An unassuming novella | Blaze: A Novel

Feels Like the Old Stephen King... | Blaze: A Novel | Richard Bachman

books:


	• Blaze: A Novel Richard Bachman Pocket, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 149 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Just a few words

I don't have much to say about 'Blaze: A Novel'. I love King's horror novels, but I am always blown over by the quieter fiction he writes - even if it is written under the Richard Bachman pseudonym. 'Blaze' is one of King's quieter, simpler novels. The story leads you along, step by step, like footprints in the snow. It leads you into the tangles of a wood that grows inside one doomed man's heart.

In a word, it is beautiful.

An unassuming novella

"Blaze" received an interesting hardcover release last year and is already out in paperback. It was sold expressly as an abandoned Richard Bachman book. The lengthy and entertaining foreword by Stephen King leaves no doubt that this is not a "proper" novel, but rather an old and jettisoned idea from 35 years ago that's been dusted off and sold primarily to showcase an artist charity King runs. A lot of King's recent work has been of this stripe -- old curiosities and half-finished projects, rather than novels proper. It's more interesting as a look at the evolutionary process behind the man's writing (see also On Writing) than as an original story in its own right.

As a blatant homage to Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck Centennial Edition), "Blaze" does wind up an amusing crime novella. It's written primarily in the hard-boiled noir throwback voice that King prefers to adopt on ocassion, most recently in The Colorado Kid (Hard Case Crime). It marries the idea of the cynical George shepherding the naive, mentally challenged Lenny (here renamed Blaze), with the boilerplate notion of two small-time criminals out for one last big score. Their plan is doomed to fail, and the author drops liberal hints throughout each successive chapter that there will be no happy ending. The last chapter matches up very closely to the final scene in Steinbeck's earlier work, if you need it.

Since "Blaze" is advertised as a "trunk novel", an abandoned project from 35 years ago that was never meant to be a centerpiece of the King ouevre, it's basically review proof. If I had to level a complaint, then, it's that this is clearly no longer a Bachman book. King's rewrites have removed any of the traits that may have distinguished Bachman's books from his own writing style. There's far too much of the open and obvious King sentimentality on display, such as the sequence where a school-aged Blaze and a buddy sneak off to Boston for a week. Their adventure succeeds due to the random kindness of total strangers, an old King trope. At the end of the sequence, we're told the sad fate of the other boy -- another common King feature, telling you chapters in advance how a character will exit the story. King's feature, not Bachman's.

I've got a feeling that were Bachman himself to buy and read this novel, he'd have shook his head despairingly and tossed it right back onto the reject pile, in between the DVD release of The Running Man (Special Edition) and the last surviving copies of "Rage".

for more information click here

Feels Like the Old Stephen King...

I totally felt the Old Uncle Stevie's writing style in this book. Okay, so the premise is a bit out of whack, a huge dude with few lights on upstairs pulling off a criminal caper, but to me it had that comfortable feeling I haven't been getting with King's novels lately. Many people are complaining lately that there's no horror in some of King's books anymore and this may be true. I'd rather read a "non-horror" King book than anything like "Cell" again. A few of his best stories are not horror at all-"The Body" and "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption". I found this book to be thoroughly enjoyable-didn't want to put it down.

for more information click here

A Nice Trunk Novel

Blaze was a really good read. It had the classic crime novel feel, and really creates compassion for Clayton Blaisdell.

Early effort before hitting stride

This middle of the road effort comes off as a novel written by a man learning to write. Of course that is exactly what it is. King wrote this in 1972-73, when his only publications to date were short stories in skin mags.

That said, this novel shows promise. There are attempts at literary allusions, metaphors, a "modern" Of Mice and Men.

But it tries too hard, and becomes predictable, and ends up feeling shallow and leaving you empty.

Don't get me wrong, Blaze is a worthwhile enough read. Just don't expect The Green Mile or Lisey's Story here.

for more information click here