Blaze

“Blaze” by Stephen King is a truly deep and interesting novel. It also has a very interesting and ironic past. The novel was originally written by Richard Bachman but was never published while he was alive. Stephen King stumbled upon it and did not care for it that much, so he put it away. A number of years later, while King was in a writing slump, he remembered “Blaze” and went to find it. He read it again and decided he would keep with the main points, but re-wrote it with his own twist. “Blaze” is the combination of efforts from two literary masters, and it shows.

            Clayton “Blaze” Blaisdell is a small-time crook looking to make it big. He plans to go from robbing convenience stores to kidnapping a member of the richest family around. However, there are some forces acting against him. As a child, he was beaten badly, so badly that he is considered by some to be retarded. To make matters worse, the ghost of his recently deceased partner is haunting Blaze. Or is he? During the length of the novel, his former partner, George, constantly appears as a ghost to Blaze, making suggestions and criticism. However, it is questionable whether it is the ghost or just the memory haunting Blaze. This novel is an interesting tale, following the criminal instead of the cops.

            One thing that makes the novel “Blaze” so interesting is that it follows the criminal instead of the cops. This provides an in-depth look into the mind of the criminal. The justifications for the horrible crimes that are deemed inhumane by society are surprisingly reasonable. The criminals often pick upon the type of people that got them in a bad place to begin with. This is different than most other novels because they follow the cops chasing the criminals.

            During the entire story, Blaze is followed by George, his former partner. The big problem, though, is that George is dead. The reader then has to ask “What is following and helping Blaze?” Some will agree that the actual ghost of George is following and talking to Blaze. Others will say that Blaze is crazy or too mentally disturbed, and believes George is still around. However, I believe Blaze is talking to his own conscience which takes form of his partner. To Blaze, George was practically his savior. George always knew what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. Without him, Blaze would never have succeeded. With George’s death, Blaze had to take care of himself, which seemed nearly impossible. Blaze must have learned the criminal ways from George and tells himself that knowledge in the form of George. On many occasions this has helped him, such as when he knew to leave his old home and what to get at the baby store.

            One of Stephen King’s brilliant methods is really getting in the mind of the character, which allows this book to be so great. The novel would not be nearly as good as it is, if this had not been done. The view into the characters’ minds allows the reader to understand and pity the main character even more so.

            Blaze is an amazing novel that any type of person would enjoy. It is suspenseful, heart-warming, chilling, and action-packed, all in one.