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Blaze

A Novel

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Blaze

Written by: Richard Bachman, Stephen King
Narrated by: Ron McLarty
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About this listen

A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 (from "cancer of the pseudonym"), but in late 2006, King found the original typescript of Blaze among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library ("How did this get here?!") and decided that, with a little revision, it ought to be published.

Blaze is the story of Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., and of the crimes committed against him and the crimes he commits, including his last, the kidnapping of a baby heir worth millions. Blaze has been a slow thinker since childhood, when his father threw him down the stairs and then threw him down again. After escaping an abusive institution for boys when he was a teenager, Blaze hooks up with George, a seasoned criminal who thinks he has all the answers. But then George is killed, and Blaze, though haunted by his partner, is on his own.

He becomes one of the most sympathetic criminals in all of literature. This is a crime story of surprising strength and sadness, with a suspenseful current sustained by the classic workings of fate and character, as taut and riveting as Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.

©2007 Stephen King (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.
Horror Literary Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Fiction Scary Exciting
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What the critics say

"This diverting soft-boiled crime novel reflects influences ranging from John Steinbeck to James M. Cain." ( Publishers Weekly)

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What listeners say about Blaze

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One my favourite SK - empathy for an idiot

Blaze is one my favourite SK of all time. Read it 3-4 times and did the audiobook 3-4 times. Great character depth and I like ol’ Blazer

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Classic. Great narration!

It takes a chapter or two to connect with the narrators style, but once you do it’s a great listen. Yes, I would recommend.

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