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Blaze (Hardcover)

by Richard Bachman (Author)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Hodder Hb (Jun 12 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0340952229
ISBN-13: 978-0340952221
Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14 x 3.4 cm
Shipping Weight: 540 g

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #1,323,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Written circa 1973, this trunk novel, as Bachman's double (aka Stephen King) refers to it in his self-deprecating foreword, lacks the drama and intensity of Carrie and the horror opuses that followed it. Still, this fifth Bachman book (after 1996's The Regulators) shows King fine-tuning his skill at making memorable characters out of simple salt-of-the-earth types. Clayton Blaze Blaisdell has fallen into a life of delinquency ever since his father's brutal abuse rendered him feebleminded. King alternates chapters recounting Blaze's past mistreatment at a series of Maine orphanages and foster homes with Blaze's current plans to follow through on a kidnapping scheme plotted by his recently murdered partner in crime, George Rackley. Blaze talks to George as though he's still there, and the conversations give the tale tension, with Blaze coming across as a pitiable and surprisingly sympathetic contrast to prickly George. Despite its predictability, this diverting soft-boiled crime novel reflects influences ranging from John Steinbeck to James M. Cain. Also included is a previously uncollected story, Memory, the seed of King's forthcoming novel Duma Key. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

Stephen King, writing here as Bachman, has said he doesnt like this book very much. Thats a case of a guy being waaaaaay too hard on himself. BLAZE, written in 1973, should have been published years ago. Its a powerful, well-written story (really, Stephen, it is) about a mentally challenged behemoth who falls into a life of crime and kidnaps a baby as a path to easy money. Ron McLarty makes listeners feel both pity and disgust for the main character of the novel. McLarty actually sounds like a lumbering oaf and imparts equal character to the other actors, as well. Dont listen to Kings opinion--BLAZE burns bright. M.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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4.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A King by any other name ... well, you know ... Bachman!, Nov 15 2008

By	Betty L. Dravis "BettyDravis@gmail.com, autho... (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Blaze: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

On the fourth day in my new home, unpacking was going smoothly: I was busy placing my books in bookshelves--"their" new home--when I came across Blaze: A Novel, a novel written by Stephen King under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. This is the last book from Bachman's "early period"; King says Bachman died in 1985 from "pseudonym cancer." While Bachman was writing slow-selling novels, King was building his reputation writing and selling short horror stories. (As you probably know, after retiring Bachman, King's very first book under his real name was Carrie...and the rest is history.)

Although King/Bachman wrote Blaze in 1973--King calls Bachman his "younger/smart-assier self"--it wasn't published until 2006 after one of King's assistants found the original typescript among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library. This review is written from a 2007 hardcover edition with a foreword by King; this book and the one I'm posting it under are hard to find, except on the secondary market.

Although nothing Bachman wrote seemed to please King's more mature self, he started reading Blaze and thought it was better than most of Bachman's published novels. He decided to revise and publish it, donating proceeds to the Haven Foundation which supports freelance artists.

And am I glad King published this book! As he hoped readers would, I "came for a good story" and got much more than that. This is a gripping story; a sad tale that grabbed me by the lapels from the first page and never let go. In fact, in between unpacking and a multitude of "moving woes," I finished this exciting book in two days

I'm mesmerized by the main character, Clayton Blaisdell, Jr.--Blaze for short. He's a complex, sympathetic character for whom I rooted from the "get-go." After his mother dies when he's only three years old, poor little Blaze's father does something so horrendous to him that he ends up being a "slow thinker" and is made a ward of the state.

Blaze grows into a "Big Mother" whose appearance is intimidating, but he has a gentle soul, only harming those who mistreat small, defenseless people and his friends. He is loved by all who really know him, but once again suffers abuse by authorities in the boys' institution.

What happens to him in the institution that accelerates his rage, honing his hard edges? What happens to his best friend John? What does Blaze do to avenge John? How does he meet his new friend George who takes him under his wing and indoctrinates him into a life of petty crime? After George is killed, how does he help Blaze pull off the "big, final" crime they had always dreamed of? Why does he end up kidnapping a small, defenseless baby, son of a wealthy family? How could "the bull-simple dummy" do it alone? What happens when little Joe steals his heart? And why, with the cops closing in, is Blaze clutching the baby to his chest as he plunges deeper into the white hell of a powerful snowstorm in the Maine woods?

In Blaze, Bachman/King answers those questions in a series of clever twists and turns, skillfully maneuvering from present to past by masterful use of exciting flashbacks.

In response to King's foreword: Yes, Stephen, I "misted up"...more than a little; there's nothing in this novel to make people laugh at you. You painted such an accurate portrait of Blaze's character and background that, although I could not condone what he did, I understand the reasoning behind his actions. My heart broke each time Blaze's did. This is a real tear-jerker, a psychological thriller that could be a blockbuster movie.

Knowing full well that you and Richard Bachman are the same person, dare I say I enjoyed this book as much as any you've written under your true name...and better than some?

It seems that, like a rose, "a King by any other name is still a King." Stephen, you had "IT" then and failed to recognize it.

There are life lessons to be learned from this book...a book that will linger in your mind long after the last page has been read. Highly recommended with great enthusiasm.

Reviewed by: Betty Dravis, 2008
Author of 1106 Grand Boulevard,
The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley,
Millennium Babe: The Prophecy

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the norm, but still a really great story, Aug 13 2007

By	Babyblue Kelly "Paperback Princess" (Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Blaze: A Novel (Hardcover)

This book is short but still worth the read. A story about Blaze, a huge somewhat mentally slow man who has had a hard life and childhood. After his partner in crime and the brains behind their schemes dies, Blaze decides to carry out their last big con alone. The task, kidnap the baby of a wealthy family for ransom.

The book is really good going from present day as Blaze plans and executes his kidnapping and deals w/ the memory of his dead best friend, and his past, including an unhappy childhood that pretty much led him to where he is now.

Blaze although technically a "bad guy" b/c he's a criminal and now a kidnapper, is still a character that you end up rooting for and feeling sympathy for. You want him to win, you want him to find happiness. And I feel that when you are invested in a character, the author has done their job.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Rekindled, Jul 4 2009

By	Chris (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blaze: A Novel (Hardcover)

This was left unpublished for 35 years??? I thought that often while reading Blaze. It took me back to the way I used to feel when reading Stephen King/Richard Bachman books in the 1980's, when they were the only books I was reading. And the short story after the novel, Memory, was also good with an ending that comes right at you.

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4.0 out of 5 stars NOT your average King
I like Stephen King's novels well enough, and most of them are quite long. But BLAZE was short in comparison. Okay, fine. Read more

Published on Jul 16 2007 by Jane Smith (the REAL Jane Smith)