The Long Walk
Author: Stephen King as Richard Bachman
Narrator: Kirby Heyborne
First Published:  July 1979
Audiobook: 10 hours 44 minutes

Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: October 2-7, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars 

Book Description:

Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping… with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently…

Jessica’s Review:

The Long Walk is one of King’s earliest written novels, written in 1966-1967 at just 19 years old as a college freshman and was first published under his Richard Bachman pseudonym. I was intrigued by the movie trailer and wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. And I really enjoyed this book!  What a great novel written at such a young age!

In a dystopian America, every year 100 boys willingly sign up for The Long Walk: They must keep a pace of walking four miles per hour.  They have three warnings when they fall below the 4 mph. If they fall below again, they are shot dead. You also can not impede on another walker. If they walk an hour after a warning is given then it goes away.  There is no end to The Long Walk until only one boy remains. What is the reward? Anything he wants for the rest of his life. Simple rules in a gritty yet realistic novel.

Ray Garraty is the main focus of the novel. The reader finds themselves rooting for Garraty and a few other ‘favorite’ characters in the novel. But you know that at the end only one boy will be left. The Long Walk could have been a very slow-moving novel:  All that’s going on is the boys walking, talking, thinking, and from time to time getting warnings and eventually shot.  Through their conversations we get to know some of the other characters. As they walk through towns, we see the crowds that come to see these walkers. I never lost my interest in the novel and wanted to see who was going to be the eventual victor.  The reader also sees the boys descend the further The Long Walk goes: The boys go from optimistic to far from that as they are stretched beyond their limits mentally and physically.  The reader sees the boys realize what they actually signed up for.

Dystopian novels are another genre I enjoy reading and this dystopian met all my expectations! Despite being written so long ago, you can see possibly happening in a future world.  Kirby Heyborne is the narrator and he really portrayed the novel well. He became Garraty for me.

If you enjoy King and/or dystopian novels, you should think about reading this one!

Movie Comparison

Movie Trailer

My Thoughts on the Movie Compared to the Book:

The Long Walk novel received 5 stars from me and I was looking forward to the novel. It keeps its premise with (of course) many changes: The movie drops the number of walkers from 100 to 50, the pace drops from a very brisk 4mph to a more realistic 3 mph. Characters from the book may be combined or not present and the ending is extremely different. I was disappointed that Abraham was not in the film.

This movie will not be for everyone as it is raw and gritty like the book is. Boys are walking and all but one will not make it to the end. We see these characters get shot, some more up close and personal than others. We see the characters change in a variety of ways over the course of the film.

Without giving spoilers, the ending is very different in several respects. I saw one difference coming but not the other change. The novel leaves an ambiguous ending, which we do not get in the film. Unlike in The Mist where the ending was also changed, for me the ending was much better, I am still not sure what to think about the film ending. There is so much to decompress from after watching this film.

There was so much more that could have been done with the film, but condensing a 320-page novel to a 1 hour 45-minute film, you definitely have limitations. Yes, it is a good film and worth the watch, but it was also very graphic and depressing. For me it is a one-time viewing.

Mark Hamill plays The Major and while he is a very minor character and not seen on screen much, he plays the roll extremely well!

If you enjoy dystopian films and feel you can handle the graphic nature of the film, go for it. If you also want to read the book, definitely watch the movie first. The book has so much more to it.

Purchase Links:
Book
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Movie:
Please note: The Long Walk is available on streaming now, you can buy it as physical media later this month in the USA. I did not see a release date for physical media in the UK
Amazon US
Amazon UK