sorman0110's review against another edition
5.0
Damn. Took me a while to get through, but I ended up loving this book. Stephen King writes teens like no one! Incredibly sad dystopian story, but the relationships he builds among his characters is amazing! I seriously hope this can make it to the big screen finally!
briannasam's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
joeydemarco's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
velleitaletterarie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ktxx22's review against another edition
4.0
I love that this book starts up and doesn’t give its gruesome dystopian secrets away right from the rip. I also adore that the ending was as satisfying as it was. This book about a group of 100 boys going on a literal long walk could’ve been terribly boring, but instead it is this great commentary on why we do things that are dangerous and or join endeavors for the risk of a big payout. I think it really gives insight into the various types of individuals who do this on a regular basis. I loved that our narrator goes through a mental renaissance as he’s walking and that it includes him attempting to decipher why he joined in the first place. It’s not my favorite King book, but I can definitely see why people love it and it gets recommended regularly. 4/5.
cory1906's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lucrezi's review against another edition
5.0
The Long Walk is the first Stephen King novel I read as a younger adolescent and, upon rereading, it's still the best. I'm not really a fan of his more supernatural stories, as I much prefer the horrors of reality.
I'm surprised that he started writing TLW as a college freshman. It's not as rough as you'd expect; I mean, yeah, King's prose is rough when he intentionally writes it so, specifically his trademark stream-of-consciousness writing that borders on ranty.
And he didn't overdo it here, thank goodness. His writing suited the setting and the events of the Long Walk and gave a good picture of what was going on in Garraty's head while he walked and walked. To be honest, TLW's third person POV and Garraty are far more expressive and real than that of many recent YA novels (and to think, those ones are written in first person).
I really hope The Long Walk gets a movie, with actors who can accurately portray the physical and psychological suffering these one hundred boys go through. And with the popularity of The Hunger Games, hopefully soon!
I'm surprised that he started writing TLW as a college freshman. It's not as rough as you'd expect; I mean, yeah, King's prose is rough when he intentionally writes it so, specifically his trademark stream-of-consciousness writing that borders on ranty.
And he didn't overdo it here, thank goodness. His writing suited the setting and the events of the Long Walk and gave a good picture of what was going on in Garraty's head while he walked and walked. To be honest, TLW's third person POV and Garraty are far more expressive and real than that of many recent YA novels (and to think, those ones are written in first person).
Spoiler
It suffers from a rushed ending, what with how he handled McVries' and Stebbins' (especially Stebbins) deaths. McVries is one of the more important secondary characters and his exit doesn't receive the same dramatic treatment as Art Baker's, and Stebbins just collapses without an explanation. I wish King hadn't blazed through those last few pages. The last line is pretty damn powerful though.I really hope The Long Walk gets a movie, with actors who can accurately portray the physical and psychological suffering these one hundred boys go through. And with the popularity of The Hunger Games, hopefully soon!
kepheus's review against another edition
2.0
Let me admit it up front...I didn't get it. It was a perfectly serviceable story, but it doesn't hold up over time. That's not to say there's anything in particular about King's writing that anchor it to a particular time. But, given the volume of dystopic fiction hitting shelves and screens over the past several years - as much as I love Fallout, I'm sick to death of all forms of zombies - The Long Walk just doesn't hold me the way it once might have.
None of the characters are likable in any form. The assertion that all the boys are, for some reason or another, looking to die seems all the more apropos given how generally flat they are. Garraty is a sad sack who's never quite sure even why he signed up, even though he felt he just had to do it. Other than Stebbins, none of the boys ever offers a good reason. Are they in it just for pure greed? Then why are so few of them seemingly prepared? Stebbins, Scramm, Mike and Joe seem likely contenders (and Vegas had good odds on them), but they seem to be the exceptions. And yet they all unsurprisingly fall by the wayside for the local boy who couldn't be bothered to take a 5 mile hike along parts of the course.
And why are they walking through Maine? Yes, I get it, it's King's stomping grounds. All well and good if The Walk was a state-run thing, but it's a national contest. Seems pretty unfair to always start in the northeast when most states won't even get to see it.
I think that's the thing that got me the most about this story. There's so much backstory here we don't know and aren't told. I can forgive the lack of background in a short story, but this was long enough that I want...I need that level of world-building. Garraty is not someone who will fight a system that is willing to cheer 99 boys to their death, but it'd be nice to have an idea of how it got to a point where that became the norm.
None of the characters are likable in any form. The assertion that all the boys are, for some reason or another, looking to die seems all the more apropos given how generally flat they are. Garraty is a sad sack who's never quite sure even why he signed up, even though he felt he just had to do it. Other than Stebbins, none of the boys ever offers a good reason. Are they in it just for pure greed? Then why are so few of them seemingly prepared? Stebbins, Scramm, Mike and Joe seem likely contenders (and Vegas had good odds on them), but they seem to be the exceptions. And yet they all unsurprisingly fall by the wayside for the local boy who couldn't be bothered to take a 5 mile hike along parts of the course.
And why are they walking through Maine? Yes, I get it, it's King's stomping grounds. All well and good if The Walk was a state-run thing, but it's a national contest. Seems pretty unfair to always start in the northeast when most states won't even get to see it.
I think that's the thing that got me the most about this story. There's so much backstory here we don't know and aren't told. I can forgive the lack of background in a short story, but this was long enough that I want...I need that level of world-building. Garraty is not someone who will fight a system that is willing to cheer 99 boys to their death, but it'd be nice to have an idea of how it got to a point where that became the norm.