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Content snapshot
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Violence
Very heavy
Sustained and graphic horror violence; the gunmen kill throughout; deaths of multiple major characters
Language
A lot
Strong language; the horror register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild; adult relationships in the suburban cast
Substance Use
Some
Moderate; the suburban setting and its cultural specifics
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Moderate; the horror of inexplicable violence in a place of total safety; what a suburban community does when it can no longer pretend violence is someone else's problem
What this book is about
The companion to Desperation (published the same month in 1996), The Regulators is set in the same fictional universe but with a different cast on a suburban Ohio street that is suddenly and inexplicably under attack from western-themed gunmen who don't seem to need food, rest, or reason. King published it under the Richard Bachman name as a formal experiment: the two books share names and some geography but are otherwise different stories. Pure summer horror.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Very graphic horror violence
Multiple deaths of major characters
Strong language
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