The Long Walk by Stephen King Part I The Long Walk by Stephen King is a bizarre and grotesque novel about 100 teen-age boys who participate in competition the main idea of which is staying alive. All they got to do is walking. They must maintain speed all the time not slower than 4 miles per hour. And if they don't, they receive a warning. After third warning a walker gets shot by one of the soldiers who is in charge of keeping boys under control. They cannot have a rest, they cannot sleep and they cannot quit. The rules are simple - you either keep walking or die. The winner is the last walker left alive. But the book is not about cruelty or viciousness. The walkers participate willingly. They know what they sign up for long before the Walk begins. The soldiers do their job like a daily routine. Absolutely emotionless. The author draws a vivid picture of teenager's mind which evolves, seemingly, every hour or so. Ray Garraty is one of the Walkers. He is a bit nervous about what is coming but mostly, he thinks it's an adventure. He has been flattered and praised by his friends for qualifying, so there is enough pride in him as well. It disappears right after the first shot. 99 young men watched the first victim dying in panic caused by sudden charley horse and, as a result, total incapability of walking. The moment Ray saw the dead body he realized what is at stake. This is not a baseball match which may be stopped on behalf of rain. It is the matter of life or death. You either outlast 99 people or die. This is where the walkers start contemplating about the reasons why they decided to do this. And almost none of them find anything reasonable. They start thinking about their chances to win. Logically they come to conclusion that chances are slim. In fact, the possibility of winning is so small that the struggle is almost pointless. Now the boys have come to understanding that 99 of them are convicted to slow and painful death. They keep walking. Occasionally guys see one of them dying. At some point they get used to it. Dead body becomes common and every one is focused on saving his own life. But sometimes walkers help each other. Not all of them lost decency. Ray has made friends amongst other participants and this will help him several times during the walk.