World Famous Comics: Bachman Books: 4 Early Novels by Richard Bachman, Author of The Regulators
Bachman Books: 4 Early Novels by Richard Bachman, Author of The Regulators
By: Stephen King Publisher: Signet Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Signet Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 944 Publication Date: October 01, 1996
Are you a completist? This is a collection of four early Stephen King novels, written under the pen name Richard Bachman. The voice is pure King. The stories...not so much. They are some great stories, but this book is probably more important to King fans and completists than it is the average reader.
The Breakfast Club -- Killing-spree ending If anyone but the author had decided to take Rage out of print, I would be pretty disgusted. However, I can see why he would. A lot of books and movies get blamed unjustly for glamourizing violence. This book actually does so.
When Charlie murders two people in front of his classmates, they find themselves stunned into a bizarre, group self-exploration session. The extremity of Charlie's behavior gives them license to finally be themselves. Many of the hostages end up viewing Charlie as a dark hero: "Go Charlie! F--- 'em all!"
So, I can understand the desire to distance oneself from this juvenile fantasy of What Would Happen if They Finally Drove Me Over the Edge, especially in a culture where students really do go into school, guns drawn, thinking of teaching the world a lesson.
Still, it's a really good story. Charlie is a likeable character until he developes a major personality disorder. The stories about his past are all excellent. All the characters are interesting -- the other students, Charlie's parents, the girl Charlie threw up on at the beach... Some things happen that are not that plausible, but overall, it's a great story.
It's worth buying the book just for this story, but The Long Walk is even better (one of my favorite stories), and so is The Running Man. I didn't finish reading Roadwork.
Bachman Books Purchased this book as a gift for my husband. It's a classic!!!The Bachman Books : Four Early Novels by Stephen King (omnibus of Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork and The Running Man)
A glimpse of things to come These stories were written by a young King, before many of his more well-known works were published. After reading The Bachman Books, it is easy to see the talent Mr. King possessed at an early age.
Rage is the reason this book is sought-after, and it won't disappoint most readers. It is a great study of social cliques, adolescent psychology, and shifts of power. The controversy surrounding the story may lead people to misguided expectations. This is not a story with huge body counts of high-school students and faculty. My second-favorite story in the book.
The Long Walk is a brilliant character study. Possibly a metaphor for the Vietnam War (my personal opinion there, not necessarily King's), this story focuses on a handful of "walkers" participating in a field of 100. Rules are simple and are enforced strictly. Characters meet sides of themselves they never knew they possessed when faced with situations you wouldn't normally encounter. This story alone is worth seeking out this book. I'd place The Long Walk right up there with other King short stories like The Mist, The Raft, 1408, The Body, and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
Roadwork, although my least favorite of the four, still has its place. It is also a character study, but after reading The Long Walk any story would have a tough act to follow. You can empathize with the main charcter even as he slips into madness and King writes him in a way that you almost root for him.
The Running Man was a pleasant surprise. I'd seen the film that was LOOSELY based on the story (and by loosely, I mean the character name, the reality game show, and the future dystopia is about it) and altough I enjoyed it I soon realized that the story was infinitely better (isn't that usually the case?). The story paints a very bleak, not-too-distant future where the haves and have-nots are separated to an extreme that frighteningly may not be that far off. Our protagonist runs in order to help his family, and the hunters seeking him aren't rejects from the WWE. It's about a man pushed to his limits and how he's forced to choose his victories.
It's spooky how King wrote two stories in this book about futuristic reality game shows, and today these shows--although not nearly as extreme as King's versions--are so popular and prevalent. All the stories are worth reading and a couple of them are excellent. If you can locate a copy of this book I strongly suggest picling it up.
The Greatest This is going to be a shory review. The Long Walk has got to be one of the greatest stories I have red in my life, I can not find anything wrong with it. Rage, all I can say about Rage is "WOW". I"m glad I got this before the school shooting and all, cause it is such a great story about standing up for one's self but going too far doing so. Roadwork and The Running Man, were also good stories the the first two I mention is whhat made buying the book worth it. If your a KING fan you must buiy the book.
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