che accade a Wentworth, nell'Ohio, quando un'esplosione di inaudita malvagità e violenza si abbatte sulla piccola comunità, sovvertendo l'ordine delle cose. Solo una casa sembra indenne alla furia che sta devastando il quartiere, una casa in cui una donna e suo nipote lottano disperatamente contro l'entità che si sta impossessando di loro... Ed è anche quello che succede a Desperation, una tetra cittadina mineraria nel deserto del Nevada, dove alcuni inconsapevoli viaggiatori approdano senza sapere che una presenza demoniaca ha contagiato il sottosuolo e si è impadronita del corpo del poliziotto Collie Entragian. Per i vecchi fan del Re e per i nuovi adepti, due terrificanti storie parallele da scoprire o rileggere: horror allo stato puro.