The Long Walk

In this #1 national bestseller, "master storyteller" (Houston Chronicle) Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner--the one that survives. In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules--keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out--permanently. A "psychologically dark tale with commentary on society, teenage life, and cultural entertainment, The Long Walk is still poignant decades after its original publication" (Publishers Weekly). This edition features an introduction by Stephen King on "The Importance of Being Bachman."
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Long Walk* is a brutal, gripping story with a compelling premise and standout character development that evokes deep empathy. Reviewe...
Fantastic story. Originally a short story included in The Bachman Books, this story has a great premise. Times are hard, and 100 boys begin a marathon in hopes of being the one remaining that wins a fortune that will enable them to take care of their families. This story has great character development, and you wind up feeling gut-wrenching empathy for the boys as they are "eliminated" from the race one-by-one. This would be one of my favorite Stephen King stories.
The Long Walk is simple, brutal, and completely unforgettable.
No monsters. No twists. Just boys walking…until they can’t. And somehow that makes it even more horrifying. You get so attached to them, so invested in every step, that by the end you feel just as exhausted and broken as they do.
Stephen King really is the KING of horror, and this proved he doesn’t need anything supernatural to destroy you.
Quietly devastating.
I'm a little ashamed to admit this is my first Stephen King novel. I've always picked up a Koontz book when I was in the mood for horror, and my shunning of King became a sort of challenge that I felt the need to stick to. I'm not sure if I was being loyal or stubborn. Anyway, I came across some list of the top Stephen King novels and when I read the description of The Long Walk it piqued my interest. I was not disappointed. It read like a long version of those short stories we're made to read in high school. You know, there's a lot of symbolism and various themes you should be taking note of, but you just keep flipping the pages, furiously barreling to the bitter end. So, will I be picking up another King novel, you ask? I certainly will--but I'm still a fan of Koontz's unique style of suspense.
My first stephen King’s book that i finished this year!!
Unsettling ~
Brotherhood
Much gore than the movie with such details of the walkers death
So much different from the movie adaptation that i watched in cinema today hahah
I like both endings even tho i dont get the ending from the book
A must read, couldn't put it down.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.