20251009 Thursday

Book log: The Long Walk (1979)

The Long Walk is the second book that Stephen King released under the 
Richard Bachman alias, but it is the first novel that he completed 
some ten years before its publication. The structure of the book is 
simpler than the later works, the story of a "last boy standing" 
marathon is told quite linearly as the contestants walk for five days 
until there is only one left. Along the way, the 99 other walkers 
have been shot (due to slowing down and getting four warnings from 
some army dudes on an army vehicle) or died of exhaustion or suicide. 
We meet the main character Ray Garraty (contestant 47) as he arrives 
at the race's start location and follow him through the horrible 
tribulations and realities of the race. There are some flashbacks 
that reveal bits of Garraty's background, but we never get any 
insight into his actual motivations for taking part in the race. 
After just a couple of chapters I could foresee the structure of 
the rest of the book, as well as the outcome of the race. There 
were few surprises along the way, and the book felt like a bit of a 
chore to get through. Which is fitting enough for a story about 
walking hundreds of miles without rest. My least favourite book by 
King so far, by a clear margin.

A movie adaptation of The Long Walk was just released a few weeks 
ago. Maybe I'll watch it, maybe I won't.