Hard to find book because of the inclusion of Rage. ( )

Rage: I re-read this for the first time in literal decades. I had zero remembrance of the book and I'm not sure I would have appreciated this Columbine meets The Breakfast Club short novel. The first thing I was struck by (as I always am with King) is just how compelling his writing is. The second thing is his honesty. He never makes any bones about people's humanness. It's all right there. I'll give Rage 4 stars.

The Long Walk:

Roadwork:

The Running Man:

In terms of individual books:

Rage: Definitely an early work by King, but kind of interesting, if you can stomach the school shooting-centric plot (and if you can find a copy, being that King has let it go out of print).

The Long Walk: An actual masterpiece, something that could easily have been published as a full-on King novel rather than one of the Bachman books. A long, unending scream of a book.

Roadwork: Just so-so, easily the most half-baked of all of these.

The Running Man: Somewhat interesting, but also half-baked and feeling kind of like a rehash of parts of The Long Walk (and those aren't parts Running Man finds a way to improve on).

Overall: interesting, but not necessary unless you're a King completionist. Seek out The Long Walk and skip the rest. ( )

Great read - don't own because I gave it away. Got a stand-alone copy of The Long Walk though, which was my favorite story from this collection. If I could have kept just that story and the preface by Stephen King, I would have. A neat insight into what drove the use of a pseudonym. ( )

Ok…
Anyone checking out my book list will instantly notice that I am a Big Stephen King Fan. The stories in this collection are earlier works, written under the pseudonym, Richard Bachman and they are all fantastic. Just shy of 700 pages, it took me a while to complete it – I read slow.

Rage:
Every parent of teens could take a lesson from this story – we don’t have a clue as to what our children are thinking, going through and dealing with in their confused and hormone-driven lives. Alienation, sexual choices, fitting in, standing out or giving up – time goes on and nothing really changes. They have to learn to cope with the world as they find it and for many coping is just too much, too soon.

The Long Walk:
This story was by far, one of the scariest things I’ve ever read – because it’s a very clear depiction of the realities of war. This is what happens when our Sons and Daughters sign up to do their patriotic duty and are sent to war by some egotistical maniac. 99 young males walked themselves to death or were shot when they could walk no longer – and for what – riches, fame, glory? Every time a youngster makes the conscious (yet uninformed) decision to commit a crime, it’s just like the long walk, because they all think it will be fine. They think they will get away – and many do, but some don’t and the consequences can be quite grave. How many times have I signed up for something without a realistic idea of what that decision entailed? Too many, I suppose.

Road Work:
This is a story of a man who died when his son died. He was still walking, talking and going through the motions of life – but all zest and zeal were gone. His lack of hope culminated to the point of lunacy, which could, in reality happen to anyone who has no Higher Power as their guide and source of sustenance. The saddest aspect, was that he managed to alienate all those who genuinely cared for him, thus rendering himself alone and unable to fight the demons that plagued his psyche.

The Running Man:
Unlike the movie that ended with a genuine victory for Ben Richards, this anti-hero lost it all – E-VA-RY-FREA-KIN-THING – in his quest to save his sick child. He did well – tried like hell to overcome every challenge that faced him, but end the end, his final choice was to give up all that made him a man or to rebel against the machine – he chose to fight the power – gotta love him for it.

Now, a word for Stephen King. I realize that these are indeed earlier works, and I hope you have learned more and grown much in your years. The liberties you took with the “N” word is a sad testament to the racism in our country. And for your information – Black People do not call each-other nigger. They may say Nigga, Nucka or some variation – it’s BLACK thing and you are not Black and wouldn’t be privy to that inside information. You “F’ed” Up! ( )