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Publishing takes another step out of the Gutenberg era this week when a new story by horror impresario Stephen King is released, at the witchy hour of 12:01 a.m. E.T. on March 14, exclusively in electronic form. The 16,000-word tale, Riding the Bullet, issued jointly by Simon & Schuster and Philtrum Press, King's personal publishing imprint, can be ordered online for $2.50 in formats compatible with a variety of e-book and computer devices.

King is not the first writer to release a book without benefit of paper and print, but he is by far the most famous and commercially powerful. Reader response to this high-profile experiment will be watched eagerly by publishers.

Aside or apart from the electronic buzz, Riding the Bullet is a better than average King chiller. The narrator, Alan Parker, looks back at the phone call he received while a student at the University of Maine, telling him his mother had been hospitalized with a stroke. Since his car is on the fritz, Alan must hitchhike the 120 miles from Orono to Lewiston to see her, and some awfully spooky things happen to him along the way, including getting a lift from a dead man. (Incidentally, this is King's first work since he was struck by a car while walking near his Maine home last June.)

Reading King on a glowing screen is, in fact, an appropriately eerie experience. Citing his fear of the dark, Alan notes, "Even with a light on there are so many shadows." Riding the Bullet can be read with the light off.