Summer Thunder
| "Summer Thunder" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Short story | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Turn Down the Lights | ||
| Publisher | Cemetery Dance Publications | ||
| Media type | |||
| Publication date | 2013 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
"Summer Thunder" is a horror[citation needed] short story written by American author Stephen King. First published in Turn Down the Lights in 2013, it was collected in King's 2015 short story collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
Plot summary
The world is in a
Bit by bit, it's revealed that Robinson has but one neighbour left, an old man called Timlin, who lives in a luxurious cottage called Veronica and who Robinson befriends over the course of time. The story narrates Robinson's emotions and musings, and the advice given to him by Timlin. Timlin has much more knowledge about the radiation crisis than Robinson, and tells him how those who did survive will slowly die of radiation poisoning. He is proven right by the death of most of the animals in the surrounding wilderness, and further so when Gandalf's health rapidly deteriorates.
Robinson later finds Timlin with a gun on his table. Timlin says he is dying of
Robinson himself starts showing symptoms of terminal radiation poisoning the very next day, and he decides to end his life on his own terms as well. He gets his favorite motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy (whose sound is described as being like summer thunder), running again. He then takes one final, exhilarating ride on it before making a suicidal run off a cliff.
Publication
"Summer Thunder" was first published in 2013 Turn Down the Lights, a limited edition trade hardcover edited by Richard Chizmar that was released by Cemetery Dance Publications to celebrate its 25th anniversary). In 2013, it was collected in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.
References
- "Summer Thunder" featured in Turn Down the Lights
- King, Stephen. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 467 ISBN 978-1-5011-1167-9
- King, Stephen. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 469-483. ISBN 978-1-5011-1167-9