Rating: Summary: Not his best, but pretty good Review: I've read a lot of Stephen King before reading "The Long Walk", and I can't say that this is his best work...because it's not. However, this is far from his worst...in fact, I don't think he's ever written anything bad. But some of his books are better than others."The Long Walk" takes place in Maine as usual. (If you're a King fan, this shouldn't be surprising.) One hundred walkers are chosen at random to particapate in the Long Walk...one of them is Ray Garraty, a sixteen year old from Maine, and is nicknamed 'Maine's Own'. He must outwalk all other ninety nine walkers to win the Prize: anything he wants. However, there are a few catches. If you slow down, you get a warning. If you stop, you get a warning. If you sit down, you get a warning. See a pattern forming? You should. If you collect three warnings, the next results in death...you're shot, plain and simple. Throughout the walk, Garraty meets many friends, which makes the walk harder considering they're all going to die in the end...except for one, but the odds that one of the "Musketeers" are very slim. I enjoyed this book more than others that I have read. It moves slower than "The Running Man", but faster than most others. There isn't a lot of action, however, and the book mainly focuses on the fear and the pain the walkers go through. I recommend this book if you're a dedicated King reader, but not if you're just starting off. If you have yet to open one of his novels, you might want to start with "The Running Man" or "'Salem's Lot", but these are just suggestions. Well, anyway, enjoy this one...it's quick and fun to read, not some of the massive dictionary-like novels that take months to read!
Rating: Summary: Stephen King - with the monster within Review: When most people hear stephen King's name, they expect big monsters and lots of gore.
Not in this case, unless you can see some of the worst off traits of the human race as a mnostrosity.
In this book, we are introduced to an alternate reality. Nothing is very clear, but apparentlu the US is under military rule, under the Major. Every year, 100 boys go on something which is called the Long Walk. They boys just have to walk from Maine south, at a speed of 4 miles an hour. Anyone walking slower, in the wrong direction, or just happens to stop too long for whatever reason (legitimate as it may be) - gets a warning. After 3 warnings - he dies. If he manages to walk for an hour without being warned again - a warning is taken off. The last boy left walking is the winner, and the prize is - anything he wants. Every year, crowds gather to watch the boys walking.
But as the walk progresses, and the boys realize most of them would not survive and the next person killed might be you - the attraction of the walk is quickly wearing off, and the horror of exhersion or death is growing.
Rating: Summary: Maybe his best. Review: This one is little known compared to It and the Stand, among others. But it may be his best. One of the more fast paced Stephen Kind novels. I gave it to a buddy and he stayed up to 4AM reading it. I would recomend it and any of the others he wrote as Bachman.
Rating: Summary: Better the second time Review: I read the long walk about a year ago, and while it amazed me to the extent that it was refreshing and unique, I was still unsure about it. I recently read it for a second time about a week ago and realized how much I enjoyed the adventure that plays out for the main character (Ray Garraty). Truely excellent. I laughed, I cried, and by the end I was emotionally spent. Great Read.
Rating: Summary: Critique Review: I think that The long walk by Steven King is a great story, and anyone who reads this book will love it. It is suspenful, it keeps you on the edge of your seat never wanting to put it down so you can find out what happens next. It also has great imagery and structure. Another plus to this book is that it has a lesson. Never take life for granted, one day you can be having a good time and the next you could be dead. Like in this book.
Rating: Summary: Unreal! Review: It's the Future of reality TV. One Hundered boys start walking down the road. They have to go faster than four miles an hour and cannot slow down below that rate more than three times. If they do they are shot in the head. That's it. That's all there is to this masterpiece. One boy wins the prize, the rest pay the price. This is more of a psychological terror book than anything else. We are in the mind of sixteen year old Ray Garraty as he walks down the road. We learn the why people would walk, and what keeps them going, and what happens when death is less painful than the next step. As I read this book I could not help but wonder how long I could last. As Ray learns it is not about the fittest or the strongest or even who has the best shoes. To be champion of the long walk takes something more. Of all of Bachman's book this is the one that is most in need of being read. It truly is a great journey and one that every reader of terror must go on
Rating: Summary: A Must Read Review: The Long Walk story essentially revolves around an endurance race between 100 boys, each one representing a different part of the United States, willingly contending in an annual race were the participants had to keep walking until they couldn't go on and then be eliminated one by one until the last one standing was declared the winner. The interesting thing about the race is that each eliminated boy is shot on the spot by armed guards.
Stephen King masterfully describes the whole ordeal that these kids have to go trough in detail. He manages to take the simplest of ideas and make a complex and hard to put down story. Stephen King never really gives any solid background history about why this horrific ritual takes place, or what kind of sick world these youths live in, but what he does is give hints that that let you figure a lot of information by yourself. That manages to make the story all the more dark and enjoyable.
Although this is not King's best written book, it is by far the one book written by him that managed to keep me on the edge of my seat until the very end. A must read for any Stephen King fan.
Rating: Summary: What happened? Review: I'm a Stephen King fan, but this book fell short of my expectations. The story was captivating until I reached the end when I realized that none of my questions were going to be answered. I was left confused, empty, and angry that the reader wasn't given more. I would have given this one star, but the cold horror that is Stephen King is present and doesn't disappoint in that respect. But overall, it's a disappointment.
Rating: Summary: I was unable to book down this book! Review: Wow, this book kept me turning pages quicker than thought imaginable. I generally read anything, but majority is either classics, fantasy, or science fiction. But my guitar instructor suggested I read this book, so last week I ordered it, and read it within three days. Generally I don't breeze through a book like that. The story unfolds, and it keeps you questioning left and right about whats going to happen next, why are they in this walk, who is going to buy the next ticket. I suggest anyone who is even mildly interested to read it. As you read the book, you start to feel like you are one of the fellow walkers, experiencing the agony, and befriending everyone. By the final chapters, you've personally become friends with everyone, wishing they don't buy the ticket. The only thing I didn't like was the swift ending, but other than that it was an amazing novel.
Rating: Summary: Couldn't put it down Review: The book The Long Walk is probably the most shocking book you'll ever read. It was an amazing book cover to cover, because when you aren't wondering what these kids are doing, you are trying to figure out who was going to make it to the end. It kept my attention the entire time and I would find myself up late at night, needing to get up early, reading this suspenseful book. Stephen King did a very good job writing this one as he does with all his books. He wrote it under the name of Richard Bachman as he did with many books early in his career until this secret was discovered.
The book is centered around a boy named Ray Garraty who has been invited to be a part of the long walk. The long walk is a race/contest that everyone in the country knows well and respects. Everyone seems to want to have their kid be a part of it, mainly because of the prize you get if you're the winner. King never gets too specific with what the prize is; he leaves that up to your imagination. To win this race you have to walk an extremely long distance without stopping, never going below the speed of four mph. This means you're not able to stop for anything, including eating, going to the bathroom and there's absolutely no sleeping. If you slow down too many times or break any of the rules, you are eliminated from the contest. That's the reason that the race lasts so long is because it doesn't end until there is only one person left. No one is willing to give up and lose after all the hard work they've done. Then, of course, there's some extra motivation to not fall behind that I will not mention so as not to ruin the book for you. During the book you get to see how the boys react to what's going on around them and the bonds they make with each other. King does a really good job of showing how people would actually react in the situation and also shows certain other, more, insane ways of acting that legitimately could happen.
As you read this book and come to realize what is actually going on, you start to wonder what kind of society and government would allow something like this to happen. Not only that, but what kind of people watch and look forward to such an event. I think one of the things King might be getting at is the way that people can be entertained by the most disturbing things. This event is watched on TV and respected by people across the country. But when people who are watching this in person find out what is going on, their reaction is no longer an entertained one, it's more of a shocked and surprised reaction. It kind of shows how people don't really know what's going on in the world they are entertained by. They watch these things thinking it's something so great, but when you see it in real life you realize that it's a horrible thing to go through. This is one of the things I like about Stephen King books; he creates an incredible story and then also puts some meaning behind it that makes you think.
Over all this is one of the best books I've ever read. It was interesting, suspenseful and terrifying like most of King's books. The only problem I had with the book was the ending. I am, however, rarely satisfied with endings, but in this story there really is no winner to the contest. Yes, someone does finish the contest but it definitely is not a happy ending and just kind of leaves you off in mid thought. Sometimes this just adds to the story and makes you use your imagination a bit, but I would like to have a little more closure to it. Despite this, The Long Walk comes highly recommended from me and would be enjoyed by anyone who is a fan of reading.
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