About this title: Four early novels that Stephen King wrote under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman: RAGE is the story of a high-school show-and-tell session that takes a frightening turn; ROADWORK is not a typical Bachman/King tale, charting the disintegration of a man's life though a series of mishaps and circumstances. THE LONG WALK and THE RUNNING MAN are set in a near-future America where popular games have fatal consequences.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780451147363ISBN:0451147367
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 944 p. Audience: General/trade. Overall Good condition. Creased and slightly bowed spine and normal edgewear for well read book. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: New York, NY, U.S.A. : Signet, 1996
ISBN-13:9780451147363ISBN:0451147367
Description: Good in Fair jacket. Hard Cover. Horror. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾". NEW YORK A SIGNET BOOK 1996. Good/ Fair DJ. Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman; with a New Introduction by the Author, " The Importance of Being Bachman"; clean pages, no writing; some bumping and edgewear to boards; dj not clipped glossy with lots of small tears, creasing, chipping along edges and spine Binding is HARD BACK BLACK. 692 pp. ISBN: 0451147367. read more
Edition: F First Paperback Printing
Binding: S Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Books, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780451147363ISBN:0451147367
Description: Good. Brief summary of content available upon request by e-mail. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Signet
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780451147363ISBN:0451147367
Description: ISBN 0-451-14736-7. Mass Market Paperback. Later Printing. Tight sound Reading Copy Only due to heavy edge wear, corner creases, multiple creases to spine, browning to interior front and back covers. Reading Copy Only. It's not pretty. read more
"In the intro to the Bachman Books, King writes that he wasn't certain that his early work was mostly good, but it is obvious (even though these aren't the best examples) that King has tremendous talent for writing.
I didn't particularly care for either Rage nor Roadwork, although of the two I found Roadwork more appealing, mostly because I found it fascinating to witness a man's downward spiral into madness. However, I think the real winners in this collection are The Long Walk and The Running Man, both based on the premise that murder has once again become a form of entertainment for the masses. Both of which also delve into the dynamics of human nature and man's will to survive."
"A good collection of stories. The Long Walk is the star of the show and is the story of 100 teens embarking on a walking competition which only one can survive. Rage, I believe, has been withdrawn as it supposedly sets a blue print for any teens who want to shoot up a high school. You'd have thought guns would be withdrawn instead. The Running Man is a huge departure from the Arnie flick and is a whole lot more gritty and down beat and a damn sight better for it. While I don't remember a whole lot about Roadwork except it's some kind of revenge mission for a fella who's house is being demolished?"
"The four novellas areRage which is about a student who brings a handgun to school, shoots a teacher in cold blood and then holds the class hostage. The class is okay with that except for one fella.The Long Walk is about 100 teenagers all under 20 but over 15 years old who have lost their fathers, take a hike until the winner meets his father.Roadwork is about a man who throws his life away when he finds out his house is going to be replaced by a highway.The Running Man is about a man in good health who enters a contest to win enough money to buy medicine for his ailing daughter.All the stories were readable but none really moved me. The first was the worse and King has now taken it out of print. As it should be. It sucks."
"First of all, I will say that my thoughts posted in this review will not include my opinions on The Running Man. I skipped reading it with the other stories because I read it by itself recently.
The first story in this book is The Rage. I have heard that this story is why this book is so hard to come by in that it portrays some shootings in a school and might be considered relative to events in modern America. I feel that if this is the case, that it should not be mentioned in the same light as the realistic school shootings that have been plaguing America over recent years. Some connections might exist, but there is much more depth to this story than a group of video-game influenced students taking their Halo fantasies out on the world. No. This goes into the thought process, history, and mentality of one deranged student and expands into the influence his actions have on those around him.
The Long Walk is the one that I wanted to read the most. It revolves around a game in which young men must continue walking until only one remains. Those who stop are put to death and the winner receives a great and unknown prize. I will admit the end of this disappointed me a bit although the writing was great. My feet hurt while reading it.
The last story is Road Work, which is the story of one man being put over the edge by being forced to move to a new home and move his business when a road is designed to run through both.
All in all, the three stories were all very well-written. This was a quick and satisfying read for the length. This is definitely some of King's better work."
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