Customer Reviews
Trunk Novel! - By: kehs, 27 Aug 2008 
This is Stephen King at his best. I can't believe it was one of his trunk novels. I'm so please he re-worked it & had it published. The character of Blaze is so well written that although he is a `baddie' I felt myself truly caring for him. There have been comments about the similarities between him & the character of Lennyin Steinbeck's Of Mice & Men, & I have to say I agree with them. Both are hulking great men with gentle characteristics, who are led astray by friends & situations out of their control. When Blaze end up alone with the baby, but starts to `see' his dead friend everywhere, things get really interesting. The whole story is very touching & the final pages are breathtaking.
Trunk Novel! - By: kehs, 27 Aug 2008 This is Stephen King at his best. I can't believe it was one of his trunk novels. I'm so please he re-worked it & had it published. The character of Blaze is so well written that although he is a `baddie' I felt myself truly caring for him. There have been comments about the similarities between him & the character of Lennyin Steinbeck's Of Mice & Men, & I have to say I agree with them. Both are hulking great men with gentle characteristics, who are led astray by friends & situations out of their control. When Blaze end up alone with the baby, but starts to `see' his dead friend everywhere, things get really interesting. The whole story is very touching & the final pages are breathtaking.
taut, short thriller - By: time I had some time alone, 15 Aug 2008 
Dear Constant Reader,
I hope you don't mind, but it's hard enough cranking out one multi-million selling novel every year, let alone two, soin the certain knowledge that my name on the cover will sell millions of copies, here's one I wrotein 1973. I found it under the bed. It's a bit moth-eaten but I've blown the dust off & I reckon no-one will mind- especially if I give them a lovely personal introduction explaining why I think it's well worth a read.
No, not really. Actually, this release of a novel King wrote under the Richard Bachman pseudonym, but was never published, is a pretty taut thriller, carefully ratcheting up the suspense as the novel progresses. For fans of King's recent work, the writing may seem compact, even sparse, serving only to drive the simple plot. Blaze, a dim-witted criminal, struggles to keep his latest plan together, the one big score to help him escape his life of crime. In between, we learn about Blaze's life & how he has been brought to this point. The alternate chapters detailing Blaze's backstory work well even if this is a very old trick (but then, it's a very old book).
Short by King's standards, the novel provides a straightforward suspense story. I thought carefully about the star rating; compared to vintage King, it might not manage three stars- but compared to other novelsin the genre, surely it should be worth more. It may not provide the full satisfaction of some of his work, but it is thoroughly recommended as a useful appetizer before the next new book comes along.
Good book! - By: M. Packer, 22 Jul 2008 
This was an interesting book that spiralled from a friendly giant who was abused as a child.
Lots of good twists, I'd recommend it to anyone!
I'm not sure what to think about this book - By: J. Bowen, 20 Jul 2008 
I really don't know what to make of this book, which is about a slightly mentally retarded guy (called Blaze) who has been working "short cons" for years with a friend called George.
After his friend dies, Blaze decides to continue with the "one big plan" that George had been planning before his death. To motivate himselfin this endeavour, he talks to himself as George would. This self-motivation starts off as a sort of security blanket at first, but turns into something more sinister as the poop hits the fan, further into the book.
Reading about a dumb guy as he get his head round something serious might get a little boring after a while, so King cuts between the present day of the book (the early 80s) & Blaze's unpleasant childhood. The back story we get about Blaze acts as a sort of explanation of Blaze's actions, & tells us of the underlying futility of much of Blaze's life to that point. This back story has been done betterin other books, but it works well within the confines of the story as a whole, I think.
As I said earlier, I couldn't get into this book. I know we're supposed to like Blaze (and I liked him a lot more than George), but I still didn't like him all that much. He's a naive, silly guy who is easily led into doing things he knows are wrong. This might sound harsh, but I couldn't bring myself to root for him because of the state of mind that he has.
