9 Mistakes In Stephen King Books You Never Even Noticed
7. The Long Walk - Age Is A Relative Measurement
The Long Walk – published under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1979 – is a dystopian novel set in an alternative present, revolving around a brutal walking contest which is held every year by a totalitarian version of the USA.
The protagonist of the story is Raymond Garraty, a sixteen year old boy from the town of Pownal, Maine. In chapter one it states that Garraty's father took him to see a Long Walk when he was just sixteen years old. Later, however, it claims that Garraty's father was taken away "eleven years ago", and that he hasn't seen him since.
As stated, Garraty is sixteen years old during the events of the narrative. This would make Garraty five years old when his father was taken away, making it completely impossible for Garraty's father to have taken him to see a Long Walk when he was ten. Something (literally) doesn't add up.