Tag: The Long Walk

Louis Sachar – Holes | Review

March 31, 2019
Authors P-T (By Surname)Fiction

Title: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 234

Rating 4/5

 

 

This started out super promising, and the idea of troubled kids being forced to dig holes every day reminded me of The Long Walk by Stephen King, writing under his pseudonym of Richard Bachman. The entire first half of the book was a solid 5/5 all of the way.

The problem for me was that the ending let it down, and I think it ended up focusing too heavily on the mysteries of the past when I wanted to see more of what the author had to say about society. There were some great observations here and it was certainly food for thought, and it almost rivals The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton when it comes to books about troubled youth. Almost, but not quite.

All in all, I’d still recommend reading this, but I do think that while it was good, it had the potential to be great but it let itself down. With that said, Sachar did an excellent job, and while this book isn’t perfect, it’s damn close. It’s just what I needed after reading a book that I enjoyed much less than I was expecting it to, and it made for a pretty good palate cleanser. Go ahead and check it out if you’re able to find a copy. Do it.

 

 

Click here to buy Holes.

Stephen King – Roadwork | Review

February 1, 2019
Authors P-T (By Surname)Fiction

Title: Roadwork

Author: Stephen King

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 264

Rating: 4/5

 

 

This is one of those stories that took a while to grow on, but which once I was invested, I really enjoyed. My only real criticism that I’d have for it is that I think it might have worked better if it had been called “Demolition”, but that’s just a matter of personal taste.

I think what King does well here is that he manages to create a sort of antihero that we’re all secretly rooting for because he symbolises the fight between us as individuals and the big companies that dominate our modern lives. It’s arguably more relevant now than it was when it was first published in the 1970s.

I did read this one a little slower than the other stories in the bound up edition of The Bachman Books that I have, and I think this one and Rage are slightly weaker than The Long Walk and The Running Man, the other two. Either way, though, I’d definitely say that it’s worth checking out.

It’s also interesting because Bachman and King have two different writing styles, despite the fact that the two of them are the same person. It’s interesting how King used his alter ego to explore a different style of writing and I think that the Bachman books as a whole are definitely worth reading whether you’re a King fan or not. Roadwork isn’t the best of them, but it is still a damn good entry into King’s epic bibliography.

 

 

Click here to buy Roadwork.