The Long Walk (Unabridged)
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3.9 • 39 Ratings
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
The brilliant and chilling first novel Stephen King ever wrote tells the tale of the contestants of a diabolically cruel competition where 100 boys start the “long walk” and there is only one winner—the one that survives.
In a dystopian near-future, America has fallen on hard times. Sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as the Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour day and night, without ever stopping. The winner gets “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But the rules of the Long Walk are harsh and the stakes could not be higher. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—forever.
Written by King when he was a college student and published in 1979 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is an unforgettable and timeless masterpiece that showcases King’s genius for character building and his visionary storytelling.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Stories about dystopian societies where people compete in deadly games for public amusement are a subgenre of their own—but you’ve never heard it done the way Stephen King did it here. Teenager Ray Garraty and 99 other boys are competing in a yearly challenge. It’s simple: Keep walking at a steady pace…until you can’t. The last boy standing wins. The rest will die. What sets this novel apart is that it isn’t about world-building. We don’t need to know the details of this bleak future or the competition. Instead, King focuses squarely on Garraty’s gruelling, torturous experience. We’re right there in his head as he contemplates his physical agony, drifts over his favourite memories, and makes friends with the boys he’s walking with. Getting to know and genuinely like those kids with Garraty is particularly brain-breaking, as he’s forced to simultaneously hope they’ll each drop dead. Listen to Kirby Heyborne bring this complex teenage character study to life before you see the movie adaptation.
Customer Reviews
Amazing - But a Tease
Typical of many King stories, the book makes you STARVE desperately, only to serve a peanut at the end. An absolutely incredible read - up until the end.
Not worth your time.
Not good. Not entertaining at all. Zero depth to the characters. When the book ended I was like “finally! Something is about to happen. Here is where it gets good” ..oh nvm. End of the book.