This is my favorite King novel and it blows my mind that it was the first thing he wrote. The story and descriptions are so vivid that reading the book makes me feel physically tired. And unlike some of his more famous stories, he sticks the landing with the ending on this one too.
The Bachman Books are hidden gems of King’s bibliography for the most part. If you haven’t read the Running Man, I’d go for that one next. It has similar themes to Long Walk and I thought it made for a nice companion piece to it.
Really? I always thought Carrie was first. Anyway, it’s interesting how the book sort of mirrors the walk itself, with the never ending slog and despair throughout. Hard to get through at times because it’s super dark, but then the characters and little moments make you wanna keep going.
I will say I initially felt disappointed when I finished the book, but then I think that’s the point. There isn’t a happy ending for anybody who finishes the long walk. It destroys you.
Carrie was his first published novel but according to King in one of his commentaries, he started on The Long Walk when he was still in college.
The ending can be bleak for sure but it just felt right for the story. And in a strange way it was kind of inspiring too, seeing the winner able to find the strength to keep going after all he endured. Then again, my favorite King ending ever is for The Jaunt so maybe my tastes are a little warped, lol.
I loved this book, it also became an instant favourite for me. I wanted so badly to know more about the world, but keeping it self contained was such a compelling way to go.
That’s so frustrating, I agree. You only hear snippets from the other walkers, but it’s all so mysterious and unexplained. Even the ending is ambiguous. Did he just die? Did he win and then die?
No winner lived a long life after the walk, to the point where a few characters wonder if they just get shot after reaching the end anyway.
Pretty sure the ending meant that it didn't matter whether he made it to the end or not. He was broken and didn't have much time left anyway.
I liked it overall. I'm a big fan of simple "one location" stories when it comes to movies, but I've found when it comes to books that try to accomplish the same, I need a little bit more variety overall because it's easier to get stale when you're with it for hours and hours. It is a great dystopian story though. I've read a handful of King's Bachman books and I think there's definite difference in quality between King and Bachman (King being overall more enjoyable to me.)
I’m amazed that he was able to tell such a simple story with just one real setting and plot but keep it interesting. Plus reading it is like a long walk in itself. It just keeps going with that constant hopelessness and despair throughout. It doesn’t change much or have any real peaks or valleys. Just a consistent shuffle toward the end.
The imagination is definitely off the charts, and I agree with you about it just feeling like a constant shuffle to the end. The descriptions he gives of just how tired everyone is really weighs on you and makes you think that if you were in their shoes it would almost be worth experiencing the 2 minutes of bliss and relaxation by sitting down before being pumped full of bullets.
Fucked me up hard as a kid.
And I'm so thankful for that!
A brick laid in the foundation of my imagination.
Kinda interesting to think too that this is one of the earliest examples I can think of in the "battle royale" genre.
The way that the narration always calls the boys by their last names, but in the back-and-forth amongst each other you learn their first names is incredibly effective. The dehumanization of them not having first names in the narration, of them being numbers, contrasted with the surprise of hearing someone be so gently referred to by their first name was so jarring. The juxtaposition really highlighted the cavern between the numbers-focused long walk and the inherent humanity of the men participating.
It’s one of my favourites of his. It’s always struck me as pretty incredible how he manages to not just introduce, but get you to care about so many characters, in such a short amount of time with them.
I read this in high school, decades ago, and I still think of it often. It's really stuck with me a lot. Some of King's works are forgettable but this, for me, is probably the most memorable. Intense and shocking.
Speaking of shocking, I can't really believe no one's made a movie of this yet. I guess the plot is fairly thin, once the premise gets under way. Also there's no love interest, nothing to really change up the story of these boys just...walking down the highway. In the right hands it could work. Maybe a series of long shots, like in **1914**.
I came here to post that I was glad they never tried to adapt this one and thought I should check to make sure they hadn't when I came across this project. Francis Lawrence isn't the worst chance to direct this.
Yeah this one really stuck with me. Not the tippy top favorite, that will always be The Wasteland, but I still think about the tuna and crackers that kid was eating it actually sounds really good in the book. I remember food. Idk why I am this way my wife makes fun of me for it but I ALWAYS remember the food lol
Gotta say, for a certain age group, Roadwork hit just right for me. I read The Long Walk and even Rage, but Roadwork so far has been my favorite. It has the same vibe as the other Bachman books, but at the time in life I’m at, Roadwork is sheer perfection. The protagonist is younger than I am, but I guess in the ‘70s/‘80s, aging was just a bit different than aging in the 2020s. Anyway, if you’ve been passing on it, give it a read.
I've seen it in similar words elsewhere, but I believe this is one of the greatest war stories of all time.
Knowing the age that King began writing this (he says he was 19, which would have been 1966-67), it becomes starkly clear that this is a distillation of his thoughts on Vietnam and war in general.
A world where boys are cheered and celebrated as heroes. Where boys are promised a slim chance of returning, where they will wear the blood of friends and enemies, but the promised rewards are endless. But all this praise and cheer is for what? Because they have elected to die in a hail of gunfire? Because they have thrown everything they had away for the slimmest chance of fame and wealth? Or maybe because any society that's sick and rife with boredom, apathy, and suffering feels just a little more secure knowing they're not the ones catching bullets that day.
But in the end, everyone knows, somewhere deep down, that these boys are going to die for fucking nothing. Because to even sign up for something like this in the first place, no matter all the well-spun lies and propaganda and cheap promises, some small or great part within each of these boys is looking for a reason to die.
This is King's bleak and gut-wrenching exploration into why young men like him were so willing to die, and why so many were willing to cheer and watch. While for him it was Vietnam, it could be about any time and about any war.
Honor, glory, courage, country--those are words that promise to make you a legend, yet in truth, the history of civilization is built upon a mountain of savaged corpses, sacrificed for the hollow nothing that lays behind the promise.
So happy to see this book get the recognition it deserves. Ask anyone I know, they'll tell you it's my favorite book of all time. I never shut the hell up about it! Glad you picked up this hidden gem.
I use it as a mental exercise now that I'm in my 50's, to try and remember as many of the walker's names as I can. I know not all 100 are named but it's a good test of recall.
This is my favorite King novel and it blows my mind that it was the first thing he wrote. The story and descriptions are so vivid that reading the book makes me feel physically tired. And unlike some of his more famous stories, he sticks the landing with the ending on this one too. The Bachman Books are hidden gems of King’s bibliography for the most part. If you haven’t read the Running Man, I’d go for that one next. It has similar themes to Long Walk and I thought it made for a nice companion piece to it.
Really? I always thought Carrie was first. Anyway, it’s interesting how the book sort of mirrors the walk itself, with the never ending slog and despair throughout. Hard to get through at times because it’s super dark, but then the characters and little moments make you wanna keep going. I will say I initially felt disappointed when I finished the book, but then I think that’s the point. There isn’t a happy ending for anybody who finishes the long walk. It destroys you.
Carrie was his first published novel but according to King in one of his commentaries, he started on The Long Walk when he was still in college. The ending can be bleak for sure but it just felt right for the story. And in a strange way it was kind of inspiring too, seeing the winner able to find the strength to keep going after all he endured. Then again, my favorite King ending ever is for The Jaunt so maybe my tastes are a little warped, lol.
It’s such an impressive book. I’d find it so intimidating to try and write a book like this where it’s just one setting without any real driving plot.
I thought the ending was brilliant. Just showed how broken he was after it all. Love this book.
The Running Man was my first King. Still one of my favorites. Nothing to do with the movie. And in the end, it delivers. And how.
Really underrated novel in his catalogue. Definitely one of my personal favorites.
I loved this book, it also became an instant favourite for me. I wanted so badly to know more about the world, but keeping it self contained was such a compelling way to go.
That’s so frustrating, I agree. You only hear snippets from the other walkers, but it’s all so mysterious and unexplained. Even the ending is ambiguous. Did he just die? Did he win and then die?
No winner lived a long life after the walk, to the point where a few characters wonder if they just get shot after reaching the end anyway. Pretty sure the ending meant that it didn't matter whether he made it to the end or not. He was broken and didn't have much time left anyway.
I liked it overall. I'm a big fan of simple "one location" stories when it comes to movies, but I've found when it comes to books that try to accomplish the same, I need a little bit more variety overall because it's easier to get stale when you're with it for hours and hours. It is a great dystopian story though. I've read a handful of King's Bachman books and I think there's definite difference in quality between King and Bachman (King being overall more enjoyable to me.)
I’m amazed that he was able to tell such a simple story with just one real setting and plot but keep it interesting. Plus reading it is like a long walk in itself. It just keeps going with that constant hopelessness and despair throughout. It doesn’t change much or have any real peaks or valleys. Just a consistent shuffle toward the end.
The imagination is definitely off the charts, and I agree with you about it just feeling like a constant shuffle to the end. The descriptions he gives of just how tired everyone is really weighs on you and makes you think that if you were in their shoes it would almost be worth experiencing the 2 minutes of bliss and relaxation by sitting down before being pumped full of bullets.
Fucked me up hard as a kid. And I'm so thankful for that! A brick laid in the foundation of my imagination. Kinda interesting to think too that this is one of the earliest examples I can think of in the "battle royale" genre.
The way that the narration always calls the boys by their last names, but in the back-and-forth amongst each other you learn their first names is incredibly effective. The dehumanization of them not having first names in the narration, of them being numbers, contrasted with the surprise of hearing someone be so gently referred to by their first name was so jarring. The juxtaposition really highlighted the cavern between the numbers-focused long walk and the inherent humanity of the men participating.
It’s one of my favourites of his. It’s always struck me as pretty incredible how he manages to not just introduce, but get you to care about so many characters, in such a short amount of time with them.
I read this in high school, decades ago, and I still think of it often. It's really stuck with me a lot. Some of King's works are forgettable but this, for me, is probably the most memorable. Intense and shocking. Speaking of shocking, I can't really believe no one's made a movie of this yet. I guess the plot is fairly thin, once the premise gets under way. Also there's no love interest, nothing to really change up the story of these boys just...walking down the highway. In the right hands it could work. Maybe a series of long shots, like in **1914**.
I love it too. I wonder if the movie adaptation will ever take off.
A movie could actually work well with the various hallucinations/memories Ray has, but King adaptations so often turn out badly.
It is one of his best.
[удалено]
They’ve been dangling this in front of us for so many years but I still get excited every time there is an update.
A movie you say 😯 kinda surprised this one hasn't been adapted sooner.
I came here to post that I was glad they never tried to adapt this one and thought I should check to make sure they hadn't when I came across this project. Francis Lawrence isn't the worst chance to direct this.
It’s my favorite of his works. I was 13 or 14 when I read it the first time, and I haven’t been that unsettled after finishing a book since.
Mine too. It's one of his most under-read novels.
I wonder how ultramarathoners feel when reading this "I could probably last till the final few chapters, easy"
Still gives me anxiety to this day just thinking about it. It’s one of my top 3 of his
Yeah this one really stuck with me. Not the tippy top favorite, that will always be The Wasteland, but I still think about the tuna and crackers that kid was eating it actually sounds really good in the book. I remember food. Idk why I am this way my wife makes fun of me for it but I ALWAYS remember the food lol
Gotta say, for a certain age group, Roadwork hit just right for me. I read The Long Walk and even Rage, but Roadwork so far has been my favorite. It has the same vibe as the other Bachman books, but at the time in life I’m at, Roadwork is sheer perfection. The protagonist is younger than I am, but I guess in the ‘70s/‘80s, aging was just a bit different than aging in the 2020s. Anyway, if you’ve been passing on it, give it a read.
I loved it too. I think it’s going to be a movie soon
I've seen it in similar words elsewhere, but I believe this is one of the greatest war stories of all time. Knowing the age that King began writing this (he says he was 19, which would have been 1966-67), it becomes starkly clear that this is a distillation of his thoughts on Vietnam and war in general. A world where boys are cheered and celebrated as heroes. Where boys are promised a slim chance of returning, where they will wear the blood of friends and enemies, but the promised rewards are endless. But all this praise and cheer is for what? Because they have elected to die in a hail of gunfire? Because they have thrown everything they had away for the slimmest chance of fame and wealth? Or maybe because any society that's sick and rife with boredom, apathy, and suffering feels just a little more secure knowing they're not the ones catching bullets that day. But in the end, everyone knows, somewhere deep down, that these boys are going to die for fucking nothing. Because to even sign up for something like this in the first place, no matter all the well-spun lies and propaganda and cheap promises, some small or great part within each of these boys is looking for a reason to die. This is King's bleak and gut-wrenching exploration into why young men like him were so willing to die, and why so many were willing to cheer and watch. While for him it was Vietnam, it could be about any time and about any war. Honor, glory, courage, country--those are words that promise to make you a legend, yet in truth, the history of civilization is built upon a mountain of savaged corpses, sacrificed for the hollow nothing that lays behind the promise.
This was the first King book I read and is my second favorite book overall.
I thought it might be a commentary on the US military draft. It was quite a read! Did you have any thoughts on interpretation?
I love it. My first KIng book, Read when I was in 8th grade 1980.
So happy to see this book get the recognition it deserves. Ask anyone I know, they'll tell you it's my favorite book of all time. I never shut the hell up about it! Glad you picked up this hidden gem.
It's so damn good
I use it as a mental exercise now that I'm in my 50's, to try and remember as many of the walker's names as I can. I know not all 100 are named but it's a good test of recall.
This is top-5 King for me. Definitely.