{"product_id":"blaze-9781416554844","title":"Blaze","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote \u003ci\u003eBlaze\u003c\/i\u003e in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write \u003ci\u003eCarrie.\u003c\/i\u003e Bachman died in 1985 (\"cancer of the pseudonym\"), but in late 2006 King found the original typescript of \u003ci\u003eBlaze\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003ci\u003eBlaze\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes \u003ci\u003eNever Flinch\u003c\/i\u003e, the short story collection \u003ci\u003eYou Like It Darker (\u003c\/i\u003ea \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003etop ten horror book of 2024), \u003ci\u003eHolly\u003c\/i\u003e (a \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of 2023), \u003ci\u003eFairy Tale\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBilly Summers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIf It Bleeds\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Institute\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eElevation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Outsider\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSleeping Beauties\u003c\/i\u003e (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: \u003ci\u003eEnd of Watch\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFinders Keepers\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eMr. Mercedes\u003c\/i\u003e (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel \u003ci\u003e11\/22\/63\u003c\/i\u003e was named a top ten book of 2011 by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e and won the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book Prize for Mystery\/Thriller. His epic works \u003ci\u003eThe Dark Tower\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIt\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePet Sematary\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDoctor Sleep\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eFirestarter\u003c\/i\u003e are the basis for major motion pictures, with \u003ci\u003eIt \u003c\/i\u003enow the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51812594057490,"sku":"9781416554844","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a8d8c651-fc35-42c1-86ea-dc1a4d859ca8.jpg?v=1766491484","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/blaze-9781416554844","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}