Four of Richard Bachman's eerie works are gathered here in a posthumous edition. They are Rage, a story of stunning psychological horror about an "estra" ordinary high school student; "The Long Walk," a contest with death; "Roadwork, a strange variation on the theme of "Home Sweet Home"; and "The Running Man," where you bet your life--literally.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
YA Four novels published between 1977 and 1982. In Rage , a high-school student goes berserk in the classroom, killing the teacher and holding the class hostage. Set in a militaristic ultra-conservative America, The Long Walk pits 100 teenagers against each other in a grueling 450-mile marathon walk in which the penalty is death. Roadwork is a novel of societal conflict, man vs. progress. The first three thrillers, while entertaining and gripping, occasionally suffer from unfocused and uneven writing. Unresolved questions cause them to be somewhat unsatisfying. However the fourth novel, The Running Man , in the tradition of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (NAL, 1968; o.p.), is an action-packed futuristic romp. Protagonist Ben Richards bets his life on a TV show in order to win the money to save the life of his deathly ill daughter. The story combines social commentary, adventure and science fiction, set against the backdrop of a decaying society. This one novel is well worth the price of the book. The name Stephen King, plus the four-novels-in-one packaging guarantees this volume's success. Bet you can't buy just one copy! John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Lib., Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A writer of excellence...King is one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel.' -- The Sunday Times 'You can't help admiring King's narrative skills and his versatility as a storyteller' -- Sunday Telegraph 'An incredibly gifted writer, whose writing, like Truman Capote's, is so fluid that you often forget that you're reading' -- Guardian
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Turtleback
The true identify of Richard Bachman did not get out until the publication of Thinner, Bachman's fifth book. These first four Bachman novels were the sorts of books you might find in a grocery store or - more likely - never have come across at all because they weren't really marketed at all - at Stephen King's request. Naturally, they didn't sell all that well - not until the true author was revealed, of course. These represent an interesting cross-section of King's writing life. Rage and The Long Walk are truly early King novels, Roadwork emerged in between the novels 'Salem's Lot and The Shining, and The Running Man was published in 1982, the product of a mere seventy-two hours of writing. They are quite different novels, yet they all share a common theme - a man displaced by society and doing what he can to combat the forces closing in around him.
This collection is about the only place you can find the novel Rage these days. After the Columbine tragedy, Stephen King basically had all copies of Rage pulled from the shelves. The novel features a high school student who wigs out, shoots two teachers, and holds his class hostage for several hours. The real heart of the story is the way the students react to their captor during their ordeal; they go way beyond merely sympathizing with him. King really breaks down the emotional walls of these characters, mining some of the real issues that teenagers have to deal with in their lives. To me, this novel is raw but instructive, surreal yet amazingly open and honest, and well worth reading.
If you ask me, The Long Walk (written while King was a college freshman) may well be the most fascinating novel King has ever written. It's a disarmingly simple tale centered on a seemingly mundane activity, yet in King's masterful hands The Long Walk burrows into the core of a number of characters, lays down miles of metaphors about the human condition, and absolutely mesmerizes you with its emotional force and power. The contestants (all but one of whom will die - and they know it) do a lot of talking while they're walking; most of them dance around the "why" issue, but we see clues to some of the reasons as each lad draws closer and closer to death. Cockiness turns to anger, fear, shock, and just about every other kind of dark emotion you can imagine. The boys are stripped bare in both body and mind as the Walk goes on and on. Through his characters, King is basically asking the reader how he/she will face death when it comes. Will you freeze up early on? How long will you fight to stay alive after you've pushed your body far beyond the breaking point? Will you lie down and accept your fate, or will you lose control and lash out at your perceived enemies? I could read this novel over and over again without ever growing tired of it. It's just endlessly fascinating and illuminating.
Roadwork represented an attempt on King's part to go straight, to prove he could write a mainstream novel. In its essence, Roadwork is the story of a man pushed beyond his means of coping with change. We the readers basically watch Bart Dawes go insane as the days pass. We watch him lie to his wife and to himself, drink himself into nightly stupors, procure destructive objects from dangerous men, and plot revenge on those who have taken away the few things in life he could cling to. At the center of his problem is his son Charlie, who died of a brain tumor three years earlier; George can't understand why his son had to die, and he can't bear the thought of his home, Charlie's home, being destroyed. Even as we watch Dawes do some terrible things, we can't help but sympathize with a man so beaten down by the cruel vagaries of life. King has said that Roadwork was in some ways a product of the death of his mother. The book served as a vehicle to let him work through his own emotional issues over his loss. Why does a loved one have to die? That question permeates this novel. It's a very personal story, but it is one almost any adult reader can relate to very well. It's a surprisingly impressive exploration of emotional disintegration.
With The Running Man, we have a complete novel that was written in only three days - and was published with almost no changes. Obviously, The Running Man is not your typical Stephen King novel. Action is the gas pedal, and King floored it from page one until the very end. Surprisingly, though, there is some pretty decent characterization of the main player - and a heavy undertone of social commentary worked into the book.
The setting is a future America in which society has totally fractured, leaving those on the wrong side of the tracks doomed to a life of misery. Ben Richards personifies that social inequity. Unable to provide for his wife and sick little girl, there is only one way out for him - the Network Games. No show satisfies the bloodlust of the public like The Running Man, and a man of Richards' temperament is just the kind of player the show is looking for. Richards proves himself a worthy contestant indeed - the Game in fact, will never be the same. To me, this novel is like a weak film adaptation of a King novel - stripped of all the nuances that make King such a special writer. That's not to way this isn't an exciting novel because it is - that's about all it is, though.
This collection is about the only place you can find the novel Rage these days. After the Columbine tragedy, Stephen King basically had all copies of Rage pulled from the shelves. The novel features a high school student who wigs out, shoots two teachers, and holds his class hostage for several hours. The real heart of the story is the way the students react to their captor during their ordeal; they go way beyond merely sympathizing with him. King really breaks down the emotional walls of these characters, mining some of the real issues that teenagers have to deal with in their lives. To me, this novel is raw but instructive, surreal yet amazingly open and honest, and well worth reading.
If you ask me, The Long Walk (written while King was a college freshman) may well be the most fascinating novel King has ever written. It's a disarmingly simple tale centered on a seemingly mundane activity, yet in King's masterful hands The Long Walk burrows into the core of a number of characters, lays down miles of metaphors about the human condition, and absolutely mesmerizes you with its emotional force and power. The contestants (all but one of whom will die - and they know it) do a lot of talking while they're walking; most of them dance around the "why" issue, but we see clues to some of the reasons as each lad draws closer and closer to death. Cockiness turns to anger, fear, shock, and just about every other kind of dark emotion you can imagine. The boys are stripped bare in both body and mind as the Walk goes on and on. Through his characters, King is basically asking the reader how he/she will face death when it comes. Will you freeze up early on? How long will you fight to stay alive after you've pushed your body far beyond the breaking point? Will you lie down and accept your fate, or will you lose control and lash out at your perceived enemies? I could read this novel over and over again without ever growing tired of it. It's just endlessly fascinating and illuminating.
Roadwork represented an attempt on King's part to go straight, to prove he could write a mainstream novel. In its essence, Roadwork is the story of a man pushed beyond his means of coping with change. We the readers basically watch Bart Dawes go insane as the days pass. We watch him lie to his wife and to himself, drink himself into nightly stupors, procure destructive objects from dangerous men, and plot revenge on those who have taken away the few things in life he could cling to. At the center of his problem is his son Charlie, who died of a brain tumor three years earlier; George can't understand why his son had to die, and he can't bear the thought of his home, Charlie's home, being destroyed. Even as we watch Dawes do some terrible things, we can't help but sympathize with a man so beaten down by the cruel vagaries of life. King has said that Roadwork was in some ways a product of the death of his mother. The book served as a vehicle to let him work through his own emotional issues over his loss. Why does a loved one have to die? That question permeates this novel. It's a very personal story, but it is one almost any adult reader can relate to very well. It's a surprisingly impressive exploration of emotional disintegration.
With The Running Man, we have a complete novel that was written in only three days - and was published with almost no changes. Obviously, The Running Man is not your typical Stephen King novel. Action is the gas pedal, and King floored it from page one until the very end. Surprisingly, though, there is some pretty decent characterization of the main player - and a heavy undertone of social commentary worked into the book.
The setting is a future America in which society has totally fractured, leaving those on the wrong side of the tracks doomed to a life of misery. Ben Richards personifies that social inequity. Unable to provide for his wife and sick little girl, there is only one way out for him - the Network Games. No show satisfies the bloodlust of the public like The Running Man, and a man of Richards' temperament is just the kind of player the show is looking for. Richards proves himself a worthy contestant indeed - the Game in fact, will never be the same. To me, this novel is like a weak film adaptation of a King novel - stripped of all the nuances that make King such a special writer. That's not to way this isn't an exciting novel because it is - that's about all it is, though.
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
By R. Stringini
Format:Mass Market Paperback
It makes me somewhat angry that a book like Rage has to be shelved because of an incident like Columbine. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time, a book I would tell other to read in an instant, but I can't. The novel has been pushed in to oblivion because it deals with a school shooting. Yes, it deals with teenagers being violent, and blowing up emotionally, and then it also deals with them coming to grips with everything, realizing who they are. That may be what disturbes most people about this book. When they realize who they are, what they realize is far from pretty. But at no point did the story feel forced. Everything these teens said fit with their characters. Everything they did fit with what was being thrown at them.
Do I think this book is dangerous? Not at all! It actually shows the danger of holding your fears and problems inside. That's why Charlie went crazy. He held everything inside, just so he could conform to the norm. And conforming led him to something... well, read the book and find out. That's why, in the end, everything works out in it's own twisted way. And yes, this book is twisted. Very twisted. But not dangerous. What happens in the end was was truelly frightening though. If you can get your hands on a copy, grab it. You'll never be able to put the book down. The pace is fast, the story is amazing, and the characters are so well thought out that you'll feel that you may have actually known them. This is one of King's best books.
Do I think this book is dangerous? Not at all! It actually shows the danger of holding your fears and problems inside. That's why Charlie went crazy. He held everything inside, just so he could conform to the norm. And conforming led him to something... well, read the book and find out. That's why, in the end, everything works out in it's own twisted way. And yes, this book is twisted. Very twisted. But not dangerous. What happens in the end was was truelly frightening though. If you can get your hands on a copy, grab it. You'll never be able to put the book down. The pace is fast, the story is amazing, and the characters are so well thought out that you'll feel that you may have actually known them. This is one of King's best books.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The Bachman Books were a way for Stephen King to write a different style under a psuedonym. Under the Richard Bachman pen name, King has managed to paint a bleak but realistic world (unlike the supernatural landscape of 'Salem's Lot and The Stand)).
Rage:
This book is about a young teenager named Charlie Decker. He's like any ordinary kid but he has a problem.
His childhood has turned him into an angry sociopath who's unable to cope with life and does the most drastic thing he could think of, he holds his Algebra class hostage. Let the mind games begin!
Long Walk:
In a futuristic America, a totalitarian government has taken over. To placate the population, a dictator known as The Major presides over a deadly game of endurance call The Long Walk. 100 teenage boys are selected to participate. The winner gets set up for life, the rest are left for dead.
Roadwork:
A hard working joe who's life is turned upside down when his home is selected for demolition. A sour relationship, a voice in his head and a new rifle make a terrible combination. When the fuzz come around that's when the fun begins.
Running Man:
Another bleak tale about a media and consumer driven society (sounds familiar). The growning have-nots are greatly out numbering the haves. One of the many have nots (Benjiman Richards) decides to help out his sick child and part-time prostitute wife by becoming a Free-Vee games contestant. Along the way, he learns and is tranformed into something he never thought he was capable of becoming.
An awesome collection of short novels. I higly recommended this novel. You'll never regret it.
Rage:
This book is about a young teenager named Charlie Decker. He's like any ordinary kid but he has a problem.
His childhood has turned him into an angry sociopath who's unable to cope with life and does the most drastic thing he could think of, he holds his Algebra class hostage. Let the mind games begin!
Long Walk:
In a futuristic America, a totalitarian government has taken over. To placate the population, a dictator known as The Major presides over a deadly game of endurance call The Long Walk. 100 teenage boys are selected to participate. The winner gets set up for life, the rest are left for dead.
Roadwork:
A hard working joe who's life is turned upside down when his home is selected for demolition. A sour relationship, a voice in his head and a new rifle make a terrible combination. When the fuzz come around that's when the fun begins.
Running Man:
Another bleak tale about a media and consumer driven society (sounds familiar). The growning have-nots are greatly out numbering the haves. One of the many have nots (Benjiman Richards) decides to help out his sick child and part-time prostitute wife by becoming a Free-Vee games contestant. Along the way, he learns and is tranformed into something he never thought he was capable of becoming.
An awesome collection of short novels. I higly recommended this novel. You'll never regret it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hidden Gem
Nice to still be able to hunt down the original Bachman stuff, especially Rage, which has been pulled from publication due to recent copycats.
Published 24 days ago by M. M. Salyers
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bachman books
I love anything Stephen King. I wanted to reread this one. It was as good as I remembered it was.
Published 1 month ago by LBS
4.0 out of 5 stars
School Shootings
Never been a fan of horror novels, but wanted to read Rage, hoping to learn more about the subject. I recommend his essay, "Guns. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ma8rty
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bachman is a rare look info a gifted mind
The Bachman Books is a collection of 4 books written under. The Pseudonym of Richard Bachman. Bachman is the alter ego of Horror writer Stephen King. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Pen Name
5.0 out of 5 stars
As expected
I wanted to read Rage, and this was as advertised. All of the stories are very good, particularly considering that they are King's early work.
Published 2 months ago by Caryn Code
5.0 out of 5 stars
Got it!
I bought this book because "Rage" is in it. I wanted to read it but wasn't going to pay the premium. Read more
Published 2 months ago by K. Hersee
5.0 out of 5 stars
awesome book
This is another great works by stephen king! This book is very hard to put down, keeps you wanting to read more.
Published 3 months ago by eclypse
5.0 out of 5 stars
the bachman books
I have read these books earlier in my life, but they are just as intriguing as I remember them.
thank you
thank you
Published 3 months ago by Ellen Caldwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get it while it's available
I can't recommend The Bachman books enough. Stephen King is so much darker and far more forboding as Bachman. There is no holding back in it's very dark themes and view points. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Michael P. McParland
5.0 out of 5 stars
gift
this was a christmas gift and they loved it. i am pretty sure they have already started reading it. arrived on time and everything.
Published 4 months ago by Jill Graves
