It was my birthday on Sunday, and I just so happened to get something that I've been wanting for a while now. A Kindle. I still enjoy having a physical book to read, but the Kindle is just so convenient and the books you can download are so much cheaper. So it's kind of fitting that one of the first books I read with it was a Stephen King novella which is about a Kindle. So far as I know, UR has only been released electronically (which is another good reason for having one of these gadgets) and only cost me just over $3.00.
It centres on a college English professor named Wesley Smith, who after breaking up with his girlfriend decides to buy a Kindle to spite her. He orders one online and is surprised when it arrives the very next day. What is also surprising is that the Kindle is pink, and as far as Wesley knows they only come in one color which is white.
Wesley's plan to spite his ex-girlfriend Ellen disappears though once she lets him know that she is willing to talk, but only after she takes her women's basketball team to a weekend tournament. Wesley uses this time to get to know his Kindle a little more, and is surprised when he browses the EXPERIMENTAL menu. Before long he has found a menu called UR BOOKS where he discovers dozens of novels written by famous authors which he has never heard of before. After showing the kindle to two friends, they come to the impossible conclusion that these undiscovered books belong to alternate realities.
Wesley then finds another menu titled UR LOCAL and after being warned of 'Paradox Laws' he locates the town's newspaper. But for some reason he cannot access any articles from the past. Instead he finds articles from future events, and one particular article which fills him with dread.
Along with a friend, Wesley needs to find a way to change the future. But what are these Paradox Laws and what happens when you break them?
Being a novella, the story isn't very long at under 100 pages. But I didn't think it was too short, in fact it was the perfect length. It's classic King, and the theme of machines going wrong is a familiar one. A couple of King's other mainstays also make an appearance, namely the Low Men and the ominous Dark Tower.
It was a very good book, and I had a little trouble putting it down in between reads. The ending was something I didn't expect, and while it was a little upbeat for my taste it was still a good conclusion.
UR is not worth buying a Kindle in itself, but if you already own one then this is definitely worth purchasing.
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