Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The Long Walk: 5☆
Roadwork: 1☆
The Running Man: 4☆
Roadwork: 1☆
The Running Man: 4☆
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a collection of 4 novellas. Please find my review for each novella below;
Rage
This is a very disturbing story and I understand fully why Stephen King has allowed this to ran out of print.
This story highlights King’s strength in writing characters. It was impressive how flesh out those characters are in such a short novella.
Verdict: 3.5/5
The Long Walk
Only Stephen King can write a story about 450 miles walk such an interesting story. This is an intense story about pain and trauma which was very well written. Considering the fact that this was written when King was 18 is mind blowing.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Road work
This is the weakest story of the 4. Though I love the depth in which King explore the character, I wasn’t engaged much with the story and felt that it could have moved a little bit faster. This is the only story in this book that I wished it could be shorter.
Verdict: 3/5
The Running Man
What a thrilling story! The fact that it was written in 1982 was crazy. I can clearly see why people are saying that the Hunger Game is a ripped off version of this story.
Verdict: 4/5
Overall: 3.75/5
Rage
This is a very disturbing story and I understand fully why Stephen King has allowed this to ran out of print.
This story highlights King’s strength in writing characters. It was impressive how flesh out those characters are in such a short novella.
Verdict: 3.5/5
The Long Walk
Only Stephen King can write a story about 450 miles walk such an interesting story. This is an intense story about pain and trauma which was very well written. Considering the fact that this was written when King was 18 is mind blowing.
Verdict: 4.5/5
Road work
This is the weakest story of the 4. Though I love the depth in which King explore the character, I wasn’t engaged much with the story and felt that it could have moved a little bit faster. This is the only story in this book that I wished it could be shorter.
Verdict: 3/5
The Running Man
What a thrilling story! The fact that it was written in 1982 was crazy. I can clearly see why people are saying that the Hunger Game is a ripped off version of this story.
Verdict: 4/5
Overall: 3.75/5
Rage - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I had wanted to read this for years, especially more so since I found out as a young teen that this had been found in the locker of one of the guys who committed the Columbine massacre and that got this book banned (if I’m remembering correctly). Honestly, it was less subversive than I expected so I was a little disappointed; mostly long rambling speeches about everything wrong with the poor protagonists life, although I found the reactions of his classmates very interesting and it did examine the psyche of a school shooter well.
The Long Walk - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I ended up getting bored in the middle of this one, it was definitely too long and could have done so much more with the concept and the world created, but instead King just let us see inside the mind of a horny teenager whose only thoughts seemed to be about sex. The relationships between the boys were great though.
Roadwork - ⭐️⭐️ - This one nearly did me in, literally nothing happens! It is boring until basically the last 10 or so pages.
The Running Man - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I’ve just reviewed it separately so won’t go into detail but definitely the most action packed of the collection, the world King created was so interesting, and I loved that it was set in 2025 as a reader in 2023. We’re closer to the dystopia King created than I think he would believe if you’d have told him back in the 70s.
——
An interesting collection that is clearly King, but slightly falls flat by overly long, drawn out stories that could be much shorter.
The Long Walk - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I ended up getting bored in the middle of this one, it was definitely too long and could have done so much more with the concept and the world created, but instead King just let us see inside the mind of a horny teenager whose only thoughts seemed to be about sex. The relationships between the boys were great though.
Roadwork - ⭐️⭐️ - This one nearly did me in, literally nothing happens! It is boring until basically the last 10 or so pages.
The Running Man - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I’ve just reviewed it separately so won’t go into detail but definitely the most action packed of the collection, the world King created was so interesting, and I loved that it was set in 2025 as a reader in 2023. We’re closer to the dystopia King created than I think he would believe if you’d have told him back in the 70s.
——
An interesting collection that is clearly King, but slightly falls flat by overly long, drawn out stories that could be much shorter.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a mixed bag. I loved The Long Walk with its imaginative plot and great character study. Who would have thought that a book about walking can be so intense and gruesome? Hunger Games has nothing on this bad boy. Roadwork, on the other hand, kind of bored me. I could see what it was trying to do - mainly a slow unraveling of the main character into madness, - but I just couldn't focus on the story. What is the motivation? Why the stubbornness? I understand that the house represented more than just a material possession to this guy, but I could not sympathize with him or get behind his point of view. Running Man sort of returned to the glorious exploration of survival that I liked in the Long Walk, but again failed to completely engage me. The characters weren't as fleshed out, and the ending was sort of meh.
To those unfamiliar with Richard Bachman's writing I can say that in my opinion Stephen King created this pseudonym as a no-pressure foray into psychological thrillers, rather than his usual horror genre. I'm kind of on the fence about these attempts, but will certainly recommend The Long Walk to anyone interested checking out that side of King.
To those unfamiliar with Richard Bachman's writing I can say that in my opinion Stephen King created this pseudonym as a no-pressure foray into psychological thrillers, rather than his usual horror genre. I'm kind of on the fence about these attempts, but will certainly recommend The Long Walk to anyone interested checking out that side of King.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Steven King's writing style is all over these early novels. In the introduction he talks a bit about why he wrote as Bachman, but as someone who's been a fan of King's.. these stories were obviously written by King. They contain many of his tropes and hallmarks, and I think all of them pretty heavily feature Maine. Here are my thoughts on the individual novels:
Rage - juvenile in its writing style and a little unbelievable. This is the most notorious of the four, as King no longer allows it in print. You're not missing much, and I think only the die-hard King readers will get something out of it.
The Long Walk - I was surprised by a lot of people who reacted with so much fierce love for this story. It's an interesting premise, set in a vaguely hinted fascist/distopian setting, where boys compete walking until the final winner is the only one left alive. Felt like an allegory for the US military.
Roadwork - Of the four, I hadn't heard of this one before I read this collection. It's a modern (for the time) setting of a man frustrated with the changing of the world. He reacts violently to it.
The Running Man - This novel felt like a Black Mirror episode, in which the poor in this distopian setting enter cruel game shows for money to survive. We follow one man in one of the most dangerous shows, trying to provide for his family. It felt a little disjointed, but still interesting.
Overall these are good early novels of a writer's career. I noticed the Bachman books have similar overall themes: men in desperate positions trying to win, frustration and rage at the changing world, and some distopian settings. While the writing style is the same, the Bachman books feel like they have more of a contemporary or near-futuristic setting, and are decidedly more angry than King.
Rage - juvenile in its writing style and a little unbelievable. This is the most notorious of the four, as King no longer allows it in print. You're not missing much, and I think only the die-hard King readers will get something out of it.
The Long Walk - I was surprised by a lot of people who reacted with so much fierce love for this story. It's an interesting premise, set in a vaguely hinted fascist/distopian setting, where boys compete walking until the final winner is the only one left alive. Felt like an allegory for the US military.
Roadwork - Of the four, I hadn't heard of this one before I read this collection. It's a modern (for the time) setting of a man frustrated with the changing of the world. He reacts violently to it.
The Running Man - This novel felt like a Black Mirror episode, in which the poor in this distopian setting enter cruel game shows for money to survive. We follow one man in one of the most dangerous shows, trying to provide for his family. It felt a little disjointed, but still interesting.
Overall these are good early novels of a writer's career. I noticed the Bachman books have similar overall themes: men in desperate positions trying to win, frustration and rage at the changing world, and some distopian settings. While the writing style is the same, the Bachman books feel like they have more of a contemporary or near-futuristic setting, and are decidedly more angry than King.