The Regulators

Stephen King

About 4 pages (1,163 words)

The Regulators Summary

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**The Regulators**
Author	Stephen King (as Richard Bachman)
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction, Horror novel
Publisher	E P Dutton
Publication date	1996
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	480 pp (1st edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-525-94190-8 (1st edition)

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.

1 Development
2 Plot Synopsis
3 Trivia
4 References
5 Publication history

Development

King states that he got the idea for the book while having a conversation with the late Sam Peckinpah^[1]. The novel originated as a screenplay titled "The Shotgunners^[1]. 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^[1].

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.

The original hardcovers

The Regulators was released simultaneously with Desperation (published by King under his own name). The two novels share many similarities, most notably the cast of characters. The original hardcover versions of the novels had cover artwork by Mark Ryden that formed one continuous image when the two books were placed side by side, and had the image of the other book's cover on the back.

Trivia

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

^ ^a ^b ^c HorrorKing.com

Publication history

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

• • e Stephen King bibliography
Novels	Carrie (1974) • 'Salem's Lot (1975) • The Shining (1977) • The Stand (1978) • The Dead Zone (1979) • Firestarter (1980) • Cujo (1981) • Christine (1983) • Pet Sematary (1983) • Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) • The Talisman (1984; with Peter Straub) • It (1986) • The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) • Misery (1987) • The Tommyknockers (1987) • The Dark Half (1989) • Needful Things (1991) • Gerald's Game (1992) • Dolores Claiborne (1993) • Insomnia (1994) • Rose Madder (1995) • The Green Mile (1996) • Desperation (1996) • Bag of Bones (1998) • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) • Dreamcatcher (2001) • Black House (2001; with Peter Straub) • From a Buick 8 (2002) • The Colorado Kid (2005) • Cell (2006) • Lisey's Story (2006) • Duma Key (2008)
The Dark Tower series	I: The Gunslinger (1982) • II: The Drawing of the Three (1987) • III: The Waste Lands (1991) • IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) • V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) • VI: Song of Susannah (2004) • VII: The Dark Tower (2004)
The Bachman Books	Rage (1977) • The Long Walk (1979) • Roadwork (1981) • The Running Man (1982) • Thinner (1984) • The Regulators (1996) • Blaze (2007)
Short fiction collections	Night Shift (1978) • Different Seasons (1982) • Skeleton Crew (1985) • Four Past Midnight (1990) • Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) • Hearts in Atlantis (1999) • Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (2002)
Non-fiction	Danse Macabre (1981) • Nightmares in the Sky (1988) • On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000) • Secret Windows (2000) • Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (2005; with Stewart O'Nan)
e-books	Riding the Bullet (1999) • The Plant (2000; unfinished)
Screenplays	Creepshow (1982) • Cat's Eye (1985) • Silver Bullet (1985) • Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director) • Pet Sematary (1989) • Sleepwalkers (1992)
Teleplays	Sorry, Right Number (1988) • Golden Years (1991) • The Stand (1994) • The Shining (1997) • Storm of the Century (1999) • Rose Red (2002) • Desperation (2006)
Stage play	Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2007; with John Mellencamp)
Miscellaneous	The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red (2001) • Kingdom Hospital (2004) • {{nowrap} The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born‎ (2007) •}}
Related articles	Richard Bachman • Tabitha King • Joe Hill • Owen King • Bryan Smith • Peter Straub • Rock Bottom Remainders • Dollar Baby • Media based on Stephen King works • Castle Rock, Maine • Derry, Maine