The Colorado Kid
Encyclopedia
The Colorado Kid is a mystery
novel
written by Stephen King
for the Hard Case Crime
imprint, published in 2005. The book was issued in one paperback-only edition by the specialty crime and mystery publishing house. The third-person narrative concerns the investigation of the body of an unidentified man found on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. Lacking any identification or obvious clues, the case reaches nothing but repeated dead-ends. Over a year later the man is identified, but all further important questions remain unanswered. The two-man staff of the island newspaper maintain a longstanding fascination with the case, and twenty-five years later use the mysterious tale to ply the friendship and test the investigative mettle of a postgrad intern rookie reporter.
A television series inspired by The Colorado Kid, titled Haven
, airs on Syfy
in its Friday 10pm timeslot
.
as the news staff of The Weekly Islander pays for lunch at a restaurant, editor Dave Bowie and founder Vince Teague test young intern Stephanie McCann's powers of deduction regarding their tipping procedure. The friendly assessment becomes more intense as the elderly island natives and Stephanie return to the office, and she asks if the veteran reporters have "ever come across a real unexplained mystery". Dave and Vince take turns recounting a strange incident and investigation, with intermittent breaks for our narrators to crack open a fresh soda.
On April 24, 1980, two teenagers stumbled across a body, early in the morning. Slumped against a trash can, and carrying no identification, the body bore no clear indicators of foul play. Cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, as a large chunk of flesh was extracted from the victim's throat. Every potential clue leads to small revelations, but bigger mysteries. Though the investigation is lightly bungled, everything seems inexplicable, from how the fish-dinner stomach contents could line up with his ferry boat crossing, to the single Russian coin in his pocket.
More than a year later, thanks to a sharp-eyed rookie spotting an out-of-state cigarette tax stamp
, the John Doe becomes known as The Colorado Kid. Eventually the man's identity is traced, and he is identified as James Cogan of Nederland, Colorado. Everyone involved with the case is at a loss as to how or why the man could have gotten to a beach on a Maine island in the five hours since he had last been seen alive in Colorado.
In the Weekly Islander offices, the three friends, old and new, ferret out all the answers they can from the facts of the 25-year-old investigation, then speculate on what might have happened, and meditate on the nature of true mysteries. Vince and Dave tell Stephanie that while they were "the last people alive who know the whole thing", having heard the tale of The Colorado Kid, "Now there's you, Steffi." The warm proclamation seems to signal the young woman's final approval by the old guard of the Islander.
Vince and Dave share tales that span locales ranging from neighboring Smack Island to Denver, Colorado.
detective novels that comprise and inspired the Hard Case Crime collection, The Colorado Kid offers little in the way of actual procedural detective-work, no sex, violence or action, possibly no crime, and no solution to its mystery. The story of the unsolved mystery is framed as an oral history given by Dave and Vince, and to this extent the novel is about the storytelling prowess and rhythms of these two yarn-spinners, even as genre expectations are denied and subverted. Echoed in this story-within-a-story device is a lesson about the duties and talents of journalists, and by implication, all storytellers. Vince and Dave explain such concepts as needed for readers to feel teased by mystery, but not frustrated by utter ambiguity, and the role of a storyteller in shaping the amorphous material of reality into a coherent narrative.
novels, the author noted on his personal website on October 7, 2005 that an apparent research error regarding the rise of Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks
Coffee may hold other implications. Wrote King: "The review of The Colorado Kid in today’s issue of today's USA Today mentions that there was no Starbucks in Denver in 1980. Don’t assume that’s a mistake on my part. The constant readers of the Dark Tower series may realize that is not necessarily a continuity error, but a clue.” This might also be a clue to the inclusion of a mention of Blockbuster in the story, which did not exist until 1985.
This was the second story to deal with the theme of an unanswerable question.
original (or PBO) by Hard Case Crime
.
In 2007 PS Publishing
published the novel in hardcover
limited editions, in four different states by three different artists (Edward Miller
, J.K. Potter, and Glenn Chadbourne
).
, based on the story of the novel. The series, which had an initial 13-episode commitment, is being developed by E1 Entertainment and Piller/Segan/Shepherd, producers of the Dead Zone TV series. Scott Shepherd is serving as showrunner, with Lloyd Segan
and Shawn Piller
executive producing, together with the writers of the series pilot, Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. The series debuted on Syfy
on July 9, 2010. It was renewed for a second season in 2011, starting on July 15, 2011. SyFy officially renewed Haven for a third season October 12, 2011. A date has not been set for when the new episodes will air.
, also known as the "Mystery of the Somerton Man", is an unsolved case revolving around an unidentified man found dead on the 1st of December, 1948, on Somerton Beach, a suburb of Adelaide, Australia. The Stephen King story alludes heavily to the aforementioned real-life case file, which remains unsolved to this day, and is one of many South Australian mysteries along with the Beaumont children disappearance
.
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
for the Hard Case Crime
Hard Case Crime
Hard Case Crime is an American imprint of hardboiled crime novels founded in 2004 by Charles Ardai, also known as the founder of the Internet service Juno Online Services, and Max Phillips....
imprint, published in 2005. The book was issued in one paperback-only edition by the specialty crime and mystery publishing house. The third-person narrative concerns the investigation of the body of an unidentified man found on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. Lacking any identification or obvious clues, the case reaches nothing but repeated dead-ends. Over a year later the man is identified, but all further important questions remain unanswered. The two-man staff of the island newspaper maintain a longstanding fascination with the case, and twenty-five years later use the mysterious tale to ply the friendship and test the investigative mettle of a postgrad intern rookie reporter.
A television series inspired by The Colorado Kid, titled Haven
Haven (TV series)
Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, is an American/Canadian co-production. The one-hour drama premiered on July 9, 2010, on Syfy...
, airs on Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in its Friday 10pm timeslot
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
.
Plot summary
Opening in medias resIn medias res
In medias res or medias in res is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning In medias res or medias in res (into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase...
as the news staff of The Weekly Islander pays for lunch at a restaurant, editor Dave Bowie and founder Vince Teague test young intern Stephanie McCann's powers of deduction regarding their tipping procedure. The friendly assessment becomes more intense as the elderly island natives and Stephanie return to the office, and she asks if the veteran reporters have "ever come across a real unexplained mystery". Dave and Vince take turns recounting a strange incident and investigation, with intermittent breaks for our narrators to crack open a fresh soda.
On April 24, 1980, two teenagers stumbled across a body, early in the morning. Slumped against a trash can, and carrying no identification, the body bore no clear indicators of foul play. Cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation, as a large chunk of flesh was extracted from the victim's throat. Every potential clue leads to small revelations, but bigger mysteries. Though the investigation is lightly bungled, everything seems inexplicable, from how the fish-dinner stomach contents could line up with his ferry boat crossing, to the single Russian coin in his pocket.
More than a year later, thanks to a sharp-eyed rookie spotting an out-of-state cigarette tax stamp
Cigarette tax stamp
A cigarette tax stamp is any adhesive stamp, metered stamp, heat transfer stamp, or other form or evidence of payment of a cigarette tax . A cigarette tax stamp is a specific example of a revenue stamp....
, the John Doe becomes known as The Colorado Kid. Eventually the man's identity is traced, and he is identified as James Cogan of Nederland, Colorado. Everyone involved with the case is at a loss as to how or why the man could have gotten to a beach on a Maine island in the five hours since he had last been seen alive in Colorado.
In the Weekly Islander offices, the three friends, old and new, ferret out all the answers they can from the facts of the 25-year-old investigation, then speculate on what might have happened, and meditate on the nature of true mysteries. Vince and Dave tell Stephanie that while they were "the last people alive who know the whole thing", having heard the tale of The Colorado Kid, "Now there's you, Steffi." The warm proclamation seems to signal the young woman's final approval by the old guard of the Islander.
Characters
- Dave Bowie - The 65-year-old managing editor of The Weekly Islander, the small-circulation newspaper servicing the island of Moose-Lookit, surrounding isles and some mainland communities.
- Stephanie McCann - A 22-year-old University of Ohio postgrad, on summer internship at the Islander. Her duties on the paper involve writing "mostly ads" and the Arts 'N Things column. Though struggling with the local dialect and sedate rhythms of island life, Stephanie is growing increasingly fond of the newspaper staff, and finding they have unique, important lessons in journalism in store for her.
- Vince Teague - The 90-year-old founder of the Islander, who transformed the paper from the Weekly Shopper and Trading Post in 1948.
- The Colorado Kid - unidentified body found in 1980 on Hammock Beach, wearing gray slacks, and a white shirt. With little but a wad of meat in his mouth, and a nearly full pack of cigarettes in his pocket, there seem to be no indicators to his identity, or how he arrived on Moose-Lookit.
Locations
The action occurring within the narrative space of The Colorado Kid is confined entirely to Moose-Lookit Island, as the Islander staff takes lunch at the Gray Gull restaurant, before returning to the newspaper office.Vince and Dave share tales that span locales ranging from neighboring Smack Island to Denver, Colorado.
Themes
Unlike most of the hard-boiledHardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
detective novels that comprise and inspired the Hard Case Crime collection, The Colorado Kid offers little in the way of actual procedural detective-work, no sex, violence or action, possibly no crime, and no solution to its mystery. The story of the unsolved mystery is framed as an oral history given by Dave and Vince, and to this extent the novel is about the storytelling prowess and rhythms of these two yarn-spinners, even as genre expectations are denied and subverted. Echoed in this story-within-a-story device is a lesson about the duties and talents of journalists, and by implication, all storytellers. Vince and Dave explain such concepts as needed for readers to feel teased by mystery, but not frustrated by utter ambiguity, and the role of a storyteller in shaping the amorphous material of reality into a coherent narrative.
The Dark Tower connection
While for the casual reader there may seem to be no explicit links to King's magnum opus Dark TowerThe Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
novels, the author noted on his personal website on October 7, 2005 that an apparent research error regarding the rise of Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
Coffee may hold other implications. Wrote King: "The review of The Colorado Kid in today’s issue of today's USA Today mentions that there was no Starbucks in Denver in 1980. Don’t assume that’s a mistake on my part. The constant readers of the Dark Tower series may realize that is not necessarily a continuity error, but a clue.” This might also be a clue to the inclusion of a mention of Blockbuster in the story, which did not exist until 1985.
This was the second story to deal with the theme of an unanswerable question.
Editions
The Colorado Kid was originally published as a paperbackPaperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
original (or PBO) by Hard Case Crime
Hard Case Crime
Hard Case Crime is an American imprint of hardboiled crime novels founded in 2004 by Charles Ardai, also known as the founder of the Internet service Juno Online Services, and Max Phillips....
.
In 2007 PS Publishing
PS Publishing
PS Publishing is a Hornsea based publisher founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther. They specialise in novella length fiction from the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. It has quickly become established as one of Britain's premier small presses...
published the novel in hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
limited editions, in four different states by three different artists (Edward Miller
Edward Miller
-Politics:*Edward Allan Miller , Canadian politician*Edward B. Miller , Deputy Chief of Staff to Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich*Edward E. Miller , U.S. Representative from Illinois...
, J.K. Potter, and Glenn Chadbourne
Glenn Chadbourne
Glenn Chadbourne is an American artist. He lives in Newcastle, Maine. He is best known for his work in the horror and fantasy genres, having created covers and illustrated books and magazines for publishers such as Cemetery Dance Publications, Subterranean Press, and Earthling Publications. Mr...
).
Television adaptation
Universal Media Studios announced the TV series HavenHaven (TV series)
Haven is a supernatural drama television series loosely based on the Stephen King novel The Colorado Kid. The show, filmed on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, is an American/Canadian co-production. The one-hour drama premiered on July 9, 2010, on Syfy...
, based on the story of the novel. The series, which had an initial 13-episode commitment, is being developed by E1 Entertainment and Piller/Segan/Shepherd, producers of the Dead Zone TV series. Scott Shepherd is serving as showrunner, with Lloyd Segan
Lloyd Segan
Lloyd Segan is a principal in Piller/Segan/Shepherd, an independent content production company.- Television Production :Segan made his foray into television in 2001 with The Dead Zone based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Executive produced by Segan and Michael Piller, the series debuted...
and Shawn Piller
Shawn Piller
Shawn Piller is a principal/executive producer at Piller/Segan/Shepherd, an independent content production company.- Piller/Segan/Shepherd :...
executive producing, together with the writers of the series pilot, Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn. The series debuted on Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
on July 9, 2010. It was renewed for a second season in 2011, starting on July 15, 2011. SyFy officially renewed Haven for a third season October 12, 2011. A date has not been set for when the new episodes will air.
An Australian connection
The Taman Shud CaseTaman Shud Case
The Taman Shud Case,While the words that end The Rubaiyat are "Tamam Shud", it has always been referred to as "Taman Shud" in the media, presumably due to a spelling error that persisted. In Persian "tamam" is a noun that means "the end". "shud" is an auxiliary verb indicating past tense, so "tamam...
, also known as the "Mystery of the Somerton Man", is an unsolved case revolving around an unidentified man found dead on the 1st of December, 1948, on Somerton Beach, a suburb of Adelaide, Australia. The Stephen King story alludes heavily to the aforementioned real-life case file, which remains unsolved to this day, and is one of many South Australian mysteries along with the Beaumont children disappearance
Beaumont children disappearance
Jane Nartare Beaumont , Arnna Kathleen Beaumont , and Grant Ellis Beaumont were three siblings collectively known as The Beaumont Children who disappeared from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia on Australia Day 1966.Their case resulted in one of the largest police investigations in...
.