I got back from vacation last night, and while I’m plowing through 300-some emails today, I’ll take a break to mention the new issue of Esquire. Not my style of magazine, but horror fans may want to pick up the current issue, as it contains a new story by Stephen King.

I read “Morality” during the plane ride back from the prairies, and while it’s not the greatest or most “horror” story he’s ever penned, it’s worth picking up for five or six bucks (depending on what country you live in). The premise has a cash-strapped couple presented with a proposition by a wealthy old man with the desire to “sin by proxy,” in which the wife must do something nasty while the husband videotapes it, in order to get enough money to pursue their dreams.

“Morality” is really about the consequences of the act, rather than the act itself. It’s King’s take on violence, voyeurism and videotape and it’s more subtle (at least in terms of graphic description) than I expected, which is a good thing, as it seems intended to be a meditation on the story’s title, rather than a potboiler or a gore show. That said, it’s got some twisted sequences (including the woman’s rationale behind her decisions) that will appeal to genre fans.

Now if King would only agree to an interview with Rue Morgue…