10 Stephen King Universe Fates Worse Than Death

8. Trucks

Maximum Overdrive
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

This entry is NOT about the godawful '80s movie that was directed by King himself (although having to watch it again could almost count as valid entry for this list). This entry is about the original short story that it was based on.

Trucks is a story from his Night Shift collection. While some of the story beats are the same, it is a story that works far more successfully on the page. The idea of all cars, trucks and the rest becoming sentient may be silly, but there is a genuine sense of menace in this story.

There is no resolution either. The story ends with the humans being forced into slavery, condemned to ensure that the trucks are kept fuelled and ready to move. As the pages end, the protagonists are working the pumps of a gas station, looking at line after line of evil trucks, waiting to be serviced.

While this is a very silly idea, the idea of having to keep pumping gas until no longer worth keeping alive - that is a fate worse than death.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"