Maratonmarschen (original 1979; edition 1989)

by Stephen King, Lilian Fredriksson, Karl G. Fredriksson

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5,195	118	2,059	(3.97)	1 / 144
Fiction. Suspense. HTML: In an ultraconservative America of the not-too-distant future when America has become a police state, the annual marathon is the ultimate sports competition, a deadly contest of endurance and determination. One hundred boys are selected each year to enter a grueling 450-mile marathon known as "The Long Walk." The game is simple: maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. If you break the rules, you get three warnings, then you're out�??permanently. The winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life; but a single misstep could be the last. Travel a road of horrors with one of the world's bestselling authors in this harrowing tale of chilling, macabre possibility.… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	Djinn
Title:	Maratonmarschen
Authors:	Stephen King
Other authors:	Lilian Fredriksson, Karl G. Fredriksson
Info:	Stockholm : Legenda, 1989 ;
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	None

Work Information

The Long Walk by Stephen King (1979)

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	Group › Topic	Messages	Last Message
	King's Dear Constant Readers: April 2010's SK Flavor of the Month - The Bachman Books, Rage and The Long Walk	26 unread / 26	Moomin_Mama, April 2010

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▾Member reviews

English (108) Italian (2) French (2) Spanish (1) German (1) Dutch (1) All languages (115)

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Showing 1-5 of 108 (next | show all)

I had not read a King for more than thrity years. I stuck with this one against my better judgement to give it a chance. My reaction to the ending was "So What"?

I regret having not cut my losses very early in this book. (

)

jstjst | Mar 9, 2024 |

Whenever I read King, I always remember how much I love King. From my 1st experience with Cujo (borrowed from my Mom) to The Stand and ultimately the final book in the Gunslinger series that I waited 20 years for.

I love the Bachman voice, the King voice and the voice in tandem with Straub. I love how you can be immersed in a perfectly ordinary story, about a perfectly ordinary guy and look up hours later too scared to get up and turn on the light. I have had many a 'how the f*ck did we get here?" moments with King and loved every minute of them.

This book dragged me back into that world and I think I'll close the door behind me for a bit as I mine my digital bookshelves for more..

(

)

jazzbird61 | Feb 29, 2024 |

I had been intending to read something a touch more literary, but sometimes I've just got to go with what the library directs me towards.

Anyhow, this is a good, intense read. A very, very simple concept - 100 boys set off on a walking competition where anyone dropping below 4 miles per hour is killed. Last man standing wins.

There's an obvious similarity with The Hunger Games, although here the participants are just trying to outlast their competitors, not kill them. Unlike the Hunger Games there's almost no explanation of why the walk happens, or what has happened to society to lead to its establishment. In fact, the book just follows the race - no scene changes, no digressions, no exposition. It's all about the race. In that respect there's a certain formalist quality to the book (perhaps why King wrote it under his Bachman pseudonym?) and it gives an admirably spare quality to the book.

It's engrossing and entertaining, and also largely convincing - my disbelief remained on suspension for the most part. I think it could have been a little bit shorter.
(

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thisisstephenbetts | Nov 25, 2023 |

Probably one of the darkest, most VIVID dystopians I have ever read. I remember stealing this from my mum's "not for kids" shelf when I was in high school. I tell folks I'm in Lit courses with about it all the time but most haven't heard of it. Still gives me the willies.

Highly recommended. It's meant to close the distance between what is possible for our future and what is happening now. It's probably even MORE chilling in the generation of Trump than it was when it was written.

Highly recommend reading this one. It changed the way I think about stories. (

)

BreePye | Oct 6, 2023 |

This was an interesting read. Almost the entire story is told by way of dialog and the reason(s) for the Long Walk never seem to be revealed. The ambiguity was frustrating at the beginning but ended up being one of the strong points of the novel. Recommended if you are into Stephen King or are on a challenge to read his work (as I am currently doing). (

)

mindrot | Aug 22, 2023 |

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Wielki Marsz
Jaka jest największa nagroda, którą można sobie wymarzyć? Wielu odpowiedziałoby pieniądze, sława czy władza. Ale jest coż ważniejszego od tych rzeczy. Największą nagrodą jest zachowanie życia. Taką właśnie tematykę podjął Stephen King w książce zatytułowanej "Wielki Marsz". Autor znowu zaskoczył czytelników głębią swojego umysłu. Stworzył bowiem opowieść wciągającą, alegoryczną i tonącą w mrocznym klimacie.

Tym razem S. King mocą swojej wyobraźni przeniósł czytelnika na start wyścigu. Meta natomiast znajduje się tam, gdzie padnie ze zmęczenia przedostatni z zawodników. Raz w roku do Wielkiego Marszu stają młodzi chłopcy z całych Stanów Zjednoczonych. Ich zadaniem jest maszerować tak długo, aż zostanie tylko jeden. Jeden, bo pozostali zginą, jeśli spróbują wycofać się w trakcie wyścigu. Trasa marszu biegnie przez ogromne połacie kraju, a młodzi zawodnicy muszą wędrować niezależnie od warunków pogodowych czy pory dnia.

"Wielki Marsz" S. Kinga opowiada o brutalnej i bezwzglednej rywalizacji. Cel może osiągnąć tylko jedna osoba, a śmiałków jest wielu. Czy w grupie znajdą się ludzie gotowi pomóc słabszym zawodnikom? Czy chęć przetrwania okaże się silniejsza niż ludzkie uczucia?

Wędrując śladem zawodników wyścigu, czytelnik posmakuje napięcia, jakie zbudował S. King. Zagłębi się w mroczny świat, w którym obowiązuje tylko jedna zasada. Za wszelką cenę iść do przodu i nie zatrzymywać się nawet na moment. Tylko wtedy osiągnie się cel podróży i zdobędzie nagrodę.

"Wielki Marsz" to książka dla wszystkich miłośników literatury grozy. Ale z pewnością i inni czytelnicy znajdą interesujące wątki w opowieści S. Kinga. Niewątpliwie domeną tego autora jest to, że potrafi dotrzeć do wielu odbiorców.

added by Scottie33 | editWydawnictwo Prószyński i S-ka, Mariusz Obszyński

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (66 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Stephen King	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Bachman, Richard	—	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Publisher Series

Heyne Allgemeine Reihe

Kolekcja Mistrza Grozy (16)

Postscripts (10)

Urania [Mondadori] (1001)

Is contained in

The Bachman Books by Stephen King

The Bachman Books / Thinner / The Tommyknockers by Stephen King (indirect)

Rage ; The Long Walk by Stephen King

La lunga marcia, L'uomo in fuga by Stephen King

Vlucht naar de top ; De marathon ; Werk in uitvoering by Stephen King

▾Awards and Honors

Notable Lists

Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection – 1979)

besthorrornovels.com's Top 25 Best Horror Books

Cliff McNish's top 10 most frightening books for teenagers

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

The Long Walk

Original title

The Long Walk

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Information from the German Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.

"Für mich war das ganze Universum leer, ohne Leben, ohne Sinn, ohne Willenskraft, ja, ohne Feindseligkeit; es war eine einzige, unermesslich große, todbringende Dampfmaschine, die in ihrer tödlichen Gleichgültigkeit vor sich herstampfte und mich Glied für Glied zermalmte. Ein ödes, düsteres, einsames Golgatha, eine Todesmühle! Warum waren die Lebenden, die dorthin verbannt waren, ohne Gefährten? Warum hatten sie ein Bewusstsein? Warum, wenn es keinen Teufel gibt - oder ist der Teufel etwa euer Gott?" - Thomas Carlyle

"Ich möchte jeden Amerikaner ermuntern, so oft wie möglich zu wandern. Es ist nicht nur gesund; es bringt auch Spaß." - John F. Kennedy (1962)

"Die Pumpe ist kaputt, weil die Vandalen den Schwengel mitgenommen haben." - Bob Dylan

Dedication

This is for Jim Bishop and Burt Hatlen and Ted Holmes

First words

An old blue Ford pulled into the guarded parking lot that morning, looking like a small, tired dog after a hard run.

Quotations

To me the Universe was all void of Life, or Purpose, of Volition, even of Hostility; it was one huge, dead, immeasurable Steam-engine, rolling on , in its dead indifference, to grind me limb from limb. O vast, gloomy, solitary Golgatha, and Mill of Death! Why was the Living banished thither companionless, conscious? Why, if there is no Devil; nay, unless the Devil is your God." - Thomas Carlyle
"I would encourage every American to walk as often as possible. It's more that healthy; it's fun" - John F. Kennedy (1962)
"The pump don't work 'Cause the vandals took the handle." - Bob Dylan

Last words

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Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Stephen King bibliography

▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Suspense. HTML:

In an ultraconservative America of the not-too-distant future when America has become a police state, the annual marathon is the ultimate sports competition, a deadly contest of endurance and determination. One hundred boys are selected each year to enter a grueling 450-mile marathon known as "The Long Walk." The game is simple: maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. If you break the rules, you get three warnings, then you're out�??permanently. The winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life; but a single misstep could be the last.

Travel a road of horrors with one of the world's bestselling authors in this harrowing tale of chilling, macabre possibility.

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Book description

Every year, on the first of May, one hundred teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as "The Long Walk." Among this year's chosen crop is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty. He knows the rules: that warnings are issued if you fall under speed, stumble, sit down. That after three warnings...you get your ticket. And what happens then serves as a chilling reminder that there can be only one winner in the Walk - the one that survives... (0-451-19671-6)

Haiku summary