This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The King of horror is coming to Utah.
Prolific author Stephen King will bring his book tour, to promote his next novel, "End of Watch," to Utah for an appearance Friday, June 17, at Juan Diego Catholic High School, 300 E. 11800 South, Draper.
King, 68, will speak, read from "End of Watch," and take questions. He will not be signing anything at the event; however, 400 pre-autographed copies of the new book will be given to lucky ticket holders.
"End of Watch," to be released June 7, is King's 55th novel (including the ones he has written under his pen name, Richard Bachman). It's the third, and final, book to feature hard-boiled detective Bill Hodges, the hero of "Mr. Mercedes" and "Finders Keepers."
In "End of Watch," Hodges comes out of retirement to hunt his old nemesis, Brady Hartsfield, a k a "The Mercedes Killer." Though in an unresponsive state in a hospital brain-injury unit after a second mass-murder attempt has been foiled, Hartsfield is able to influence his doctor and the hospital librarian to commit crimes out in the world. Hartsfield also has created a hypnotic electronic fishing game that compels players to kill themselves — but before he launches a wave of suicides, he target the three people who put him in the hospital: Hodges and his sidekicks, Holly and Jerome.
King's long resume includes such classics as "Carrie," "The Shining," "The Stand," "The Dead Zone," "Firestarter," "Cujo," "The Running Man," "Christine," "Misery," "Dolores Claiborne" and "The Green Mile" — all of which were made into movies. He also has written or co-written seven non-fiction books, and his 11 short-story collections have spawned such movies as "Children of the Corn," "Stand By Me" and "The Shawshank Redemption."
Recently, his time-travel novel "11/22/63" was translated into a TV miniseries, and a long-awaited adaptation of the first of his "The Dark Tower" series is in the works.
Tickets for King's Utah tour stop are $37.50 (plus a $2.30 service charge), and includes a copy of "End of Watch." Tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m., at the Brown Paper Tickets website. (The King's English, which is arranging King's visit, asks fans not to call the high school — they don't have any information.)