The Regulators

Rating:
Summary: it was worth it at the end
Review: I am a major King fan. I have read all of his novels. This novel was no where near his best, but it was good. There was so much violence right from the start that it was almost funny. The only death that I really felt for was Seth's. The rest of the book was just a blood bath that was hard to take seriously. The first half of the book is kind of boring. The plot just basically stands still for two hundred pages or so, but the closer you get towards the end the better it gets. I found myself to be very involved with the story in the end. I also felt terrible about Seth. There was a lot of other cool things that happened as well. It's not his best, but it's worth taking a look at. Over all I would say that it's a very enjoyable book that is a lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: The Regulators is imaginative, but not character driven
Review: Having read everything King has published (as far as I know, and with the exception of Desperation), I can say that The Regulators, while being a fine example of frenetic pace & action in a novel, doesn't pack the punch that King's (and Bachman's for that matter) earlier novels do. It seems to me King likes to explore situations from different points of view, which may explain his fixation with the ''Woman as Protagonist'' theme developed in Gerald's Game, Dolores Claiborne and Rose Madder. While I commend him on his versatility and dedication to providing his readers with an interesting array of characters and plots, a big part of me wishes he would retrace his steps and write a good, old fashioned ghost story like The Shining...Pet Sematary...Christine...and of course (in my opinion) his swan song, It. Added to the wonderful storylines in those novels, they also had very detailed characters with whom you could really empathize - something which was lacking in The Regulators. While I still consider King to be the Mark Twain of the 20th century with his dead-on, perceptive social commentary, I would welcome a return to something as simple as a haunted car or a haunted hotel!

Rating:
Summary: Need to read desperation first to understand this book
Review: I liked the book very well, but not as much as desperation. People must read desperation to understand where he is coming from in regulators. Although not his best work, it is a book worth reading in my view. "Tak" is something that really grabbed at my soul, and god forbid this could really happen!

Rating:
Summary: Overall I think it was a good book.
Review: I don't see how people could think that it was too confusing, or had too many characters. This is a childs book compared to Without Remorse by Tom Clancy, in the "too many characters, too many places" aspect. I think this was a great book, except for the ending. King doesn't go into more detail about Tak, but he does give you an odd semi-happy ending. It is true that you should read Desperation first. Although starting The Regulators right after finishing Desperation may be confusing also. I read Desperation while it was just a hardback, and I just now read The Regulators almost a year later. Just think of the Regulators as a whole seperate story, then it is more readable.

Rating:
Summary: I like the real Stephen King better!
Review: Desperation was great, and I started the Regulators almost a year ago, and then had to stop for a while, and now that I tried getting into it again (I remembered the characters, etc. easily enough) it doesn't have me involved anymore. Maybe I should start over, but that doesn't appeal to me. I'm going to try finishing it sometime, but right now, I'm going to read Rose Madder instead.

Rating:
Summary: If it wasn't Bachman/King, would it sell?
Review: No way. Without King's name connected to this book, it wouldn't have been printed. Desperation is marginal at best. The Regulators should have died (and been buried) with Bachman.

Rating:
Summary: Reading Desperation first makes a difference!
Review: I found the Regulators to be rather good. However, had I not read Desperation, I see where anyone would feel confused. I give it an 8 since it does not go into much depth with regard to Tak, something which we learn more about in Desperation. In any case, its still Stephen King at his best! Think of these 2 books as Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Read both!

Rating:
Summary: good companion to Desperation
Review: This book had the same elements of Desperation. Same characters, and same series of eerie events. This book had the same amount of violence, but it wasn't as exciting as the first, although still a good book.

Rating:
Summary: King still the most fun horror read around
Review: Stephen King is an interesting writer. He easily shifts from all-out terror (It), to thought-provoking and humorous (Dolores Claiborne), to just plain grisly (Pet Semetary). I found The Regulators to be typical King fun. I enjoyed every nasty page of it, and look forward to the next novel.

Rating:
Summary: mostly boring and confusing!!!
Review: i've read a lot of stephen king's books and just loved some of them; unfortunately 'the regulators' was not one of these! it had a few good parts but was mostly just boring with about 50 characters too many! i guess if you are really bored and have absolutely nothing else to do, this book would be worth it. otherwise, opt for something else!