Drunken Fireworks is released only on audio at this point. It will be included in the collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams in November 2015 but for now you have to listen to it if you want to see what it’s all about. Usually I have no problem with audiobooks. On the contrary, I often really enjoy to listen to a story but this time is a bit different.

The narrator Tim Sample narrates this one with an extremely thick Maine accent that I’m not 100% happy with. There is nothing wrong with the accent itself but it’s not the easiest accent to understand, at least not for me who is not an American. Not sure if it’s different for those of you who are but personally I think I would have enjoyed this one a lot better if I had read it myself.

Either way, the story is about Alden McCausland who lives with his mother which, in itself, is a bit strange. We don’t get an age for Alden but to me it sounds like he is well over 50 (I could be fooled by the accent thinking he is older than he is) and still living with his mother? Nothing wrong with that I guess but here it rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Alden and his mother, or Ma, as he calls her call themselves “accident rich” because they got their money from an unexpected life-insurance policy when Alden’s father died as well as from winning Big Maine Millions scratcher.

Across the lake from their summerhouse lives the Massimo family. Alden and his Ma call them “real rich” since they have worked for their money. Both families spend their 4th of July at the summerhouses and when they start to compete about who has the best fireworks things start to get out of hand. The events are told from Alden’s perspective as he tells it to the police after the fact…

The story is only 1.5 hours long so it’s a fast listen. Personally I’m not that fond of Tim Sample’s narration because of his accent - the more you listen the more you get used to it - but it still makes me glad it’s a short story and not an entire book. The story itself is good but far from King’s best if you ask me. Maybe I’ll like it better when I read it in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams but for now it’s not a favorite.

While it’s interesting to hear Tim Sample narrate it with the thick Maine accent I can’t help thinking that I’d probably like it better once I read it myself.