In this #1 national bestseller, “master storyteller” (Houston Chronicle) Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives. In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded … be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules—keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you’re out—permanently.
A “psychologically dark tale with commentary on society, teenage life, and cultural entertainment, The Long Walk is still poignant decades after its original publication” (Publishers Weekly). This edition features an introduction by Stephen King on “The Importance of Being Bachman.”
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Set in a vision of a future I’m not sure any of us would like to become reality, a group of selected adolescent boys set out on an annual event, ‘The Long Walk’ of the title. It’s winner take all, literally, and we see the challenge through the eyes of Ray Garraty, #47, our hero.
Before the first casualty, I found myself wondering what the consequences were of ‘getting your ticket’ and dropping out of the race, and was completely caught off guard by the severity of that reward.
The gimmick of the idea for the book could easily become hokey in other hands, but King (writing as Richard Bachman) doesn’t allow that to happen. Somewhat reluctantly, Garraty begins to form friendships/bonds with the other boys, but at the back of your mind the reader knows only one of them is going to survive.
Tragic, twisted, exhausting and memorable.
This is one of my favorite King books (up there with Misery). This huge group of teenage boys has to walk nonstop to the finish line. They stop, they die. They slow too much too often they die. Only one will make it to the end. It’s gruesome! And even worse is that everyone is rooti g for their favorites like its the olympics or something. Check it out, it’s so worth it!
100 young men volunteer to participate in the Long Walk. The winner is rewarded with riches and whatever his heart desires. But there can only be one winner – one survivor.
As a long time King fan, I’m not sure how I missed reading this book until now but I’m glad I finally got around to reading it.
As always, King is not only the master of horror, but of the intricacies of relationships and friendships. And, as the men walk, the grimness of their situation creeps closer and closer to despair and madness. A brilliant story.
Well this was a disturbingly dark story. One hundred boys meet up for a race known as “The Long Walk” but only one can win and what happens during that race is enough to chill anyone. This story is haunting in its own way and will literally make you feel the pain these boys go through. I loved the ending even though it left me wanting to know more.
Before there was the Hunger Games and similar, there was the Long Walk. I think it was originally published under his Richard Bachman alias so many fans may have missed it. It is not a YA book really although the characters are teens.
I read this for the first time maybe 25 years ago and it still makes me cry to think about it. Much more profound and thought provoking than all of its millennial doppelgängers. No monsters, no crazy people, no gore, just great writing.
Not my favorite King book, but very thought provoking. You have to wonder how bad it actually was for these kids to join a lottery to enter this walk and why their parents would go along with their choices. The background on this book would be enough for a whole other book. Scary, brutal, forecast of the future?
Not for anyone who wants a happy ending
This was originally a bachman book, and I read it before King revealed he was Bachman. Having read without King favoritism I found the book extremely entertaining and a real page turner not because it was so action oriented but wanting to see what happened next. This was one of the first dystopian novel I ever read and made me start looking for more like this.
As an international hiker I could easily relate to this story and in fact visualized it as I hiked from Dallas to Buffalo in 2006. great reading!
This is Stephen King at his creepy best. I’m on vacation and I ripped through this in a day. As I read, the water became less blue, the beach became less sunny, the drinks stopped getting the job done…LOL. You get the idea, getting pulled into Stephen King’s world, even for a day, is a dark, dark place.
Also? Suzanne Collins ripped off Stephen King so shamelessly in writing The Hunger Games that I have secondhand embarrassment for her.
Great king short work.
Knowing how twisted King is (he wrote this under his other name lol), I knew I was in for a treat but I was not expecting this story at all. I caught myself yelling at the characters as I was reading it. It kept me on the edge which is a trait King has with many of his stories. If you’re a fan of his, you’ve got to read this book!
You’ll never forget this book.
Its king for gosh sakes, it is great.
Couldn’t imagine being in that situation.
Stop walking and you die!
I have read it twice and will probably read it again. A true Stephen King tale.
Suspenseful!
The Long Walk, Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman), 1979
My favorite quote: “They walked through the rainy dark like gaunt ghosts, and Garraty didn’t like to look at them. They were the walking dead.”
Notable characters: Ray Garraty, the main Walker; McVries, a Walker who befriends Garraty; Stebbins, a Walker with a secret; the crowd, their real nemesis
Most memorable scene: An uprising along the way
Greatest strength: It’s haunting sense ot reality. You’ll feel your feet get tired before you’re halfway through
Standout achievements: Creating a reality TV vibe before reality TV was a thing
Fun facts: While not the first one published, The Long Walk is the first novel Stephen King wrote. He began it in 1966, during his Freshman year at the University of Maine, when he was only eighteen years old
What it taught me about writing: That even a story about people walking can be riveting if the stakes are high and the characters are interesting
How it inspired my own work: I’ve always seen a little Ray Garraty in Cade Colter, my protagonist in the Vampires of Crimson Cove series
My rating: 4.5 of 5
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
Stephen King wrote The Long Walk under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. The story is very well constructed. You would think a story about people walking themselves to death cold be boring but Stephen keeps the action rolling throughout. My only complaint is its ending (which I will not spoil here) but after following the main character for hundreds of miles, the ending seemed less than Ray Garraty had earned. It’s like a roller coaster that pulls you higher and higher only to find out at the top that there is no drop. Read it and you’ll see what I mean.
Whenever I’m asked what is my favorite book of all time, it’s an easy question for me to answer because I’ve been giving the same one for decades. I read this for the first time as a teenager and the book kindled my love of dystopian fiction to the point it is now the genre I write in. Everything about this book from the character development, the world building, the action – it’s perfection. I re-read it every so many years, and every time I’m blown away by how much I still admire the writing and storytelling. An absolute must read for dystopian lovers.
Having read the book and loving it very much I was eager to listen to this audio book. Unfortunately I just couldn’t get behind the narrator’s voice. She was much to monotone and kept making grammatical errors as well as pausing in all the wrong places.
This version I listened to was a download from YouTube and there was no credit given to the narrator.