Blaze: A Novel

<p><b>the Last Of The Richard Bachman Novels, Recently Recovered And Published For The First Time. Stephen King's Dark Half May Have Saved The Best For Last.</b> <p></p> A Fellow Named Richard Bachman Wrote <i>blaze</i> In 1973 On An Olivetti Typewriter, Then Turned The Machine Over To Stephen King, Who Used It To Write <i>carrie</i>. Bachman Died In 1985 (cancer Of The Pseudonym), But In Late 2006 King Found The Original Typescript Of <i>blaze</i> 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.<p></p> <i>blaze</i> Is The Story Of Clayton Blaisdell, Jr. -- 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. <p></p> 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 <i>the Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon</i>.</p><h3>the Washington Post - Bill Sheehan</h3><p>perhaps Because It Was Written Relatively Late In His Apprenticeship (and Perhaps Because It's Had The Benefit Of A Recent Stylistic Makeover), <i>blaze</i> Emerges As The Best Of The Bachman Books, A Minor But Solidly Entertaining Addition To King's Prodigious Body Of Work &#8230; Ultimately, <i>blaze</i> Stands On Its Own And Deserves To Be Judged For What It Is: A Small, Honestly Crafted Story Filled With Genuine Narrative Pleasures, And With The Promise Of Better Things To Come.</p>