Books Blaze: A Novel
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Rating: - Bachman (King) does it again!
This will only be my opinion, but I think this is one of the best Richard Bachman books by King. I feel that the Long Walk is the best Bachman book. Blaze comes in a close second. I couldn't put it down. Everytime a chapter ended I thought "I've gotta see what happens next." I have read a lot of reviews talking about feeling sorry for Blaze. I was curious how anyone could feel sorry for a child kidnapper, but found that I also felt sorry for him. Especially at the end.

To me the story was well paced, and flowed evenly. There wasn't a lot of description to bog down the story, but just enough to keep you going. King does a great job of not telling when the time period was while still telling you that it was in the last thirty years.

After finishing the book I felt sad. Also I thought a lot about the book for several days after finishing it. Not many books stick in my mind like that. So to wrap this up, I really feel this is an excellant book! If you want a great story that doesn't require reading seven-hundred pages, then you really should give this book a try.

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Rating: - Would be a good movie
I do not usually like Stephen King, but I liked this novel. It is not drawn out and overly descriptive like some of his other novels I have attempted to read. This book is about a badly abused, slightly mentally damaged man just trying to make a life. Sadly, he does not go about it the right way and kidnaps a baby in hopes of gaining a million dollars, but he proves to be an incredibly lovable character, growing more so as you get a look into his childhood. I could have done without the dead guy, George, always speaking to him. I feel the story would have been better without that little annoying addition. The ending was predictable. The reader has it figured out about halfway thru. In conclusion, this novel is a quick, easy, entertaining read that has you sympathizing with the bad guy for a change, and would make a pretty good, tho predictable movie.

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Rating: - It's not wrong to want the bad guy to win!
You know how, when you meet an exceptional person, you feel honored to have been able to know them? You feel that you were lucky to have known them, to have been able to glimpse their life, to have been a part of it. Well, that is how I feel about Blaze. I feel honored to have known him for such a short time. I feel I was entrusted with the secrets of his past and his innermost thoughts, feelings, and fears.

Richard Bachman is one of Stephen King's alter-ego's I guess you could say. The story of Clayton Blaisdell Jr. (aka Blaze) was almost never published. The foreword of the book is by Stephen King himself, and it tells of how the manuscript had been sitting in a box since the 70's. King would take it out on occasion, read it, and deem it worthless. Finally, he took it out, read it, and thought it was a pretty good story. I, for one, am glad he published this book.

The very first page of the book is a small excerpt from the story. It introduces you to Blaze. Actually, it is not as much about Blaze as it is about another kid, but it gives you a glimpse of the voyage you are about to embark on. After this small paragraph are the title page, copyright page, dedications, and foreword. Then, the real story begins...

The story is about Blaze, a simple-minded giant of a man with a heart bigger than thought capability. Blaze was not always this "dumb," this was a gift from his drunken, abusive father. Blaze was never the leader in a group. He was never the thinker. He ran cons with guys who were smarter than him. However, when his friend George gets himself killed in a betting game, Blaze is left to think on his own. He decides to continue with George's "one big con, and then out" scheme. He kidnaps the 6-month old baby of an extremely wealthy family. The idea is to get a large ransom for the child and then he can retire.

The book jumps from Blaze's childhood to the present situation. As you are reading about his plans to kidnap the baby, you are learning how he came to this point.

I could not help but feel compassion for this big bear of a man. I found myself angry at the way he was treated by the adults in his life as he was growing up. I wanted this man to succeed. I knew throughout the book that kidnapping a baby was wrong, and I knew he would have to be caught...it would have to end. But I could not help wanting him to do well, to be okay.

Blaze was an amazing person (character). Again, I feel lucky to have accompanied him on his journey, however miserable it may have been.

There is a story at the end of this book. It is a glimpse of the next Stephen King book that will be published in 2008. I am choosing not to read this story. I do not want anything to take away from Blaze right now. I want to continue feeling close to him for the moment.

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Rating: - Stephen Kings does of Mice and Men
Really reminds me of Mice and Men. I enjoyed it. Not the best book ever or the worst but was a good read.