History Literature / Blaze

* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Hetton House was a state orphanage and school that Blaze attended as a child. He and the rest of the children were abused by the cruel headmaster Martin Coslaw and the rest of the staff, and.

* AMatchMadeInStockholm: A strange case. At the end, [[spoiler:after Joe is returned to his parents, he begins to cry because it's the "wrong face".]]

* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: King actually wanted to avoid this and wanted to publish it under just Bachman's name. In the end, the hardcover has both names under equal size and the paperback has "Stephen King writing as..."

* OrgyOfEvidence: In just a day after the kidnapping, the police already identifies Blaze as the culprit. He left tons of tracks behind, a lot of which aren't hard to trace back to him (like fibers from his trousers, which are of a brand only sold in a handful of stores, and marks from the ladder, which again is of a brand only sold in a limited amount of stores), and people easily recognize/remember him due to his large physique and the dent in his skull.

* StockholmSyndrome: A strange case. At the end, [[spoiler:after Joe is returned to his parents, he begins to cry because it's the "wrong face".]]

Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., also known as "Blaze", is a mentally challenged con artist. Under the guidance of the 'ghost' of his dead partner, kidnaps the infant son of a wealthy millionaire for ransom. The plan begins to crumble as Blaze begins to bond with the baby.

* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler!In the climax, Blaze takes a bullet to the calf, a bullet to the leg that blows his kneecap, and a bullet in the buttock that shatters his hip and tears open his large intestine, but he keeps running and doesn't even feel it. It takes a bullet in the lower back that severs his spinal cord to finally make him stop.]]

* RasputinianDeath: In the climax, Blaze takes a bullet to the calf, a bullet to the leg that blows his kneecap, and a bullet in the buttock that shatters his hip and tears open his large intestine, but he keeps running and doesn't even feel it. It takes a bullet in the lower back that severs his spinal cord to finally make him stop.

* VillainProtagonist: Blaze, though calling him a villain is a stretch.

* BrainsAndBrawn: George and Blaze.
* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Blaze went to one.

* GentleGiant: Blaze.

* VillainProtagonist: Well, he does kidnap a child.
* VorpalPillow: When George warns Blaze that the police is on to him, he urges Blaze to kill Joe in this manner since the kid would only slow him down. Blaze comes close to doing it, but ultimately can't bring himself to kill the baby.

* AdultFear: Your infant son is abducted from your own home, in the middle of the night. And adding insult to injury, the kidnapper gained access through your own bedroom window.

* LighterAndSofter: By King's standards, especially when compared to the rest of the Bachman canon. It's a heartbreaking novel, but it's not as nihilistic as ''Literature/{{Rage}}'' or ''Literature/TheLongWalk''.

* TheDogBitesBack: For years, Blaze put up with the abuse of Martin Coslaw, the head of Hetton House (the state orphanage where Blaze spend most of his youth). But after his friend John Cheltzman dies because he was send to work in the field despite having a weak heart, Blaze finally snaps and gave Coslaw a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.

* HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook: True, George was already a con artist before he got caught, but during a 20 months stay in Walpole prison, he picked up an assortment of new cons, including his most succesful one. It was also here that a fellow inmate gave him the idea to kidnap a baby for ransom.

* SayingTooMuch: When on his way to post the ransom note, Blaze is offered a ride by a pulp truck driver. During the ride, the driver brings up the kidnapping (which is prominently featured in the news), and Blaze casually wonders if Joe's parents will really pay the 1 million dollars in ransom before realizing he shouldn't know about that since he hasn't even send the letter yet, let alone that the media reported about the ransom. Fortunately for Blaze, while the driver is surprised Blaze knows about the amount of money the kidnappers are asking, he doesn't put one and one together enough to deduce Blaze might be the kidnapper.

* StockingMask: Blaze robs a grocery store but ''forgets'' to put the stocking on. Fortunately, he scares the salesclerk so much that he can't remember anything to identify him. Blaze later comes back to the same store, this time wearing the stocking, and even points it out to the clerk.

* OnlyOnePlausibleSuspect: In just a day after the kidnapping, the police already identifies Blaze as the culprit. He left tons of tracks behind, a lot of which aren't hard to trace back to him (like fibers from his trousers, which are of a brand only sold in a handful of stores, and marks from the ladder, which again is of a brand only sold in a limited amount of stores), and people easily recognize/remember him due to his large physique and the dent in his skull.

* RealityEnsues: In just a day after the kidnapping, the police already identifies Blaze as the culprit. He left tons of tracks behind, a lot of which aren't hard to trace back to him (like fibers from his trousers, which are of a brand only sold in a handful of stores, and marks from the ladder, which again is of a brand only sold in a limited amount of stores), and people easily recognize/remember him due to his large physique and the dent in his skull.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Is George really assisting Blaze from beyond the grave as a ghost, or is he just a figment of Blaze's imagination, speaking what Blaze's subconscious already knows? The novel isn't really clear on this.

* VillainProtagonist: Well, he does kidnap a child.

* SayingTooMuch: When on his way to post the ransom note, Blaze is offered a ride by a truck driver. During the ride, the driver brings up the kidnapping (which is prominently featured in the news), and Blaze casually wonders if Joe's parents will really pay the 1 million dollars in ransom before realizing he shouldn't know about that since he hasn't send the letter yet. Fortunately for Blaze, while the driver is surprised Blaze knows about the amount of money the kidnappers are asking, he doesn't put one and one together enough to deduce Blaze might be the kidnapper.

* OneLastJob: What Blaze is on.