For his actions, Phil receives the Medal of Honor and returns to the U.S. to sell war bonds, meeting his three-year-old son Jacob for the first time.
In 1951, Phil encounters the Answer Man for a second time while driving home from a meeting with a New Hampshire State Senator about a potential election bid.
In 1964, Phil is approached by Christine Lacasse, a burn victim who wishes to sue the New England Freedom Corporation for $5,000,000 (equivalent to $49,120,000 in 2023) for faulty wiring that resulted in a house fire which killed her husband and five children.
He continues the lawsuit on behalf of Christine's brother after she dies of pneumonia in 1967, and in 1970 wins a final judgement of $7,400,000 (equivalent to $58,059,000 in 2023), of which Phil receives half.
[6] Reviewing You Like It Darker for Bloody Disgusting, Jenn Adams described The Answer Man as "one of the most beautiful and upsetting stories of King's career" that questions "what is the meaning of life and what can we expect at the end of our days?
[8] Writing for Corriere della Sera, Stefano Ferri suggested that The Answer Man was potentially the best work of King's career.
[11] Bev Vincent described "The Answer Man" as "a beautiful and poignant story that shows how a skilled writer can encapsulate a rich life in a mere fifty pages".
[1] Writing in USA Today, Brian Truitt stated that The Answer Man "weaves together Americana and the otherwordly [...] in a surprisingly emotional telling full of small-town retro charm and palpable dread.
"[12] Writing for Vulture, Neil McRobert described The Answer Man as having "a flavor of American rural gothic, as if Mark Twain had taken a stab at a fairy tale" and "the kind of otherworldly realism that King has always excelled at, but it benefits from his now senior perspective".
[14] Justin Hamelin suggested that The Answer Man "...might be one of King’s greatest works of fiction", adding "the final page of the story is equal parts devastating and sanguine".