Search - The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels by Richard Bachman (Rage / The Long Walk / Roadwork / The Running Man)

This is a compilation of the four books Stephen King wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Even though I'm not a huge admirer of King's books, I've read quite a few of them -- I don't know who he was trying to fool by writing under a pseudonym, but these books all scream "I WAS WRITTEN BY STEPHEN KING!"

This compilation does contain a Foreward by King, which explains why he wrote the books under a different name. It's a bit disjointed as parts of it were written at different times. Honestly, it's not in the least bit interesting.

As far as the books/stories go:

Rage: Sort of a psychological drama/thriller -- but with very little drama and not very thrilling. The twist at the end did nothing more than make me want to roll my eyes. Of the four stories, I liked this one the least.

The Long Walk: There's not much to this, really, but it seems to have some dystopian flavor to it. And for some reason, it really got into my head. I was surprised that I actually liked this story. (Note, you probably don't want to read before heading out for a day of walking...)

Roadwork: I didn't like this one, either. Pretty bland story.

The Running Man: I enjoyed this one. If you've seen the movie but not read the book, the book is far, far superior. The movie bears only superficial resemblance to the book. Good, pulpy, fun read.