NEWS -

Still hope...

Posted: March 28, 2012, 12:00
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This question was posted on the official message board:

Are you sure there's no "trunk novels" lying around somewhere? Or an awesome collection of shorts??

And the moderator answered:

He sometimes comes out with a surprise short story or two and I know what he hopes to do with the book he's working on now.

Sounds like something “could” happen if you ask me…

Chloe Moretz is Carrie

Posted: March 27, 2012, 23:17
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Toronto Sun released this news today:

Child star Chloe Moretz has landed the leading role in a movie remake of Stephen King’s chilling horror tale Carrie.

The Hugo actress, 15, will portray possessed teenager Carrie White in the supernatural film, taking on the part made famous by a young Sissy Spacek in director Brian De Palma's classic 1976 adaptation.

Filmmaker Kim Pierce will direct the new project and Moretz is thrilled at the prospect of bringing Carrie to a new generation.

In a Twitter.com post on Tuesday, she writes, "Never been so happy in my life! Thank you Kim Pierce and thank u MGM for the chance of a lifetime i will never forget!"

Author King's bestselling novel was also turned into a TV movie in 2002.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

Enter for a chance to meet King

Posted: March 26, 2012, 23:44
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Buy your tickets to Ghost Brothers of Darkland County using the KING10 prior to April 1st (11:59 pm, March 31, 2012) and your entered in a sweepstakes to win a VIP experience consisting of:

• Two opening night (April 11) orchestra tickets

• Two tickets to the VIP opening night party at the Four Seasons in Atlanta following the April 11 performance (transportation and lodging not included)

• Photo op with Stephen King

• A Stephen King autographed copy of 11/22/63

Get your tickets here.

Interested in a copy of Dark Score Stories?

Posted: March 26, 2012, 12:25
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Do you remember this book? Dark Score Stories was done to promote the Bag of Bones miniseries and only released in 250 copies. I gave away some in a contest some time ago and now have another copy in my hands (got it in a trade) but since I already have the book I wanted to give someone else the chance to own this beautiful book. It won’t be a contest this time though (need the $ to get me an iPad). I need some $ so I have to sell it.


And how do I do that in a fair way? Well, first I wanted to give you, my loyal fans, the chance to get your hands on it. And I was thinking we could do it like this.

You send me an email to info[a]liljas-library.com (subject: Dark Score Book) and how much you are willing to pay for it. I will then reply and let you know if you have the highest bid or not. If not you can put in a new bid if you want to do that.

Then on April 1st the one that has put in the highest bid gets to buy the book. Oh, and I will add postage to your bid (for covering me sending it to you) but that shouldn’t be included in the bid since I don’t know how much it will cost to send the book.

I hope you all feel this is a fair way to do this. Here are some info about the book.

Carrie casting...

Posted: March 25, 2012, 23:54
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The Daily Dead have some interesting info that says that Chloë Moretz (left) and Haley Bennett (right) are the two actresses being considered for the role of Carrie in the planed remake. They also say that a high-profile actress might play Carrie’s mother and mentioned actresses are Jodie Foster and Julianne Moore.

Read more here.

Kubrick's The Shining

Posted: March 21, 2012, 23:01
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Photos of Stanley Kubrick's copy of The Shining (currently residing in London's Stanley Kubrick Archive) can now be seen and it gives us an idea of what Kubrick wanted to do. Themes Kubrick wanted to highlight ("Cabin Fever—this is important to establish"), questions he needed to answer ("What else could H[alloran] do?"), passages he wanted to cut ...


Check them out here.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

A new blog is born

Posted: March 21, 2012, 14:25
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A new blog is born and I hope you will check it out. It’s not King related but I think you might enjoy it anyway.

Originally I wrote about The Walking Dead on my site Lilja’s Library but as the series grow so did the stuff I wanted to write about, the things I wanted to review and the people I wanted to interview. Eventually it grow too big and maybe a bit to off topic for Lilja’s Library. So what to do? Stop writing about The Walking Dead? NO WAY! Create a new site and write about The Walking Dead there? HELL YEAH! So for that purpose I give you The Walking Dead News!

Remember that it’s a new site, not all info is there yet and there might be some error so be gentle but let me know what you think about it! OK? Good!


The Walking Dead News.

Season finale: Best TV in years!

Posted: March 20, 2012, 00:55
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Season 2 of The Walking Dead is over but what a season it was. The last three episodes were some of the best I’ve seen on TV for a very long time…if not ever. You can check out more of my thoughts about the episode here. And I want you to comment my thought!


The biggest thing happening in the season finale was that we got to see Michonne. Fans of the comic know her already and those of you who hasn’t read the comic (go do it now!) will get to know her in season 3. Either way she did a great entrance in the show with her sword and the two chained Zombies which she has cut of the arms and jaws (so they can’t bite her) on and use to disguise herself while walking through Zombie infested parts. A very cool entrance if you ask me. And even though we didn’t get to see her face in the season finale it has now been revealed that she’s played by Danai Gurira.


In other Walking Dead news:

Here is a clip of the cast talking about season 2 and what’s ahead.



And here you can read what Robert Kirkman and Glen Mazzara has to say about the finale.

The Walking Dead finale had 9 Million viewers. Can you imagine how many that is? Says a lot about the show if you ask me. Read more here.

Sources: Daily Dead

Merle back in season 3

Posted: March 19, 2012, 00:06
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We’ve missed him for almost a season but in season 3 he’s back. At Image Expo earlier this month, Robert Kirkman teased that “Merle will be seen again”. Now it’s been official confirmation from Michael Rooker himself. He will return for season 3 of The Walking Dead. Rooker didn’t give us any details but mention that he lost 20 lbs for the role.

Season 3 begins shooting in May and will have 16 episodes.

Source: Daily Dead.

The Stand Omnibus in June

Posted: March 16, 2012, 22:58
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I just found this on Talk Stephen King:

Marvel's The Stand has posted the following at their facebook page:

Due out in June:
STAND OMNIBUS HC SLIPCASE $150
(W) Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (A) Mike Perkins (CA) TBD
The Stand is a classic tale of good vs. evil, loss weighed against redemption and despair pitted against hope. It is an apocalyptic vision of man’s battle to save life against a worldwide plague of death. When the viral strain dubbed “Captain Trips” works its way across the face of the country, the painfully few survivors are launched into a nightmare that’s only just begun – but for the Dark Man, Randall Flagg, it’s a dream come true. Based on the masterpiece of apocalyptic horror by celebrated author Stephen King, this lavish adaptation is packed with extras in a two-volume slipcased set!
Collecting

•THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS #1-5,
•THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES #1-5,
•THE STAND: SOUL SURVIVORS #1-5,
•THE STAND: HARDCASES #1-5,
•THE STAND: NO MAN’S LAND #1-5,
•THE STAND: THE NIGHT HAS COME #1-5
•THE STAND SKETCHBOOK.

Sample from Wind Through the Keyhole

Posted: March 16, 2012, 22:54
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This sample book from Hodder & Stoughton arrived in the mail today. It’s the 21 pages thick and a taste of what’s to come once Wind Through the Keyhole is released. If you also want one you can get it in bookstores all over the UK, mostly Waterstones.


Michonne and The Road to Woodbury

Posted: March 16, 2012, 22:43
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Two interesting Walking Dead news today.

1) Fans of the comic know Michonne and my guess is that most of the TV series fans will once season 3 starts but today you can learn what happened to her before we meet her in the comic. In the April issue of Playboy (out today) we get to read about her backstory in a six pages comic.

2) If you read the book Rise of the Governor (my review here) and liked it it’s now time for the second book. The first told the story of The Governor and how he ended up like he did (a great read in time for season 3 of the series where we’ll meet him) and here is the synopsis for the new book The Road to Woodbury that’s released in October this year.

It is a dangerous world that Lilly lives in. The walking dead lurk in every corner, massacring anyone they can get their hands on. Nowhere is safe. But when a terrifying ordeal leaves numerous dead, Lilly and her companions are forced out of their tented community and out into the open. Safety seems to come in the form of Woodbury, a gated compound with food and protection. Yet it’s not long before the wanton dangers of Woodbury reveal themselves, and the Governor’s despotic rule of the compound threatens to undermine everything Lilly believes in. Because sometimes the dead aren't the biggest threat. It’s the living . . . Praise for The Walking Dead novels: ‘A perfect introduction . . . and a great service to all those folks who've walked with these zombies before', StarburstMagazine.com, ‘The novel makes for an exciting, grippingly intense and at times gruesome one-off read’ BookGeeks.co.uk, ‘The novel hooked me from the first page . . . begs to be read’ Geeksofdoom.com

King's top 50

Posted: March 15, 2012, 05:39
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What do you think of this list that ranks the top 50 King movies? I think Maximum Overdrive should be higher than 36 and Secret Window is definitely better than #20. However, The Lawnmover Man isn’t worthy of a #34 spot and the same goes for The Shining which always places high by viewers that hasn’t read King’s book.

Worst error though is to put The Mist at #8. Should be #1 if you ask me.

Read the full list here.

Thanks to Jimmie Rudolfsson

Is Warner going to The Dark Tower?

Posted: March 13, 2012, 22:28
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According to Deadline Warner is very close to a deal that will give Ron Howard the chance to direct at least the first feature movie based on King’s The Dark Tower, potentially with Javier Bardem starring as gunslinger Roland Deschain. And Akiva Goldsman (who wrote the script) is producing with Brian Grazer and the author.

Read more here.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma and Rick Urban.

Episode 12 of The Walking Dead

Posted: March 12, 2012, 04:00
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The last episode before the season finale just aired on AMC and what an episode it was. You didn’t miss it did you? Didn’t think so! And if you did see it (don’t go here if you didn’t see it) you should head over here and let me know what you think of it.

Stephen King’s The Reaper’s Image

Posted: March 11, 2012, 23:10
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Mark Pavia has confirmed that his new King project is called Stephen King’s The Reaper’s Image and for those of you that don’t know, it’s a anthology film that will include adaptations of the following stories:

The Reaper’s Image
Mile 81
N
The Monkey


Thanks to Ari.

A huge audiobook

Posted: March 8, 2012, 20:39
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Here are two photos of the library edition of the audio version of The Stand. And let me tell you, it’s the biggest audio book I have ever seen in my life…

Click for a larger image

Click for a larger image

The recording will be 47 hours and 42 minutes long and released for purchase digitally by Audible.com and iTunes and available in the library market on CD. The CD is on 37 discs...

Where did The Walking Dead originate?

Posted: March 8, 2012, 04:48
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As many of you know I’m a huge fan of The Walking Dead and I know a lot of you are as well. But, maybe some of you have only seen the TV series and never thought about where it all originates from? Well, let me tell you, it all comes from the mind of Robert Kirkman and his graphical comic with the same name. Today he’s done almost 100 issues of the comic and I just found out that Newsarama offers a free version of the first issue and what better chance for all of you out there that hasn’t checked it out yet to do so now? A warning though, if you do you might feel forced to continue with issue #2, and #3 and #4 and so on as I know I did…

So, read issue #1 at your own risk.

King in Writers

Posted: March 7, 2012, 23:37
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Lily Collins, Kristen Bell, Logan Lerman, Nat Wolff, Liana Liberato, Rusty Joiner and Patrick Schwarzenegger have joined the cast of Josh Boone's directorial debut "Writers," which will also feature a cameo by author Stephen King as himself.

Read more here.

Dark Tower Mania

Posted: March 5, 2012, 14:58
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Once again it’s contest time here at Lilja’s Library. And once again the prices are Dark Tower related, this time from the UK. Five lucky winners will split the books between them in the following way.

- 1 lucky winner will get a copy of Hodder & Stoughton’s limited edition of The Wind Through the Keyhole. This book is only released in 700 copies with deluxe binding, photographic endpapers and with author's facsimile signature. The price if you buy it is £99.99 (approximately $160). This copy is donated by PSPublishing and the copies from them has an extra feature. They all have a specially-printed dustjacket that’s not included in copies bought elsewhere.

- 1 lucky winner will get a copy of Hodder & Stoughton’s hardback edition of The Wind Through the Keyhole AND a set with all the previous seven Dark Tower books in paperback with new beautiful covers (donated by Hodder & Stoughton).


- 3 lucky winners will each get a copy of Hodder & Stoughton’s hardback edition of The Wind Through the Keyhole (donated by Hodder & Stoughton).

And how can you win these fine books then? Well, this time there are three ways.

First way to win (twitter):
1) Follow @liljaslibrary on twitter.
2) Cut and paste this on twitter (each retweet is a chance to win):
Dark Tower Mania over at Lilja’s Library. Retweet this to win Dark Tower books. Follow @LiljasLibrary to be eligible http://www.liljas-library.com/article.php?id=3002

Second way to win (facebook):
“Like” Lilja’s Library on facebook and then “Like” or “Share” at least one of my post there. Each “Like” and “Share” is a chance to win.

Third way to win (be creative):
In the comments field below, tell me what you think would be the best way to promote Lilja’s Library.

Easy, right? You can retweet as many times as you like, you can “Like and “Share” as many times as you like and you can leave as many comments below as you like. And you can enter the contest in one, two or three of the ways, it’s all up to you. The contest starts on Monday March 5 and ends on April 22, two days before The Wind Through the Keyhole is released. On Monday April 23 I will draw two winners from facebook, two from twitter and one from the comments (best suggestion) and from those five winners I will randomly select who gets what prize. Oh, and this contest is open to anyone anywhere. Good Luck!

More Walking Dead clips...

Posted: March 5, 2012, 13:58
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The cast talks about episode 11 and a trailer. Again, DO NOT SEE THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE EPISODE!











And here are two interviews, one with Robert Kirkman and one with Andrew Lincoln.











And here are an interview with Robert Kirkman where he says:

There are some things coming up in the 3rd season that I can happily and proudly say exceed some of the darkest things that we’ve done in the comic. I think people are really going to be pretty shocked with a lot of stuff that’s coming. The show is gonna have teeth, the show is not going to be a watered down version of the Walking Dead [comic]. Seeing it thus far, you’ve got zombie autopsies, Sophia, and there is definitely a lot of dark stuff going on in the show, and it’ll continue.

How about that...

Book news from Scribner

Posted: March 5, 2012, 00:12
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Scribner has announced that 11/22/63 will be out in paperback in October 2012 and also that both The Talisman and Black House will be re-released in hardcover in November. That and the fact that there are no other King book scheduled for this fall might get the optimist hoping that a third book about Jack Sawyer is closer than we know… Well OK that is probably not the case but you can hope, right?

Message from Steve - Doctor Sleep

Posted: March 3, 2012, 15:03
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This is from StephenKing.com

Message from Steve - Doctor Sleep
Posted: March 2nd, 2012 11:43:56 am EST

Hey, you guys and gals: I've done public readings from next year's Shining sequel a couple of times now, but if you got the idea from any of the blog posts that the audio sample at the end of the forthcoming Wind Through the Keyhole CDs is just the five-minute snippet I read last month in Savannah...think again. It's the entire prologue of the book (called LOCKBOX). It's 25 manuscript pages and runs a little shy of half an hour when read aloud. If you're looking for a return to balls-to-the-wall, keep-the-lights-on horror, get ready. And don't say you weren't warned.

The Marv story contest winners are…

Posted: March 2, 2012, 11:58
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The Marv story contest is over and I have selected two winners. I have selected them based on how good their story is, how well it tells the story of Marv and how well is follow the illustration that was the inspiration for the story. I got a total of 55 stories and these two where the best, according to me.

Marv’s Story by Dani Black
ITs Bitch by Elliott Hayes

Dani will get the original drawing that inspired this contest and Elliott Cemetery Dance’s 25th anniversary edition of IT. Great work both of you!

Marv's Story by Dani Black

Posted: March 2, 2012, 11:44
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Marv's Story
By Dani Black

Sometimes, he remembers.

There was this man, long ago. Marv is not sure of who he was anymore. Some nights he thinks he sees him in the mirror, right in front of him. Taunting, haunting him. Some other nights, it seems like he's screaming.

Marv doesn't remember everything, just some moments, names, faces. It is like a puzzle, that man's life, and he only has half of the pieces. Some of them make sense; others don't. He remembers a child looking through a window, wondering what would it be like to run outside, to keep running until the house was not in sight, until the world he knew was so far away he didn't have to face it anymore. He also remembers the man, so many years later, wondering the same. If he could escape from hell.

The Library seems so quiet, sometimes. As if it was only the old, empty building that people see during the day. As if it didn't hold so many souls, so many horrors and wonders. As if Marv were there alone.

He isn't. He knows that. Even when they're not screaming, even when they don't call him and whisper sweet words, the books are watching. Marv remembers there was a time when he couldn't believe that. When he didn't want to.

That was so long ago.

There was this man, once. Marv remembers his face, round and warm and alive, he remembers a nose and blue eyes and maybe something else. Hair. Lips. He was human, once, he was just a kid and then he grew up and -and there was She, the one he swore to save. And now there's this. The Library.

He thinks he knew, then. He thinks he knew he couldn't help her, save her. But he had to try. You were such a fool, Marv.

He rests against the wall. He wishes he could close his eyes, get some sleep -he knows he used to do that. But now he needs to be awake, forever, now he needs to wander around and watch the books because they could be hungry, they could scape. He has to keep them, guard them. Make them quiet, too, until dawn comes again.

Marv met her when she was eighteen. She said she wanted to be a star, someday, sing in Broadway or go to Hollywood, maybe. Meanwhile, she worked as a waitress and wore a skirt so short he thought he'd be able to see everything, if he wanted. She was nice, he reckons. So nice, and smelled so good -he remembers vanilla and some fruit, doesn't know which one.

He told her she didn't know what she wanted. You're just a kid, Marv said; you don't have any idea of the way the world works. Out there, he hissed, Hollywood and Broadway are a nightmare. Just like everything else.

Marv was drunk, that day. Tried to leave the café without paying; she stopped him. Told him to chill out, I know exactly what's going to be like, he thinks she said, or maybe that was later. Either way, she was right. She knew.

Her name was Sylvie. Or maybe not, maybe she changed it so she sounded a little more interesting, special. Maybe she changed it the way she couldn't change the world. Marv knew he would fall for her even before it happened, somehow. It only took three dates.

He bought her dinner a few times, and she laughed at all the right jokes and answered every question and said exactly what he wanted to hear. She could've been acting, he thought, but he didn't care. Not then, not now, either. If it was an act, it had been a good one.

They could have been happy, he thinks. Maybe. They could have had something, but then there was the accident.

The car ran over her so slowly in his eyes. It was like a movie, Marv thought, like he could watch it from afar, as if it didn't hurt, as if it didn't matter. Sylvie screamed, and Marv screamed, and the world seemed to collapse for a moment. He couldn't walk, couldn't run, couldn't stop screaming, and she was laying on the floor, something dark and warm dripping out of her body. He wanted to tell her to get up, come on, Sylvie, get out of here. She didn't move.

And, just like that, it was over. Sylvie, their story, the dream. They could have been happy, he thinks even now, when he remember what that means.

There is a Library, somebody told him. Far away, going south and west, there is this Library where you could find anything. Marv thinks it was a woman, who said this, an old woman drinking and swearing and trying to drown her life, just like him. He asked if that exists, why don't you go find it. She said I've done it. Back when I was young. Look at how it turned out.

But it was worth a try. Why not.

And, true, there is the Library. Just going to the old Jenkins' farm, keep walking for like five minutes. You'll see it.

People in the village didn't want to talk about it. The Library. They didn't want to tell him how to get there, at first. There are things men cannot play with, someone said. There are things that are just too big for us. Marv didn't listen.

It's my last chance.

There are nights when he wonders if he would've stayed, and what would have happened. There are nights when he wonders if the Library was calling him, waiting for him. It doesn't really matter, though. Not now.

It was dark when he arrived. The Library looked like an old castle, a perfect location for a black-and-white horror film, he thought. The gates were closed, but a mere push was enough to open them. And there was nothing between him and the books, the one that could save Sylvie, bring her back.

Some nights, even now, Marv thinks there are things lurking in the shadows. Things without name, without form, things he doesn't want to know. That first night, the man who entered the Library thought the same. Something is watching me.

He remembers that feeling. He also remembers the smell -dust and time and something dark, powerful, alive- and the cold and the noises. For there were noises, in the Library, even then. Footsteps caused by no one, whispered words he didn't catch. He should have ran. He would have run.

But then he heard her voice.

It couldn't be, he thought. It couldn't be, because she was dead, because why now, why here. I've come this far just to get to hear you again, see you and touch you and what are you doing here, Sylvie, he wanted to ask. He didn't. He listened instead.

It was her voice, just as he remembered. Just as he remembers now, so sweet and a little bit amused, as if there was something funny everywhere. In death, even. It was her voice, and she was telling him something -Marv couldn't quite make out the words, but he could imagine. Help me, he thought she said. Help me, save me, Marv. It is too dark here.

He entered the Library, breathed deeply. There were shelves full of books everywhere, old tomes covered in dust, yellowing slowly. It could be any of these, he thought, it could be anywhere. Maybe it doesn't even exist, a little part of his mind reminded him. Maybe it is not even real.
Sylvie, he said aloud. Sylvie, please. If you're there. Tell me.

He didn't expect it to work, he didn't expect her to talk to him, guide him, but it was still disappointing. There was silence, in the Library -and he didn't realize until later how strange that was.

Then, there was a sigh. Somewhere at the end of the room. A faint sigh, and Marv followed it, because it was his only clue.

Sometimes, he wonders if he could have walked away, had he not found the book.

It was hidden between some others, but the sound was coming from there. It caught his eye -it was newer, cleaner, nicer than the others- and he took it without really thinking. He didn't even read the cover -he now knows what it says, but it doesn't make things different-; he just opened it. And that was it.

There were worms.

They came from everywhere, from nowhere, they appeared on the pages of the book and crawled up his arms, leaving a humid, slimy track. They bit, ate, they assaulted him and Marv could feel his flesh being torn apart, could feel the skin dissappearing and everything was painful, everything was so real and so utterly impossible at the same time. It was like being in a dream -a nightmare- and, for a second, he thought he saw Sylvie just in front of him, waving sadly and closing her eyes. He tried to do the same, blink and run away from all that. He couldn't.

Sometimes, he still remembers what it was like. Being alive, feeling the pain. Hurting so much he wanted to die; he fell to the floor, and suddenly there were no worms, no Sylvie, nothing. Just the book, closing itself, and Marv.

From then on, there's been just them.