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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok so first of all this is an OLD one. It’s about a school shooting and Stephen king decided to stop letting it get published. I had to borrow an old copy of the Bachman books from my boss because the cheapest you can buy it for is 30$. It’s got some interesting things, think lord of the flies, but it’s also rough to get through. Personally not because of the school shooting (he’s not really a spree killer so it feels different) but more the casual racism of the 70’s. Read it if you come across a copy of the Bachman books but don’t buy a copy you feel me ?
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rating: 3/5 ⭐️
This is one of King’s earliest books, but it wasn’t published until many years later under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The whole “Bachman Books” and the reason for the pseudonym are very interesting. I’m actually reading the Bachman Books, but will be doing the reviews separately.
Rage is about Charlie, a troubled high school student that one day kills two teachers and takes his class as hostages. Given what this is about, it’s understandable why King himself let the book fall out of print, and even newer versions of the Bachman Books don’t include Rage, just the other three stories. But I gotta say, I expected it to be more brutal, considering all the bans and censoring. Yes, he kills people, but there’s plenty of books about assassins, so I’m guessing it’s the school setting what changes things.
The story is about a troubled kid, and how he finally explodes after all the things he’s been subjected to, by his father, classmates, and teachers. His descriptions are very explicit and raw, whether it’s the current events or something that happened in the past, Charlie doesn’t hold anything back. And this ends up affecting his classmates, while it starts as something frightening for them, as the story goes on and Charlie shares more with them, things start to change. The ending was also pretty good, the reports of the event at the end reminded how in Carrie, King used excerpts from articles and reports throughout the story.
While I wish some things were more developed, like Charlie’s reasons for doing this, what led him to this point, maybe more about the classmates. I do think it’s pretty good, especially if you consider it’s one of his earliest works. Might not be for everyone, again I understand why it’s banned in some places, but if you’ve read King’s other books, this isn’t even the darkest or most messed up book he's written.
The Bachman Books Reviews:
#1 Rage → 3⭐️
#2 The Long Walk → TBR
#3 Roadwork → TBR
#4 The Running Man → TBR
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very early work by Stephen king, and it’s lacking anything that really hooks me. I can tell he was a high school teacher working on this.
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At times, it was a chore to get through, so it felt very rewarding to finally finish this book. Regardless, I don't mind this being my first Stephen King's book. Because, I expect an original, riveting setup from King, and that is what I got.
Now that I got the taste of style of King's prose, I will definitely get back to this specific work after some more exploration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes