The last of the Richard Bachman novels, recently recovered and published for the first time. Stephen King's "dark half" may have saved the best for last.
A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but in late 2006 King found the original typescript of Blaze among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library ("How did this ... (show more)
The last of the Richard Bachman novels, recently recovered and published for the first time. Stephen King's "dark half" may have saved the best for last.
A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but in late 2006 King found the original typescript of Blaze among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library ("How did this get here?!"), and decided that with a little revision it ought to be published.
Blaze is the story of Clayton Blaisdell, Jr. -- of the crimes committed against him and the crimes he commits, including his last, the kidnapping of a baby heir worth millions. Blaze has been a slow thinker since childhood, when his father threw him down the stairs -- and then threw him down again. After escaping an abusive institution for boys when he was a teenager, Blaze hooks up with George, a seasoned criminal who thinks he has all the answers. But then George is killed, and Blaze, though haunted by his partner, is on his own.
He becomes one of the most sympathetic criminals in all of literature. This is a crime story of surprising strength and sadness, with a suspenseful current sustained by the classic workings of fate and character -- as taut and riveting as Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. (show less)
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Imagine George and Lennie were short-con artists, low level criminals. Then George died and Lennie tried to pull off their biggest score (kidnappi... (show more)
Imagine George and Lennie were short-con artists, low level criminals. Then George died and Lennie tried to pull off their biggest score (kidnapping the baby of a wealthy family) by himself. Or almost by himself, since he can still hear George's voice around him.
It sounds like a comedy (or complete nonsense, if you haven't read "Of mice and men"), but it's actually a compelling tragedy, as presented by Stephen King. "Blaze" goes back and forth between the present, where it's just a matter of time before our doomed protagonist's luck runs out, and the past, in which we learn the series of misfortunes that shaped a bright good-natured kid into a criminal we almost, sort of, root for. It's a tricky balancing act, but King pulls it off: we feel sorry for Blaze and know there's no way this is going to end well, but we don't really resent the forces against him in the here and now. We just despise the ones that broke him when he was a boy.
Casual readers (and mostly people who've never read more than a couple of his books, if that) tend to assume everything King writes is supernatural horror. "Blaze" hardly qualifies, although I'm sure the notion that George "speaks to Blaze from the dead" would be enough to make those people go "See?". The truth is, it's a minor element that's left ambiguous and serves more as an insight into Blaze's character than a plot device. It could be Blaze's imagination or it could really be George's ghost, in the end, what happens would happen no matter what. And it'd be just as heartbreaking. (show less)
Was pretty good - quick read. Sad story: what happens to a brilliant and amazing person who brought up in a bad situation (as is evidence of his c... (show more)
Was pretty good - quick read. Sad story: what happens to a brilliant and amazing person who brought up in a bad situation (as is evidence of his child). I liked the story of his past more then the kidnapping. He wasn't evil - just lead astray. (show less)
This is a pretty cool book, (I mean it has frost depicted all over the cover!). Theres just something intriguing to me about the Bachman books, this one holds to be no different. I think the Blaze character has to be one of my favorites ever, I couldn't help but to kinda pull for the guy!
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I have to say this book is not his best, and he really should have left it in the closet. It is just a re release and was not worth buying. I really think that it was written at a time when he was not at his best. The book dealt with a man that committed a crime with a dead guy and the conversations themselves were confusing. Mostly it was just full of potty mouth and pure stupidity, being from Maine I think we expect a bit more from King. I have read worse books buy him and I may have this o... (show more)
I have to say this book is not his best, and he really should have left it in the closet. It is just a re release and was not worth buying. I really think that it was written at a time when he was not at his best. The book dealt with a man that committed a crime with a dead guy and the conversations themselves were confusing. Mostly it was just full of potty mouth and pure stupidity, being from Maine I think we expect a bit more from King. I have read worse books buy him and I may have this opinion because I have read so many of his books. it just seems to me when he wrote as Bachman he did not care as much as he does when he writes under his own name. If you do like his more confusing work and are not worried about spending some time trying to make heads or toes out of the book than you should like this. (show less)
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