I know, I know... another Stephen King book. I really enjoy his stuff, so get off my case. 
I have been meaning to read something by Joe Hill, and then I saw this book and was pretty stoked. 

Let me just tell you in advance, this story has nothing to do with velociraptors. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed about that, but I got over it. 

Alrighty, here is a brief summary:
A brother and sister (Cal and Becky) are road-tripping across the country and after a brief stop at the world's largest ball of twine in Kansas, they are driving past a field where they hear a cry for help. They pull over and despite something in the backs of their minds that tells them something isn't right, they approach the field. As they stand on the outskirts, they realize the grass is much taller than they first assumed. The cries for help are joined by another, contradictory voice. With two people lost in the grass, Cal goes looking for them. Becky calls 911 and then enters the tall grass. Cal and Becky lose track of each other and the cries for help are scattered and shifting. They both become disoriented and no matter how far they walk or in which direction, they never get closer to the road. I'm going to stop my summary there and jump into my review.

Here are my thoughts:

As if I needed another reason to not go to Kansas... I recommend reading this story if you don't mind some gross. The story has a pretty "Desperation" vibe going for it. In other words, it was creepy. There is one aspect of this story that I wish I knew more about, but I understand why they didn't go into more depth. There is something about this story, I guess it's a novella, that I didn't like. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe it was that there weren't answers, just more questions. Actually, the rock has the answers... 

The lack of answers aside, I keep thinking about this story. I don't think about the tall grass or the characters. I think of the non-characters. I think about the town with the church. I think of the parking lot and the people. I think about the story that wasn't told. I love stories that keep me thinking. 

The more I think about it, the more I like this story. So, Stephen King & Joe Hill, well done. 

I started watching the new show, "Haven", when I heard that it was based off of a Stephen King story. I got about halfway through the first season when I realized that I wanted... no, I needed to know more about this story. 

I read "The Colorado Kid" looking for answers. That was my first mistake. 

Before I get into the "Haven" spiel, let me give you my thoughts on "The Colorado Kid":

Here is a basic summary of the story. It is about two newspaper guys, Vince and Dave, who tell their intern about a mystery that was never solved and could never be told because there are just too many questions. It's a story within a story. Frame stories are a favorite of mine. The mystery is about a dead body that turns up on a beach in Maine. The body, it is later discovered, is from Colorado which is where the name, The Colorado Kid, comes from. How the body got there at that time, with the items it had, how did he die, etc? As I stated earlier, I read this story looking for answers. Don't do that. This story will not give you answers, it will make you ask more questions, and that is kinda the point. 

I don't know how to put this to words. I guess I associated with the intern in the story. She was clever and had basically been adopted by the two newspaper guys. I want to be the kind of person that can answer the questions she was asked. This leads me to one of the things I liked about this book. They gave you the answers they asked for. When the newspaper guys asked their intern what was missing from the story or why the story can't be told, the intern gave the right answer the first time. As a reader, you don't get caught up in the wrong answers. At the same time, I'm not really sure I like having the answers given to me. I guess I'd rather have the answers given than come to the wrong conclusions and get confused by the story. 

The story is short, and if you like a good mystery then go for it. Don't expect answers though. This is not a story that is neatly tied up at the end. If anything, it's more of a mystery than when it began. It wasn't my favorite and I occasionally found my attention wandering, but it's worth a read. 

Now let's talk about "The Colorado Kid" and "Haven". The commonalities involve a couple of the same characters and The Colorado Kid newspaper article shows up regularly. That's pretty much where the similarities end. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the show. I think they will find some answers for The Colorado Kid case later in the show, so I will keep tuning in. When I watch superhero movies, my favorite part is when the superhero is discovering their powers. Turns out that's what happens in every episode of "Haven". I went into the show expecting a Stephen King style show. Not so much. Oh well, I still like it.