De Marathon - Jacob's Dragon Horde

mass market paperback, 303 pages

Dutch language

Published Nov. 7, 2000 by Poema Pocket.

ISBN:: 978-90-245-3677-1
OCLC Number:: 776999603

(2 reviews)

DE MARATHON: de af te leggen afstand is 700 kilometer.

DE REGELS: meedogenloos eenvoudig. Er mag niet langzamer dan 6 km per uur gelopen worden; men moet blijven bewegen; er zal slechts één winnaar zijn. Bij overtreding krijgen de deelnemers drie waarschuwingen. De vierde is de laatste en definitief, de kogel.

DE SCHEIDSRECHTER: de majoor, geholpen door zijn trouwe soldaten.

DE DEELNEMERS: honderd zorgvuldig geselecteerde jongeren, onder wie de zestienjarige Ray Garraty. De race kan beginnen...

In De marathon beschrijft Stephen King op bloed stollende wijze hoe sport zich in de nabije toekomst zou kunnen ontwikkelen. Enerzijds is er de sporter zelf die zijn lichaam op steeds extremere wijze wil testen, anderzijds is er het publiek, waarvoor verliezers letterlijk niet meer lijken te bestaan. --back cover

20 editions

Amber Herbert reviewed The Long Walk by Stephen King

Decent Character Building But Little Context

4 stars

I picked this up after seeing the trailer for the upcoming movie. While King does a decent job of making the characters relatable, or at least understandable, not a whole lot happens plot-wise outside of each boy "buying their ticket." Sure, Garraty is thrust into introspection and asks after his friends’ reasons for signing up, but the story is missing a complete list of all the walking tips, a peek into the government’s twisted values, or the spectators’ grisly fascination. I would have liked more details about how The Long Walk came to be, why so many young men would take the exam and walk based on the harrowing reality, or why the Major created the event. Knowing more about the dystopian world would have provided a hell of a lot more intrigue, yet I was left wondering what service the Walk truly provided the country and the people within …

I picked this up after seeing the trailer for the upcoming movie. While King does a decent job of making the characters relatable, or at least understandable, not a whole lot happens plot-wise outside of each boy "buying their ticket." Sure, Garraty is thrust into introspection and asks after his friends’ reasons for signing up, but the story is missing a complete list of all the walking tips, a peek into the government’s twisted values, or the spectators’ grisly fascination. I would have liked more details about how The Long Walk came to be, why so many young men would take the exam and walk based on the harrowing reality, or why the Major created the event. Knowing more about the dystopian world would have provided a hell of a lot more intrigue, yet I was left wondering what service the Walk truly provided the country and the people within it. There are snippets of a world, but you're never given the broad strokes of the culture that paved the way for such a brutal annual event. I'm hoping the movie offers more context, and I have high hopes based on the screenwriter.

Gary reviewed The Long Walk by Stephen King

Interesting story: Focus on the characters

4 stars

The Long Walk was a very character-driven tale about teenage boys who have to walk without stopping until only one of them is left. And while the story can be a drab, the characters and their interactions are what make this tale worth reading. Simple and elegant in its portrayal of a competition where the winner takes all and everyone else... well, you will have to read it.