Customer Reviews: Read 133 more reviews...
 Dusting off an old tale for the pleasure of his readers August 14, 2008
Good little story from Stephen King's dark vault of early unpublished writings. There's quite a bit of balance, nuance, and sophistication for an almost four decades-old story that Mr. King waited until now to publish. For instance, the tribulations of Blaze's early life create sympathy for the title character, but not to the point where we want to excuse or forgive Blaze's later criminal career. In other words, I felt bad for the guy but still wanted him to get caught by the F.B.I. once he crossed over into child kidnapping.
I also liked how, in the story's earlier going, we see that Blaze's friend George was good for him in many ways, but things got mucked up because George was a career criminal and encouraged Blaze to refine and deepen his own clunky (and, until then, mostly harmless) criminal past.
Complex, ironic situations like these deepened this engaging story, making it more than a simple crime-laced morality tale.
I also enjoyed Stephen King's lengthy introduction to "Blaze". In it he talks not only about the history of the book in question, but the many things that were going on in his professional and personal life around the time of the book's writing. It's a fun and interesting piece in itself.
I listened to the 7-CD unabridged audiobook version of "Blaze", which features a wonderful, skillful performance by actor, writer, and frequent audiobook narrator Ron McLarty. However, you don't get the bonus short story, "Memory" which accompanies the print editions of the book.
 Good for fans of King August 6, 2008
Blaze was a decent, short novel by King, though not his best work by a long shot (he says so in the forward). You can't help feeling a little sorry for the lead character "Blaze". His troubled past was really the cause of his present, and you can't help but wonder what could have been.....
 poignant July 17, 2008
I really wasnt expecting to like this book too much but I was happily mistaken. The character, Blaze, although on the wrong path, elicited my sympathy and I liked him and wished he could have been raised differently. All in all it was a good book.
Excellent!!! July 13, 2008
Stephen King writes best as Richard Bachman. This story was a page-turner and I read it all in one weekend.
 Blaze is no folk hero July 2, 2008
I'm surprised at how many reviewers found Blaze to be a sympathetic antihero. I've experienced that feeling before when the part is written strongly, like in the original Jackel movie, but I did not experience that here.
Blaze is a book about a thug. He has some of the usual, my upraising was bad and I got whipped a few times excuses, but it becomes quite evident that Blaze is a thug and likes being a thug. He gives no real thought or regret to anyone he harms who is in his way.
I expected this story to take the next step and go beyond, holding out hope that it could rise to the level of later King novels, but it didn't. I won't say what i expected for the sake of not putting spoilers in this review.
King can always keep me listening, he is an excellent storyteller, but I didn't find anything the character he picked, all that interesting.
I was rooting for his demise.
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