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There really aren't enough Stephen King threads, so...

Old 05-02-01, 04:13 PM
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Just a quick question. I know that Regulators and Desparation aren't necessarily sequels/prequels to each other, but rather parallels, but I just want to know does it matter which you read first? I got these a while back (Both Hardcovers on Clearance for $6.98 total! (not $6.98 each) ) and haven't gotten around to read them, but feel I will soon. Just wanted to know which to read first or whether it matters.
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Old 05-02-01, 04:18 PM
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IMO you should read Desperation first. It was published first, as well.
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Old 05-02-01, 05:12 PM
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I honestly don't remember which I read first (The one in ohio...think it was regulators). But it really doesn't matter. TAK
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Old 05-02-01, 05:23 PM
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I read the Regulators first as well...

Although it would have been kinda neat to find out more about tak before Regulators...I think you should read Desperation first...
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Old 05-02-01, 05:27 PM
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I thought Regulators was published first? Hmm..

I read Desperation first and Regulators much later. It really doesn't matter what order you read them in, but I'll suggest Desperation first as that's how I did it. I thought it was the stronger book. Regulators wasn't all that interesing, IMHO.
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Old 05-02-01, 05:28 PM
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Arkonne,

I would be curious what your thoughts are of each one after you finish them.

Me? I loved DESPERATION, but had a very hard time with THE REGULATORS... Let us know.
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Old 05-03-01, 10:54 AM
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My recollection is that they were published in hardcover simultaneously. You could buy them together in a two pack.

I read Desperation first and that worked well. But it probably doesn't much matter.
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Old 05-03-01, 12:15 PM
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After doing some internet research: Regulators did come out first by a month. From what I've found:

The Regulators by Richard Bachman 8/96
Desperation by Stephen King 9/96

From what I've gathered this was done intentionally as a marketing stunt. Everyone knows that Richard Bachman is Stephen King, and the releasing of another Bachman book drew a lot of hype just for the fact that he was doing it under that name. A month later when the sequel/alternate universe of the book came out under his own name was to build more hype with the oddity. The thought was that 2 King books in 2 months would not have had the same amount of hype, and many readers would have been angry because of the similarity of the books. By doing a 'secret' 2nd release it insured that both would get reviews and readers as well as cause a stir in the book world.

Take that all at face value, as it was garnered from a few sources on the web, and of course no one on the internet knows what they're talking about to begin with

There have been many printings of both since then including a single book with both novels and a boxed set with both novels seperately.
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Old 05-03-01, 03:29 PM
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Originally posted by renaldow
After doing some internet research: Regulators did come out first by a month. From what I've found:

The Regulators by Richard Bachman 8/96
Desperation by Stephen King 9/96

From what I've gathered this was done intentionally as a marketing stunt. Everyone knows that Richard Bachman is Stephen King, and the releasing of another Bachman book drew a lot of hype just for the fact that he was doing it under that name. A month later when the sequel/alternate universe of the book came out under his own name was to build more hype with the oddity. The thought was that 2 King books in 2 months would not have had the same amount of hype, and many readers would have been angry because of the similarity of the books. By doing a 'secret' 2nd release it insured that both would get reviews and readers as well as cause a stir in the book world.

Take that all at face value, as it was garnered from a few sources on the web, and of course no one on the internet knows what they're talking about to begin with

There have been many printings of both since then including a single book with both novels and a boxed set with both novels seperately.
What you found is odd since I have a copy of each of the hardcovers in front of me which seem to say different. Desperation was published by Viking and The Regulators was published by Dutton. Both are Divisions of Penguin USA. Both say "0996" on the inside of the dust cover, implying a September, 1996 publication date. On the other side of the title page The Regulators says "First Trade Printing, October, 1996". Desperation does not say anything else about a month of publication. I think both were published in limited signed editions and those may have come out before the trade editions.

The dual publication was a marketing stunt as you said above. There seems to be conflicting evidence about exactly how this was done. I'll repeat that my recollection is that they were published (at least in the trade editions) simultaneously. I could be wrong, especially since no one on the internet (myself included) knows what they are talking about.

[Edited by movielib on 05-03-01 at 01:33 PM]
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Old 05-03-01, 04:49 PM
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For the heck of it, here are both of the Library of Congress listings. No, they don't shed any more light on the subject.

http://lcweb.loc.gov/cgi-bin/zgate?p...0.loc.gov,7090

http://lcweb.loc.gov/cgi-bin/zgate?p...0.loc.gov,7090
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Old 05-03-01, 06:39 PM
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My recollection is that they both were released on the same day. This may have been different for any limited editions, but I'm no considering those.
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