Yikes, I still have my old plastic army men under my bed, perhaps I won't get rid of them now that I know they'll light me up like a Christmas tree.
That aside, this story reminds me of Sid's comeuppance scene near the end of the first Toy Story--though even that scene seems scarier than this one written by the King of Horror himself. Nevertheless, Battleground seems like a fun read--though one that lacks the more stand-out characteristics of King's writing, trading horror elements for campy action and slightly witty humor all boxed up nicely in a G.I. crate filled to the brim with little green men.
Gotta love that 1 Scale-to-Model Thermonuclear weapon though, am I right?
I liked this story. Brings me back. When I was a kid, we had moved on from the plastic army men; G.I.Joe was all the rage (the little 4" action figures, not the larger Barbie Doll sized ones from an earlier era). I imagine young Mr. King was a big fan of the little plastic immovable army men, as they are present in the opening scene of "Revival" as well. Another great review. Thanks again Shaina.
Not read it and, with all due respect to Mr King, sounds like I won't be seeking it out 😅
I appreciate you doing the hard work and summarising it with your thoughts, Shaina. There's certainly something uncanny and with lots of horror potential in dolls and the like. I remember benig totally freaked out as a kid playing the first Alone in the Dark game, where in the intro there's a doll that's slumped against the wall that creeps after the protagonist when he has his back turned. Gave me many a nightmare!
Dolls are not my thing. True story-I've never bought my daughter a doll. It's not even a conscious decision. I just never look at one with their creepy plastic eyes and think, "Oh! My little girl would love to wake up to you staring at her in the dark! Come home with me!"
Oh wow, I remember reading that at work on the afternoon shift.
I remember liking the filmed version of this story. May not hold up well––I watched the end–––but here it is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4lNaTCC3IM
I think I enjoyed your synopsis more than I would have the story itself! Thanks
Yikes, I still have my old plastic army men under my bed, perhaps I won't get rid of them now that I know they'll light me up like a Christmas tree.
That aside, this story reminds me of Sid's comeuppance scene near the end of the first Toy Story--though even that scene seems scarier than this one written by the King of Horror himself. Nevertheless, Battleground seems like a fun read--though one that lacks the more stand-out characteristics of King's writing, trading horror elements for campy action and slightly witty humor all boxed up nicely in a G.I. crate filled to the brim with little green men.
Gotta love that 1 Scale-to-Model Thermonuclear weapon though, am I right?
I liked that too!
I think you nailed your analysis on the head-campy, witty, a little silly, but always well written.
I love the way King says it's a bomb, then tells us it isn't. Then it turns out we didn't read the whole list of what was included. 😅💣
Also, I kept thinking of Renfield from Dracula every time I read the character name in this one.
Talking about scary dolls. There is nothing more scary to me than a ventriloquist dummy being animated. I can't even watch one.
Yes. They are terrifying functioning just as they're supposed to. Whoever thought them up?
I liked this story. Brings me back. When I was a kid, we had moved on from the plastic army men; G.I.Joe was all the rage (the little 4" action figures, not the larger Barbie Doll sized ones from an earlier era). I imagine young Mr. King was a big fan of the little plastic immovable army men, as they are present in the opening scene of "Revival" as well. Another great review. Thanks again Shaina.
I think you're right. I'm sure there was some epic battle staged by a young Stephen King that inspired this story.
Thanks for reading Ian!
Loved it. Last thing I read before getting horizontal. Yikes, on second thought maybe I shud hv read it in the morning! <smiles>
Not read it and, with all due respect to Mr King, sounds like I won't be seeking it out 😅
I appreciate you doing the hard work and summarising it with your thoughts, Shaina. There's certainly something uncanny and with lots of horror potential in dolls and the like. I remember benig totally freaked out as a kid playing the first Alone in the Dark game, where in the intro there's a doll that's slumped against the wall that creeps after the protagonist when he has his back turned. Gave me many a nightmare!
Dolls are not my thing. True story-I've never bought my daughter a doll. It's not even a conscious decision. I just never look at one with their creepy plastic eyes and think, "Oh! My little girl would love to wake up to you staring at her in the dark! Come home with me!"
We're stuffed animal people in this house.
Haha, good call. I feel absolutely the same about dolls.
Oh wow, I'd forgotten about this one!
I think I will too 😂