The Regulators (novel)

The Regulators

First edition cover
Author	Stephen King (as Richard Bachman)
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction Horror
Publisher	Dutton
Publication date	September 24, 1996
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	480
ISBN	978-0-525-94190-3

The Regulators is a novel by American author Stephen King, writing 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. Additionally, the hardcover first editions of each novel, if set side by side, make a complete painting, and on the back of each cover is also a peek at the opposite's cover.

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

The novel began as a screenplay titled The Shotgunners. King says that film writer-director Sam Peckinpah read the script made some suggestions, but Peckinpah died while King was writing the second draft.

Plot

In the suburban town of Wentworth, Ohio, a paperboy is suddenly shot by a mysterious stranger in a red van, and the town's panicked civilians run for shelter. Author Johnny Marinville attempts to contact the police about the body, but an otherworldly force prevents the call from going through. Two other vans later appear and kill three more residents. Former police officer Collie Entragian directs the townspeople and corrals them into the homes of victim David Carver and veterinarian Tom Billingsley. The only two residents to stand aside are Audrey Wyler and her nephew Seth, whom she has been caring for since the death of her parents two years ago.

During a trip to a mining town in Desperation, Nevada, an evil being named Tak took possession of Seth's body and killed Seth's parents. Tak then forced Audrey's husband to commit suicide, and Audrey took refuge in a mental construct of her creation. Tak is the source of the vans, which are derived from the cartoon MotoKops 2200, which Seth watches religiously. Seth also often watches a Western movie named The Regulators, and Tak transforms the town into an Old West landscape.

After several other residents are killed in various ways (including Collie, who is mistakenly shot by a neighborhood teenager), Seth ingests a laxative administered by Audrey, which causes Tak to leave Seth's body. Audrey leads everyone across the street into her house as she explains the situation. Cammie Reed, whose son had died earlier, kills Seth and mortally wounds Audrey as Tak tries to sneak back into the boy’s body. Tak’s attention is diverted to her, and it flies into Cammie’s body, but she cannot hold up to Tak the way that Seth could, and her body is destroyed as a result of the possession. Tak leaves her in the form of smoke and dissipates in the wind. The vans disappear and the landscape is returned to its normal state. A short epilogue in the form of a letter reveals that Seth’s and Audrey’s ghosts have taken up residence at the meadow from Audrey’s mental sanctuary, and live there happily.

References to other King works

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

Adaptations

In August 2014, King mentioned that there had been discussions about turning The Regulators into a TV series, but no other mention was made thereafter.

External links

• The Regulators at stephenking.com