My rating: 4/5 stars
“Blaze” is a book written by Stephen King under the pen-name of Richard Bachman. Even if he was not extremely proud of this book and kept it from being published many years, he finally decided to make it known to his readers. Opinions have been divided, some considering it brilliant, others that he could have done better. Personally, I couldn’t figure out the reason behind the nickname, but at the end of the day, the book was very satisfying.
“Blaze” gives us Clayton Blaisdell, a very troubled teenager, with a horrible past, being abused numerous times by his father. During high-school, he did a lot of minor no good deeds and had a lot of conflicts with the police. One day he meets George, who propose a big hit, far more serious than anything he ever did before. He has the idea to kidnap a child and blackmail his family for the ransom money. Blaze agrees but after that some interesting things happen. We found out that George is actually dead, but Blaze talks to him as being alive and near him. He hears voices and believes they are his accomplice in this deed. I know, a little weird 😀
The focus in mainly on Blaze and on the things that affected him and lead him to today’s events. The rest of the characters are in shade, Blaze being very sincere and transparent with us, sharing everything he feels. We find out who made him suffer, betrayed him, but also who was there for him. The reason why he began breaking the law is reveled and all this details helps us put this character together piece by piece.
What is to be remembered from this book? Stephen King is literally the king of mystery and thriller, with great stories, great characters and so much fluency in everything. In this book there are no supernatural elements, but I enjoyed it, because it makes it more realistic, more easy to apply it in real life, going more for the detective part. A brilliant read that you must have on your book shelves.
Ramonisme 