The Regulators

Infobox Book
name = The Regulators


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Stephen King (as Richard Bachman)
cover_artist =
country = flagicon|USA USA
language = English
genre = Science fiction, Horror novel
publisher = E P Dutton
release_date = September 24, 1996
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 480
isbn = ISBN 0-525-94190-8

"The Regulators" is a novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was published in 1996 at the same time as its "mirror" novel, "Desperation". The two novels represent parallel universes relative to one another, and most of the characters present in one novel's world also exist in the other novel's reality, albeit in different circumstances.

King had previously "killed off" Bachman after the pseudonym was publicly exposed around the time of the 1984 release of the Bachman novel "Thinner". However, on the book's jacket and in a tongue-in-cheek introduction by the book's editor, it was alleged that this 1996 work was written by Bachman years earlier, but the manuscript had only recently been discovered by his widow in a trunk.

Development

King states that he got the idea for the book while having a conversation with the late Sam Peckinpah. [http://www.horrorking.com/interview1.html HorrorKing.com] ] The novel originated as a screenplay titled "The Shotgunners". Apparently, Peckinpah liked it and made some suggestions to the script. King wrote a second draft for it, but Peckinpah died before he finished the script.

Plot synopsis

The story takes place in the fictional town of Wentworth, Ohio. On Poplar Street, an autistic boy named Seth has gained the power to control reality through the help of a being known as Tak. Soon, Poplar Street begins to change shape, transforming into a wild west caricature based on what Seth has seen on his television. Meanwhile, the other residents of the street are being attacked by the many beings that Seth's imagination is creating, due to Tak's control over them. These residents are forced to work together to stop Seth and Tak from completely transforming the world around them and stop Tak before he kills anyone else.

References to other King works

*In the novel's epilogue, a letter written by one woman on her honeymoon to her friend mentions one of Stephen King's earlier works, "The Shining".

References

Publication history

* ISBN 0-525-94190-8 (hardcover, 1996)
* ISBN 0-670-87281-4 (paperback, 1996)
* ISBN 0-340-67177-7 (paperback, 1997)