Stationary Bike

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Length: 1 hr and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Climb aboard Stationary Bike, a streamlined fever dream of a tale, in which an ordinary household object assumes otherworldly powers and a familiar journey takes a terrifying twist.

When commercial artist Richard Sifkitz finally gets around to have that physical he'd been putting off for years, and his cholesterol comes back dangerously high, he does what so many 30-something, junk food-eating couch potatoes have done before him: He buys a stationary bike, and vows to ride it regularly.

Unlike many a mid-life exercise convert, however, Richard actually starts to ride his new stationary bike. A lot. Soon he's spending so much time on his bike that he decides to put his artistic talents to use and paint a mural on the wall opposite his stationary bike. But it turns out that Richard's mural is no ordinary picture, and soon his stationary bike is taking him places he doesn't want to go, and can't stay away from.

A riveting riff on artistic frustration, mid-life mortality, and hard-won redemption, Stationary Bike is a thrill ride that could come only from the mind of Stephen King.

©2003 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved. Audioworks is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster.

Critic reviews

"As artful as anything he has ever written." (Booklist)

considering a stationary bike purchase. 🙂

loved the idea of the tale! exercise sucks, so... maybe I won't get me a bike!

Only a little Weird

There's not too much high tension in the story but It has the usual twists. Sifkitz resolves to work out and buys a stationary bike and then the weird stuff begins. The book was read by veteran reader Ron McClarty who covered all of the characters made this an enjoyable experience. Weird, interesting little story about the power of the mind. No goose bumps or night mares after I read this book.

Short Stroy okay

This was a typtical build up of S. King writtings and it kept building until the end. This could have gone on for a nice long novel but it seemed to just end. It was a good listen but I wish it would have gone on a little longer.

Stationary Review

It was a very detailed book. Stephen King knows how to write good descriptions of what's happenning. It wasn't scary enough for me. No goose bumps or night mares after I read this book.

Title says it all...

I love Mr. King but this book, though amazingly well conceived and an interesting story, left me a tad bored. I didn't get the wild ride I was hoping for.

Vintage Stephen King

This is King at his best, dealing with ordinary people or persons coming into extraordinary situations. King is a master at easing the reader into a situation which is implausible to a nonreader but engrossing once "in".

Stationary Bike

The story it's self was not not quite as good as others he has written.

He's still the King

In typical King style, it's just creepy enough but just believable enough to make me wonder if I'll ever ride a stationary bike again - and if I do, I know I'll glance back over my shoulder at least once!

Hey, it's Stephen King - what's not to like?

Average King

It's not a wonder why this story hasn't yet made it to one of King's many collections of short stories as it dealt less with suspense and horror and more with mystery and intrigue. Still, as one of his shorter than a short story, he manages to pack in all the elements of what makes him one of my favorite storytellers.

If you're looking for a "classic" King story, skip it. Otherwise, if you love his storytelling ability, this is a fine addition.

Swan Peak

The book was very good what makes the book really good is the narrator Will Patton The voices he does are the best and his accent and different voices together are just Great I've listened to 2 books he has read and the guy can sound the part like no one else