Finished On: 3rd of February,2015
Edition Details:
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 340
Publisher: Hoddor
This paperback edition has two works by Stephen King. One of it was the novel by Blaze which he wrote under the name of Richard Bachman and another one is a short story ‘Memory’.
Blaze 3.5/5
First Sentence:
George was somewhere in the dark.
Blaze by Richard Bachman is story of Clayton Blaisedell Jr aka Blaze. Blaze was a big guy at 6 feet 7 inches but he’s a little slow. He is a con who used to team up with George Rackely. George was the brain and Blaze the brawn of the team. They did a lot of small but successful cons before George wanted to do a last but big one: kidnapping an infant who is a heir to a family fortune. But now George is supposed to be dead. Blaze is alone. Blaze has decided he’ll do this last job. Will he be able to do it? And if yes, how’ll it turn out to be?
Blaze is a crime novel. According to the writer himself, he had written it way before Carrie but then had deemed it not good enough to show it to the publisher. And,how wrong he was?
The start of the story felt a little slow to me. But as the story progress it started to garner pace and then made it impossible for me to put it down. It was gripping till the end.
There are two stories running parallel in the novel. The first story is about Balze committing his biggest and last crime and the second tells his life story. I liked the second story better.
All through out the novel you read how Blaze is basically a good guy. He’s big but he’s nice to people around him. He’s slow but is a likable giant(I don’t know he kind of reminded me of Cujo. If Cujo had been a man, it would have been Blaze). But then things keep happening around him and he starts getting involved in doing harmless cons. I don’t know but i think it was his innocence that he retained till his end that made me sad at the ending. There are some parts with George that lend a supernatural flavor to the story and give it a Kingian feel. It was fun reading them.
A good and entertaining book although it made me a little sad in the end.
Memory 2.5/5
Memories are contrary things; if you quit chasing them and turn your back, they often return on their own.
Edgar Freemantle is a building contractor. He has everything an American success story needs: lots of money ,a good family and a prospering business. But then an accident happens and everything changes.
It was a good story. I liked reading it but it was not as good as other stories by Mr King. The only interesting thing about this story was that it forms basis of his another novel Duma Key. And i think that’s why the publishers have published it here.
You can buy the book from the following links:
amazon.in
flipkart
