Bracket #12: Blaze (2007)

[mae]

Blaze, 2007

Please vote for Blaze using the following scale:

• 5
• 4.5
• 4
• 3.5
• 3
• 2.5
• 2
• 1
• 0
• Never read

If you haven't read this book yet, please vote Never Read. Feel free to discuss your votes in this thread.

[frik]

4

sk

[Jean]

5

cried my eyes out over this one

[Girlystevedave]

4.5

Sadly, I don't remember every detail, but I do remember enjoying it immensely

[Jean]

enjoying!... I finished reading it on a subway train. A student was meeting me at the exit. She asked, "What happened? Do you have a cold?" - because I was actually in tears and making those sounds, you know with my nose. I had actually bawled aloud in the subway, making all other passengers uneasy.

[Girlystevedave]

Yeah, I guess the sight of a crying bear in the subway would make people uneasy.

I think I should reread this one. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 is because, if I didn't love it enough to re-read it since the first read, I don't feel fair giving 5.

[Jean]

I have always given, and will always give it a 5, and I don't think I'll ever reread it

[divemaster]

4.5

Sadly, I don't remember every detail, but I do remember enjoying it immensely

This is me, sortof. I know I liked it, but I'm not sure if I can say "immensely." So I'm dithering between 4 and 4.5. Perhaps I can do a quick re-read before the poll closes.

[Iwritecode]

2

This book read more like a Dean Koontz novel to me. In fact, I think Koontz has a couple of novels that are very similar and I’ve confused the plots to them before.

[Jean]

er... reading like a Koontz isn't exactly the same as reading like a piece of shit?

[Girlystevedave]

Cussing Bears always makes me happy inside.
I don't know why.

[webstar1000]

Gotta read this again

[Jean]

Cussing Bears always makes me happy inside.
I don't know why.

oh sweetheart you don't know what bears can do in Russian...

[Cook]

I enjoyed Blaze, it's very "Of Mice & Men...ish"

[Ben Staad]

I thought that as well. Loved the book and it's a solid 4 or higher for me.

I enjoyed Blaze, it's very "Of Mice & Men...ish"

[Girlystevedave]

Man, you guys are really making me want to go home, pull the book off the shelf, and immediately start a re-read. So I can feel guilty about giving it 4.5.

[Andrew Campbell]

I gotta be honest: it's not one of my favorites (maybe because it is derivative of Steinbeck). It's not one that I ever have had the urge to re-read. Would immediately have given it a 3 or a 3.5, but for the comments here, which prompt me to wonder whether I overlooked something. Gonna have to ponder this one, before I cast my ballot. . . .

[Randall Flagg]

5. Maudlin, predictable, but so touching I almost cried. It just struck all the right chords with me.

[Andrew Campbell]

I pondered: 3.5.

[divemaster]

4.5

Sadly, I don't remember every detail, but I do remember enjoying it immensely

This is me, sortof. I know I liked it, but I'm not sure if I can say "immensely." So I'm dithering between 4 and 4.5. Perhaps I can do a quick re-read before the poll closes.

Did my re-read today on a 5-hour flight. Very good book. Went with "4."

[mae]

The poll has closed. Blaze has earned a FAS (final average score) of 3.769230769 or 75.38%. It received a rating of 4 with 9 votes.