MR. MERCEDES by Stephen King: Book and TV adaptation

This summer "pleases" us with screen adaptations on the books written by Stephen King. "The Dark Tower" marches seven-league steps around the world and gathers people of all ages in cinemas, and the series "The Mist" scares every week with the release of a new episode. In this regard, I was very skeptical about the pilot of the series "Mr. Mercedes", which was released on August 9.

I was very keen on the worlds of Stephen King in my youth, but one day I stopped reading his books. I do not know why it happened. TV series and films came to the forefront for me. I don't seem to read much anymore. So I did not read the book before the release of the first episode "Mr. Mercedes". However, if I was familiar with "The Mist" and "The Dark Tower", then for the accurate evaluation of the new series, I decided to read the book. Especially it is a little book and won't take too much time to read it.

But despite the fact that I no longer read his books, I believe Stephen King is one of the best writers of our time. And I'm very upset when the screen versions of his books go horribly.

The book "Mr. Mercedes" was published in 2014. And this is the first experience of Stephen King in writing books in the style of "hard-boiled detective". This novel was popular and therefore King wrote 2 more books about Detective Hodges: "Finders Keepers" (2015) and End of Watch (2016).

I'm a big fan of detectives, so the description was very intriguing. Early morning, even night. There's a people crowd near the entrance to the employment center. People just keep coming and there are obviously more of them than vacancies. Everyone is minding their own business: a guy helps a woman with a child to get into the sleeping bag, others discuss the latest news, someone swears ... There is a Mercedes staying on the road. It's shining spotlights in the faces. People do not understand what is happening, why he came here and after a while, they lose interest in the car. A couple of minutes later, someone in the mask puts his foot hard down on the accelerator and sends the Mercedes into the crowd.

Stephen King is called the Master of Horror. He feels like fish in a barrel writing horror books. However, the genre of detective is a new topic for him. It is very difficult to write a good detective thriller which will keep you in suspense throughout the plot. And King accepted that challenge.

And he handled it so great that I immediately wanted to read the rest of the books about detective Hodges. An intricate plot will lead you into the depths of the mind of a psychopath and an old-school detective. King allows readers to get to know the "positive" and "negative" characters in equal measure. And just as skillfully parallel to reveal all the facets of their characters. You really get the effect of a roller coaster!

Such a cool book would not work if King was not a master at exposing the human soul. I became frightened by the thoughts that arise in the mind of an unbalanced person. The personality of both heroes is disclosed in detail, and the reader can look at the situation from two sides, on behalf of a maniac and a detective. Heroes turned out very bright and interesting, they are fascinating to read about.

The screen adaptation of Stephen King's novels is a lottery. We see terrible examples of "The Mist" and "The Dark Tower". Stephen King and David E. Kelley wrote the script for "Mr. Mercedes", Jack Bender is the director and they have an amazing cast!

The narrative does not hurry anywhere and almost the entire episode is devoted to this character. I liked him so much! Gleeson was able to perfectly convey the character of his hero, considering that he is a man of few words, and his face barely looks out from under his beard and hair. Several years have elapsed since that terrible night and Detective Hodges retired. He drinks, rarely leaves the house, and when he goes out, he yells at the boys and his neighbor - a very funny and passionate woman). You know, he turned out to be an excellent old bastard! But he immediately transformed, when a maniac appeared on the horizon.

Mr. Mercedes is immediately presented, so I don't think this moment is the spoiler. Harry Treadaway is perfectly fit to be a psychopath. Such a modern Norman Bates.

Harry Treadaway has an interesting sharp, he's born to play psycho-killers. In the first episode, he was shown not too much, although they threw us a couple of hideous details. By the way, originally this character was supposed to play by the actor Anton Yelchin.

I am very pleased with the pilot and in anticipation of an excellent detective and confrontation of the "old school" in the face of Detective Hodges and a young, modern psycho, who also possesses hacking abilities.How will the detective flush out Mr. Mercedes? Hodges is all alone, he can not go to the police. Yes, he was a first-class detective, but now he's just a depressed old man looking for happiness in alcohol. Nobody will believe him.

I'm glad that the characters have logic. They are interesting, I'm watching with tension. And what will be the next step? Both characters are beaten down by life. They are holding onto each other, their connection gives them vitality. The episode ends so suddenly that I could not come to my senses for a while. And this is a sign of quality.

In summary, the pilot episode was so fantastic that I look forward to the next series with impatience.

At the moment, one episode is available. In the first season, there will be 10 episodes, the last will leave in October of this year.