So, during his wilderness years of writing, Stephen King became two writers, one of noir-type, American fiction and one of horror stories. For those other books, which include Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man and Thinner, he used the name Richard Bachman.
Over the years, after he was outed as Bachman, King has played this game with his constant readers that Richard Bachman was real and existed (I’ve often though King’s novel The Dark Half is his idea of what might happen if Bachman actually lived). I've found this bizarre, but that adds to his quirky nature, I guess. Still, to this day, I've never read any of those Bachman books.
Until now, I guess.
Now, long after Bachman “died,” King resurrects him with Blaze (though I wonder where The Regulators falls here; it being an alternate universe version of King’s Desperation?). While King, in his forward to the book, explains how Blaze came into existence (and that it was part of his psyche of Bachman) he is honest in his opinion of something he wrote 30 plus years ago. Still, the novel reads much like classic King.
While the homage to Of Mice and Men is obvious, it none the less becomes a book you can’t help but enjoy. And while the conclusion is obvious also, you also can’t but root for Blaze, the same way one could not root for Lennie in that classic John Steinbeck novel.
While there is no supernatural stuff seen here, it does feature many classic King-isms, including some nasty-ass characters like the distant father and dead mother. A huge cast of characters, despite it really being a character study between Blaze and dead friend George.
Over the years, after he was outed as Bachman, King has played this game with his constant readers that Richard Bachman was real and existed (I’ve often though King’s novel The Dark Half is his idea of what might happen if Bachman actually lived). I've found this bizarre, but that adds to his quirky nature, I guess. Still, to this day, I've never read any of those Bachman books.
Until now, I guess.
Now, long after Bachman “died,” King resurrects him with Blaze (though I wonder where The Regulators falls here; it being an alternate universe version of King’s Desperation?). While King, in his forward to the book, explains how Blaze came into existence (and that it was part of his psyche of Bachman) he is honest in his opinion of something he wrote 30 plus years ago. Still, the novel reads much like classic King.
While the homage to Of Mice and Men is obvious, it none the less becomes a book you can’t help but enjoy. And while the conclusion is obvious also, you also can’t but root for Blaze, the same way one could not root for Lennie in that classic John Steinbeck novel.
While there is no supernatural stuff seen here, it does feature many classic King-isms, including some nasty-ass characters like the distant father and dead mother. A huge cast of characters, despite it really being a character study between Blaze and dead friend George.
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