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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
As the story goes, King wrote this book back in the 70s but didn't release it until 2007 as a Bachman book. It's an alright story, but to me, some of his other Bachman books, such as The Long Walk, blow it out of the water. It didn't have a lot to draw me in and overall I wasn't a huge fan. Excited to move on to the next one.
BLAZE BY RICHARD BACHMAN: Stephen King puts the questioners – including those who might be wondering why the name Stephen King is larger than Richard Bachman on the front cover – to rest in his introduction explaining his use of the pseudonym during the 1970’s. He also goes on to explain how when he originally discovered the manuscript for Blaze, he wasn’t that impressed with it, and left it to “mature” with time, perhaps. Recently, King decided it worthy for publication with a few minor modifications; Simon & Schuster is now calling Blaze “Fargo meets Of Mice and Men.”
Clayton “Blaze” Blaisdell is not a very clever fellow, in fact you might go as far as saying he is mildly retarded, due to his father throwing him down the stairs when he was a kid, cracking his head, gaining an ugly dent in his forehead, and spending weeks in a coma. Upon finally recovering, Blaze was considered a “special” person. He is currently very much down on his luck, flat broke, and looking to make some money fast, whatever it takes.
Blaze is essentially two stories about one man’s life. One story is of Blaze’s history, his childhood, his life-changing experiences, his time spent in foster care, the good times, and mostly the bad. The other story told concurrently with his biography in separate chapters, is Blaze’s plan to kidnap a baby from a rich family, hold the child for ransom, and then make bank on it. The problem is that Blaze is a con artist; he’s never been a very good con artist, because he used to have a partner – George Rackley – who was his best friend and always looking out for him. George got killed in one of their cons and Blaze is all alone now. Sort of. Because in his mind, he hears the voice of George, telling him what to do, how to carry out the kidnapping, how to cover his tracks, and how to make the ransom. Only, as I said, Blaze is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, actually make that a few cups of coffee short of the thermos too; so he keeps making mistakes. He also starts to really like looking after the baby and even becomes pretty good at it. And now the police are on his tail and he’s not sure what he’s going to do. The made-up voice in his head – which he knows isn’t really George – isn’t helping. He’s going to have to make a decision for himself, which he hasn’t really done before.
After the unpleasant disinterest I had with Cell, and the unimpressive Lisey’s Story, Blaze is a welcome return to classic Stephen King with a gritty reality that we’ve all come to look for in his work. The characters are interesting and well created; the plot while somewhat predictable, still riveting. Blaze will probably go on to become a favorite novel for many King fans, and will no doubt start attracting movie producers for option rights in the near future.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
Clayton “Blaze” Blaisdell is not a very clever fellow, in fact you might go as far as saying he is mildly retarded, due to his father throwing him down the stairs when he was a kid, cracking his head, gaining an ugly dent in his forehead, and spending weeks in a coma. Upon finally recovering, Blaze was considered a “special” person. He is currently very much down on his luck, flat broke, and looking to make some money fast, whatever it takes.
Blaze is essentially two stories about one man’s life. One story is of Blaze’s history, his childhood, his life-changing experiences, his time spent in foster care, the good times, and mostly the bad. The other story told concurrently with his biography in separate chapters, is Blaze’s plan to kidnap a baby from a rich family, hold the child for ransom, and then make bank on it. The problem is that Blaze is a con artist; he’s never been a very good con artist, because he used to have a partner – George Rackley – who was his best friend and always looking out for him. George got killed in one of their cons and Blaze is all alone now. Sort of. Because in his mind, he hears the voice of George, telling him what to do, how to carry out the kidnapping, how to cover his tracks, and how to make the ransom. Only, as I said, Blaze is a few sandwiches short of a picnic, actually make that a few cups of coffee short of the thermos too; so he keeps making mistakes. He also starts to really like looking after the baby and even becomes pretty good at it. And now the police are on his tail and he’s not sure what he’s going to do. The made-up voice in his head – which he knows isn’t really George – isn’t helping. He’s going to have to make a decision for himself, which he hasn’t really done before.
After the unpleasant disinterest I had with Cell, and the unimpressive Lisey’s Story, Blaze is a welcome return to classic Stephen King with a gritty reality that we’ve all come to look for in his work. The characters are interesting and well created; the plot while somewhat predictable, still riveting. Blaze will probably go on to become a favorite novel for many King fans, and will no doubt start attracting movie producers for option rights in the near future.
For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.
*Blaze was a birthday gift from my dad, which was a month ago, but due to all the pending books, I haven't gotten the chance to read it earlier.
At first, I found Blaze a little too complex. But as I started to get the hang of it, the story turned out to be thrilling and page turning. Because of the book’s great character development, you can make some friends along the way. Every now and then, you get to see a small flashback of Blaze’s life and understand him better. You get to see what made him mentally handicapped, how he met George and you even get to know about his childhood - including the adventures of him and his best friend John. King, in addition to the flashbacks that really show you who the characters are and what made them that way, also uses a good amount of diction to tell you about the characters.
Because of Blaze's situation, you get to understand things in a simple point of view. This was an extremely nice change, from the complex inner workings of brilliant men from the type of books I was reading lately. His behavior often varied from mellow to almost brutal, but if it weren't for his mental state, he would have been extremely admirable. This book is a perfect example of society's prejudices and humanity's crap. Although Blaze's life was immensely sad and lonely, I'm glad King didn't play out the whole melodrama vibe. Also, the friendship between John and the bittersweet moments of his childhood drew me more to the story.
I found the ending tear-jerking, although right from the start, Blaze was expected to be doomed. The book was a good read (no pun intended), nothing major or earth shattering. And if Stephen King was the King of Horror, this book would probably haunt you more than scare you. Or make you lonely.
At first, I found Blaze a little too complex. But as I started to get the hang of it, the story turned out to be thrilling and page turning. Because of the book’s great character development, you can make some friends along the way. Every now and then, you get to see a small flashback of Blaze’s life and understand him better. You get to see what made him mentally handicapped, how he met George and you even get to know about his childhood - including the adventures of him and his best friend John. King, in addition to the flashbacks that really show you who the characters are and what made them that way, also uses a good amount of diction to tell you about the characters.
Because of Blaze's situation, you get to understand things in a simple point of view. This was an extremely nice change, from the complex inner workings of brilliant men from the type of books I was reading lately. His behavior often varied from mellow to almost brutal, but if it weren't for his mental state, he would have been extremely admirable. This book is a perfect example of society's prejudices and humanity's crap. Although Blaze's life was immensely sad and lonely, I'm glad King didn't play out the whole melodrama vibe. Also, the friendship between John and the bittersweet moments of his childhood drew me more to the story.
I found the ending tear-jerking, although right from the start, Blaze was expected to be doomed. The book was a good read (no pun intended), nothing major or earth shattering. And if Stephen King was the King of Horror, this book would probably haunt you more than scare you. Or make you lonely.
3,5 stars. Such a sad story, but it was a pleasure to read.
dark
medium-paced
”It was a dirty world, and the longer you lived, the dirtier you got.”
If you love Of Mice and Men, then this would be a great King to pick up! Both feature a couple of guys just trying to make ends meet, one of which is the “brains” of the two and the other is this 6 foot 7 gentle giant that isn’t too bright due to the beatings he took as a kid (poor Blaze!)
The story unfolds with two separate timelines: we have current day where Blaze is trying to kidnap a baby in order to make some money, and then we have the past which details Blaze’s childhood and friendship/partnership with George. Blaze has been dealt a bad hand in life, you can’t help but wonder what kind of life he might have had if things had been different. King does a terrific job of making you sympathise with this tragic character - I may have shed a few tears! I much preferred the flashbacks to Blaze’s past than the present events though .King is well known for his sprawling epic books that can really give your biceps a workout, but in Blaze he shows that he is capable of a wham-bam-thank-you-mam story. There's no real filler, the story moves along at a moderate pace and nothing feels wasted.
King issues an apology at the beginning in a little introduction and explains how he initially thought it wasn’t a great book. Apparently he wrote it around the same time as Carrie but it was left on the back burner until years later when he decided to realise it as Richard Bachman’s final novel. It fits into the Bachman style in terms of the ending (the Bachman books tend to have distinctively dark endings that lack any semblance of hope), but it also felt a lot like a King novel to me. We actually had a likeable character to root for! Blaze is great, he’s just like Lennie :(
All in all, one of the better Bachman books in my opinion. Probably second best after The Long Walk. Worth a read!
If you love Of Mice and Men, then this would be a great King to pick up! Both feature a couple of guys just trying to make ends meet, one of which is the “brains” of the two and the other is this 6 foot 7 gentle giant that isn’t too bright due to the beatings he took as a kid (poor Blaze!)
The story unfolds with two separate timelines: we have current day where Blaze is trying to kidnap a baby in order to make some money, and then we have the past which details Blaze’s childhood and friendship/partnership with George. Blaze has been dealt a bad hand in life, you can’t help but wonder what kind of life he might have had if things had been different. King does a terrific job of making you sympathise with this tragic character - I may have shed a few tears! I much preferred the flashbacks to Blaze’s past than the present events though .King is well known for his sprawling epic books that can really give your biceps a workout, but in Blaze he shows that he is capable of a wham-bam-thank-you-mam story. There's no real filler, the story moves along at a moderate pace and nothing feels wasted.
King issues an apology at the beginning in a little introduction and explains how he initially thought it wasn’t a great book. Apparently he wrote it around the same time as Carrie but it was left on the back burner until years later when he decided to realise it as Richard Bachman’s final novel. It fits into the Bachman style in terms of the ending (the Bachman books tend to have distinctively dark endings that lack any semblance of hope), but it also felt a lot like a King novel to me. We actually had a likeable character to root for! Blaze is great, he’s just like Lennie :(
All in all, one of the better Bachman books in my opinion. Probably second best after The Long Walk. Worth a read!