The Regulators

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Summary: The Regulators and Stephen King
Review: This is another great work by Stephen King. I couldn't put the book down. I especially enjoyed the first chapter when he basically killed off the main character of that chapter, the paperboy. I just really enjoy his books. I don't know how he keps coming up with these morbid ideas and probably don't want to know, but I'm glad that he keeps doing it. I suggest that if you like horror stories, read this. If you have a week stomach, heart problems, or are pregnant do not read this! Just joking. I think that everyone should read it.

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Summary: A sad day for the quiet little town of Wentworth, Ohio...
Review: The "King" of horror, Stephen King, a.k.a Richard Bachman, has struck again with a new horrifying novel of many lives coming together to save the town of Wentworth, Ohio. It involves a man named Johnny Marinville, an aging hippie that wrote the most controversial book of the year, Delight, and went through Vietnam, non-fighting that is. Also, a young woman called Audrey Wyler takes in her brother's son after his death only to find a sick infestation named Tak within the him. The book is gruesome, elegant, horrifying, and simply wonderful all in one. It struck me like some huge iron bar or something of the sort, and I think anyone who hasn't read it should. -Bill Washburn

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Summary: For those of you who wonder about those low marks read this
Review: I know many people think this set of books is not one of King's, better novels. Well let's see, there can be only one ____(fill in the blank with your most favorite King novel here). And while this may be among King's best novel of all time, I know I would be pretty disappointed if King never tried any new formats for novels. I give King a lot of credit for creating a pair of books that intertwine parallel universes, are exciting, and are worth talking about after they're over. I know I'm still thinking about the creepy parallels between the two (feel sorry for those characters for having to go 2 rounds with Tak though), and it's even more impressive to me when I realized that beyond the obvious cross over in both the books, these two novels may be part of the larger King universe. (Note that the crow, Zoltan, in the Gunslinger says "Tak, tak, tak!") Anyways, let it be known that I found both novels intriguing and a refreashing change from the predictable generic stuff out there. To deride King for writting two books and then claim it was all a money making scheme is to imply that no readers liked the book. Well I personally liked it and so did many of my SK loving friends, but I guess the books aren't for everyone. So if you like a more in depth story with some philosophical overtones take Desperation. If you like straight action and scare factor + violence go for Regulators. If you can handle the double impact go read both like I did and have some fun comparing the two.

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Summary: terrifically terrifying
Review: The late Richard Bachman brought the world a terrifically terrifying thriller with this book. As easy to read as it is impossible to put down. Readers are very fortunate that Stephen King found this work after the demise of the author

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Summary: If I was King, I'd have used a phony name too.
Review: Slightly more imagination involved here than in Desperation. However, that's not saying much. The (ahem) plot simply repeats itself after the first couple of chapters, and you really won't care whether the characters live or die. Two things drove me to finish it: first was the novelty of finding where it crosses with Desperation, but that wore thin pretty quick; second was the futile hope that the ending would redeem Desperation's hurried, hokey conclusion - it didn't. About the only good thing I can say about it is that its theme of religious salvation/redemption isn't as blatant or as annoying as it was in Desperation.

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Summary: New book from Steve King doesn't live up to its counterpart
Review: I have noticed that the majority of fiction authors today have all been going in the exact same direction with their work, from the absolutely terrible stuff from John Grisham to the copycat routine put out by David Baldacci and a dozen others to the latest from Dean Koontz (take "Intensity" for instance), a usually original and thought-provoking writer. Did all of these authors suddenly fall to the pressure of increasingly tighter deadlines and changes in the market, or did the vast majority of them just decide to go with the flow and let themselves be carried away by the business and go the way that promises big bucks for their weak efforts? In the case of Baldacci this is almost surely true, but surely someone like Koontz couldn't be taken so low. Or could he? Most likely, the answer to the Koontz question is no, he just momentarily fell to the forces pummeling him and produced a few formula works, but that doesn't go for the most of the others writing today. But what is this? Stephen King, you say, has written a new novel under his pen name "Richard Bachman" and released it simultaniously with his other new book "Desperation?" And they both are connected by various events, locales, and characters to make one long story? But, how could this be so? It is utterly unlike the other works being put out in the rest of the publishing world, so how could he possibly pull it off? It doesn't seem like it could be true, but here it is, in plain sight. What did King do to trick his publisher into going off on this mad tangent? Simple. When your an author with as much clout as Stephen King, it can't be hard. Why, he must have those brain-dead fools completely under his thumb! So now we have "The Regulators," a little book about an evil god named Tak who takes over a little boy and turns a quiet suburban neighborhood into a living hell, complete with ghosts from western movies, colorful vans with guns sticking out of their windows that proceed to shoot down residents, plenty of dead bodies, monster cats, and even a cactus here and there! Who could ask for more? Why, us, the reading public! Sure, King gives us bizarro stuff that you'd never find in any other current authors work and a (gasp!) original storyline, but still, this book just doesn't live up to the masterpiece of work going on in "Desperation." Here, we have the same cast of characters going up against the same odds, but the whole tale is more deeply gone into in "Desperation" than in "The Regulators." In Desperation, we have the presence of God and the forces of good (not to mention a much more complex story, which makes it all the more entertaining), while in The Regulators, everything is resolved with a high degree of silliness and a few cliches that detract from the story. I mean, all the bad guys are taken from old western TV shows ("Gunsmoke," "The Rifleman," "Bonanza") and a made-up children's Saturday-morning cartoon. Aliens, robots, cowboys, demon-possesed little kids, and all-out wierd fun prevail, while the great seriousness of the Desperation storyline is completely lost. "The Regulators," while entertaining and fun, still doesn't live up to its counterpart in the the story of Tak. But since its so original and so much of a departure from the usual copycat stuff produced by the contempary writing world, you might as well read it anyway. I promise you'll have fun. Isn't it just great how you can always depend on King to give you something new and fresh

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Summary: good summer read
Review: I picked up the Regulators by Bachman/King as a getaway vehicle over a long summer weekend. Unsurprisingly it did a nice job of entertaining me over a couple of days, but thats about all it did.

Wihtin a week much of the story and allof the details had slipped from my memory. The Regulators is a fun yarn spun from a hackneyed theme of a small town besieged by some otherwordly force. The premise of having action characters come to life as the nemsis of the story and being controlled by the evil demon inside of a young boy really kept me reading but there was no depth to it.

If you are going on a long airplane or train ride or just have a lazy weekend coming up and are looking for something to kill time and keep you entertained I would recommend The Regulators as a good choice. Like so much of Kings novels it is long and meaty yet fast and entertaining. I have just cracked open Desperation, the companion book to Regulators and am looking forward to the same type of fare. Enjoy

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Summary: I should have known better than to buy this book
Review: Having already plodded through 2/3 of King/Bachman's companion novel DESPERATION I should known better than to pay hard cash for THE REGULATORS. The characters are essentially the same - with a few rather pointless changes, Cynthia from ROSE MADDER (easily SK's worst ever novel) is there - as if I needed reminding of RM! Again the central idea - an autistic child who has amazing powers to bring his toys to life and generally terrorise the neighbourhood is spoiled by making him an ESSENTIALLY GOOD child who is possessed by the evil entity TAK (the "evil child with amazing powers" isn't even a particularly original idea, it was done infinitely better in J. Bixby's short SF story IT'S A GOOD LIFE). Perhaps the worst thing about this novel and the reason why it doesn't work is the cardboard nature of the characters. They seem divided into GOOD or EVIL without the familiar human foibles and failings which make characters such as Gard in the TOMMYKNOCKERS or Jack in THE SHINING so believable. Perhaps the worst example of this sort of writing is the scene where the BAD character (Cammie or something like that) wants to blow Seth's brains out and the rest of the GOOD characters agree this would be wrong because he is essentially a GOOD person. Come on, I can just about accept his aunt feeling like that about him, but I can't believe that a load of people in this situation would feel like this about a child they had never met - who is putting their own lives in danger. Think of King's novelette THE FOG where a group of assorted characters are trapped in a supermarket by forces beyond their control - and begin to crack under the pressure and behave in increasingly bizarre ways. THE REGULATORS, however, is not without redeeming qualities and if SK had made a different use of the material I might have enjoyed this novel. I like the Motokops toys coming to life and feel that this novel could have worked better as a satire on TV shows such as POWER RANGERS and the effect they have on children's minds. The western film stuff seems entirely unnecessary and to my mind would have been better left out

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Summary: Will the real Stephen King please stand up
Review: It is very difficult to defend Stephen King (whoops, Richard Bachman) as a writer who should be taken seriously when he persists in sticking to this tired old formula. The Regulators is yet another small-town American sojourn where everything goes horribly wrong. Demonic Power-ranger type villians blow away housewives, paper boys and pet dogs with gay abandon. We get to know each person in the little suburb and see them crack under stress.Bodies explode, eyes pop blah, blah, blah.

It just doesn't work anymore. Where are the characters from "The Body"? Where are the people you can really believe in. Remember the old guy who sold Christine? He was real, I believed in him. I don't believe in the token African-American woman in "The Regulators" who says "Fuck me 'til I cry" when she's having a really bad day. That's not real. It's something Stephen thought sounded oool so he put it in.

Mr King I used to read your books and short stories when I was a kid. It was because of those books I wanted to become a writer. It's because of those books I have unfinished novels waiting to be exhumed from bottom draws. Your characters and scenarios were a wonder to me because they were real, tangible entitys. I could close my eyes and see them, smell them.

I don't care if Richard Bachman, Stephen King or Luke Skywalker is the pseudonym on your next book. I just hope you can make all of us believe in your world again, because I think I speak for a lot of people when I say, we really miss the places you used to take us to.

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Summary: Entrancing
Review: Being familiar with the many books of Stephen King, I was spellbound by this story. Once it grabs you it holds you until the final page. It takes twists and turns unimaginable, even to an avid fan. The clincher is that you come to feel as if you know the characters personally. When you move on to "Desperation", you feel like you are in the story with the people you have come to know so well in "The Regulators". The combination of the two, read in that order, almost make you believe it is a work of non-fiction. Whether you are a King fan or not, I highly recommend both of these books. They will change the way you look at our everyday world forever. Reality blends with fantasy to the point of not knowing the difference