Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) "Thinner" Slipcased First Edition, First Printing [Fine/Fine]

'An incredibly gifted writer, whose writing, like Truman Capote's, is so fluid that you often forget that you're reading' -- Guardian

NAL BOOKS. New American Library, 1984. Richard Bachman (writing as Stephen King) "Thinner" First Edition. First Printing. Hardcover book with matching custom designed slipcase. This is the first edition of the novel whose release revealed the news that the mysterious Richard Bachman was none other than Stephen King. 

A first printing of Thinner by Richard Bachman (Stephen King's pseudonym) is highly collectible because it was the first Bachman book printed in hardcover and marks the historical moment King's true identity was exposed to the public. Because of its literary significance and the rapid spike in demand once the secret broke, this specific edition remains a cornerstone for King collectors.

• This collector's grade hardcover book is the ideal Fine/Fine condition.
• $12.95 price on the dust-jacket flap.
• "First Printing, November, 1984" with full number line as required on the copyright page. 

Thinner is a 1984 novel by Stephen King, published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. It would be the last novel which King released under the Richard Bachman pseudonym until the release of The Regulators in 1996, and the last released prior to Bachman being outed as being Stephen King's pseudonym.

After an old gypsy woman is killed by his car, lawyer Billy Halleck is stricken with a flesh-wasting malady and must undertake a nightmarish journey to confront the forces of death.

Thinner

Thinner is a horror novel by American author Stephen King, published in 1984 by NAL under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman. The story centers on lawyer Billy Halleck, who kills a crossing Romani woman in a road accident and escapes legal punishment because of his connections. However, the woman's father places a curse on Halleck, which causes him to lose weight uncontrollably. King, who was overweight at the time of the novel's writing, created the novel's outline following an annual medical examination.

Following the book's release, media outlets discussed the similarities between the works of Bachman and King. Eventually, bookstore clerk Stephen Brown, a fan of King's work, located evidence from copyright data held in the Library of Congress that Bachman and King were the same person. After the secret of King's pseudonym was revealed, sales of Thinner increased tenfold. In total, over three million copies of Thinner have been sold. Critical reception to Thinner was polarized; some reviewers disliked the authorship deception and pessimistic ending, while others held these same points as merits of the book. The literary style, however, was generally praised. A film adaptation was released in 1996.

REVIEWS

'Astonishingly good...honourable, deeply felt and almost wonderful' -- Independent on HEARTS IN ATLANTIS -

Richard Bachman

Richard Bachman is a pen name used by horror fiction author Stephen King.

Origin

At the beginning of Stephen King's career, the general view among publishers was that an author was limited to one book per year, since publishing more would be unacceptable to the public. King therefore wanted to write under another name, in order to increase his publication without over-saturating the market for the King "brand". He convinced his publisher, Signet Books, to print these novels under a pseudonym.

In his introduction to The Bachman Books, King states that adopting the nom de plume Bachman was also an attempt to make sense out of his career and try to answer the question of whether his success was due to talent or luck. He says he deliberately released the Bachman novels with as little marketing presence as possible and did his best to "load the dice against" Bachman. King concludes that he has yet to find an answer to the "talent versus luck" question, as he felt he was outed as Bachman too early to know. The Bachman book Thinner (1984) sold 28,000 copies during its initial run—and then ten times as many when it was revealed that Bachman was, in fact, King.

Wikipedia