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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780451196712
ISBN number: 0451196716
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: April 01, 1999
Publishing house: Signet
Sale Popularity Level: 18825
Studio: Signet
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
On the very first day of May, one hundred teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as 'The Long Walk.' If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying.
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Rated by buyers 
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For all those English Majors out there who think they're too good for so-deemed "pop fiction" like the works of Stephen King... You will likely be surprised at the high brow / philosophical / true-to-life questions King asks us to consider.
Rated by buyers -
I found this story by Stephen King a little unusual to his typical style of horror, but nevertheless, I thought it was an excellent idea and a gripping read. The horror in this book doesn't come from ghosts, vampires or an alien force, but from human terror inflicted by an imaginary/future government who organize an annual long walk for teenage boys. The winner has everything to gain and the losers have everything to lose. The Long Walk is a frightening event and along it, the participants must learn how far they can push their bodies and minds.
Rated by buyers 
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This was a fun book to read. Obviously it is very plot-driven, with the theme being the whittling down of 100 contestants in the long walk down to 1, but in between it takes some time to be though provoking - as you dig into the psyches of people who are on the border between life and death.
Clearly this was written early in King's career, and it's a bit raw, but for this subject matter that somehow seems appropriate. Perhaps some of the characters are a bit too grey and white, but even that's OK here - if you imagine the conditions they're under, you can see how extreme behavior might erupt.
Reading this book will make you think about life and death a bit, and about how hard humans will push themselves to keep going. And at the same time it's fun all the way through.
Rated by buyers -
I read this book 15 years or so ago and just picked it up again to reread. Seems the very first time I was reading, my feet and legs actually started to hurt as the story is written with a lot of conviction. My feet and legs did not commit to the same agony as before - likely due to them always feeling tired and sore. All that said, it is a good book and you really find yourself drawn into the Walkers.
Rated by buyers -
Every May, 100 teenage boys (all volunteers) are selected to participate in The Long Walk. The walk begins in Maine and continues without pause until only one walker remains; stopping for any reason incurs a warning, and at three warnings the walker is shot. Ray Garraty is a local participant and a favorite to win, and his long walk takes him through his past, into the reasons he and the other boys are walking, to the final step on the road. The Long Walk is all about concept, character, and motivation, and so is comprised primarily of an exploration of what the Long Walk is and what it entails, and an exploration of who Ray and his fellow walkers are and why they're participating. Unfortunately, the premise is never fully explained or justified, and so it feels artificial and the book is disappointing; the characterization, on the other hand, is exceptional. This book isn't quite as good as it could be, but it's intriguing nonetheless, with a chilling concept and wonderful characters. I recommend it.
What drew me to this book was the concept: the endless, desolate road, the impossibly difficult journey, the death-wish of a hundred adolescent boys. That concept is as important as the protagonist (if not moreso), and much of the book's length goes to descriptions of the difficulty and perseverance of the long journey. King writes horror, of course, and he writes it well; The Long Walk is more distanced and psychological than much of his work, but his skills transfer smoothly and make the book consistently tense and chilling. Even when the deaths get monotonous (as they are wont to do when there are 99 of them), it only contributes to the unending, harrowing struggle down the road. Unfortunately, the book's concept is never adequately explored. King reveals more and more about how the Walk functions and how it affects both participants and spectators, but he never explains why it exists. Perhaps that's intentional--and the Long Walk does become a metaphor for living and dying in real life, which also lacks an explanation--but regardless, it makes the premise feel artificial and incomplete.
Characters and motivations don't quite make up for this lack of explanation, but they are brilliantly realized. Ray, and his past; the friends he makes and the secondary characters who die along the way; what motivates each character and what eventually takes them to their death: King creates realistically detailed, individualized, compelling characters. Some back stories (primarily for Ray) and character traits (primarily for secondary characters) are over-simplified, but that's acceptable given the nuanced characterizations and character interactions (as well as the limitations of setting and plot) which do exist. The Long Walk did not quite live up to my expectations, and if there had been more reason and explanation behind the Walk itself, it would have been a better book. Nonetheless, it is a harrowing novel fueled by an intriguing concept and wonderful characters, and it's a pleasure to read. I recommend it.
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