The Regulators

Rating:
Summary: A fast and dense book - hard to put down.
Review: If you ever wondered what King's "The Mist" would have looked like if it had been a full-length novel, you can find out now. Although the atmosphere is not quite as claustrophobic as it could have been and although the characters are not quite as aleborated as you are used to if you are a constant reader of Mr King (and especially of the late Mr Bachman), you will not have too much time to reflect about these shortcomings: it's the kind of "power" novel that make you put down your work, neglect hot meals and you will get really mad at any annoying disturbances. The characteristics of a R. Bachman book are there: people in situations of extremity, pushed to the outer limit of their capabilities, trapped in a corner. And, there's the hope that the so tragically deceased Mr Bachman had some more manuscripts in his drawer.

Rating:
Summary: Definitive Bachman
Review: I just read "The Regualtors" again, mostly looking for a "Dark Tower" connection and I had actually read a couple of "Bachman" books, "Thinner" and "The Long Walk", before I found out about his "involvement" with Stephen King. After "Thinner" I did not plan on reading anymore Bachman because he was too pessimistic. The protagonist usually ends up dead or worse, killing the people he cares for most. When I found out Bachman and King were one in the same, I ended up reading all of the stuff King put out under Bachman's name. But of course, I was always hit with that same downer feeling when reading a Bachman story. King's novels may be horrifying but at least the reader is often left with a sense of hope at the end, "Cujo" being the main exception. You feel, after reading a King novel, that, yes the hero or heroine went through hell, but they, or the world in general, are better for the suffering they endured. It makes it a pleasure to re-read King's novels. When "The Regulators" & "Desperation" came out I was excited to read both, but I was a little worried about "The Regulators" with the Bachman name attached. I won't give anything away involving the story, which is gripping and will keep you turning pages, but it is a Bachman story. It does not end on such a sour note like "Thinner", but it will give you a feeling of futility after reading it.
As another reviewer stated, I too found that there were too many characters without enough development. Only one or two became "real", but the rest seemed like so much Regulator gunfire fodder. All in all, "The Regulators" is neat, in that it is a companion piece for "Desperation", and it is a quick read. I finished it in about 7 hours. I would recommend getting one of the used copies listed above for under $.50, I wouldn't pay the $5 price tag for a book you most likely will only read once.

Rating:
Summary: Audiobook Review
Review: This audiobook kept my keen interest, but not just for the usual reasons. One of my major interests is autism, and I was hoping against hope that Richard Bachman could write a convincing autistic character without lapsing into myths of autism, or worse... using autism as a metaphor.

For the majority of the book, Bachman does an excellent job with Seth, especially in creating a believable (at least in the context of the genre) tension between Seth and the intertwined, parasitic intelligence of Tak, whose reality-warping powers are shaped by Seth's perseverations. Speaking of these perseverations, Bachman is able to create two parallel stories... a cartoon series called "MotoKops 2200" and a 1958 western called "The Regulators," both of which Bachman created out of whole cloth, but with enough verisimilitude to feel like independent creations.

The only time Richard Bachman errs in his narration of the autistic Seth is very near the end. He makes the mistake of saying that within his inner world, Seth is not autistic. Autism is far more than a neurological condition; it is a configuration. There is no more a "normal" child within an autistic person than there is cat within them. The other mistake Bachman makes, and within the same paragraph, is to use the term "genius" as an antonym for "autistic." Autism is not a form of mental retardation. While there are some mentally retarded autistics, there are also autistic geniuses, such as Temple Grandin, Carl Sagan, Marie Curie and Albert Einstein. Still, this is forgivable in light of Richard Bachman's knowledge of autism being limited to only that available in the 1980's.

What really struck me most about this book though is Bachman's absolutely sick sense of humor and misanthropic characterizations. I was howling with laughter. No description I could type could explain how truly funny this book is.

One note for the audiobook version only... Frank Muller breaks the "fourth wall" with a note to the editor. The editor did not edit this note out, for whatever reason. While this doesn't change my rating of the book, it does effect the overall flow of Muller's otherwise brilliant narration.


Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I thought it would be......
Review: I read Desperation first, about 3 months before reading this book. I could hardly put Desperation down, thats how good it was to me. I was curious to read The Regulators because I had heard about the similarities to Desperation. It started off pretty good, and I kept reading to see what would happen. Then it just got too drawn out and uneventful, and some parts didn't make any sense to me. I finished the book, but it was definitely not as good as Desperation. I would only recommend it if you just need another King read.

Rating:
Summary: A solid read, surprisingly touching
Review: I too have come back to Stephen King after a few years off. The Regulators is solid, though not a masterpiece. The characters are a little thin- there were so many I had a hard time keeping track. But there is action galore. It's more action-horror than pure horror. And yes, I found it quite touching. The ending won't let you down . . . it makes the trip worthwhile. Give this book a chance.

Rating:
Summary: Miss
Review: Stephen King has his share of hits and misses and THE REGULATORS is a definite miss. I have to give King credit for attempting to create a layered novel--a technique that Avi did with far better results in NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. However, the story was flat and the characters weren't clearly drawn enough for me to keep straight. The plotting was slow and the story should have been cut by about half.
King is prolific, but not every idea should see the light of day. This had the feel of a rush to publish companion to another title. THE REGULATORS could have been a better book--the ideas themselves are interesting enough--had King spent more time thinking about it.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: Ok, wow, I just figured out that this is the sequal to Desperation. I read the Regulators about 4 years ago, but its stayed with me ever since. I often think about it, and how it was so...weird. It really sturck a cord; it's so scary, and it actually made me afraid for a while to go out into my quiet little neighborhood. Anyways, a few days ago I found Desperation at my friends house, and Im about half way done with it now. I had no idea Steven King wrote the Regulators, so while reading Desperation, I was really confused about the similarities (Tak, the wolves/coyotes, etc) and now it all makes sense. So I read them in the wrong order, and once I finish Desperation, Ill have to re-read the Regulators.

Alright, on to the review. The Regulators, like I said before, is something that stays with you for a long time (much like other Steven King novels). Its phsycologically terrifying, horrificly bloody and all those other synonemsis adjectives. It's got a wonderful plot; its not redundant at all from other story lines Ive read or heard of. Its unique and different; this is one of Steven King's best novels.

Rating:
Summary: Alternate versions of grisly, gory, terrifying horror
Review: Our resident master of horror, Stephen King, chalked up another first with the simultaneous 1996 publication of two huge grisly page turners, "Desperation", and under the pseudonym of "the late" Richard Bachman, "The Regulators."

A juxtaposition of the two covers reveals one picture - a menacing suburban landscape overlapping a western ghost town overrun with critters. But the two novels (almost 1200 pages of late nights and disturbing dreams) are each complete in themselves.

"Desperation" is set in a tiny Nevada mining town of the same name and "The Regulators" takes place on one block of an Ohio suburb. What the two novels share is their characters and the same elemental evil force, Tak, which has escaped from a deep mine shaft.

Although King has saved himself some work here - the characters have essentially the same personalities and backgrounds in both books - neither book provides a clue to anyone's fate in the other. The books are not sequential but alternate versions, alternate lives.

In "Desperation" the characters are assembled by Collie Entragian, an outsize cop whose initially strange mix of friendliness and menace is eerily chilling. Apparently at random, he stops passing motorists and carries them off to jail. Some, however, don't make it all the way to jail, and it gradually becomes clear that Entragian has murdered everyone in town. But something weird is happening to the cop, too. He is literally and gorily falling apart.

In "The Regulators" the characters are already assembled as neighbors on Poplar Street. Their glorious summer day is shattered by the arrival of a crayon red van and its armed driver.

Collie Entragian, a former cop drummed off the force on trumped-up charges, attempts to protect his neighbors and preserve the crime scene but the violence quickly escalates out of control. As the street begins a nightmarish metamorphosis into something out of the worst of children's television and old westerns, the strengths and weaknesses of the inhabitants begin to work on all of them - Johnny Marinville, the successful author of children's books, haunted by a dissipated past and a too-vivid vision; Cynthia, the new clerk at the convenience store, whose two-toned hair and irreverent wit obscure a core of decency; Tom Billingsley, the retired veterinarian; Steve Ames, a young man drifting through life, picking up skills.

And then there's Audrey Wyler, the young widow with the autistic nephew, Seth. No one's seen her in a while and at first they scarcely notice her continuing absence amidst all the mayhem. But Audrey's particular hell has been a long time coming. There's a thing in Seth that can bend people to its will and the world to its malevolent vision and it's growing stronger.

In "Desperation," aging Johnny Marinville is only inches away from his former dissipation and still trying to reform his life without giving up his roue image; Steve Ames is the general dogsbody following Marinville on his cross-country tour; Cynthia is the plucky hitchhiker Steve picks up; Tom Billingsley is an old alcoholic veterinarian from Desperation (and why didn't Collie kill him? we wonder) and Audrey is a mining engineer who has managed to hide out from Collie.

The Carvers, also present in "The Regulators" are reversed in "Desperation" - the parents are the children and vice versa. Thus, David, the child touched by God whose role is pivotal in "Desperation," is just an early adult corpse in "The Regulators."

The child - his individual strength as well as innocence and purity of vision - are key in both books. And in "The Regulators," King adds a twist - good and evil battling it out within the same small body.

As always, King's writing zips along and no one can beat him for sheer terror - the opening chapters of "Desperation" are scarier than any of the gore which follows. But the sheer volume of horrors numbs the reader's imagination eventually. In a lesser writer's hands both books could fizzle but King's characters are human beings and we care what happens to them. With King, you never know if the good guys are going to make it until the last page is turned.

Rating:
Summary: Definitive Bachman
Review: I just read "The Regualtors" again, mostly looking for a "Dark Tower" connection and I had actually read a couple of "Bachman" books, "Thinner" and "The Long Walk", before I found out about his "involvement" with Stephen King. After "Thinner" I did not plan on reading anymore Bachman because he was too pessimistic. The protagonist usually ends up dead or worse, killing the people he cares for most. When I found out Bachman and King were one in the same, I ended up reading all of the stuff King put out under Bachman's name. But of course, I was always hit with that same downer feeling when reading a Bachman story. King's novels may be horrifying but at least the reader is often left with a sense of hope at the end, "Cujo" being the main exception. You feel, after reading a King novel, that, yes the hero or heroine went through hell, but they, or the world in general, are better for the suffering they endured. It makes it a pleasure to re-read King's novels. When "The Regulators" & "Desperation" came out I was excited to read both, but I was a little worried about "The Regulators" with the Bachman name attached. I won't give anything away involving the story, which is gripping and will keep you turning pages, but it is a Bachman story. It does not end on such a sour note like "Thinner", but it will give you a feeling of futility after reading it.
As another reviewer stated, I too found that there were too many characters without enough development. Only one or two became "real", but the rest seemed like so much Regulator gunfire fodder. All in all, "The Regulators" is neat, in that it is a companion piece for "Desperation", and it is a quick read. I finished it in about 7 hours. I would recommend getting one of the used copies listed above for under $.50, I wouldn't pay the $5 price tag for a book you most likely will only read once.

Rating:
Summary: Decent, but for completists only
Review: Without question, this one doesn't begin to stack up against Desperation. Some new elements fall into place, but nothing too exciting.