The Long Walk: A New Favorite

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The Walkin' Dude

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
47
267
30
Charlotte, NC
Just finished up this one. I've read that most people have The Long Walk as their favorite Bachman book, and I completely understand why now. It's definitely my favorite as well. It's crazy to believe that he wrote this thing when he was so young, it's amazing. Far ahead of its time. I love that it can technically be classified as one of those YA novels like Hunger Games or the hundreds of others, but this came out decades before the market became oversaturated with them. And, unlike all of those, this one is actually scary and horribly unsettling.

I think a strong point of this story is that it doesn't go into any explanation of the world that it takes place in. No background story for the intro as to the alternate dystopian reality the book takes place in, no explanation as what exactly The Long Walk is or what it's for. You can draw your own conclusions. I loved each and every one of the boys in this book, even Barkovitch, that murdering bastard. The futility of it all is just tragic.

I was sucked into this story by page one and never wanted it to end, since you know it can only end in despair. This is definitely one of my new favorites.
 
Mar 12, 2010
6,538
29,004
Texas
Just finished up this one. I've read that most people have The Long Walk as their favorite Bachman book, and I completely understand why now. It's definitely my favorite as well. It's crazy to believe that he wrote this thing when he was so young, it's amazing. Far ahead of its time. I love that it can technically be classified as one of those YA novels like Hunger Games or the hundreds of others, but this came out decades before the market became oversaturated with them. And, unlike all of those, this one is actually scary and horribly unsettling.

I think a strong point of this story is that it doesn't go into any explanation of the world that it takes place in. No background story for the intro as to the alternate dystopian reality the book takes place in, no explanation as what exactly The Long Walk is or what it's for. You can draw your own conclusions. I loved each and every one of the boys in this book, even Barkovitch, that murdering bastard. The futility of it all is just tragic.

I was sucked into this story by page one and never wanted it to end, since you know it can only end in despair. This is definitely one of my new favorites.

I read The Long Walk long before dystopian fiction became popular and you're right, it was far ahead of its time. And because there was no background or explanation, I was dumbfounded! I mean like, Who would do this??? I was so astonished by the story, it took me a couple days to decide I liked it. Then I picked it back up and read it again lol.
 

Rrty

Well-Known Member
Jun 4, 2007
1,394
4,588
These are all great points. And yes, never really thought of it like that -- it is Hunger Games-like, isn't it? I remember reading this and really liking it. The ending is so weird.

What do you think King should do -- rerelease it and try to market it with the YA-dystopian angle? Try to get a movie of it off the ground, or an episodic series? The gender could be changed, or it could be both males and females. Maybe there could be other "Long" contests within the universe -- The Long Stand (have to stand on a platform for a while), The Long Read (have to keep reading), The Long Fast (have to keep fasting while food is put in front of you), The Long Sit, etc. (Perhaps these ideas have already been executed in other books, come to think of it.)
 

AnnaMarie

Well-Known Member
Feb 16, 2012
7,068
29,564
Other
Just finished up this one. I've read that most people have The Long Walk as their favorite Bachman book, and I completely understand why now. It's definitely my favorite as well. It's crazy to believe that he wrote this thing when he was so young, it's amazing. Far ahead of its time. I love that it can technically be classified as one of those YA novels like Hunger Games or the hundreds of others, but this came out decades before the market became oversaturated with them. And, unlike all of those, this one is actually scary and horribly unsettling.

I think a strong point of this story is that it doesn't go into any explanation of the world that it takes place in. No background story for the intro as to the alternate dystopian reality the book takes place in, no explanation as what exactly The Long Walk is or what it's for. You can draw your own conclusions. I loved each and every one of the boys in this book, even Barkovitch, that murdering bastard. The futility of it all is just tragic.

I was sucked into this story by page one and never wanted it to end, since you know it can only end in despair. This is definitely one of my new favorites.

I think I read this right after reading Running Man. In my mind, the two have always been in, if not the same world, very similar worlds.

When I first read Hunger Games I wondered if the author had been a fan of the Long Walk.
 

recitador

Speed Reader
Sep 3, 2016
1,750
8,264
41
These are all great points. And yes, never really thought of it like that -- it is Hunger Games-like, isn't it? I remember reading this and really liking it. The ending is so weird.

What do you think King should do -- rerelease it and try to market it with the YA-dystopian angle? Try to get a movie of it off the ground, or an episodic series? The gender could be changed, or it could be both males and females. Maybe there could be other "Long" contests within the universe -- The Long Stand (have to stand on a platform for a while), The Long Read (have to keep reading), The Long Fast (have to keep fasting while food is put in front of you), The Long Sit, etc. (Perhaps these ideas have already been executed in other books, come to think of it.)
sign me up for the long read