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Encyclopedia > Blaze (novel)
Blaze
Author Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Country USA
Language English
Genre(s) Horror
Publisher Scribner
Publication date June 12, 2007
Media type Print
Pages 288 pp
 

Blaze is a novel written by Stephen King under the name Richard Bachman. King announced on his website that he "found it" in an attic. In fact it was written before Carrie and King offered the original draft of the novel to his Doubleday publishers at the same time as Salem's Lot. They chose the latter to be his second novel and Blaze became a "Trunk Novel". King recently rewrote the manuscript, editing out much of what he perceived as over-sentimentality in the original text, and offered the book for publication in 2007. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... // Richard Bachman Richard Bachmans author photo. ... In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Scribner is a city located in Dodge County, Nebraska. ... Printing is an industrial process for reproducing copies of texts and images, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ... // Richard Bachman Richard Bachmans author photo. ... Look up Carrie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Doubleday is one of the largest book publishing companies in the world. ... Salems Lot is a horror novel by Stephen King, written in 1975. ...

Contents

Plot Summary

The story concerns Clayton Blaisdale, Jr. (known as "Blaze" for short, thus the title), a mentally challenged small-time con artist who kidnaps a millionaire's infant child, in the hopes of fulfilling the dreams of George, Blaze's deceased best friend and partner in crime. The chapters alternate between Blaze's past -- which covers his childhood (including how he came to be brain damaged) and his entry into a life of crime despite an otherwise sweet demeanor -- and his current caper, in which he imagines that he is still constantly advised by his friend George. Despite the helpfulness of (the imaginary) George's advice, Blaze's world begins to crumble during his kidnapping venture, especially as he bonds with the baby.


This book is mentioned as one of Richard Bachman's (a.k.a. Stephen King) earliest books, written in 1973, in between drafts of Carrie. He had two books to follow Carrie, this one and 'Salem's Lot. The editor chose 'Salem's Lot, although he warned King that he would be typecast as a horror writer. Look up Carrie in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Salems Lot is a horror novel by Stephen King, written in 1975. ...


The book also contains "Memory," a short story that was first published in 2006 and which King has since worked into Duma Key. Memory is a short story by Stephen King that was originally published in the summer reading issue of Tin House magazine (#28) in July of 2006. ... Duma Key is a forthcoming novel by horror writer Stephen King. ...


King's comments on the book

On King's website, the following was posted in the "Future Works" section on November 28, 2006:

"Many of you have been asking for more information about publication of Blaze following Steve's mention of it on his recent Lisey's Story book tour. This is another Bachman novel which he recently rediscovered. The original manuscript of Blaze was 173 pages long and was written in 1973. He has rewritten the first 100 pages. A lot of it needed editing to make it more timely since the 1973 references no longer worked. He's hoping to get it done by the end of the year. No publication deal has been signed, but he's sure there will be one."[1]

In an interview with Lilja of Lilja's Library (posted January 16, 2007), King said:

"I have been thinking about [Blaze] off and on for a while and every time I would think about it... you know I did the early books as Richard Bachman books and this is going to be a Bachman because it came from the same time. It was written right before Carrie and finally I thought to myself...the reason I’ve never done it was because, in my memory at least, it was a tearjerker of a book, you know it was kind of sentimental and just kind of...every now and then I think of what Oscar Wilde said about "The Little Match Girl." He said that it’s impossible to read about the little match girl without weeping tears of laughter and... you know something that is so sad it’s actually funny."[2]

// Richard Bachman Richard Bachmans author photo. ... Carrie (1974) is Stephen Kings first published novel. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. ... The Little Match Girl is a Danish fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a young girl who sells matches during the cold winter. ...

Connections to other works by King

When Blaze is at the pay phone and it doesn't take his quarters, it says "but- bool! - it wouldn't take his quarters" Liseys Story. ...

The headmaster of Hetton House, the home Blaze lives in, is named Martin Coslaw. Marty Coslaw is also the name of the little boy in Cycle of the Werewolf. Cycle of the Werewolf is a horror novel released in 1983 by Stephen King, featuring illustrations by renowned comic book artist Bernie Wrightson. ... Cycle of the Werewolf is a horror novel released in 1983 by Stephen King, featuring illustrations by renowned comic book artist Bernie Wrightson. ...

Shawshank Prison is mentioned several times throughout the novel. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (1982) is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in Different Seasons. ...


References

  1. ^ StephenKing.com site
  2. ^ Liljas Library Interview

External Links

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Stephen King

 
 

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