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  • The Regulators

  • Written by: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: Frank Muller
  • Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (119 ratings)

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The Regulators

Written by: Stephen King
Narrated by: Frank Muller
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Publisher's Summary

The battle against evil has begun in this "devishly entertaining" (Publishers Weekly) story of a suburban neighborhood in the grip of surreal terror - a number-one national best seller from Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman.

Peaceful suburbia on Poplar Street in Wentworth, Ohio, takes a turn for the ugly when four vans containing armed "regulators" terrorize the street's residents, cold-bloodedly killing anyone foolish enough to step outside their homes. Houses mysteriously transform into log cabins, and the street now ends in what looks like a child's hand-drawn Western landscape. Masterminding this sudden onslaught is the evil creature Tak, who has taken over the body of an autistic eight-year-old boy, Seth Garin.

"A rip-roaringly violent thriller whose main action takes place in little more than an hour and a half" (Booklist), The Regulators features an introduction by Stephen King on "The Importance of Being Bachman".

©1996 Richard Bachman. All rights reserved. (P)2016 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

What listeners say about The Regulators

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very underrated

The Regulators is a thematic follow up to Stephen King's book Desperation. It exists in an alternate universe to that book. Many of the same characters appear in both stories, some of which are similar wheras others are completely different.

This is a core element to both books appeal. Both books tell similar but different stories. And it's recommended to read both back to back inorder to get the full picture. It is a lot of fun to spot these similarities which all make up a cohesive whole when read this way.

The story and premise to The Regulators is equal parts H.P. Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone. It very much reads like a horror themed version of the latter. The book covers a single series of events that last a very short period of time. However in-between events there are miniature pieces of exposition that give you greater context to how the story reached that point. It always feels like you're uncovering more of a multi-layered mystery as it goes on. The book also ends in a more satisfying way than it's sister book Desperation.

Overall I greatly recommend this book to fans of Stephen King. However only if you read it after completing Desperation while the events and characters are fresh in your memory. It greatly enriched my understanding of the story and characters in a way comparable to reading The Silmarillion prior to The Lord of the Rings. As a result it remains a unique book in King's catalogue. There's nothing else quite like it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good

A little below average for King, but still very enjoyable. I found it a little confusing at points, and a few of the minor characters were a little difficult to keep track of who was who, but still pretty fun.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

No to good for me

Personally I like mystery and suspense the most but I don't mind the shooting however I find this story is more focused in blowing people heads off.
Nevertheless if you are a big Stephen King fan I think you will find this book entertaining.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Read right after Desperation

I love all the places where Stephen King’s worlds intersect, a kind of harmonious collision. The King rules.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Listen to this right after Desperation!!

I absolutely loved this story, especially listening immediately after finishing Desperation. Many characters are reused in different ways, and I really enjoyed the parallels and tie ins to Desperation. I honestly can't decide which I enjoyed more between the two!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Worst Bachman, Stephen King is way better.

interesting story, it's fun, however definitely one of kings worst, but, only because he sets the bar so high.👍

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Big time fun

King is up to his old tricks again. Weird, horrific and wild! Had a lot of fun with this one

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Heard it all before

if you have read Dr Sleep, Desperation, and The Dream Catcher you will recognize some of the themes in this book. Not one of his best. The performance was good but the book was fair. Especially if you read Desperation as there are some continuity issues between the two books

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  • Red1973
  • 2016-03-27

Frank Muller was the best

Classic Stephen King, and no one read him better than Frank Muller. Black House will always be my favorite, but this was very good.

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30 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • daniel
  • 2017-03-06

Wow!

Stephen King and Frank Muller. Do I need to say more? It's like spooky poetry...

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28 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Terry
  • 2016-03-16

so so king....more Koontz than king.

king has done better. lots of times. but the narrator is fantastic! frank Mueller is exceptional here as he always is.

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15 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • altoria
  • 2018-03-26

Fast paced an edge of your seat type of ride!!

It was both thrilling and terrifying as well as exhilarating. This one really had my adrenaline pumping. The narrator is spectacular.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • LEN LANGFORD
  • 2016-04-26

Regulators

I am a Stephen King fan and have read many of his books. I didn't really care for Regulators. The story was all over the place and hard to follow. Some of the confusion is the use of the same characters as in Desperation although they aren't truly linked.

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13 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Growler
  • 2020-12-17

Read both Desperation and The Regulators

Most reviews say to read The Regulators first and Desperation second but also say Desperation is the better of the two. This being the case, I read Desperation first. It was very good but in the end, I enjoyed The Regulators story more. Both books are great and loved the idea of same characters but in parallel worlds.

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10 people found this helpful

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  • lisa
  • 2017-08-07

Frank Muller was the best!

I could listen to him all day. The book reminds me of the twilight zone,

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Jeanne Guthmiller
  • 2016-03-15

Frank Muller makes this story come alive and dead!

What else can I say? This is another GREAT story by Stephen King. Gives you the creeps with Frank Muller's narration.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2016-03-27

the regulators

Wild, imaginative, crazily manic King/Bachman novel. I love this story and mirror novel Desperation. Great narration as well, esp great considering the novels constant mania and obsurdity at times. I'm on to desperation next and I have a feeling that I'll do this one again cuz its a hard novel to get thru an audio book. I feel like I missed alot. But even still I kno I loved this book, one of Kings best to me. This is about the eighth of his novels I've done recently, on my quest to do them all and so far this one is at the top with It and Insomnia.

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6 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • mark
  • 2016-06-13

Not my favorite King Story

Huge fan of Stephen King. Not a fan of this particular story. Sorry, but I'm still a fan.

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4 people found this helpful