The Langoliers

As I waded my way through this compact and thrilling novella, I couldn't help but feel absorbed by the terror and helplessness of the diverse personalities onboard the cross-country flight. Even though I thoroughly enjoy every Stephen King book I get my hands on, this one hit a bit different for me. It has all of the spine-tingling bits, stab-stab situations, and humor that you have come to expect, but the overall premise is where it shines.

//A group of people board a red-eye flight are traveling from Cali to Boston. Some of them fall asleep, and when they wake up, the world is not as they left it when they drifted off.//

When I think of horror onboard a plane (or just about every time I look out onto the wing of a plane when I fly), my mind instantly drifts to Richard Matheson's short story, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” It's a classic story that plays with your emotions (and sanity) in a claustrophobic setting. Now, in the Langoliers, instead of crazed clowns or residents becoming vampires, these passengers are being stalked by something much more sinister. They are being *** by a *** in a *** and ultimately end up **. Wait, you didn't think I would spoil the plot, right? Well, in all seriousness, there is not much to spoil, and if I told you what happens, I think you might just shrug and say “I'll pass,” but you would be missing out on a fun little story.//“Brian realized that they were unzipping more than the world - they were opening all the depths of forever.”//I do not want to talk about the story too much because I believe it is so much more fun to try and decipher what is happening as you go, but it basically follows a rag-tag group of passengers as they try and find out what is happening to them as something goes awry during their flight. We have an author, a pilot, a visually impaired girl, and a few other colorful characters who make their way through some bewilderment, shocking situations, and life-altering choices. One by one, each passenger gets a moment to air their theory on what is going on and ultimately decide if they are going to help or harm the situation. At this point, you might be thinking (and I did the same) that the passengers are just going to be attacked by some overtly strange creature and the plane will be brought down. It was a fleeting thought for me because this is King we are talking about here; it's going to have that extra bit of symbolism and uncanny creative flair tacked on.──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──Mile high club──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──This next bit does not spoil much, but I thought I would just throw that warning out there just in case. Not all of the tension happens at 30,000 feet. The passengers eventually land in an airport that is deserted and have to try and figure out why nobody is around. Now, I have to think that at the time, this was pretty ground-breaking stuff. We have had an incredible amount of single-location, escape-style stories in the past few years, but this one is just so much fun, and original to boot!──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──Beach balls?──∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗──The Langoliers. What are they? Well, that would be a spoiler, but I love the fact that they are just an entity, nothing flashy; they just get down to business. Not unlike Michael Myers.//“All the outside world beyond”//All in all, I really had a fun time with this book. I mean, some of the characters are downright despicable and take advantage of others, but there is quite a bit of heartwarming material that elevates the doom and gloom. The time in the air and on the ground was refreshingly simple and not bogged down with clever explanations and exposition. It could easily be a Twilight Zone episode. You know what? It is all coming full circle. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet was a Twilight Zone episode that featured (pause) a (pause) decent (pause) performance (pause) by the one and only William Shatner.***Hopefully, ya got the joke. The pauses were an ode to his incredible acting style.