At the moment I am preparing for my A level exams and I have been working and revising alot, so i wi...
At the moment I am preparing for my A level exams and I have been working and revising alot, so i will be a bit sporadic on writing for Ciao at the mo, but I will stillr egulary read and rate! :)............................ ..............I am an 18 year...
Member since:28.01.2001
Reviews:39
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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.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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
very helpful by (92%):
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