Stephen King "The Long Walk" Signed Deluxe Limited Edition No. 35 of 100 [Very Fine]

Personally signed by Stephen King, Bev Vincent, Jim and Ruth Keegan, and Patrick Loehr. This particular edition has everything - the quality of production by Centipede Press, the signatures, scarcity, and investment potential. These factors combine to make this edition especially appealing to both fans and collectors alike.

SIGNED DELUXE LIMITED EDITION OF ONLY 100 PRODUCED.

Centipede Press 2024. Stephen King "The Long Walk" Signed Deluxe Limited of 100. This is number 35.  A traycased deluxe edition of only 100 copies signed by Stephen King as well as three other contributors. The edition is housed in a clamshell traycase and features full leather binding, marbled end papers, a top edge stain, sewn in ribbon marker, and illustrations throughout. This edition was not made available for general sale but available to lifetime subscribers of Centipede Press.

In this #1 national bestseller, “master storyteller” (Houston Chronicle) Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives. 

"The Long Walk," originally published under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman, has a dedicated fan base and is considered a significant work in his oeuvre, adding to its desirability.

Exclusive Features

• Signed by Stephen King, Bev Vincent, Jim and Ruth Keegan, and Patrick Loehr.
• Centipede Press 2024
• Signed Deluxe Limited Edition, No. 35 of 100
• Housed in a clamshell tray-case
• Full leather binding
• Marbled end-papers
• Top edge red stain with sewn in ribbon marker
• Illustrations throughout
• Condition: Very Fine/Very Fine.
• Hardcover book with dust-jacket
• Free gift wrapping
• The same quality and attention to detail you can expect from VFB.
• Free Expedited Shipping (U.S. only)

The Long Walk

On the first day of May, 100 teenage boys meet for a race known as "The Long Walk". If you break the rules, you get three warnings. If you exceed your limit, what happens is absolutely terrifying...

The Long Walk is a dystopian novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1979 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books, and has seen several reprints since, as both paperback and hardback. Set in a dystopian present, the plot revolves around the contestants of a grueling walking contest, held annually by a totalitarian version of the United States of America. In 2000 the American Library Association listed The Long Walk as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000. Stephen King has revealed that it is the first novel he ever wrote, begun eight years before Carrie was published in 1974, when he was a freshman at the University of Maine in 1966-67.

“I give my congratulations to the winner among your number, and my acknowledgements of valor to the losers.”

Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping...with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently....

From the publisher

It’s that time of the year again! Time for the country to bask in its most welcome national pastime: The Long Walk. The course has been plotted and the game has its contestants. It’s all prepared to launch. And 16-year-old Ray Garraty is eager to take his place at the starting line.

Beginning in Maine at the Canadian border, he and ninety-nine others must walk south on U.S. Route 1 and continue for as long as their bodies are willing to go. And for as long as their minds are willing to suffer. There’s no rest, no bathroom breaks, no change of footwear, no chance for relief. Just walk at a pace of 4 miles per hour and outlast everyone else. Simple enough. So long as they ignore the half-tracks with armed soldiers, locked and loaded, ready to let loose.

If victorious, Ray will win a prize that may just make this marathon worth the risk. But that’s the catch. Failing to win means losing, and all those who lose will be buying themselves a one-way ticket to the coroner’s office. They must walk as if their lives depended on it because in fact, they most certainly do.

Written when King was only a freshman at the University of Maine and published later under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk showcases his budding potential for the sadistic that would mark his future work. Only he would look at the most trivial of acts — one we perform daily — and think: “how can I use that to terrify my audience?” For readers of this novel, taking that act for granted will be a thing of the past. And for King, there’s no greater compliment.

This is also where he introduces us to the first of his many memorable, authoritarian villains. The crazed military leader, dubbed the “Major”, is the enigmatic man behind the barbarous, almost gladiatorial march forced on this country’s youth. His presence is enough to generate cheers from the onlooking crowds and groveling from the persistent walkers. But for all the power he wields, even he can’t prevent the winner from choosing a path all his own beyond the finish line…assuming there is one.

As one brave walker bluntly points out: “Walk or die, that’s the moral of the story.” Though, in King’s dystopic world, the moral may just be more nuanced than anyone is willing to admit.

This edition of The Long Walk is available in two states: unsigned trade edition and signed slipcased edition. The book is signed by Bev Vincent, Patrick Loehr, and Jim & Ruth Keegan.

Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Called the "King of Horror", he has also explored other genres, among them suspense, crime, science-fiction, fantasy and mystery. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections.

His debut, Carrie (1974), established him in horror. Different Seasons (1982), a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the genre. Among the films adapted from King's fiction are Carrie, Christine, The Shining, The Dead Zone, Stand by Me, Misery, Dolores Claiborne, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and It. He has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has co-written works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King. He has also written nonfiction, notably On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Several of King's works have won the Bram Stoker and August Derleth Awards. He has also won awards for his overall contributions to literature, including the 2003 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2007 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Joyce Carol Oates called King "a brilliantly rooted, psychologically 'realistic' writer for whom the American scene has been a continuous source of inspiration, and American popular culture a vast cornucopia of possibilities."

Richard Bachman 

Richard Bachman is a pen name (as well as a fictional character) of American horror fiction author Stephen King, adopted in 1977 for the novel Rage. King hid the link between himself and Bachman, until allowing for his identification in 1985. He collected the first four Bachman novels into The Bachman Books. Rage became controversial for being about a school shooting and was allowed to go out of print after the 1997 Heath High School shooting. Three more novels were published under the Bachman name.

King portrays an unrelated character named Richard Bachman in the third season of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy (2010).

Bev Vincent 

Bev Vincent is an essayist author of fiction and a literary critic. He also is the author of The Road to the Dark Tower and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion.

Jim & Ruth Keegan

Jim & Ruth Keegan are award-winning collaborative artists who have illustrated books by Stephen King, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson, and many others.
They work in a variety of styles and media, including oils, watercolor, ink wash, and digital art. Their work has been exhibited at galleries, including The Society of Illustrators in New York. They’re also the creators of the comic strip, “The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob”, published by Dark Horse comics for over a decade.

Their clients include Penguin Random House, Bantam Books, Del Rey Books, Dark Horse Comics, Columbia Tri-Star, The CW Network, Carsey-Warner, Playboy Enterprises, Centipede Press, The Robert. E. Howard Foundation, Wandering Star Books, and Montgomery Studios.

Patrick Loehr

Bio - I'm a Denver based creative professional pursuing interests related to storytelling, visual art and design.
I work in the field of content creation and media production through my company, Kipcart Studio, LLC. 
My personal artwork incorporates various media including photography, illustration and video. 

Reference: https://patrickloehr.com/about

Centipede Press

Centipede Press is a publishing company that specializes in horror, crime, and science fiction books in limited editions. Jerad Walters founded Centipede Press in Lakewood, Colorado in 2001. Centipede Press publishes books from well-known authors, such as Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Neil Gaiman, as well as out-of-print works. Centipede Press has won the Horror Writers Association Specialty Press Award and has been a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, Locus Award, and World Fantasy Award. Centipede Press publishes books in luxury or oversized, signed or traycased hardback editions. Centipede Press publishes novels, collections, anthologies, horror films, and art books.