...
For Valentine's Day i bought my boyfriend the
compilation of the Bachman Books along with RAGE
, The Running Man and another story, but I will
talk about the others seperately. I decided to
read with him this story and I absolutely loved it.
It was so compelling and everytime we had ... Read review
Advantages: the hook it has on the reader Disadvantages: the fact that you think about this sotry all the time
When Stephen King did the stunt of writing
under a different name for a while, Richard
Bachman, this was put under some of the titles.
For Valentine's Day i bought my boyfriend the
compilation of the Bachman Books along with RAGE
, The Running Man and another story, but I will
talk about the others seperately. I decided to
read with him this story and I absolutely loved it.
It was so ... ...I found myself thinking about the story and
imagining the setting in my head. It swam through my
thoughts until I had to finish the book. *Phew*
However i will will tell you about the story but not
the ending because... like all Stephen King Books,
ifyou destroy the ending the twists will be
obiliterated and there wouldn't be much more
excitement in reading them!
When Stephen King did the stunt of writing under a different name for a while, Richard Bachman, this was put under some of the titles. For Valentine's Day i bought my boyfriend the compilation of the Bachman Books along with RAGE , The Running Man and another story, but I will talk about the others seperately. I decided to read with him this story and I absolutely loved it.
It was so compelling and everytime we had to put it down, I found myself thinking about the story and imagining the setting in my head. It swam through my thoughts until I had to finish the book. *Phew* However i will will tell you about the story but not the ending because... like all Stephen King Books, ifyou destroy the ending the twists will be obiliterated and there wouldn't be much more excitement in reading them!
Well it starts off with the knowledge that there are 100 boys which are in a 450 mile Marathon which has to be walked in ALWAYS OVER 4 mph. How that is torture. Along with this you aren't allowed to stop for anything, not even to sleep, eat or to go to the toilet. Sick huh?! Even worse, it is set in the future and it is seen as a natinal broadcasted event, but you get a 'ticket' if you ever drop below walking 4 mph. However a ticket is a warning and if you get three in a row you are shot there and the, with no qualms.
However, non Steplen King readers are probably thinking ...'big deal.' But my friends, the story, like all the ones he has ever done, is never that straight forward. It is considered a short story and obviously is much shorter than the likes of 'The Stand' and such but the story and the pyschological (sorry I forgot how to spell it) aspect is so strong.
There is obviously the heroine and at the end of the story there can only be one winner which means the other remaining 99 will already be dead or going to die. But as they go along, the fact of being shown the thoughts and feelings of the characters which proves to illustrate every aspect of the story.
This is what makes this story so good, it draws the reader into the story and it especially haunted my thoughts as all i wanted to do was to read it and finish it. The whole story is created again your mind and you find yourself cursing the some characters or crying for them when all along you know they are fictional.
It is a must read. The language and style of King is very famous and I find his descriptions very vivid and admirable as they do paint every aspect of the scene. This is a short story but it is an exceptional read and I think it would draw you into other works of King as well.
Advantages: A book you'll be thinking about months after Disadvantages: ending was too predictable
It is the in-depth story of how a boy named Garraty must survive the greatest challenge of his life: the Long Walk. This annual event is summarised as follows: 100 boys start walking; if you walk under 4 miles per hour, you get a warning; after 3 warnings, if you slow down again, you are shot dead. The winner of the Long Walk is the last boy left walking. The prize: You can wish anything you want!
Stephen King (as known as Richard Bachman) introduces ... ...the event. As the reader, you get to learn about Garraty, Pete McVries, Hank Olson, Art Baker, Barkovitch, the mysterious Stebbins (he keeps an appalling secret) and others who each have their own personality quirks and ways of looking at life. Each boy has entered the Long Walk for a different reason and I found their discussions about life and death quite interesting. The reader is led along the course and each significant event is mentioned along ...
Ronny 26.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Long Walk - Stephen King
Advantages: Horribly fascinating Disadvantages: Only if you strongly dislike short stories
As the title states this is the single most disturbing book i've ever read, and i've read quite a few. Being a large stephen King fan books like The Stand and The Shining fall into your lap easily due to their fame and quotes written on the front such as, Number one bestseller and so on. My Girlfriend bought me the Long walk and i fell into reading it quickly as it was one of the only books by king i hadn't ever heard of. The Stand, thats a brilliant ... ...warped or as horrible as the Long walk. Ahhhh! I can't explain what i felt when i was reading it, i don't think there's a word i can use, if you can imagin yourself as one of the characters at there age when you read this you'll know what i mean.
ANYWAY, enough about me, about the book. Being a short story it's not a particually long read, (despite the title.... Get it, The LONG walk!)O.k i'm sorry about that it was poor.
In a future America the ...
Dilan_Spike 24.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Long Walk - Stephen King
Advantages: A quick hit Disadvantages: An easy ending
The Long Walk is part of the Bachman Books which also includes the superb Running Man(dont' think Arnie cos it ain't like that), rage (think The Body with violence) and Roadwork(bizarre). This is my favourite of the collection. Firstly, as soon as the walk starts you know what is going to happen. Don't let that stop you reading to the end as it doesn't detract from the story. The story is based in an American future were the ultimate endurance sport ... ...the Major (the leader of the country).Competitors must maintain a speed of 4mph or they will be shot. It is told from a first person perspective through Garraty one of the youngest competitors.
In order to better understand the story you need to get an empathy for the characters and why they choose to do this suicidal walk.
Garraty- although he is the main character in the story his reasons remain unclear. Mc Vries- mysterious throughout he becomes ...
dididave 25.02.2004 (13.03.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Long Walk - Stephen King
Advantages: One of King's best stories Disadvantages: I've already read it!
The story of Garraty (Maine's own) and his entry into the most surreal national competition in America.
The basic story invoves a group of boys who have entered the greatest competition there is- to walk over 4 mph.
Now that might sound odd, and perhaps boring, but I assure you this is not the case. The characters, the rules of the game, even the crowd, and the competitors' family support contribute to an unbelievably gripping, enthralling and ... ...the story and reveals the shocking elements is truly magical. I don't want to spoil the story by telling you, I can only most strongly recommend you try it for yourself.
It is a horror story, but the reader becomes so involved with the characters and the story that you reach the climax at the end of the book and feel drained after the emotional high.
This truly is one on Stephen King's masterpieces. It is no wonder that, although the book was originally ...
sammybear 03.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Long Walk - Stephen King
Advantages: Moving, Exciting and wonderfully written Disadvantages: None
The Long Walk is one of the Bachman books. It can be bought along with The Running Man, The Rage and Roadwork as the compliation 'The Bachman Books'.
The Long Walk stands out from the rest of the stories and rates at the top of all King's wonderful stories.
The Long Walk is about a competition for young men to enter where they have to keep walking. They have to walk above a certain speed and if they don't and get warned three times they are then ... ...a descriptive delight in the discovery of human feelings. King will make you laugh and cry within a page. He has surely rarely bettered his tension building than in this book.
The characters involved are varied and are all intriguing. The way in which King introduces them all and then says farewell to each one that is killed is marvellous. Not all people are fans of King's writing style but I would seriously ask them to consider reading this masterpiece. ...
BlueAngel 14.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Long Walk - Stephen King
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Advantages: You can and want to read the stories in one sitting Disadvantages: There are stories here published elsewhere - so perhaps not too good a deal in hardback
The copy I have is a hardback copy which I purchased as soon as it was released in 2002 for £17.99 but like with most of my books I have only just got round to reading it.
I was looking forward to reading this, why? because I generally do like what StephenKing writes, be it serialisations like The Green Mile, true horror fiction like The Shining or just brilliant writing like The LongWalk. I was also looking forward to reading it because I wanted something short and snappy to read, something that I could sit and read at one sitting and for this Everything's Eventual was perfect.
The book is a collection of short stories, although I thought that they weren't that short, not like in some of his short story collections where there are stories that are just a couple of pages long, for example, Skeleton Crew has a mixture of long ...
Stephen King's claim to fame ; Superb atmosphere ; Sublime plot ; A vivid imagination that stretches all supernatural boundaries ; Probably responsible for some of the best horror films of the 70's and 80's
Some unessesary background in the first half ; Kubrik mucked up the story too much ; Could have been much more (*)
