BLAZE

Stephen King, writing here as Bachman, has said he doesn't like this book very much. That's a case of a guy being waaaaaay too hard on himself. BLAZE, written in 1973, should have been published years ago. It's a powerful, well-written story (really, Stephen, it is) about a mentally challenged behemoth who falls into a life of crime and kidnaps a baby as a path to easy money. Ron McLarty makes listeners feel both pity and disgust for the main character of the novel. McLarty actually sounds like a lumbering oaf and imparts equal character to the other actors, as well. Don't listen to King's opinion--BLAZE burns bright. M.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]