Skip to main content

Stephen King's The Long Walk - A Review



The Long Walk was first published in 1979 and it was one of the books that Stephen King published under his pseudonym of Richard Bachman.

Perhaps, today, we might recognise the subject matter of the Long Walk as being related to the many reality TV shows we see on TV, but the novel was actually written well before reality TV began to swamp our screens.

The novel is set in the not too distant future. America is ruled by a totalitarian government and, every year, a so-called sporting event called The Walk is held that is run by the government and watched by millions on TV.

In the event, one hundred teenage boys take part in a walk that begins in Maine and follows a route down the eastern coast of the USA. There is no finish line; the winner of the walk is, literally, the last teenager who is left alive and still walking.

The boys must walk non-stop, day and night, at a pace that never drops below four miles per hour. If they do drop below that speed for more than 30 seconds, they are given a warning. If they drop below it more than three times, they are ticketed, which basically means they are shot dead by a soldier. The prize for the last boy left walking is anything that he desires, for the rest of his life. However, many of those who have won the race have been left so physically and mentally scarred by the experience that they have committed suicide shortly after winning the race.

Those who have never read a Stephen King novel before might think that a plot like that is a recipe for the gory description of one gruesome death after another, but there is a lot more to Stephen King's Long Walk than that.

The novel may not be as well written as some of his later books, after all it was his first, but it's still a fascinating study of a small group of people who have been thrown together and pitted against impossible odds. Some of the walkers form loose alliances, some keep their thoughts to themselves and some help one another along the way, despite that fact that only one of them will ultimately survive the ordeal.

While the boys walk themselves into their graves, spectators line the route and watch the race on TV. They place bets on who will win the race and who will be the next to die. The whole thing is presented like a major national event, but in reality, it is just another means by which the government keeps the population subdued.
If you have never read a Stephen King book before, The Long Walk would be a good place to start, especially if demonic clowns and werewolves are not your thing. It's a book that might even tear some of today's teenagers away from their games consoles and get them into the habit of reading!

Stephen King's Long Walk is an excellent read for anyone. You may not think that a story of one hundred teenagers walking at four miles per hour would be an enthralling read, but the way that Stephen King tells it means that it certainly is.
The Long Walk is available at www.stephenkingstore.com; the fastest growing Stephen King Fan Site on the web. It's filled with merchandise, T shirts, posters, coffee mugs and, of course, you'll find all the very latest Stephen King books are available there too. Why not come on down and take a look!
 By  

Popular posts from this blog

Kecemburuan semacam ini

Jacey melemparkan cangkir kopi kaca, (Mug Kaca Berinsulasi Dinding Ganda Zwilling), melintasi dapur. Itu menghantam dinding yang baru dicat (Behr, Sweet Coconut Milk, M230), dan hancur menjadi triliunan kepingan. "Inilah yang telah kamu lakukan pada kami!" teriaknya, suaranya berderak karena cemburu, kuku jarinya yang terawat (Orly Cold As Ice - perawatan bernapas + warna) menusuk udara ke arah tumpukan puing-puing kaca. Blayne menundukkan kepalanya, dagu keduanya mengenai dadanya terlebih dahulu. "Maaf, sayang," gumamnya. "Maaf?! Maaf!" Dia mengambil sekotak Wheat Thins dan mengangkatnya di atas kepalanya. "Tolong jangan melempar yang lain!" Blayne memohon, berdiri dari posisi setengah duduk di bangku logam di dapur. Ini adalah bangku yang sangat tidak nyaman (Bangku Meja Grejsi dengan Bingkai Logam), tetapi Jacey menyukai cara logam itu memantulkan sinar matahari di sore hari, jadi itulah yang dia beli. Dia mencondongkan tubuh ke arahnya,...

Thirteenth step

My grandmother attends the church basement on Tuesday evenings. I saw him there among the metal folding chairs and antique coffee pots, his figure trembling under the fluorescent lights that buzzed like dying insects. She wears the same powder blue pullover she was buried in, the one with pearl buttons that catch the light like little moons. Others can't see it, of course. They just feel a sudden chill as they pass by where she is, or smell the ghostly smell of her Shalimar perfume mixing with the smell of burnt coffee that never leaves these rooms. But I see clearly. He's been following me to AA meetings for three months since I got my first white chip after five years of being back in the bottle. "Your grandmother was my godmother in 1985," old Pete told me after tonight's meeting, hands shaking as he poured a seven-pack of Sweet'n Low into his coffee. "Toughest godmother I ever had. She saved my life." "Mine, too," I said, not specif...

A-Z of Corporate Governance Law

Corporate governance law can be seen as the law that states the way a company is regulated and managed. Any student of law must have a clear idea about the corporate governance law. This article provides an insight into the law, along with its importance. Corporate governance law  describes how a company will be managed and governed. This topic is an important one for any student pursuing a degree in law. They may also receive academic papers to write on it. Hence, individuals should be clear about this law. The article aims at clarifying the idea behind the law and why it is important. What exactly is corporate governance law? A business is directed and controlled by the system of corporate governance. It is a process for governing a company, establishing the policies, customs, and laws for all employees, starting from the highest to the lowest levels. It states the distribution of responsibilities and rights among the various participants in a company like the di...