• Author: Stephen King
• Publisher: Philtrum Press
• Publishing year: Parts 1-3: 1982, 1983, 1985 – e-book + parts 4-6: 2000
• Pages: 291 (but unfinished)
• ISBN: /

https://stephenking.com/works/other-project/plant-zenith-rising.html

Review:

The little publisher of horrors

A publisher of a small New York publishing house is sent a manuscript about magic and demonic infestations. Included with the manuscript are pictures that are very disturbing, among them a picture where a man is sacrificed. John Kenton, editor for Zenith House, is appalled by the manuscript and contacts his friend and colleague, Roger who recommends John to decline the manuscript (which John does with a rejection slip) and to contact the police. John does so but the author, Carlos Dettweiler, is not happy when he hears this and is out for revenge on the publisher. He sends a mysterious plant to Zenith House, to John.

This unfinished novel was written in epistolary format, through letters, memos and diary fragments we follow the events where the publishers are coming under the spell of a vine that overtakes the publishing house and has a hunger for more than just water!

And I have to admit, I knew it was unfinished so when I started it I never expected a story that would have a clear ending. But due to the history of the story it feels very confusing and weird sometimes. There are points within the story I was completely lost at what was happening… Of course, as I said, due to its history (and it has a long and a bit of a weird history) this is not all too crazy and was to be expected… maybe.

Stephen King started The Plant as Christmas gifts, as little chapbooks in 1982, 1983 and 1985 which he sent to a few of his close friends. So the first three chapters in this novel date from the early eighties. Then it was left behind for a long time. With the rise of the internet and e-books, and after he tried a similar thing with ‘Riding the Bullet’, a novella that was published in 2000, he wanted to continue this story as a serial story. Every month people would be able to pay a certain fee and they would get access to the new installment of the story. He published parts 1 through 3 in the summer of 2000 and continued the next three months with the following chapters. But the interest declined and less and less people payed for the new installments. The storyline changed somewhere in the middle as well as the form (the epistolary style was somehow left behind more and more) and I think people were fed up with the serial publishing. So the experiment, which it was for Stephen King, was abandoned. Later King would offer the story for free, in its entirety, on his website to download. (where it’s still available so if you want to read it, go look for it).

The story had/still has a lot of potential and I’m sure that it would make a great book if it were finished (and maybe tweaked here and there) but with King recently saying he might only write two more books (the now finished third Talisman novel and another Holly book) I don’t think it will ever happen. Unless he doesn’t like unfinished business, like me. Fingers crossed!

So, I can easily say this is definitely not King’s best work. And a lot has to do with it being unfinished and with the sudden change in tone midway the story. And in case you might wonder, I thought the second half of the story was the better half. The first three chapters feel rushed and not really like a coherent story.