Stephen King created the alter ego of Richard Bachman with a specific purpose in mind. He wanted to prove that he could achieve success on his own, without relying on his well-known name. He said it was an enterprise in which he had some moderate success before someone uncovered the true identity of this elusive author. (This "multiple personality syndrome" among writers is explored by King in the story "Secret Window, Secret Garden" and the novel The Dark Half.) However, once Bachman was revealed to be Steve King, the sales naturally skyrocketed and this book was published, containing the first four of his short novels.

This book was quite uneven for me. The first story, "Rage", which explores the dangerous allure of violence among teenagers, may be a significant one, but it failed to engage me. The third story, "Roadwork", which offers a philosophical look at the slow breakdown of a man, is very well-written, but again, it wasn't what I expected from Steve King. The fourth novella, "The Running Man", set in a future America where violence is a reality show, is like a Hollywood action movie starring a tough guy (it was eventually made into a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger). It's exciting to read but lacks depth.

The one story that made me rate this book three stars is the second one, "The Long Walk". This dystopian tale is eerie and surreal. It presents yet another ultraconservative future America. One hundred kids participate in a grueling "walkathon", and only one will survive. The others will either collapse from exhaustion or be shot by the guards following them if they fall behind the 4 mph speed three times within an hour. I absolutely adored this story for its captivating atmosphere.

I carefully reviewed each story separately.

It's really important to take the time to analyze and evaluate each piece on its own merits.

I encourage you to go check out my reviews.

Here are the ratings and links to my detailed reviews for each book:

"The Long Walk" - 4*. My Review: The Long Walk

"Roadwork" - 3*. My Review: Roadwork

"The Running Man" - 5*. My Review: The Running Man

I hope my reviews will help you decide which books to pick up and enjoy.

Each book has its own unique charm and I've tried to capture that in my reviews.

So don't hesitate to click on the links and read what I have to say.

The Long Walk finalizes the first four Bachman books for me. For the sake of brevity, I reviewed the other three stories individually.

I'm a little torn about what to rate this particular story. The first half began very strongly. I'd give it 3.5 stars. What an insane story! One hundred boys are on a walk of endurance for their lives, and only one can survive. This is not just a simple 10-mile marathon. No. This walk crosses at least three states. The boys are not allowed to go under four miles, step out of boundaries, ask for provisions other than canteens of water and one daily allowance of pureed paste-like food. Tuna in a tube. Delicious. They are not allowed to physically interfere with any of the boys' walking progress. There are no bathroom breaks (yes, if you've got to go #2 or #3, you better do it quick and you will do it right there on the open road), no sleeping breaks, no rest breaks, and no first aid breaks. Three strikes within an hour, the boy will get killed. Every hour they walk without a strike can earn them back a strike. The goal is The Prize, anything you want at your beck and call. It's the elusive goal that 99 boys will pay their lives for.

So what went wrong for me?

The story dragged after the second half. It could have been much shorter without missing a thing. It became very repetitive after a while. If King's intention was to make me feel like I was literally walking that long walk with the boys, he succeeded. However, there were also many unanswered questions that I felt required an explanation. I was able to overlook it in The Running Man, but in this story, I felt like there was some explaining to do.

--The rules of the game are never fully explained. We learn a rule here and there, but that's about it. How did this sadistic contest come to be created? What world were the boys living in that they would willingly sign up to participate? What world are people living in that they are willing spectators, cheering the boys on and even betting on which boy will make it to the end? Who exactly is the Mayor?

--Can someone really walk that long, without any breaks of any sort? I would have been shot after the first few miles if not a couple. It started getting harder to believe the longer they walked, especially in the given conditions.

--There is too much unbelievable conversation between the boys. It didn't ring true to teenage boys. They sounded like old men who have lived through quite a bit. Some of the conversation seemed mundane considering what was at stake. The conversations also didn't reveal anything about the boys that would have made me like any of them. There wasn't anyone in particular I could root for.

The end was a little anticlimactic for me. By that point, I was wishing all the boys would just fall from sheer exhaustion. The second half of this was 1.5 stars.

Stephen King is a renowned author, and this volume presents three of his novellas that were written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman.

These works are products of their era, and two of them depict dystopian futures that predate the advent of reality television. This aspect adds an interesting layer to the reading experience, as it allows readers to explore the author's prescient vision of a possible future.

While the collection may not be the strongest in King's oeuvre, it is still a must-read for his fans. It offers a unique perspective on his writing style and his ability to create engaging and thought-provoking stories. Whether you are a die-hard King enthusiast or simply interested in exploring different genres of literature, this collection is well worth checking out.

April 2018 was a month filled with the excitement of reading the novel "Rage".

This novel, rated 4 stars, had the power to captivate readers from the very beginning. The story was filled with intense emotions and thrilling plot twists that kept readers on the edge of their seats.

The characters were well-developed, each with their own unique personalities and motives. As readers delved deeper into the novel, they found themselves becoming fully invested in the lives and fates of the characters.

The author's writing style was engaging and descriptive, painting vivid pictures in the minds of the readers. The setting of the novel was also well-crafted, adding to the overall atmosphere and tension.

Overall, reading "Rage" in April 2018 was an unforgettable experience. It was a novel that left a lasting impression and had readers eagerly recommending it to others.

As a collection, it is truly indispensable for a King completist. This is largely due to the inclusion of the out-of-print Rage. I managed to find my copy on Thriftbooks by wish-listing every edition that included all four novels and then choosing a low-priced one. It features an introduction by King himself, explaining "Why I Was Bachman", which essentially boils down to: "because I wanted to." I really like that it also includes pages展示 the original paperback covers for the included novels.

I reviewed each book separately as I read it and am copying them all here again:

  Rage

Ah, King's infamous out-of-print book. It was the first to be released under his then-secret Richard Bachman nom de plume. Much later, it was removed from publication at King's request after it was associated with various unbalanced individuals who took it as inspiration to commit violence in schools. Somehow, for reasons that no one in America can fully explain, school shootings have continued. The evergreen headline from The Onion often comes to mind: "‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens."

Written earlier than Carrie, it shows its immaturity. Not in the quality of the writing, which even then included classic King-isms, such as the recurrence of phrases as shorthand for a character's philosophy. In this instance, it's "getting it on". But rather in the content, character behavior, and plot.

The protagonist, a violent teenager who in a more recent decade would never have been allowed back onto school grounds under any circumstances, ends up holding a classroom of his peers as semi-willing hostages while they "get it on". This means that they attempt to do away with phonies and reject societal judgment of their class and behaviors. For example, highlighting the contrast between how a girl who "puts out" is thought of compared to the boys who were equally involved. The fact that the class is willing to engage in this conversation with a boy who just murdered their teacher in cold blood is, well, interesting. Eventually, in some kind of turn-around groupthink, the adolescents' titular rage is turned on the adults who attempt to negotiate for the hostages and ultimately on a classmate who embodies the phoniness they consider themselves to be rebelling against.

Silly tropes abound, the most notable being the "pocket protector" device, where an object in a breast pocket by happenstance stops a bullet from a police sniper. And another is the idea that certain emotional events can drive a person to a permanent catatonic or psychotic state.

This title need not be sought out except by King scholars and the obsessive completionist. I unfortunately fall into the latter category. I recently began a no-timeframe Stephen King publication-order re-read and so was compelled to seek this story out. I read it as a teenager and somehow never subsequently brought a gun to school in order to "get it on".

  The Long Walk

Like the prior Bachman Book (Rage), this one is notably adolescent in concept, although with mature prose that at times verges on the poetic. It's the kind of story that sticks with you when you read it at a certain young age, which is probably why I love it.

Predating The Hunger Games by decades, "The Walk" is a nihilistic competition for teenagers that reflects and supports a fascist rule. The details of the world in which this takes place are scant, necessarily so because any attempt to explain rationally why such a context exists would fail. In a late-1970's alternate history USA, teenage boys volunteer for an annual contest in which the winner will be granted whatever they want for the rest of their lives. 100 contestants set out for a days-long march along public roads, where the masses gather to cheer them on and hope to see some of them get their ticket. The rules are simple: walk with a speed of at least 4 miles per hour, which is a brisk pace. Fall below that speed threshold and the boy earns a warning, which can only be negated by a full hour of warning-free walking. Continue to drag your feet for another 30 seconds, and you get another warning. Then another. There is no fourth warning. At that point, you get your ticket. Only one will win, at the expense of the other 99. The story is explicit about the need to eat, sleep, piss, and shit while maintaining that pace, unending day and night until the contest is over. It's a brutal concept once you get into the details. I found myself thinking about how shoe technology would change the race today; at best it could only prolong the suffering.

It's a surprisingly long book given the concept. The narrator follows one walker in particular, a home-grown hero in the state of Maine where the walk begins. Friendships, alliances, and rivalries are formed and broken as the event progresses, as these teen boys discuss their lives and mostly death and the conditions that drove them to volunteer for this macabre display. Adolescent male sexuality, that fragile thing, is a frequent topic. The boys rage, plot, plead, flail against fate, fall, and die. The winner... well, if you're paying attention, the outcome of the race is revealed many times throughout the story.

I was struck by the parallel of the main character's missing father, who was taken by "the Squad" years ago, and King's own father leaving when he was very young.

  Roadwork

Surprisingly honest story of complicated grief. A horror-less novel. The rhythm of the protagonist's internal dialogue between his "Fred" and "George" personas (Take that, Weasleys!) was representative of much of King's writing over the subsequent years. I liked that this wasn't a story of a psychological breakdown; that had already taken place. Instead, it's about the slowly rolling outcome of that breakdown.

  The Running Man

A fitting final entry in The Bachman Books, drawing in themes from the other novels in the collection. It was the second dystopian novel. The Running Man was written by an older King, but like The Long Walk it shows a mixture of terrific writing chops and a bit of immaturity in content choices now and then. It also uses a main character who reminded me greatly of Barton Dawes, the protagonist of Roadwork. It's basically the same man, disaffected, raging at society, but dropped into a very different setting.

Ben Richards is the Running Man, participating in a deadly game show that sees him hunted and hated across a poisoned nation. The setting immediately draws comparisons to Fahrenheit 451, which it succeeded by three decades, and Squid Game, which would not arrive for another four. Half thriller, half social commentary, it's an interesting ride. It is broken into 100 countdown-style mini-chapters which propels the story effectively. It may have been a little self-indulgent at times, but it's mostly sharp.

Written in 1982 and set in 2025, with the intervening time revealing no advancement in racial slurs. As I re-read King's oeuvre in publication order, I've noticed that he uses the N-word in almost every book so far, and this one takes it to new heights. In every case it's clear that it's the characters speaking, and not all of them; every such speaker has been degenerate and villainous. It's an excuse but certainly no longer excusable; a product of his times, King has thankfully since shown evolution. It was bad enough in this book that I requested a library copy of a more recent printing, curious to see if the language might have been revised since first release.

I read this exactly once before, as a teenager, many years ago. It's been at least as long since I saw the film adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; does anyone remember that? It had a very different plot aside from the core concept of the game show. If memory serves, the arcade game Smash TV, which I dropped a lot of quarters on, used at least one audio clip from the film, of a game show host saying, "I'd buy that for a dollar!"

Three-stars is what the whole volume averages out to.

I'll rate the four novels individually:

Rage: 1 star. It's puerile and terrible. It's like a textbook example of teen angst that leads to a school shooting. It's really a yawner, especially when considering the quality of the next one.

The Long Walk: 4 - 5 stars? It's hard to say exactly. This novel is inventive, nerve-wracking, and weird. While the dialogue sometimes fumbles (as the main character himself wonders, what teenager calls anyone 'whoreson'?), and some of the characters are wafer thin, it's very original and has elements that can be ripped off. The plot is deceptively simple: you have to walk until you win or die, and then you basically get whatever you want.

Roadwork: 1 star. This is the only one I couldn't finish. It's essentially like the film "Falling Down" but with a lower body count and very little of the wit.

The Running Man: 4 - 5 stars. It's light-years away from the film adaptation and is eminently superior. I'm not entirely sure, but this novel seems to be a source of inspiration for many inferior dystopian products. "The Hunger Games", which is awful, basically ripped off this concept: in a poverty-stricken future controlled by rich fascists, people starve and starve for entertainment. "The Running Man" is a game show where you run from Hunters and try to survive, all televised live. This is also darkly hilarious, with a protagonist who is not so great. There's not much that's pretty here, but I loved it!

2 out of 4 isn't bad. You can sort of see the hints of King's transition as he wrote these over a multi-year span. Definitely worth reading for the two better ones.

The Bachman Books, in my opinion, was a bit overhyped. The books within it were decent and memorable, yet none of them would make it into my top ten King books.

The Long Walk had an interesting concept on the surface, but it was quite boring at times, and reading it felt like a chore. The Running Man, on the other hand, was an interesting read from start to finish. It was gripping, and I found myself reading 100 pages at a time without realizing where the time went. The premise was interesting, and the execution was decent.
Rage was a thrilling read that kept me on my toes the entire time. It's about a student with mental health issues who invokes a school shooting and holds a classroom hostage. The captive students slowly lean into the rage that the MC invokes. Roadwork gave me mixed emotions. Some parts of the plot were interesting, but I didn't understand why it was a novel instead of a short story. The explosive ending was awesome, giving me western-crime thriller vibes, but I was still a bit disappointed with the extensive plot and its outcome.
Overall, The Bachman Books is a decent set of stories within a single volume, and I'm glad I finally had the chance to read them.

The Bachman Books was a collection that had its highs and lows for me.

I love these books. I truly, deeply love these books.

It has just dawned on me that I can regard this as my favorite King novella collection. Because, well, that's precisely what it is. Although some of these works are a bit on the long side to be strictly considered novellas, they are all neatly bundled together. And so, I would like to proclaim that The Bachman Books have exceeded Four Past Midnight as my favorite King novella collection.

I have a profound affection for every single book in this collection. The Long Walk, without a doubt, is my all-time favorite book. This time around, it actually managed to bring tears to my eyes. I'm rather sad that Rage is out of print, although I do understand the reason behind it. Roadwork is a tragic tale, and The Running Man is like '1984', but with a Stephen King twist. I love it. I love every bit of it.

These books have a special place in my heart, and I will cherish them always.

Story: The Long Walk
Stars for Story: 5/5
**I read this in May 2021. I am writing this review based on notes that I wrote at the time.**

One hundred teenage boys make the fateful decision to sign up for an annual walking contest. The stakes are unbelievably high - the winner will be awarded whatever he desires for the rest of his life. But the catch is brutal. They must maintain a steady pace of 4mph without stopping. Three warnings and they are out of the contest forever - and by out, it means dead.

What the actual hell? This was truly a savage concept. What intrigued me (in a strange, almost masochistic way?) was that the boys continuously moaned about it being murder and unfair, yet they had voluntarily put their names on the dotted line. If they didn't want to face the ultimate consequence, they should have thought twice before signing up. The entire story was morbid and depressing, yet I was completely hooked. I had to know what would become of these boys. There was a palpable sense of impending doom that hung over the entire book, like a dark cloud. Despite all this, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. It held my attention captive and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

This story has remained with me long after I turned the final page. I still sometimes feel that same sense of doom when I think about it. I can't recall a single thing that I didn't love about it. As harrowing as it was, it was storytelling at its finest. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, so I give The Long Walk a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars!

Story: Roadwork
Stars for Story: 5/5
**I read this in September 2021. I am writing this review based on notes that I wrote at the time.**

A man is plunged into a state of mental instability as he grieves over the loss of his son and the breakdown of his marriage. To make matters worse, he discovers that both his home and his workplace are going to be demolished to make way for an extension to an interstate highway.

I think this is the first Stephen King story I've read that didn't have a supernatural element. It was a raw and intense portrayal of a deeply troubled man. It was very good, but I'm not entirely sure if his actions were justifiable. Then again, I don't know much about Schizophrenia, so I can't really say for sure. As always, King's writing was masterful. I was on the edge of my seat, desperate to know what he planned to do with those goddamn guns!

Even now, all this time later, I don't remember a great deal about this story. But based on my notes, I can tell that I really enjoyed it. I give Roadwork 5 out of 5 stars!

Story: The Running Man
Stars for Story: 5/5
**I read this in August 2022.**

Ben Richards decides to enter the reality TV show The Running Man. It's a real-life version of the game Manhunt, where the contestants are free to go anywhere in the world, but they are being hunted to the death by the general public. The public stands to win a large sum of money if they kill a participant, and any contestants who manage to stay alive have the chance to win a whopping $1 billion.

This story was also incredibly brutal. I felt a great deal of sympathy for the main character, who is mostly referred to as Richards. He was essentially a down-on-his-luck bum who entered the Manhunt-style reality show in a desperate attempt to make some money to pay for his daughter's medical care. What follows is a thrilling and unpredictable ride filled with corruption and intrigue. I couldn't put the book down. I had to know what would happen to Richards next, and I felt so sorry for him. This story, like The Long Walk, had a constant sense of impending doom from start to finish. You never knew if Richards was going to be caught and what kind of horrors awaited him. The whole thing was truly awful, but it was also brilliant.

I don't think there was anything about this story that I didn't love. I was completely engrossed from beginning to end. And that ending was probably the best it could have been. I give The Running Man 5 out of 5 stars!

I would highly recommend this anthology to anyone who has a passion for horror, (not so) short stories, thrillers, mysteries, and great storytelling. It's a collection that will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat.

The Bachman Books is a remarkable collection of Stephen King stories that were initially published under his pen name. Each story within this collection offers a unique and captivating experience.

Rage earns a perfect 5/5 rating. It delves into the disturbing mind of a teenager who embarks on a shooting rampage in his school, taking his classmates hostage. Amidst this harrowing situation, we gain significant insights into the lives of the so-called "normal" students.

The Long Walk also receives a 5/5. Set in a future where, for mysterious reasons, people are compelled to undertake a Long Walk, with the losers facing a fatal gunshot. This story keeps readers on the edge of their seats, wondering what fate awaits the participants.

Roadwork, however, only manages a 3/5. It's the sole story that didn't quite reach the excellent standard. The protagonist is extremely annoying, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. Nevertheless, it tells the tale of a man whose business and home are set to be relocated due to a construction project, and his arduous struggles against the impending future.

The Running Man, with a 5/5 rating, is perhaps the most well-known of these stories, largely due to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie adaptation. It's the thrilling account of a game show called "The Running Man," where contestants are pursued as they attempt to escape.

Overall, The Bachman Books is a great collection of classic horror stories. The horror often lies in the glimpses we get into the "normal" lives of ostensibly "normal" people. It's a must-read for fans of Stephen King.

Time taken to read - in and out over months.

Pages - 704.

Publisher - PLUME.

Source - Bought.

Blurb from Goodreads: Omnibus collection of four early Bachman novels (Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man) and the essay "Why I Was Bachman".

My Review: Four novels by Richard Bachman, also known as Stephen King, namely Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, and The Running Man. Apparently, I read these years ago but didn't remember and rebought another copy, only to find my original later.

Rage is about a high school shooting/hostage situation where the gunman is a student. We are in the class with them all as the situation unfolds. It's tense and shocking, especially considering it involves teens. This book has since been removed from publications.

The Long Walk is a dark and shocking tale where the contestants literally walk. They are given three warnings to speed up to the allocated time/speed, and if they fail again, they are shot. There can only be one winner.

Roadwork is about one man against big business. His life is turned upside down as a new motorway is being built and his home and everything he has heads south. It's a descent into madness when what you own and love is threatened and you decide to take matters into your own hands.

The Running Man - I love the movie, but the book is completely different. It's still a game show called The Running Man where you're running for your life, but you're out in the world and need to post tapes (I'm not sure they don't track). Ben Richards is nothing like Arnie's portrayal. It's also a quite dark tale, and yet you could see something like this happening these days and the public's reaction to it. Overall, I give it 4/5. I love King's books as they provide an escapism when you most need it, just like when I was a kid. He got me hooked on reading and horror.