The Long Walk

by Stephen King, Richard Bachman

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2574 ratings, 4.03 average rating, 166 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		38%
4		32%
3		22%
2		5%
1		0%

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published

April 1st 1999 by Signet

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

isbn

0451196716 (isbn13: 9780451196712)

description

Phenomenal bestselling horror. On the first day of May, one hundred teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as "The Long Wal...more

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Andy rated it:

12/02/07

The book I chose to read was called The Long Walk by Stephen King. I have read several books by him, The Shining, The Stand, IT, Cujo, Pet Sematary, and Needful Things, plus a short story called “Crouch End”. I thoroughly enjoyed all those books, so I decided to read another. When it came time to pick one out of the library, The Long Walk was the only one that wasn’t a short story collection, so I checked that one out. The story is, once again, set in Maine, in a despotic and totalitarian...more The book I chose to read was called The Long Walk by Stephen King. I have read several books by him, The Shining, The Stand, IT, Cujo, Pet Sematary, and Needful Things, plus a short story called “Crouch End”. I thoroughly enjoyed all those books, so I decided to read another. When it came time to pick one out of the library, The Long Walk was the only one that wasn’t a short story collection, so I checked that one out. The story is, once again, set in Maine, in a despotic and totalitarian alternate history, with the main character named Ray Garraty. An annual competition is held each year, called the Long Walk, run by a man called the Major. One hundred teenage boys are chosen for the competition, and they see how long they can walk, nonstop, at no less than 4 miles per hour. The walkers get a warning if they drop below 4 mph. If a walker gets three warnings, he gets a ticket, and is shot by the guards. The last person alive wins “The Prize”, anything they want for the rest of their life. During the walk, Garraty befriends a few people, including McVries, and Stebbins. Most of the walkers die from foot cramps, falling down from fatigue, but some go crazy. Garraty is eventually declared the winner, but leaves during his celebration to follow a “dark man” (Flagg?).

The book, although definitely not King’s best work, has very few flaws. One flaw is that the book begins to drag a little in the middle. The story begins to slow down at that point, before picking up again near the end. And, like King’s other books, it has a fairly slow beginning.

The overall mindset of this book was absolutely chilling, just like all his others. It is the only King book I have read so far to be set in an alternate future. Like The Stand, and IT, it has many different characters, but they are all in the same place throughout the novel, so King doesn’t need to shift storylines between chapters. This makes the book a lot smoother to read.

Despite the aforementioned weaknesses, this book is overall a great read. It is a science fiction/ horror book that sounds like it could be real. It is a frightening story that sounds like it could happen. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like the Stephen King writing style. If you are new to King, read The Shining or Pet Sematary.
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Dan rated it:

08/20/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: Long distance walkers, totalitarianists and extreme optimists.

The Long Walk is simply exhausting to read. I found myself keep drifting in and out of sleep, needing to eat, drink, and use the bathroom. But most of all, my feet ached a little more after each page. This is not because the book was bad and that I was losing attention, it was simply because I was so involved in the story. I was walking WITH them.The premise is simple and I'm sure if you're reading this review you're aware of what its about. The fact that the story is so simple, allows for it to...more

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Kym rated it:

05/25/08

bookshelves: horror-scifi-fantasy

Read in January, 2007

In reading The Long Walk, I think it's important to make the distinction between a Stephen King novel and a Richard Bachman novel. The essay at the beginning of The Long Walk, "The Importance of Being Bachman," talks about why Stephen King decided that he needed to create an alter ego who could say the things that he could not. The Bachman alter ego is darker than king, has a different sort of humor, and is not the sort of man you'd want to invite to dinner. Accordingly, though all Kin...more

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Mike rated it:

04/19/08

Read in April, 2008

This is one of a few books I have that can I pick up and re-read when I have nothing else to read or am just too lazy to run to the bookstore. Does anyone else have books that they've read half a dozen times which are just good 'filler' books (for lack of a better word)?

100 teenage boys voluntarily line up on a Maine road in mid spring. When the clock strikes 9, the long walk begins. 4 MPH is the minimum speed that must be maintained. If the limit is breached, a warning is issued. If, an hou...more This is one of a few books I have that can I pick up and re-read when I have nothing else to read or am just too lazy to run to the bookstore. Does anyone else have books that they've read half a dozen times which are just good 'filler' books (for lack of a better word)?

100 teenage boys voluntarily line up on a Maine road in mid spring. When the clock strikes 9, the long walk begins. 4 MPH is the minimum speed that must be maintained. If the limit is breached, a warning is issued. If, an hour after being warned, no more warnings are given, one is dropped. You can have a maximum of 3 warnings. The next time you drop below 4 MPH, you're shot. Last boy left walking wins.

Wins what, you might ask? That's not important. "The prize" is mentioned with reverance several times, but never better defined than "whatever you can wish for". What is important are the characters and how they deal with choosing death. What drove them in their lives to risk it all for the chance at the prize? And how will they deal with the insane situation they now find themselves?

At first you think, "Why would anyone throw their life away on almost certain suicide?! It's insane!" There is, after all, only one winner. However, the more you think, the more you begin to rationalize. It sounds so simple. The most innocuous of actions; something we've done almost since birth. All you have to do is walk. I can sympathize so readily with the characters in believing that I could keep up the pace for as long as it took to win. But it's the little things that you don't think about that ruin you. A pebble in a shoe causes a blister. A canteen, drunk too fast, results in a cramp. Charley horses, bathroom breaks, sleep, hunger, delerium, hallucinations, insanity. I love this book.

Stephen King has always been one of my favorite authors when it comes to the art of characterization. I've always firmly believed that if your characters are believable and interesting, the plot is of secondary importance. And King's characters are legendary. Look no further than Needfull Things, The Shining, or The Stand....less

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Ginnie rated it:

11/12/07

bookshelves: mystery-detective

Read in November, 2007

I had mentioned somewhere here on goodreads that the only fiction of Stephen King's I really liked was Thinner, written under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman" A kindly soul pointed me toward Blaze and from there I went to The Long Walk. Hot damn. In some ways it seems to me as though Bachman/King was channeling the Shirley Jackson who wrote The Lottery in this truly amazing book. Whatever he chooses to call himself The Long Walk is the work of an angry, impulsive voice, and it's as...more

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Jeremiah rated it:

12/29/07

bookshelves: own

This is my favorite Stephen King book, and I've read quite a few of them. I've read this one probably a half-dozen times, and it really thrills me every time.

This isn't a horror book, like some of Stephen King's other works. This was the second book in the "Bachman Books" that were released some years ago, and along with "The Running Man," foreshadowed the reality TV epidemic we have today.

The story in "The Long Walk" centers around a competition to see who ca...more

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Andrea rated it:

09/29/08

Read in September, 2008

Not King's typical horror, this book is pretty awesome. It really gets under your skin as these 100 boys begin their "Long Walk." One by one they are picked off (they call it "buying a ticket") until we are desensitized to their horrific deaths. You don't want any of them to "buy a ticket" but there can only be ONE winner. It's a different kind of hell from what we are used to from King, but when you read about the people lined up to see the Walkers and what they go...more

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CherryDarling rated it:

12/21/07

bookshelves: cream--o-the-crop, stephen-king

My favorite, favorite Stephen King/Richard Bachman tale ever. The premise is simple: 100 boys go out for a walk: if they fall behind the pace of 4 mph they will be shot. Whoever endures wins the Prize. It's psychologically intriguing in witnessing the mental and physical crumbling of the boys who pursue their long trek. The dialogue between the characters as they ultimately face their death is just wonderful and induces the reader to search themselves. Every time I read this I fall in love ...more

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Deirdre rated it:

11/21/08

Read in March, 2007

recommended to Deirdre by: mstina1666@yahoo.com
recommends it for: EVERYONE WHO LIKES STORIES LIKE THESE

Unbelieveable. What a concept this man had when he wrote this w/ his "alter ego".
I read this 3 times. I still am amzed each time. Now I am in school studying Jornalism, and it covers creative writing, all my life I wanted o be a writer....eber since zI read my 1s book, I wanted to write. Now I am taking these courses and my Professor is amazed at some of the work I do......bt I am not plagurizing, I am using ideas from some of the bes books I have read. My GPA was over 4.0 but right ...more Unbelieveable. What a concept this man had when he wrote this w/ his "alter ego".
I read this 3 times. I still am amzed each time. Now I am in school studying Jornalism, and it covers creative writing, all my life I wanted o be a writer....eber since zI read my 1s book, I wanted to write. Now I am taking these courses and my Professor is amazed at some of the work I do......bt I am not plagurizing, I am using ideas from some of the bes books I have read. My GPA was over 4.0 but right now I am just in a local tech college until I decide which niversity I want to go to! I was accepted to my choices, bt I had sime family tragedies, my step-brother was murdered,my nephew was kidnapped, so I had to put that off. If anyone knows what college turns out good writers......let me know!
I jst finished my 1st book, It is abot a girl who has o go live w/ her grandparents along w/ her brother and cousins, their parents lived very close and they all went out to dinner and dancing and got into a hrrific crash on the way home.
Their Grandparents were Nazi War Criminals, and instead of being cowards by swallowing cyanide or shooting themseves, they stood trial, the woman got 7 years, her husband 11. They kept meticlous records, all the Nazis, did as yo know, but these two hid their records, because if their records were found, the woman would have done life and her hubby would have been shot behind his ear immediatly. I read all my dad's books, he read James Bond and there were tons of books and all of them had a strange symbol that I saw in the sound of music (I was just 8, mind yo, I was bored with me and my sister's books, I read all the library books I could, my sis checked ot books for me, so then I went to parents books) The werid thing was, I was so yound, and alot of these books were intensely graphic, but I understood them at that age!I am no trying to boast, but after reading horror novels on my moms bookcase now this? I got such a feeling for Jewish people, I wondered how there was any left! I lived in New York, so I went to school with alot of Jewish kids. They are beatiful people.I love Jewish food, too! A Matzah cracker w/ softened btter spread on it.....oh Heaven!
I must say that every one who ready my book loved it. Even my father, who hates most movies except for James Bond and Pink Panther, and some tv shows, he is so picky.......an that is a terrible understatement, he loved my book!He didn't belive I wrote it!
I have to go to the city (NY) to find a publisher.My professor jst finished it and he asked my persmission to fax a few pages to a few people. He told me I will not have any problem getting it published.
I am beginning a new book. I NEED EVERYONE ON THE INERNET TO HELP ME! It is on my page on propeller.com, let me find out the address and I will get back to everyone. Not only I need your help, but you eill recieve royalties! NO JOKE!...less

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Maile rated it:

04/16/08

Read in January, 2008

amazing...incredible story line

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Krys rated it:

10/30/08

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone who likes thrills/psychological terror.

"Your plan and the stuff that comes out of my ***hole bear a suspicious resemblance to eachother."

Ray Garraty along with 99 others are selected from a pool of over thousands to participate in a contest called "The Walk."
Participants start at the top edge of Maine on May 1st every year. They must walk at a pace of 4 miles per hour, never stopping or slowing down under the set mark. If they slow down for any reason, they are issued a warning. Between each warning is 30 se...more

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Tung rated it:

05/16/08

bookshelves: horror

Read in May, 2008

I read most of Stephen King’s stuff years ago when I was in middle school. This is one of the few books of his that I didn’t read – mainly due to the fact that it was released under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, which wasn’t revealed at the time. The Long Walk is radically different from the typical horror stories King writes. Rather, it focuses on psychological horror. The story takes place in some alternate world where the most popular contest in the country is this walking competitio...more I read most of Stephen King’s stuff years ago when I was in middle school. This is one of the few books of his that I didn’t read – mainly due to the fact that it was released under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, which wasn’t revealed at the time. The Long Walk is radically different from the typical horror stories King writes. Rather, it focuses on psychological horror. The story takes place in some alternate world where the most popular contest in the country is this walking competition that occurs on May 1 of each year. 100 young men begin walking at 9:00 am on May 1 and continue walking as long as they can. If they stop walking, if they wander off of the route, or if their speed drops below 4 mph, soldiers accompanying the walkers in a tank shoot and kill them. All of this is done n front of television cameras and large crowds that line parts of the route (if this existed in the real world, I would totally watch this). The winner of the walk gets his every wish answered for the rest of his life. The book details the thoughts and behaviors of main character Ray Garrity and the “friends” he makes with some of the other walkers as they physically struggle to stay alive, and as they mentally struggle and come to grips with the vicious deaths around them, and their participation in this insane game. Overall, this is one of King’s better books, and the psychological wrestling that he details in here is well done. But I had two issues that kept this from being a much better book. First, the ending is fairly predictable – you know Garrity is going to be one of the people that last to the end, or else the book stops. That removes some of the tension that King tries to build around whether Ray is or is not going to make it. Second, there is no backstory or context for the stuff going on in this book. How did this contest start? One of the book’s secondary villains is some guy they call The Major, who seems to head this contest. But who he is, and what he does, and how he came to head this contest, and what his death squad soldiers are up to – none of that is remotely discussed. We’re dropped into the Long Walk, and the walk plays itself out with no closure on the context. Still, it’s a page-turner as most King books are. My one guilty pleasure reading of the year....less

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Chris rated it:

01/21/08

Read in January, 1992

Once a year, usually around my birthday, I take a good long appraisal of what means something to me, and I waste time compiling top ten lists of my favorite movies, albums, and books. I think I started doing this around 1999, and not once has The Long Walk ever been excluded from the Book List. I don’t think I’ve even considered punting this work off that list. While making these lists is lame, and a fuckaround, it certainly helps should any clod ask me some ‘desert island’ scenario q...more Once a year, usually around my birthday, I take a good long appraisal of what means something to me, and I waste time compiling top ten lists of my favorite movies, albums, and books. I think I started doing this around 1999, and not once has The Long Walk ever been excluded from the Book List. I don’t think I’ve even considered punting this work off that list. While making these lists is lame, and a fuckaround, it certainly helps should any clod ask me some ‘desert island’ scenario question, or in case my home is ever threatened by fire, I know exactly what to grab first (at least the out-of-print items on the aforementioned lists).

Running down the negatives of The Long Walk will take but two jiggles of a jackrabbit’s ass, so I’ll knock that out. First, some King fans will cite that the Bachman Books are second-rate stories abandoned and never considered for legitimate publishing due to their poor quality; a cheap attempt to get King’s less-worthy fare out to the masses as part of some bungled experiment to see if his work would sell as well without his name slapped on the cover (and the public revelation that King and Bachman are one and the same led to what he lovingly refers to as ‘death’ of his pseudonym, something that about 20 years later he still won’t shut the hell up about, which to me at least shows he was somewhat serious about the ploy). The Bachman Books are usually pervaded with juvenilia and despair, and are less-polished products, which, understandably, aren’t strong selling points. Anyone bothered by that should stay away from The Long Walk. Lastly, if one was to take a shot of gin for each use of the word ‘abruptly’ their liver would throw in the towel before the first third of the story concluded.

So, if the book suffers from a taint of childishness and naivety and is written at a caliber less than what one would expect, what is there to like about The Long Walk? While there are so many elements which are probably considered pedestrian by today’s finest literary critics, it’s the actual concept behind the story that I find completely awesome. Yes, you will find more lurid and captivating writing out there, without a shadow of a doubt. But as far as plans for social progress go; the buck stops with The Long Walk. And yes, I’m sure King ripped the idea off from some source I am personally unfamiliar with, big damn deal. This book remains a favorite of mine for one reason and one reason alone; I am always in the mood to read The Long Walk. Few are the books which I can pick up at any given moment and immediately get completely immersed in the story.

And the story goes a bit like this. The year is unknown, but it’s obviously after WWII, and the United States is either a complete totalitarianism or will be soon. A gestapo-like group called the Squads is snuffing out anyone who isn’t down with the social plans of The Major, who we can only assume is a major badass. And in this milieu, the new national pastime is The Long Walk. Once a year, one-hundred young men are selected to compete in the Walk, a contest in which the contestants must continuously walk at a pace of 4 MPH down the road without collecting three warnings, and the last one standing gets The Prize; whatever they desire for the rest of their life. The rules are pretty vague and there appear to be some grey area in there concerning the Warnings; for certain, after three Warnings you are given your Ticket (which amounts to being unceremoniously shot in the face by the Squads overseeing the event), but at times it’s a Warning to fight, but at others slapping a dude across the face isn’t worth flagging. Also, walking off the designated track forfeits all Warnings and results in the immediate issuance of a Ticket. You now know the befuddling rules as much as any character in the story: strap on your Pumas and get moving sucka.

This makes for a near-perfect story; a hundred chumps, most of which you’ll never need to be introduced to as they get blown away in front of the spectators lining the street cheering them and their demise. The motives to walk; some are in the Walk under the belief that they are the superior being that isn’t going to physically or mentally collapse, some are looking for glory and fame and the Prize, but most are just miscreants magnetically pulled by the allure of sudden, deserving death. We see the story through the eyes of Ray Garraty, who isn’t really that awesome, so let’s look at the last people he’ll ever know by name; McVries, a cynical and disillusioned badass from Jersey, Art Baker, a simple soft soul from Cajun territory, Stebbins, shrouded in mystery while speaking in riddles while mechanically and unfailingly walk-walk-walking, Barkovich, a mouthy little $hit who apparently joined just to watch other people get iced, Scramm, the husky and moose-like (but gentle as a lamb and equally lovable) odds-on-favorite, Olson, the epitome of hubris who quickly sheds his false bravado and becomes a whimpering shell of a man, Pearson, the introspective idealist, and yes, Collie Parker, the typical product of Joliet, Illinois, with a big mouth, hulking physique, and probably the only guy who truly doesn’t give a $hit. These badasses are surrounded about 90 other pawns suckered into the false hopes there is a silver lining to the cloud that is the Walk, and they all get the satisfaction of finding out firsthand what it’s like to eat it.
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Molly rated it:

12/01/08

Read in November, 2008

recommended to Molly by: teenage boys
recommends it for: teenage boys

I read this book because a group of my ninth-grade students chose to read it for a class assignment. It's a good story that makes you glad to be alive. It's about 100 teenage boys who choose to enter a competition in which only one will live and win the Prize. They have interesting conversations as they each handle death differently.

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Laura rated it:

12/02/08

I'd totally forgotten about this book until I saw it on Tess' list. This story left me feeling disturbed for over a month. Some people might say that I'm easily disturbed but those people are fools. If I remember correctly, it's only a couple hundred pages long but I got really into it and attached to the main character.

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Resonance rated it:

10/31/08

I'm not a huge fan of Stephen King but I have read this book seven or eight times. It's gripping. It's one of his earlier works and there are a couple of annoying things in it that I can't quite figure out whether King was just being sloppy or he's trying to convey some deeper point. 100 people doing the Long Walk, numbered 1 to 100 alphabetically. The protagonist, Ray Garraty, is number 47. Number 13's last name is Fenum. So there's 34 guys somehow with names that alphabetically come after Fen...more

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Lydia rated it:

08/10/08

From the few King books I've read, I'm not really a fan of that genre, this one took the gold medal. It went beyond anything I could expect, it shocked me and it made me think about quite a lot, I've no idea if it's one of his famous books or not but for me this takes precedence over every other book of his. It should be a must read in the genre because it goes well beyond the story, it makes you think about the walking, many myths and stories about walking and what it might entail such a long w...more

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Paul rated it:

09/04/07

Read in April, 1995

I read this book when I was about the same age as the protagonist. It captivated me in very much the same way that Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" did in English class that same year. Stephen King has a way of getting you to cheer on the main character through a series of brutal trials and near misses; I venture to say he could force you to encourage a serial killer or rapist if he set his heart to it.

This book was also fascinating because it violated the occasional taboo as well....more

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kailin rated it:

04/09/07

Someone told me recently that Stephen King isn't "real literature". What the heck is "real literature" anyway? Eh, I like Stephen King. "Real literature" sucks me in so that when I try to remember it I get it mixed up with real life and dreams. Stephen King can accomplish that for me--more so with books like Different Seasons, Misery, or The Stand than with The Shining or Vampire's Lot, though. The Long Walk has no fantastical elements: no vampires, no monsters,...more

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Bunnybodel rated it:

12/02/08

This is a really morbid story, but great. It is about a contest called the long walk, where a lot of money can be won if you outwalk your competitors, but the penalty for losing is death.

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"Some of these guys will go on walking long after the laws of biochemistry and handicapping have gone by the boards. There was a guy last year that crawled for two miles at four miles an hour after both of his feet cramped up at the same time, you remember reading about that? Look at Olson, he's worn out but he keeps going. That goddam Barkovitch is running on high-octane hate and he just keeps going and he's as fresh as a daisy. I don't think I can do that. I'm not tired -not really tired- yet. But I will be." The scar stood out on the side of his haggard face as he looked ahead into the darkness "And I think... when I get tired enough... I think I'll just sit down" More quotes...

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The Long Walk

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