Review of Stephen King's The Long Walk, by R.M. Duchene

The Long Walk by Stephen King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Okay, seriously...The Long Walk is one of my all time Stephen King Novels. I've read this book over twenty times and have listened to it on audio at least a dozen. The premise is simple...a large group of kids enter a contest in which they walk until they cannot walk anymore. The last one standing get whatever he wants...oh, and he gets to live.
The synopsis alone was enough to make me drool all over the book before I opened its first page, but once I got into the story, I found that I became emotionally invested in the characters. I wanted them all to win...well maybe not quite all of them.
If you are a reader, you must read this novel...and pay close attention to the way that every contestant's personality changes as the story continues. There is a lot of emotion going on there, as there should be. It is far-fetched to think that a contest like that could ever happen, but the truth of how the contestant act and react to their situation cannot be denied.
If you are a writer, it would be good to read this book and take a few notes. To me, this book acts like a text-book on character development and how to bring those characters to life. Sorry, no glittering vampires or muscular, shirtless werewolves in this one, just plain ole, grim reality.




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