First Edition (1979)
One of Many Reprint Editions
First published back in July of 1979, Stephen King’s novel ‘The Long Walk’ was originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, forming the second novel of seven to be published under the Bachman name. The novel was later collected within King’s ‘The Bachman Books’ (1985) omnibus, which contained the first four novels which were published under this pseudonym.
The story was later made into a feature length film by Francis Lawrence which was released in September 2025.
The time of the annual Long Walk had arrived. Each year, on the first day of May, commencing at precisely nine in the morning, one-hundred boys aged between sixteen to eighteen, would commence this epic endurance test, with the walkers setting off together from the starting point in Maine. The prize for the individual who ‘out walked’ all of the other contestants, would win everything they would ever want for the rest of their lives.
However, for the other ninety-nine walkers partaking in the Long Walk, their defeat results in instant death. Shot where they stand, or where their tired bodies fall, by soldiers who follow their every step along this epic walk.
The rules of the Long Walk are simple. Each walker has a tiny radar dish monitoring their individual speed, with a sophisticated on-board computer informing the soldiers if a walkers’ speed drops below exactly four-miles-an-hour. The soldiers will give any such walker a warning, each time a low speed is detected. On the fourth consecutive low speed, the walker is eliminated by gunfire. However, once an hour has passed from receiving a warning, that warning is removed, resetting the warning clock.
The Long Walk was huge. So much so, it was deemed the national pastime. Walkers applied from all across the US, whittled down and chosen through a lengthy selection process. Spectators come from miles away to line much of the route. Across the country, over two billion dollars gets bet on the Long Walk every year.
Sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty was undoubtedly the crowd favourite this year. After all, he was Maine’s own flesh and blood. From walking the first few miles alongside the other contestants, his popularity with the crowds became increasingly evident. Shouts and placards thrust up into the warm spring sky spurred him on. Numerous girls shouting his name as if he was a star.
But the road ahead of them is long and hard. There can only ever be one winner. This is no normal contest, From the moment they set off, it’s a fight for survival. One in which only one boy will live to tell the tale.
For the Long Walk is more than just a test of physical stamina. It’s one of mental endurance. To keep going, day after day, night after night, with the constant threat of instant death always looming. Each one of the boys will eventually fall. Each one will die. Until there’s just one remaining. One lesson they all learn along that tirelessly long route, is the odds are never in anyone’s favour…
Some of the very best stories are born from a singular, simple idea. This is very true of ‘The Long Walk’. Essentially, that’s exactly what the entirety of the plot is. A long walk, with the last walker standing becoming the victor. Every other contestant dies. Simple, but hauntingly effective.
For anyone who’s undertaken a long gruelling hike, where you push yourself to see just how far you can walk under your own steam, this whole concept feels all the more powerful. Personally, I’ve done this, clocking over 50k in a solo hike, to see just how far I can walk in a day. The latter kilometres are physically and mentally exhausting. You spend a huge amount of time in your own head. Imagine that but magnified a thousand times over in the case of this premise. It’s intense.
That’s exactly what you have with ‘The Long Walk’. A psychological horror that’s powerfully character driven throughout. Yes, you have our principal protagonist – Ray Garraty – who you become so attached to. So utterly invested in. But of course, along the way we get to know many of the other contestants. From Peter McVries who becomes a close emotional support to Garraty, to Art Baker and his constant humour in the face of such a colossal task, to the strange loner Stebbins, who none of them can quite suss out until the bitter end.
Then you have the less friendly contestants. Gary Barkovitch who seems to be running on high-octane hate. A brutish bully of a lad who’s in it merely to watch other people die. Then there’s Collie Parker, who’s constantly reminding everyone that he’ll be dancing on their graves before long. His delight in the death of his competitors is what keeps him going.
The gradual building of complex but base connections between these (and the other) boys is what builds the story into the masterpiece it is. Faced with such a scenario, up against such terrifying odds of survival, where you know every single one of them will eventually die bar one, creates a near overwhelming pressure cooker environment, leading to a monumentally emotionally charged tale.
We explore the reasoning for many of the boys putting their names forward for what is essentially a death sentence. Each have their own backstory and personal motivations. Each eventually opening up to each other, as the miles are trod, through gruelling day and night. Of course, death is always looming, forever at their back. We see emotional support blossoming from this hell in many different ways. The absolute epitome of an endurance test, shared and exposed in its rawest form.
It's that rawness to everything that reaches into you. This stripping back to the core, primal essence of individuals, which is brought to the surface because of this extraordinary scenario. It’s this rawness that King has captured so incredibly well within the tale. It puts you in amongst the tired, hurting walkers. You become one of them during this journey that takes place over a handful of cruel and soul-destroying days.
The whole story from start to end is an emotional journey. One you will absolutely feel a part of. The closer you get to the end, the more poignant the emotional turmoil becomes. It seems to reach into your very being, pulling at your deepest base emotions. There’s so much of humanity on show here. The blood, sweat and tears of who we are. Quite simply, this is nothing short of a powerful piece of dystopian literature that carries you along in a maelstrom of emotions until the final, perfectly executed conclusion.
The novel runs for a total of 370 pages.
© DLS Reviews
