The Long Walk: Stephen King’s Provocative Dystopian Nightmare Is An Excellent Read

The Long Walk by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, is the first King I have read in ages, and it was a genuinely gripping read. I read it in two days, and probably would have done it in one if I didn’t have an annoying life.

What is The Long Walk about?

The plot and the premise is laughably easy to explain. For various reasons, a hundred boys who are mostly 16-18 years old (the official age range is never fully spelt out) volunteer to walk until only one is left.

The group is monitored and trailed by some army types. If the boys drop below 4 mph, they are given a warning. They get three warnings, and on the fourth, they are shot. The winner is the only one alive at the end. Their prize (again, kind of vague) is anything they could possibly want for the rest of their lives.

And that is it. One hundred boys set out, and only one will make it.

The world and motivations aren’t really explained much, but that adds to the horror

The boys are all volunteers for The Long Walk, and lots of people turn out to cheer them on and hopefully see one of them die. It seems to be an annual event that serves as a distraction for the ghoulish, morbid population, allowing them to forget their lives for a while and see some lovely suffering. Like gladiator fights, The Running Man (King clearly likes these kinds of tales), or whatever reality TV bollocks is currently popular.

The story is set in an alternate or future dystopian America, ruled by a militaristic type known as the Major. Not much else is explored about the setting, and many of the boys’ motivations are unclear. Some are in it for the prize, some to prove themselves, and some seem to just want to stand out in a society that largely ignores them. There is a strong sense, and it is mentioned a few times, that they are all fatalistic and clearly a little suicidal.

But this vagueness only adds to the horror of what is happening. All the focus is on the walk and survival. The way the boys talk, interact, and think is all believable, which isn’t all that surprising, as Stephen King is pretty good at that, and he wrote this book when he was just nineteen. This is a character-driven novel.

The varying motivations are also believable, as boys can be idiots and not fully think things through. They can justify pretty much anything and carry ludicrous levels of self-belief. I was one, and frankly, I’m surprised I made it to my 20s. I would be willing to bet that if there were a prize of a billion dollars, you could find men who would give it a go right now.

Also, the idea of America becoming a dystopian military-led country is strangely believable…

Is it worth a read?

You can probably guess my reply – yes, it is. As I said at the start, this is the first Stephen King book I have read in years. But I used to be a huge fan and have read well over twenty of his novels. I still am a fan, but I no longer rush to the shops to buy his latest. Even so, I could tell immediately who I was reading. He is a great writer, and even though this was his first completed book, it is annoyingly well-written.

The simplicity of the idea is what makes The Long Walk so compulsively readable. You get to know characters and like them, but you know they are all going to die. Except one. The slowly decreasing numbers create their own narrative impetus.

It is also pretty short and easy to read compared to some of his later, more epic works.

If you aren’t utterly repulsed by the premise and like Stephen King books, I thoroughly recommend The Long Walk. It is gory, horrific, and gripping. Enjoy.

You can check out The Long Walk by Stephen King, aka Richard Bachman, here.

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