Book Review and Movie Comparison of The Long Walk
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
Audiobook Review: Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Fairy Tale
Author: Stephen King
Narrator: Seth Numrich with Stephen King
Published: September 6, 2022
Audiobook: 24 hours 5 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: December 2-14, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.
Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.
A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.
Jessica’s Review:
Fairy Tale was a risk for me as I knew it is in the fantasy genre. The first part is contemporary then it goes fantasy. I started it on my commute home one day and by the time I got home I was 1000% in love with Charlie, Radar, and Mr. Bowdich. Charlie and Mr. Bowdich meet by chance: Charlie hears the dog who formerly frightened all the neighborhood kids when they were younger constantly barking. The dog is up in age now and not as frightening, but Charlie looks to see what’s going on and Mr. Bowdich has had an accident. From here starts the part of the novel I loved: The three-way relationship that forms between Mr. Bowdich, Charlie, and the dog whom we learn is female and her name is Radar.
This beginning contemporary part is for anyone whom is an animal lover. I absolutely love Radar, and if I ever get another dog that is of the Shepard breed or similar, its name will be Radar! There is also intrigue and a mystery as well in this section. This isn’t giving anything away since it is in the book description, but Mr. Bowdich dies and Charlie inherits the house and then learns Mr. Bowdich’s many secrets, among them the existence of a shocking new world, and the entrance to it is in his shed.
I was still interested in the journey to the other world and part of Charlie and Radar’s adventure there. But this is a bit of a spoiler Charlie becomes separated from Radar and then I begin to lose interest in the story as this is where the fantasy part of the novel kicks in. Fantasy is just not for me! There also became so many more characters I couldn’t really keep track. Part of the story became a mesh of The Hunger Games and Divergent with characters fighting to the death. This second part just wasn’t for me.
I guess I just needed a story of ‘a boy and his dog’ as the first part was. There are some difficult scenes involving Radar as she is nearing the end of her life and I was trying to prepare for that, I was so invested with Radar. There is a rush for Charlie to get Radar to the Sundial to… well you must read to see what happens! It’s very good, trust me!
The narrator is Seth Numrich and he did a very good job! Mr. King himself makes an appearance as Mr. Bowdich in the cassette tape Charlie listened to! I was not aware that King was going to have a small part, so I realized it was him and ‘Whoa’d!’ Being it was Mr. King himself narrating it actually distracted me from what was being said. I guess I fan girled a bit hearing his voice.
Overall, if you enjoy contemporary and fantasy I think this will be the novel for you to read! Or even fantasy and a boy and his dog’ story this one will be for you. It just wasn’t fully for me. Like I said, this one was a risk, and overall, I am glad I read it for the first part of the novel.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
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Book Review: Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
Salem’s Lot
Author: Stephen King
Originally Published: October 17, 1975
672 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
‘Salem’s Lot is a small New England town with the usual quota of gossips, drinkers, weirdos and respectable folk. Of course there are tales of strange happenings – but not more than in any other town its size.
Ben Mears, a moderately successful writer, returns to the Lot to write a novel based on his early years, and to exorcise the terrors that have haunted him since childhood. The event he witnessed in the house now rented by a new resident. A newcomer with a strange allure. A man who causes Ben some unease as things start to happen: a child disappears, a dog is brutally killed – nothing unusual, except the list starts to grow.
Soon surprise will turn to bewilderment, bewilderment to confusion and finally to terror . . .
Kim’s Review:
Creepy AF book. A story of vampires in the vein of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. My only real criticism is that the slow burn build up just felt too slow. Other than that, the creep factor was there throughout. I was emotionally invested and I mostly enjoyed the look into the lives of the townspeople. By the time I got to the end, I was wide eyed and freaked out! I kinda wanna go visit Jerusalem’s Lot, but then I probably wouldn’t survive. I also loved the origin story of Chapelwaite! Overall this is a classic horror story with a simple plot that’s just drawn out a little too far. I really enjoyed it!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
