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    The Regulators
    The Regulators
    The Regulators
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Regulators

    Written by Stephen King

    Narrated by Frank Muller

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic, terrifying New York Times bestseller of those caught between the surreal forces of good versus evil in a small suburban Ohio town.

    “The red van rolls past…humming and glinting. …Things are happening fast now, although no one on Poplar Street realizes it yet.”

    It’s a gorgeous midsummer afternoon along Poplar Street in the peaceful suburbia of Wentwort, Ohio, where life is as pleasant as you ever dreamed it could be. But that’s all about to end in blaze of gunfire and sudden violence, forever shattering the tranquility and the good times here. For the physical makeup of Poplar Street itself is now being transformed into a surreal landscape straight out of the active imagination of the innocent and vulnerable Seth Garin—an autistic boy who’s been exposed to and possessed by a horrific, otherworldly force of evil, one with sadistic and murderous intent and who is willing to use whatever means necessary to grow ever stronger.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateFeb 2, 2016
    ISBN9781508218319
    Author

    Stephen King

    Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

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    Reviews for The Regulators

    3.5/5

    1,843 ratings34 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is a companion book of sorts to Desperation. While both books feature the same characters and similar themes and plot points, they diverge wildly. This is the better of the two books, much more chilling and, in many ways, believable than Desperation. The whole idea of the normal suburban street that is attacked brutally and without warning, and then slowly isolated, really terrified me, so much that this book kept me up nights.

      3 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This is one of my favorite King books, it's such an amazing setting and cast of characters.

      3 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Solid ending in my opinion ???????? on to the next

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Terrific listen. Highly recommend. Totally unexpected twists and turns. I've always been a Stephen King fan and this one certainly didn't disappoint.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Yet another good book from this author. Very interesting story, full of unexpected twists. I also really enjoyed the way that the format alternated from standard storytelling to excerpts from personal journals, newspapers, and other sources. It seemed to make the story much bigger and far-reaching than the one street on which it takes place.One warning: this story is filled to the brim with violence and very graphic blood and gore. Flying blood and guts and gleaming skulls are described with no restraint. If this isn't your thing, you might want to avoid this book, because you'll be encountering violence every few pages once the action gets going.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 1/5
      NO good .really badly done. Reader was good at least

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      The audio is choppy you can’t even listen to it

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Giving it 5 stars to uo the average. I think that this book would be better if you read it after Desperation. The characters that get developed in that book don't get developed as well in this book- just the life differences sort of pointed out. It's an action packed sort of goofy story that reminds me of the twilight zone episode 'Anthony Fremont'. I couldn't stop trying to imagine how on earth an on screen adaptation would be attempted. He doesn't waste very much time with this book it is a lot of action and a very creepy antagonist situation. As the Bachman brother to desperation it lacks the (at times) tiresome bible thumping of it's twin.
      Frank Muller is always great- he really reminded me of Dan Carlin in this reading which i didn't mind at all.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Very nice ending to an erratic story that's really all over the place

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Even though it approached a really interesting concept, I liked Desperation more out of the two.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Fffgg ffgvb ghghhvfthhhgd. F. T c go c c. Cc
    • 2/5
      Giving it a two because I was actually able to finish it but SUPER boring.
    • 1/5
      This book was horrible and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Bad story and boring
    • 4/5
      Bachman’s been referred to as King without a conscience. The Regulators certainly fits this description. Released concurrently with King’s Desperation, Regulators deals with the same cast of characters in an alternate reality. The entire book is essentially one big blood-bath.The fast-paced excitement is also the problem with this book. With only one chapter of character development to set up the story, you’re taken on a thrill-ride with one-dimensional people you just can’t seem to care about.The story’s redeeming value for me was the tie-in with the Dark Tower myth. The villain, Tak, is clearly a creature from the space between worlds (although it’s not made clear in the text). The alternate version in King’s Desperation supports the Dark Tower’s multiple universes idea.The book’s exciting, but the day after I finished it, I’m already forgetting the characters. Hopefully Desperation will prove to be a little more substantial.
    • 5/5
      I liked the way in which it was told and the ending.
    • 2/5
      As much as it pains me to say anything unflattering about a Stephen King novel, I just didn’t care for this one. I’m sure it’s me and not the author. I couldn’t get into it. So many characters and so much weird, frantic activity.
    • 2/5
      Book 61 of Stephen King. Enjoyed reading the novel, having read Desperation a little while ago this book was recommended by for me. Not his best work but worth the read none-the-less. For me being a constant reader I enjoyed my fix of plugging back into the matrix of Kings world. Enjoyed the similarities, overlap and differences between Desperation and there was also some references to the Shining and Doctor Sleep Easter eggs to enjoy.
    • 5/5
      Maybe my favorite Steven King.
    • 2/5
      "None of this was real, after all. It was just a refuge in her mind."Poplar Street in Wentworth, a small town in Ohio where the residents live typically suburban lives minding their own business and quietly trying to live their lives. A storm is brewing but otherwise it is a normal day, a paper-boy is delivering a local free newspaper, two young children go to the local store to buy chocolate, older ones play with a Frisbee and adults cut the lawn or prepare their barbecues ready for use in the evening all oblivious to the fact that a chrome red van is idling up the hill. Soon the residents are caught up in madness as the Regulators arrive in force.Initially this all appears to be an interesting premise for a novel but very quickly it becomes obvious that being some gripping psychological drama is becomes a rather run of the mill piece of writing. Put simply a young autistic boy, who spends far too much time sat in front of a television screen watching old westerns and kids action cartoons, gets possessed by evil entity. This entity,called 'Tak', then brings mayhem to this peaceful suburban street by manifesting the characters which that it idolises on the small screen in to life where they kill residents and destroy their homes. Some people will die, some will live and lots of houses get destroyed. That just about sums it up. I found myself not caring whether any of the characters lived or died. In fact I soon realised that none of the residents, with exception of the young boy Seth and his aunt Audrey, added anything to the tale. Nor did I find myself sat on the edge of my seat with baited breath waiting to see what will happen next. Despite their being plenty of blood and gore you get to the end of the book and realise that the whole climax is based putting a laxative in an eight year old's drink. I mean 'really'.I can see why this was published under Stephen King's alter ego, Richard Bachman, rather than his own name.
    • 4/5
      The master of horror, Stephen King, chalked up another page turner under the pseudonym of "the late" Richard Bachman, "The Regulators.". In "The Regulators" the characters are already assembled as neighbors on Poplar Street. Their glorious summer day is shattered by the arrival of a crayon red van and its armed driver. Collie Entragian, a former cop drummed off the force on trumped-up charges, attempts to protect his neighbors and preserve the crime scene but the violence quickly escalates out of control. As the street begins a nightmarish metamorphosis into something out of the worst of children's television and old westerns, the strengths and weaknesses of the inhabitants begin to work on all of them - Johnny Marinville, the successful author of children's books, haunted by a dissipated past and a too-vivid vision; Cynthia, the new clerk at the convenience store, whose two-toned hair and irreverent wit obscure a core of decency; Tom Billingsley, the retired veterinarian; Steve Ames, a young man drifting through life, picking up skills.
      Then there's Audrey Wyler, the young widow with the autistic nephew, Seth. No one's seen her in a while and at first they scarcely notice her continuing absence amidst all the mayhem. But Audrey's particular hell has been a long time coming. There's a thing in Seth (he calls it "Tak") that can bend people to its will and the world to its malevolent vision and it's growing stronger.

      While there is violence and blood, it is driven by the story and I have read alot worse. The biggest complaint I would make is that like 90% of King's books its a bit too long.





    • 3/5
      Characters are weak, which is disappointing for King (aside from the autistic villain, who surely rivals the manic cop in Desperation, and is definitely more creepy). Highlights also include a sympathetic and violent suicide scene, and generally the plot has a nice rhythm aside from a few slow sections.I liked Desperation better as a whole, but there are much better scenes to be had in The Regulators. Not sure which is scarier, though I think the freakish innocent, here, is actually much worse than any of the threatened violence in Desperation. Both novels are spooky mainly because of their suggestions of sexual nastiness, and I think it's worse when that nastiness comes from an disabled child. The boy's encounter with Tak in the old mine stands out, too, as something made particularly spooky because of its Spielberg-like sweetness and mystery.
    • 4/5
      I don't even know how to explain this book....it was soooo strange! That being said, I couldn't put it down! I had to know what happened. It reminded me a little bit of From A Buick 8 because of the alternate world type of thing. It was definitely different but a really good read.
    • 2/5
      Not as good as Desperation.
    • 4/5
      Companion to Desperation by Stephen King, this story has more action and doesn't explain as much. It's probably better to read Desperation first to help understand this book better.
    • 5/5
      1996 - The Regulators by Richard Bachman
      1996 - Desperation by Stephen King

      These 2 were meant to be companion books by King using as they did the same character names, in a similar sort of peril from the same monster. A lot of reviewers said it was lazy writing at the time but I personally loved it. It added rather to my enjoyment of both rather than detracting.

      Good Times.
    • 3/5
      I read "Desperation" a few weeks ago. Reading reviews of that book, I discovered its connection to "The Regulators." I thought the plot would be pretty much the same, so I thought it would be interesting to read another book at the same time. The other book I found is called "Conquest," written by two authors, John Connolly and Jennifer RidyardThe Regulators' and Desperation's plots were different. In Desperation, I had a hard time giving a voice to the bad guy. The "YEE HAW" and "GOSH DARN" phrases disrupted the story. In the Regulators, I was OK with it. The possessed character, and the back story explained it much better.
    • 3/5
      Not one of his better books, but I'd probably read it again in a pinch. It was interesting, and I do love the way he ties bits from other books into his stories. This one refers to parts of "Desperation", which I actually probably wouldn't read again. This one was better than that, at least.
    • 5/5
      Pretty dang good! A boy is delivering the newspapers on his street then - BLAM! The story roars along right from that start! And it was super cool to read a story that is so intertwined with another book (Desperation), yet so different! Fun too! But, I'd say this - what if the little boy had not been allowed to watch television shows with violent images? For me, it reaffirms my parenting choices for my 6 1/2 year old!
    • 3/5
      Written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, Regulators was released the same time as Desperation. Many of the character names are replicated as are items and places in both novels. However the characters personalities are very different as well as ages. While Desperation was set in a mining town the majority of The Regulators actually takes place in a single street (a street that's not in Desperation).I picked this book up after reading Desperation and having ranked it as one of my favourite King books I then held high expectations for The Regulators. Unfortunately it failed to meet them for me. Strangely enough it took me over 2 weeks to read, but the fact that I finished the book is a positive for it I suppose.Ok so the reasons why I didn't like it that much. Firstly I normally love the way King slowly introduces his characters to us, going into a little background detail, so that the reader feels as if they know them personally. There was nothing like this here. Within the first dozen pages we had met around 15 characters. To be honest I was glad when a few got killed to make it easier to remember them all. Unlike the majority of King's other novels I just found it hard to empathise with any of them, I didn't care if they lived or died. There just wasn't the level of detail I would have expected, in particular the history of 'Tak' could have been explored deeper.The second aspect I really didn't like was the fact the most chapters were segregated by diary entries or newspaper clippings. Some readers may have enjoyed the realism this brought to the novel, I just found it a distraction. What got even worse was when the TV show scripts came out. I hate reading plays, so these were even more of a drag than the other extracts.Thirdly, as is apparent with a number of his novels, the ending just didn't satisfy. I would go into reasons as I not want to spoil the book for anyone else, but it just seemed a bit of an easy way out.There was a positives though, the action when it came was thick and fast and very grisly.In all, not the worst King book I have ever read (that award goes to 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon') but is certainly one of his weaker ones. I am just glad that I read Desperation first, as I think that if I read this first I would probably not have bothered, and that would be a great shame.
    • 3/5
      If read in conjunction with Desperation, bump it to 4 stars.