Full review now posted!

Before The Hunger Games, there was The Long Walk. Except this was way, way more disturbing.

There are going to be spoilers ahead for the overarching plot, though not specifics regarding individual characters. I can’t think of any other way to review this book, so consider yourself warned.

Imagine a version of America that is completely obsessed with an annual “game” known as the Long Walk. In this new national pastime, teenage boys from all around the nation put their names into a lottery in hopes of being selected for the Walk. One hundred boys are selected each year to march in the Long Walk, and the last one walking gets the Prize, or anything his heart desires for the rest of his life. And the entire nation watches and places bets on the outcome. People adore the Long Walk, and the Walkers. Doesn’t sound that bad, right?

Well, if a Walker slows below four miles per hour, he gets a warning. If he doesn’t speed up within 30 seconds, he gets another. His third warning is his last, and if he doesn’t pick up the pace after that last warning, he “buys his ticket.” Unfortunately for the boys, that ticket is a bullet. Losing the Walk means losing your life. And there are no breaks during the walk. None. Once you start walking, you walk until you win or you die.

Do you know what the most disturbing part is? No boy goes into the Walk blind. Every single boy that signs up to join the walk knows exactly what to expect. They know that they’ll die if they lose. And yet they volunteer anyway. That’s right, every single participant is a volunteer. No one is ever forced to join the Walk.

Why on earth would anyone willingly sign up for a game that leaves 99 out of its 100 participants dead? Well, teenagers tend to believe they’re invincible, that they’ll live forever. Most of them honestly believe that they’ll win. However, many of them have an ulterior motive; for reasons beyond their conscious grasp, they want to die. This way, they either get their wish or live in the lap of luxury for the rest of their lives.

What made this so disturbing for me was the fact that every single participant and spectator understood the rules. No one was surprised by the deaths. The spectators howling their approval from the sidelines and fighting over bloody shoes as mementos was incredibly disturbing. I felt like one of those morbid spectators, as I couldn’t tear my focus away from the Walkers; it was like watching a train wreck. However, in my opinion the most macabre element of the story was the foreknowledge of the Walkers themselves, and the fact that they chose their fate.

This was an insanely dark story, perhaps one of the darkest I’ve ever read. King was right when he said that Bachman was his rainy day alter ego in the introduction to this book. While I still felt that the story was decidedly King in style, the tone was darker and more cynical and hopeless than we usually get from the King of horror. The Long Walk is without a doubt compelling, but its plausibility will keep you up at night.

Original review can be found at Booknest.

One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. We are walking with Ray Garraty, one of boys participating. The rules are strict. No outside help. No slowing down. You are given three warning, then you pay with your life. Winning is simple be the last boy standing...well still walking. As we walk with Ray we meet the other boys, witness their deaths, and dig hard to find the strength to remain walking. This is my favorite short story by King. His ways with words drops you right on the road with the boys. You feel their pain, their sadness, and their courage.

3.5 stars.

FINALLY I got round to reading The Long Walk. After reading Rage over a year ago now, I have felt compelled to return to my collection of The Bachman Books for ages, but have resisted picking the tome back up until now. Why I waited I don't know, because as usual King/Bachman's writing was so much fun, and the world he creates nightmarish and immersive.

100 boys are picked to participate in an ultra-marathon competition called The Long Walk. Only one of them can win - the prize being anything they want in the world, seemingly for the rest of their lives. All they have to do to take part is walk. And walk. And walk. Walk until only one of them is left on their feet, and all the others are dead.

This is a brutal book that reminded me a lot of later books like Battle Royale and The Hunger Games. It still amazes me how much King can make of such a simple plotline - I mean if you think about it, all these boys are doing is walking. On and on for hundreds of miles. All the reader is left with are the boys themselves, their tentative friendships and the character development that comes along with that, the horrific depictions of an occasional death, and the inner thoughts of the main character Ray and the horrendous pain he's in. It's hard to write something that is still compelling when it is essentially repetitive in nature, but King manages it. I will say that the ending was a little too abrupt for my liking, even if I did like how it eventually concluded, but there was lots that I really enjoyed - particularly the little curveballs King threw at me about who the main antagonist of the participants would end up being.

Overall a highly entertaining book, but quite tough to get through at times. It's relentless, and I doubt I would re-read it, but I'm so glad that I can finally tick this one off my mammoth King to-read list.

The next book on my journey reading all SK's books in publication order. Wow. I have read so many Stephen King books now and this one is up there with the absolute best. I felt tired whilst reading this, the way SK can make you feel like you right there in the story is amazing.

The premise of this book is one of a kind, people volunteer for The Long Walk knowing what that will probably mean for their future. This is a dystopian story which are my favourites, but this one is done so differently. Although this is just a book ultimately about 1000 boys walking it is packed full with emotion, doubt and hopelessness. In parts the feeling of hopelessness is almost unbearable to read.

I think this is a good place to start if you haven't read a SK book before it is full of suspense and has some horror/gore but not too much, it is so unique too I've never read anything quite like this.

As endings go this is one of my favourites but I can see why people don't like it, you have to make your own mind up. Considering this isn't the longest book ever the character development it also really well done, and you end up feeling for all the boys on the walk even if you only know some of them by numbers. What makes this more haunting is that this isn't that far fetched and it could happen and there's nothing scarier than reality.

Let's talk about war! That's what this book is about, right? RIGHT.

"The Long Walk" is set in a dystopian America where every year, 100 teenage boys are selected to compete in a competition to the death. The boys are taken to a road at the Canadian-Maine border and told to start walking. If they don't walk fast enough, they're shot to death. Last one alive wins.

Yes, there are comparisons to be made to The Hunger Games, but I'd rather focus on this war metaphor. I recommend reading the book with the perspective that it's a commentary on how senseless it is when a country sends its youth to fight to the death. One memorable scene was when a 400-gun salute was arranged at a mid-point of the walk to honor those who were still alive, but the boys were already shells of themselves, and the noise from the guns was overwhelming and disgustingly reminiscent of the shots used to kill the slow walkers. I read that and thought about soldiers returning home from war to cheering crowds, but no one ever really understands what they've been through.

Toward the end of the walk, the remaining boys make a pact not to help each other any more. Up to this point, there had been some group support. The main character, Ray Garraty, notes that their humanity is gone: "Now I'm an animal, nothing but a dirty, tired, stupid animal." War will do that to you.

Did you know this was Stephen King's earliest novel? He wrote it when he was just 18. While reading it, I could picture the young King hunched over his typewriter, earnestly banging out this story. What was sweet (and this may be the first time that adjective has been used to describe a King book) is how he name-checked some of his favorite authors. At various points in the book characters mention Ray Bradbury, J.D. Salinger, Shirley Jackson and Wilkie Collins. Yeah, young writers do that, and it's sweet.

Note: I was inspired to read this book after hearing about James Smythe's project to reread all of Stephen King's books in chronological order. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/serie...) His posts are great and you might be inspired to pick up a King book you haven't read before.

Every year, 100 boys take part in a nightmarish pilgrimage called The Long Walk, the winner receiving The Prize and a ton of cash. Ray Garraty is one of the contestants. Will he win The Prize or be one of the ninety-nine dead boys on the road?

Wow. And I thought the six mile hike I went on in October was rough. Imagine walking non-stop, day and night, and getting shot if you stop too long? That's the horror of The Long Walk.

The Long Walk takes place in a slightly different reality, where Germany had a nuclear reactor in Santiago in 1953, and where the Major runs a spectacle ever year, The Long Walk. The Long Walk seems like an ancestor of The Hunger Games in some ways, although the Long Walk seems to be voluntary.

Unlike the Hunger Games, this book is pretty brutal. Imagine having to go to the bathroom in front of a crowd of spectators while continuously walking. And never being able to sleep. And seeing people gunned down in front of you after they've been warned three times. Like I said, pretty brutal.

As usual, Stephen King crafts an interesting cast. Garraty, McVries, Stebbins, Barkovitch, Scramm, the list is pretty long for a short book. Part of the brutality is that you don't know whose ticket is going to get punched next.

I really wanted to give this a five but I couldn't. My lone problem with this one was the dialogue. So many of the boys sounded like they were in their twenties or thirties rather than being teenagers. Usually, I find King's dialogue a lot more realistic but it pulled me out of the story a few times.

4.5 out of 5. I'm going to track down more of these Bachman books of King's now.

n  “Any game looks straight if everyone is being cheated at once.”n

This book has been on my TBR for so many years and I couldn't possibly tell you why I hadn't gotten around to it sooner. Something about the premise of people selling their livelihood away for the tiniest chance of instantaneous, lifelong bliss has always horrified and fascinated me—especially in an instance like this, where 100 boys begin the journey and only one sees the end of it.

n  “They're animals, all right. But why are you so goddamn sure that makes us human beings?”n

I went into The Long Walk expecting more of a typical horror novel—guts, gore, some sort of terrifying twist—and what I got was full-on, real world horror: watching a group of young men literally walk to their deaths in front of crowds of frenzied on-lookers, being reminded that, at the end of the day, a lot of folks just want to watch someone else's real, honest suffering.

✨ Content warnings for: violence, gun violence, gore, death, homophobia, racism, ableism, body-shaming, slur usage, public humiliation, mentions of attempted rape

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„Дългата разходка“ е една от най-силните антиутопии, които съм чел! В нея се разказва за смъртоносно риалити състезание, в което от 100 стартиращи момчета ще оцелее само едно, което издържи най-дълго време на непрекъснато ходене. След три предупреждения за забавяне или отклонение от пътя, отпадналият от играта участник бива застрелван на място от безмилостни военни, които организират „разходката“. Състезанието приключва когато остане само един жив победител, който получава голяма награда по свое желание. Това брутално ежегодно събитие се случва в условията на някакъв вид бъдеща диктатура и при наличието на огромен брой безлични зрители, които се забавляват и залагат пари... През погледа на главния герой Рей Гарати, който в началото не осъзнава защо се е записал в „Дългата разходка“, ставаме свидетели на трудностите и огромното психологическо напрежение сред участниците...

За разлика от повечето романи на Стивън Кинг, в този няма свръхестествени елементи, а е опростена, но и разтърсваща антиутопична история!



„— Причината всичко това да е толкова ужасно, — рече Макврайс — се крие в неговата тривиалност. Разбираш ли? Продадохме телата и заменихме душите си за една тривиалност. Олсон беше тривиален. Вярно, беше и великолепен, но тези неща не се изключват взаимно.“

4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐





Favorite Quotes:

"99 bottles of beer on the wall and if one of those bottles should happen to fall.."

"But of course it had hurt. It had hurt before, in the worst, rupturing way, knowing there would be no more you but the universe would roll on just the same, unharmed and unhampered."

"They’re animals, all right. But why are you so goddam sure that makes us human beings?"

Pros:

-I felt this novel. Physically. My muscles were aching by the end of this, and I think that says something about how well this was written.

-I wouldn't say that I had low expectations going into this book, but I was a little concerned that it would get repetitive since the entire book is centered around "The Long Walk". It didn't. In fact, I had a hard time stopping this once I started it.. I needed to know what happened next!

-I really enjoyed the point in this novel where I started rooting for certain characters. It almost felt like these characters were real, and The Long Walk was something that was actually taking place.

Cons:

-The ending. I mean I get it, but it WAS a little anticlimactic for me!

Tras esta review, fijo que tengo 20 amigos menos....

Al tema.

La Larga Marcha, o como leer mi primer King y descubrir que es un tratado de Filosofía de la mano de chavales americanos de 18 años en una America de la que no nos dan detalles dentro de un argumento simplón en el que no nos terminan de explicar nada de nada.

Para Filosofía ya tuve mi época de Nitzche, Schopenhauer, Freud, Kafka y compañía....y, joder, casi abandono el hábito lector. Si os va ese tema bien, oye, que aquí cada uno lee lo que le da la gana, faltaría más.

Y sí, reconozco que King tiene oficio porque no pasa NADA de interés en las 355 págs y aun así le he acabado. Pero es que eso de leer todo el rato sobre reflexiones acerca de amor, muerte, miedos, homosexualidad, culpa, crueldad, soberbia, deseos, impotencia, envidias, etc, etc, etc, como que no es ni lo que me esperaba ni lo que me apetece leer. Es una historia contada con un rollo depresivo de preocupar.

Pero ni terror, ni angustia. Que es lo mínimo con lo que yo asociaba al autor. Error.

Ah!, y del final del libro mejor no digo nada, porque la frase que me ha salido al acabar de leer acababa en “”...madre!” (y qué culpa tendrá la pobre madre del King, digo yo)


Primer King, primer fracaso.

Un libro que te mantiene en vilo durante toda la historia, a pesar de ser el relato de una marcha prácticamente interminable de 100 jóvenes, donde sólo uno será el sobreviviente, logra mantener el interés en la trama y sobre todo en la sobrevivencia y los motivos de estas.
A pesar de lo desesperante que resulta, hasta incluso cansador imaginar la marcha, lo disfruté muchísimo y es algo totalmente diferente a lo que he leído, sin duda, una trama original, que no podía ser de otro, sino del gran maestro King.

Jesus Christ. A long walk indeed, Steve. A long walk in-fucking-deed.