理查德·巴克曼是斯蒂芬·金使用的一个笔名。在斯蒂芬·金的写作生涯起步之初，出版商普遍认为一位作者每年只宜出一本新书，多了不易被市场接受。为了出版更多作品而又不至于让读者厌倦金这一“品牌”，斯蒂芬·金产生了用另一个名字发表作品的念头，他说服出版商采纳了他这一想法。

斯蒂芬·金曾经声明，他使用巴克曼这一笔名还有寻求自己在“斯蒂芬·金”这一名号之外价值的用心，同时也想看看自己的成就究竟应归因于才华还是运气。因此他在以巴克曼的名义出版新书时刻意避免在市场营销活动时露面，然而他还是没能弄清有关“是才华还是运气”的问题。巴克曼的某部作品首印售出两万八千册，但巴克曼其实就是斯蒂芬·金这一秘密揭开后，销量立即翻了十番。

Once upon a time, a fellow named Richard Bachman wrote "Blaze" on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write "Carrie." Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but this last gripping Bachman novel resurfaced after being hidden away for decades -- an unforgettable crime story tinged with sadness and suspense.Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., was always a small-time delinquent. None too bright either, thanks to the beatings he got as a kid. Then Blaze met George Rackley, a seasoned pro with a hundred cons and one big idea. The kidnapping should go off without a hitch, with George as the brains behind their dangerous scheme. But there's only one problem: by the time the deal goes down, Blaze's partner in crime is dead. Or is he?Includes a previously uncollected story, "Memory" -- the riveting opening to Stephen King's new Scribner hardcover novel, "Duma Key."