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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this book was okay. I was bored at some parts, enthralled at others. The ending fell short for me. I felt like a lot of the side plots in the beginning and middle should have amounted to something in the end, but they didn't.
Obviously, this was part of the Bachman books, so it was Stephen King's earlier, less refined work. It was worth the read, but not one of my favorites.
Obviously, this was part of the Bachman books, so it was Stephen King's earlier, less refined work. It was worth the read, but not one of my favorites.
7/10 Stars. A novella that simultaneously makes you pity the main character and hate him, all the while hoping he'll do the right thing. The flashbacks were great, tied in to the story well. Worth the read.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
not a bad bachman book. long walk is still my favorite :)
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Clayton Blaisdell hasn’t had an easy life; abused and almost killed by his Father, mistreated in the home he ends up in, nothing seems to go his way. He gets by in life running small time cons until he meets George. George uses Blaze’s brawn to his advantage and together they pull off many successful cons until George has an idea for “one last big job”; kidnapping the child of a wealthy family but before they can carry out the job George gets killed and Blaze is left alone trying to figure out how to stick with the plan.
I knew next to nothing about this other than my Dad had read it before me and said it was good and I knew it was one of King’s older ones that he had dusted off and published at a later date as he hadn’t been sure about it at the time and to be honest I’ve no idea why he left it so long! I loved it!
King acknowledges at the start that it was heavily influenced by “Of Mice and Men” and he sees it as a bit of a homage and that was clear to me pretty immediately, although I would say having one of the characters literally with the same name, George, was maybe a little on the nose!
I loved Blaze. He reminded me a lot of Tom Cullen from “The Stand”. He has the saddest back story and genuinely seems to just want to be loved. He’s clearly not a bad person but has ended up in plenty of bad situations.
King’s characterisation, as always, was absolute perfection and I was completely engrossed in Blaze’s life and rooting for him every step of the way.
Sometimes things stick out a little in King’s books and in this case he seemed weirdly obsessed with masturbation! There were several mentions and just seemed a little unnecessary to me.
This is a fairly short book, particularly by King’s standards, but it has pushed its way into my head and my heart and I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I was reading it and am still thinking about it now. Blaze’s life really got to me and I don’t say that often.