Guns

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

Length: 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In a pulls-no-punches essay intended to provoke rational discussion, Stephen King sets down his thoughts about gun violence in America. Anger and grief in the wake of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School are palpable in this urgent piece of writing, but no less remarkable are King's keen thoughtfulness and composure as he explores the contours of the gun-control issue and constructs his argument for what can and should be done.

King's earnings from the sale of this essay will go to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Stephen King is the author of 11/22/63, Under the Dome, Carrie, The Shining, and many other best-selling works.

"The overwhelming response from readers of the Kindle Single edition of Guns underscores the great need for thoughtful discourse on the issue of guns in America…I’m thrilled Audible is bringing Guns to the quickly growing audience of audiobook listeners." (Stephen King)

©2013 Stephen King (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"There are a handful of subjects in America so emotional and polarizing that the national dialogue around them amounts to little more than a shouting match. Chief among these is the subject of guns. In this intimate and moving Kindle Single, Stephen King employs all his gifts as writer and citizen to address gun violence in America. But why should we care what Stephen King has to say? As it turns out, there are a number of reasons. Despite his "liberal creds," King is an unapologetic gun owner himself. He is also the author of a novel--published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman--that has served as a "possible accelerant" for at least four real-life high school shooters. King had his publisher take that book off the market long ago, but the guns and the occasional bursts of unfathomable violence remain. When division is everywhere, is it possible for someone to argue passionately for the middle road? That is what King seeks to do here--this is a frank and thoughtful contribution to a dialogue in dire need of voices from the 'all-but-deserted middle.'" (Chris Schluep, Amazon.com)

Not a work of fiction

King is using name recognition as a soap box. As always it is well written, well thought out, but not well enough researched. The factual errors are benign but as he is advocating for a gun ban, he should be more knowledgeable on the subject. The difference between an M16 and an AR15 rifle, Bushmaster, et al may not be relevant to King, but it certainly is to the pro-gun crowd. It is at least as relevant as the facts and figures are to the pro-ban camp. If an honest and open discourse is going to happen, both sides should make an effort to understand the facts.

Bravo

Say it louder for the people in the back! King is spot on. Facts not opinion!

Meh

Would you try another book from Stephen King and/or Christian Rummel?

Yes I definitely would. It's Stephen King for crying out loud.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Indifference would be the best word.

What three words best describe Christian Rummel’s voice?

Meh meh meh.

Was Guns worth the listening time?

No

An excellent look at Gun Control in the US

I found this essay very well constructed. I live in Sandy Hook so this issue is quite close to my heart. In my opinion Mr. King presents an excellent narrative of how all sides approach this issue and then outlines a "realistic" view of how and why compromises and changes to the law should occur.

pretty good

Even though I didn't agree with everything that king wrote I thought that this essay was very well written.

Surprised NRA member

What did you love best about Guns?

It was a surprise how "fair" Stephan King is in "GUNS". Although I do not agree with all he says, he is sympathic with gun owners.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Christian was very believeable and interesting.

Any additional comments?

I would reccommend it to gun owners as well as non owners.

Surprising Great Listen

Any additional comments?

Well written and spoken. 'Love the narrator. The bad reviews are those who passionately disagree with the conclusion that semi-automatic guns should be banned.
The round up of incidents where a guy goes out and kills people =seemingly randomly= is pretty shocking even though I know all of them. The writing is very witty and in the moment. Well worth the listen.

Brilliant

Would you listen to Guns again? Why?

Yes, brilliant writing as usual, very interesting arguments

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Just an opinion that is measured and sensible and unbiased

What three words best describe Christian Rummel’s voice?

Pleasant,easy,clear

Any additional comments?

I would have loved to hear Stephen King narrate this. Nothing at all to fault about Christian Rummel, but as a work of non fiction from Kings perspective, it sounded a bit odd with the wrong voice

Decent Centrist Viewpoint, Excellent Performance

What did you love best about Guns?

The passion and performance. Nice to hear a centrist opinion

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The personal story behind King pulling the Rage story.

Have you listened to any of Christian Rummel’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this is the 1st time I've listened to him

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. That was the point of a 99 cent listen

Any additional comments?

While I don't agree with King's opinion that "assault rifles" and high capacity magazines should be banned he is at least man enough to admit he's a gun owner and sees some value in the 2nd amendment. However, I'm concerned about celebrity figures clouding the truth about semi-automatic firearms. They simply aren't all that bad. Banning one will likely mean a short road to banning them all. When hunting squirrels it actually is beneficial to have a semi-auto 22 because if they are in trees you might need to take a few shots in quick sequence to hit such a small target. Also, when hunting ducks and geese it's extremely helpful to have a semi-auto shotgun. The birds simply don't want to wait around for you to pump and no animal will wait for you to reload a single shot breech load.People forget that hunters actually perform a ecological benefit by reducing animal populations where few predators exits now days. Living in northern IL the geese have really taken over with the expansion of water retention ponds on corporate lands. Recently, coyotes have made themselves known in N IL. With this animal you actually do need more than a few rounds ready because if you stop to reload you'll take your eyes off them and they are gone.King also says semi-autos are only best for the shooting range where you can rapidly get off 10 shots without reloading and practice your shot control better. I disagree. Sure it's fun to shoot endlessly at the range but it's really like wasting money on fireworks. However, there are other active shooting sports that are much more challenging and rewarding with an AR platform rifle. These courses are outdoor ranges and require you to run and engage targets, stop, control your adrenaline/breathing, acquire target and shoot again. There is nothing criminal about these sports and the basic concepts of such sports have been a part of the Olympic games for years.I also think King would have been better off as a centrist reminding gun owners that safety begins with them. Safes, trigger locks, ammo storage, etc would have been a better argument than a ban. I respect the opinions of others and King's writing is passionate. As for pulling Rage, I think many of us look back at our high school classmates and think about that one odd guy who once made an off color comment or perhaps a sketch in a notebook that made us wonder.I think in any gun free zone, security needs to be regulated and mandated. Every school should have a shooter incident plan and every movie theater should have a security plan where exit doors are secured and not propped open. If not to prevent another Aurora, CO event but simply to deter theft of a movie seat. Even King admits these shooters are singling these places out for the impact they will net.As a centrist I think the worst enemy of the 2nd amendment is the rogue shooter or criminal use of a firearm. I only wish persons convicted of weapons violations were held more accountable. In Chicago, they give gangbangers 60 days probation and GPS monitoring sometimes even if they've had multiple violations. That element is the enemy of the 2nd amendment.

If only we could all think so rationally . . .

Would you listen to Guns again? Why?

Yes. I think that it portrays ideas that we should all consider.

Any additional comments?

I think everyone trying to discuss gun control should read/listen to this. It was very well written.