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A review by beaconatnight
The Long Walk by Stephen King, Richard Bachman
3.0
The Long Walk refers to a contest where one hundred kids set out to walk the U.S. Route 1. The conditions for their march are frankly morbid, since they are ruthlessly shot when they drop below four miles per hour, the goal being a large sum of money for the last boy standing (or walking).
The participants sign up "freely", which gives you a good idea how bleak and hopeless their world must be. That's all you really learn about the world. Fictional author "Richard Bachman" won't bother his readers with exhaustive info dumping or background story to draw from in the main narrative. There only is the main narrative. It's thrilling at the start, but I felt a bit simplistic later on (I'll come back to that).
Actually, it's not like we need a proper introduction, since the protagonists represent familiar stereotypes. Not necessarily the kind that is common in genre fiction, rater the kind you've met in your own school days. The ones you know perhaps if you are still at school. Given these self-imposed constraints I don't think Garraty, McVries, or Stebbins are among Stephen King's strongest characters (far from it), but from the moments before the game even started you feel like you know the kind of people you are dealing with.
The minimalist storytelling is reflected by minimalist prose, with occasional beauty to the Americana. For the most part, don't expect extensive dialog, either. Bonds between the Walkers are formed based on their shared experience, the sickening atmosphere being well conveyed by the writing style.
The narrative is not without a certain degree of depth, either. In their bare-bones interactions the survivors address themes like the incommensurability of life, loneliness, comradeship, homosexuality, or guilt. It's nothing that would make you think (at least for me it wasn't), but they gave the story an overall melancholic vibe that somewhat resonated with me. Certainly more than the actual details of the kids' lives or the mostly inconsequential reveals at the very end.
One last word about the premise. Initially, it bothered me quite a bit. Often I thought, who would actually sign up for that? But this is actually what stayed with me days after finishing the novel. When I go on hikes, much joy comes from testing out how far you can go. Imagine how different it would be if you had to go on, no matter what. Obviously I wouldn't do it, but I'm genuinely intrigued about the extreme thrill that may accompany it.
Rating: 3/5
The participants sign up "freely", which gives you a good idea how bleak and hopeless their world must be. That's all you really learn about the world. Fictional author "Richard Bachman" won't bother his readers with exhaustive info dumping or background story to draw from in the main narrative. There only is the main narrative. It's thrilling at the start, but I felt a bit simplistic later on (I'll come back to that).
Actually, it's not like we need a proper introduction, since the protagonists represent familiar stereotypes. Not necessarily the kind that is common in genre fiction, rater the kind you've met in your own school days. The ones you know perhaps if you are still at school. Given these self-imposed constraints I don't think Garraty, McVries, or Stebbins are among Stephen King's strongest characters (far from it), but from the moments before the game even started you feel like you know the kind of people you are dealing with.
The minimalist storytelling is reflected by minimalist prose, with occasional beauty to the Americana. For the most part, don't expect extensive dialog, either. Bonds between the Walkers are formed based on their shared experience, the sickening atmosphere being well conveyed by the writing style.
The narrative is not without a certain degree of depth, either. In their bare-bones interactions the survivors address themes like the incommensurability of life, loneliness, comradeship, homosexuality, or guilt. It's nothing that would make you think (at least for me it wasn't), but they gave the story an overall melancholic vibe that somewhat resonated with me. Certainly more than the actual details of the kids' lives or the mostly inconsequential reveals at the very end.
One last word about the premise. Initially, it bothered me quite a bit. Often I thought, who would actually sign up for that? But this is actually what stayed with me days after finishing the novel. When I go on hikes, much joy comes from testing out how far you can go. Imagine how different it would be if you had to go on, no matter what. Obviously I wouldn't do it, but I'm genuinely intrigued about the extreme thrill that may accompany it.
Rating: 3/5