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The Regulators (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Summer's here..." (more)
Key Phrases: hippie guy, regulator time, red van, Poplar Street, Old Doc, Cammie Reed (more...)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (221 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An evil creature called Tak uses the imagination of an autistic boy to shift a residential street in small-town Ohio into a world so bizarre and brutal that only a child could think it up. It's as two-dimensional and gaudy as a kid's comic book, but for this reviewer, The Regulators is a gripping adventure tale about what happens when a mind fixated on TV (especially old Westerns and a cartoon called MotoKops 2200) runs amok. As Michael Collins writes in Necrofile, "[Stephen] King offers his readers a glimpse of the true evil of popular culture ... which has no design or intent, only an empty need to sustain itself. King is, I think, about the canniest observer of what America is, and that he generally writes horror ought to give us pause from time to time."


From Publishers Weekly

Why revive the Bachman byline more than a decade after Stephen King was found lurking behind it? Not for thematic reasons. This devilishly entertaining yarn of occult mayhem married to mordant social commentary is pure King and resembles little the four nonsupernatural (if science-fictional) pre-Thinner Bachmans. The theme is the horror of TV, played out through the terrors visited upon quiet Poplar Street in the postcard-perfect suburban town of Wentworth, Ohio, when a discorporeal psychic vampire settles inside an autistic boy obsessed with TV westerns and kiddie action shows and brings screen images to demented, lethal life. The long opening scene, in which characters and vehicles from the TV show Motokops 2200 (think Power Rangers) sweep down the street, spewing death by firearm, is a paragon of action-horror. The story rarely flags after that, evoking powerful tension and, at times, emotion. The premise owes a big unacknowledged debt to the classic Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life"; echoes of earlier Kings resound often as well?the psychic boy (The Shining), a writer-hero (Misery, The Dark Half), etc. But King makes hay in this story in which anything can happen, and does, including the warping of space-time and the savage deaths of much of his large cast. The narrative itself warps fantastically, from prose set in classic typeface to handwritten journals to drawings to typewritten playscript and so on. So why the Bachman byline? Probably for fear that yet another new King in 1996 in addition to six volumes of The Green Mile and Viking's forthcoming Desperation might glut the market. Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is certain: call him Bachman or call him King, the bard of Bangor is going to hit the charts hard and vast with this white-knuckler knockout. Main selection of the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Mystery Guild and Science Fiction Book Club.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Signet (April 2, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0451191013
  • ISBN-13: 978-0451191014
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (221 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #37,135 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Stephen King
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Richard Bachman
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First Sentence:
Summer's here. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
hippie guy, regulator time, red van, stake fence
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Poplar Street, Old Doc, Cammie Reed, Johnny Marinville, Dave Reed, Jim Reed, Cary Ripton, Peter Jackson, David Carver, Seth Garin, Aunt Audrey, Collie Entragian, Power Wagons, Bear Street, Brad Josephson, Main Street, Snake Hunter, Susi Geller, Tracker Arrow, Dream Floater, Force Corridor, Kim Geller, Audrey Wyler, Major Pike, Mary Jackson
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Customer Reviews

221 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (221 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The Regulators, December 2, 2000
By A Customer
A good book, but Desperation was better. I read Desperation first, and expected it to be similar, but the two books are completely different. The force of evil in both novels is the same, and the characters have the same names but different personalities, and different people survive at the end. The ending is also different, Desperation's is far better. The story involves an autistic boy named Seth who seems to have some special powers. Soon, it becomes apparent that he is infested by a being/power called Tak, which feeds on peoples' "life-force". Tak is using its limited but growing powers to turn a pleasant summer afternoon in this pleasant Ohio suburb into a living nightmare for all its residents. I think the biggest problem with this book is the characters. There are so many of them that it becomes confusing, and that the author doesn't spend much time on character development for any of them. As a result, we really don't get to "know" any of them (except maybe one), which for me is one of the things that makes a Stephen King (but apparently not Bachman) novel good. Still, it's a very amusing (and gory) story. The ending, while not quite the "epic" finish of Desperation, is still good.
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33 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Stephen King? I think not!, June 30, 2000
By Top Dragon (USA) - See all my reviews
  
I read more than 75 novels each year and have read most of King's stuff. Obviously, with so much output from one writer, there are bound to be hits and misses. This one was a miss, in my opinion but there is still enough here to make it worth the read.

I had already read Desperation, the companion book to this volume, and came away with the feeling that I had just experienced a pretty good King novel. It also was far from his best but I enjoyed it none-the-less. So, naturally, I turned to this book, The Regulators, hoping for a similar experience. Stephen King is well known for marketing gimicry, pushing the envelope in the publishing business. At first it was through using brand names without permission. Then it was the alternate ego, Richard Bachman, followed by the serial novel (Green Mile) and now it is a "dual novel." Frankly, I don't think it worked this time. I just couldn't get the parallel between the two books/settings. Same names but different people and places. What was the point? Really, they are two seperate books.

In this novel, King definitely displays his famous talent for scene setting. The opening chapter is one of the best I've read, setting the stage for the coming horror. The plot was also pretty good, although the evil 'Tak' seemed somewhat ordinary. King uses a great mechanism to deliver the horror this time. The manifestation of the mind of a small autistic boy. The horrors come in the form of all of those things that frighten young children and, consequently, frighten us. The text is sprinkled throughout with other tidbits as well that help to tell the story: letters, postcards, diary entries, even a script. Another King tool to attack from all directions.

But somehow, it didn't all flow well together. There were so many characters that I lost track of who was who and as they started to die off, I found myself not caring too much who was left. Perhaps I was a victim of having read Desperation first. I guess I was expecting the same characters to survive.

Overall, a middle-of the road King entry. King purists will want to read this one but King samplers should pass.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Who knew that earth demons like Chef Boyardee?, October 22, 2006
'The Regulators' is not quite on the literary level of 'Desperation,' but that makes it more fun in a way, especially as it's less preachy. I liked that 'The Regulators' adds a little more information about the mysterious Tak. Here we see a more terribly playful, oddly fastidious, and possibly younger Tak who loves spaghetti, chocolate milk, westerns, and Cassie Stiles. And while most of the characters of 'The Regulators' are flatter than those of 'Desperation,' 'The Regulators' gives us a glimpse of what some inhabitants of Desperation might have been like before Tak possessed them, particularly Audrey and Collie who were never shown "pre-Tak" in 'Desperation.'
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A nasty and brutal gripper!
I loved this novel. Despite what people may say, i think this is a better book then desperation. At first i wasn't sure if i was going to like it or not..... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Doug Birtell

4.0 out of 5 stars Definently a twin novel to Desperation
Because I loved Desperation so much, i picked up this sister book. it is a fast paced stephen king classic loaded with violence and gut wrenching description. Read more
Published 3 months ago

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book, but confusing with companion book
I can't recall which King (Bachman) book I read first, The Regulators or Desperation. The first one I read was good, interesting and a lot of action. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jamie W.

2.0 out of 5 stars Visceral But Mediocre
A killing spree through Americana is my impression of this book in a nutshell. There are too many characters and you can't feel for or develop emotional attachments to them... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Judah

1.0 out of 5 stars ABRIDGED! INEXCUSABLE!
I don't know how Penguin is getting away with releasing Abridged Stephen King books on audio. If their mediocre quality re-releases weren't bad enough, now this! Read more
Published 8 months ago by Michael J. Cahill

5.0 out of 5 stars No Holds Barred King!
Stephen at his most delicious. Read this novel at the risk of losing your dreams to nightmares.
Published 8 months ago by Heavenlee

5.0 out of 5 stars The Regulators
This book was like a weird alternate reality that included the charecters from Desperation ,but they were totally different. It fell flat. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Becca.B

3.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Thrill Ride - Nothing More
"The Regulators" is more of a carnival ride than a novel. Richard Bachman (King) has spilled a stream of consciousness story onto the pages and created something more akin to a... Read more
Published 11 months ago by N. Hirsch

3.0 out of 5 stars Meh
I just reread this work, the strange companion novel to Stephen King's release "Desperation". Certainly not my favourite Stephen King/Bachman book, but not my least favourite,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jennifer L. Gordon

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique even for SK
I read this a few years back when I wasn't reading very often and this one was a pure joy as I recall. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Corozand

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