The Long Walk (1979) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“One of the three Stephen King books that will always stay with me. I could not put it down once I started it. You feel their pain through the whole book. He makes it real inside your head. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“Het duurt even eer je op gang komt maar naarmate het verhaal vordert kun je het boek niet meer wegleggen. Het verhaal is simpel maar zeer beklemmend, Stephen King is een meester in het jou geven van zo'n gevoel. Je wilt het boek wegleggen maar eigenlijk ook niet, en daarmee raakt hij aan je diepere, meer duistere lagen. Er zijn meer verhalen van hem als deze maar ik heb zelden zo'n beklemming gevoeld.”

• Rated 3 stars

“The Long Walk is the story of a youth named Ray Garraty who participates in a walking contest. The contest is held annually, and 100 young men are allowed to participate. If a boy falls below the speed of 4 miles per hour, he gets a "warning." Three of these warnings at any given time result in a "ticket." Doesn't sound so bad yet? I'll fix that: A "ticket" results in an automatic execution by soldiers in the sidelines. And to top it all off, all of the other boys are determined to win for various other reasons, including the grand prize: A lifetime of wishes, ranging from money to fame to the affection of others. You can certainly see why they want to win.
I wouldn't recommend this book too strongly, as it isn't one of Stephen King's greatest books (though it is still better than your average book).
”

• Rated 4 stars

“An interesting book with a delirious story and a "delicious" ending, if i can call it like this.
This novel proves that Stephen King is one of the best writers in the world.”

• Rated 4 stars

“This is a disturbing book, one of Stephen King's earlier works. Although I was disappointed in the ending, I really liked the book until then. The premise is a creative one, and this is one of those plotlines that only King could envision.

--John P.”

• Rated 5 stars

“ When Stephen King writes under his nom de plume Richard Bachman his stories are usually leaner and more vicious with lots of dark humor and a more bleak world view. This is King as Bachman at his best. The first time I read it I could not put it down and finished it in a single sitting. It is a horror novel but it transcends horror. It becomes something else entirely akin to an out of body experience. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“The long walk was another genre unlike both the green mile and pet cemetary. THis book was more of a adventure drama genre. I really like the foundation of the book, basically because it was mainly about a bunch of teenagers that had to walk a certain distance, in different conditions and those who failed to keep up or survive the obstacles thrown at them were "eliminated". The tension and excitement is very up tempo in this book and i had a great time with it!”

• Rated 5 stars

“I really enjoyed reading this book.

This book is basically about a boy named Ray Garraty who is one of the boys that compete in a competition. The competition is called the Long Walk which 100 teenage boys compete by walking staying above 5 MPH. The winner of The Long Walk gets a prize of whatever they want. The winner gets 3 wishes. All 100 boys get 3 warnings if they fall under speed or stop walking. After their third warning, they get killed by the supervisor major. Garraty makes friends during the walk which leads up to the conflict. The conflict was when Garraty first realizes that him and his friends are all in this for the prize, which leads into him and deciding wether if he has friends, or mortal enemies. A situation on which Garraty had to make is when his friend Stebbin's (one of the finalists) collapses on the ground saying " "Oh Garraty" he cried, and fell down ". Overall, the theme of the book I came to was trust your instincts, never give up, and treat every decision as if it were your last because in The Long Walk, thats what Ray Garraty had to go through.

This book was worth reading and for you readers who like a thrilling, suspenseful plot and story line, then The Long Walk is the book for you.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I found this book very disturbing and will probably never read it again. ”

• Rated 5 stars

“I have read many King novels and though there are a couple I really like, for the most part I find him predictable. His stories are always the same, but The Long Walk was new. It came from a really dark place and it is one of the few horror books that got to me. King did a great job getting into the heads of the kids and it makes you really wonder what drives people. It was dark and insightful and a great read for a stormy day! I LOVE this book!!!!”