The King Is Dead, Walter Tevis
The King Is Dead, Walter Tevis
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The King Is Dead
Stories

Author: Walter Tevis

Narrator: Christopher Grove, Lee Osorio, Max Meyers, Philip Hernandez, Mark Bramhall

Unabridged: 13 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/14/2023


Synopsis

For the first time ever, a complete collection of short fiction the New York Times bestselling author of The Queen's Gambit

Walter Tevis is widely regarded as a master for both his gritty poolhall novels and his brilliant rendering of the world of competitive chess. This long overdue collection establishes Tevis's rightful place as a maestro of the short form, as well. Bringing together the 1981 short story collection Far From Home with a host of other previously unpublished stories from journals and magazines, this entertaining collection showcases Tevis's characteristic perceptiveness, empathy, and range.

In one story, a man receives a phone call from his future self and follows their instructions to unpreditcable, calamitous results. In another, a famous actor and a young actress showcase their talent for acting both on and off the stage. Here also are five short stories set in poolhalls, including one that features Fast Eddie Felson and another that was the basis for the novel The Hustler. Here also is his first fictional foray into chess, with a ranked chess player finding fellowship in the prison yard with another player.

In all of them, Tevis reminds again and again why his writing has long been revered for its roving curiosity and innate humanity.

About The Author

Walter Tevis is the author of The Hustler, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Mockingbird, The Steps of the Sun, The Queen’s Gambit, The Color of Money, and the short story collection Far from Home. The Hustler, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and The Color of Money were all adapted for film. The Queen’s Gambit was the basis for the Emmy-nominated Netflix series and The Man Who Fell to Earth is the basis of the Showtime series. Tevis died in 1984.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Trevor on June 04, 2023

Walter Tevis is a name that was unfamiliar to me until last year, when I read "The Queen's Gambit." With the success of the Netflix show adapted from it (which I haven't seen), there is a renewed interest in his work, leading to reissues of his other novels (including "The Hustler," "The Color of Mo......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on July 04, 2023

I found most of these stories pretty interesting. There were a few in the middle - more romantic in nature - that didn't do too much for me, and the pool hustler ones started to have a certain sameness, but there weren't so many that I lost patience with them. The last three linked stories were - in......more

Goodreads review by John on February 19, 2024

While I know people love to rave about "The Man Who Fell to Earth," I've always found Tevis's SF to be overrated. Not bad, but I suspect if you-know-who hadn't starred in the film adaptation, the book would just be another forgotten Gold Medal paperback. But his stories about pool and chess ("The Hus......more

Goodreads review by Garethdsmithhotmail.co.uk on December 31, 2024

Had read three Walter Tevis books before this one and loved them all. The Hustler, Colour of Money and the Queens Gambit. This one was started off superb for the first 3/4 of the book. If ended there it would have been a 5 stars read and my favourite book of the year. The last 1/4 had a few stories......more

Goodreads review by Paul on October 21, 2024

A collection of short stories from Walter Tevis of ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’, ‘The Hustler’, and ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ fame. A couple of good stories here, and lots of nice and readable ones, but nothing particularly special. Most of them are about pool hustling and while they are interesting, ther......more


Quotes

Praise for Walter Tevis's The King is Dead

"A glorious book. . . . As a plotter, Tevis was an efficient storyteller: he didn’t usually go in for wild twists and big shocks. As a stylist, he was remarkably subtle; his prose was lean and unadorned, his characters sketched in a few well-chosen words. But there is a dramatic weight to his stories that makes them deeply satisfying—small moments that make us take a second look at a character, or a slight shift in tone that changes the direction of a story. A fine introduction to Tevis’ masterful writing.” Booklist [starred review]