Rating: 
Summary: ok so far
Review: So far, I have read (& watched) Rage & The Running Man. In both stories, SK showed us his wide & varying writing styles. Readers will definitely tire of his stories if he compiles those with same plots & styles together. Rage is patterned after Carrie -- almost too similar. Characters, venue & plot are continuation of the original "telekinetic" novel. As it was, it became too predictable. With the Running Man, it was quite different. Here, SK gave us a glimpse of what the future would be if dishonesty, greed & poverty overtake the world. Our hero of course takes a strong hold at the center of the story - an innocent being trapped in a "greedy game" where survival of the fittest rules. Despite the absence of paranormal activities here, violence still exists. But the end redeems the entire story when good wins over evil. As it should be.
Rating: 
Summary: The most frightning stories King has written
Review: These four early stories all share the same theme of a terrifing not to distant future that strikes as close to reality as a book can. The first story, Rage is a dark psychologial portrit of teenage boy who loses grip of his sanity yet at same time feels alive for the first time in his life. The most frightning thing about the story is that it has happened in real life, more than once. The second story, The Long Walk really got to me. Its a chilling tale of a disasociated American watching and waiting for a group of runners to get their "ticket" one by one. Helped inspire the contraversial Japanese satire film Battle Royale (amazing film, see it!!) The third book Road Work is the story of a man whos life and mental state detiriorate around him along with his home, job, and marrige. Until he reaches the point of no return and lashes out at society. The final story, The Running Man is the tale of a decayed and apathetic America, where the poor are expendable, and people get their thrill by watching desparate people run for their lives on the Running Man. Some of these stories are cautionary tales. Some are stories that mirror reality in a frightiningly real manner.While others are a pesimistic Freudian analisyis of the human race. All in all this is a must read book. So buy it already!!
Rating:
Summary: Read it if you can find it
Review: This is a must-have King collection. The Long Walk and The Running Man are two of the best stories that the King has ever written. Roadwork is a decent story that's worth your time, and Rage is a rarity that every King fanatic should feel priveleged to read. You'll probably have to buy this book used, since it's out of print, but it's worth it. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Read it if you can find it
Review: This is a must-have King collection. The Long Walk and The Running Man are two of the best stories that the King has ever written. Roadwork is a decent story that's worth your time, and Rage is a rarity that every King fanatic should feel priveleged to read. You'll probably have to buy this book used, since it's out of print, but it's worth it. Read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Scary, and hits way too close to home
Review: This story may be one of the scariest youl ever read. This story however, happens unfortuantely all to often in today's world. "Rage", the first of the Bachman Books is about a teenager who walks into school with a gun, shoots two teachers and a student, then proceeds to hold his entire class hostage.
I'm almost possitive that they burned all copies of this book after the columbine incident, because it seems almost impossible to find a copy these days,i looked in every bookstore and library and have had no luck finding one. Its a damn shame that they take contraversial books out of print. Most of the time they are the best ones. This brings us to an even scarier topic, CENSORSHIP =/
Rating:
Summary: This novel is one of most vivid and brilliant of all time.
Review: What makes this book so absolutly clever is the amount of tension King manages to build up as the short stories progress. My favorite of the short stories is 'The Long Walk', the dialogue and the descriptive narrative is the some of the best I have read since I started reading horror. Be rest assured I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Anthology
Review: Wow. I am amazed by these stories that Stephen King wrote so early in his carreer. They are all impressive and well written. They all have lasting impact. The first two are excellent psychological thrillers, complete with plenty of interesting philosophy. The third is a slow moving, character analysis of a schizophrenic. The final story is a fast moving action story. All of the stories are excellent.Rage(5/5)- This is the reason that you won't be finding this anthology in stores. This story is about a school shooting incident. In it, a boy named Charlie Decker takes over his class after shooting his math teacher. I know it sounds ludacrously violent, but it isn't. There aren't many deaths, but alot of excitement and plenty of philosophy. It is told from the first-person (unusual for King) point of view of a killer. You get to watch his sanity slowly slip away. Very intriguing. The Long Walk(5/5)- A tie with Rage for my favorite Bachman Book. This one involves a grim future in the style of my favorite book, 1984. In this grim, 1984-esque, future, there is a marathon held every year with 100 boys starting off on the U.S.-Canada border and they simply walk. If they go below 4mph for 30 seconds they recieve a warning. If they walk for one hour without a fresh warning they lose an old warning. If they acumulate three warnings, then stop again, they recieve a ticket a.k.a. a bullet in the head. This is the story of one walker - Ray Garraty - who enters the contest. He and others, including Pete McVries, Hank Olson, Art Baker, Barkovitch, and Stebbins. A bit predictable, but haunting and disturbing. Roadwork(4/5)- This one is interesting. It isn't the best in the collection, but it is still an excellent story. It is a character analysis of a schizophrenic man pushed over the verge. The stoy involves a man named Bart whose house and business are threatened by a new construction project. He speaks to his dead son Charlie in his head. It should be known that in these conversations, Bart is George and Charlie is Fred (they called each other by their middle names). The Running Man(4/5)- A fast paced story about a game show in the future where a man tries to avoid assassins. It is similar to The Long Walk just as Roadwork is similar to Rage. I like it, I just wish it had more of the philosophy that the others had. This one would be the best for young or immature readers while Roadwork would be really good for serious readers. All in all it is an excellent anthology filled with
(disturbing moments)
Great storytelling. I really liked King's characterization and philosophy. The stories are fairly short and can each be read in a single sitting (except maybe Roadwork). Read 'em. Ponder 'em. Love 'em.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Anthology
Review: Wow. I am amazed by these stories that Stephen King wrote so early in his carreer. They are all impressive and well written. They all have lasting impact. The first two are excellent psychological thrillers, complete with plenty of interesting philosophy. The third is a slow moving, character analysis of a schizophrenic. The final story is a fast moving action story. All of the stories are excellent. Rage(5/5)- This is the reason that you won't be finding this anthology in stores. This story is about a school shooting incident. In it, a boy named Charlie Decker takes over his class after shooting his math teacher. I know it sounds ludacrously violent, but it isn't. There aren't many deaths, but alot of excitement and plenty of philosophy. It is told from the first-person (unusual for King) point of view of a killer. You get to watch his sanity slowly slip away. Very intriguing. The Long Walk(5/5)- A tie with Rage for my favorite Bachman Book. This one involves a grim future in the style of my favorite book, 1984. In this grim, 1984-esque, future, there is a marathon held every year with 100 boys starting off on the U.S.-Canada border and they simply walk. If they go below 4mph for 30 seconds they recieve a warning. If they walk for one hour without a fresh warning they lose an old warning. If they acumulate three warnings, then stop again, they recieve a ticket a.k.a. a bullet in the head. This is the story of one walker - Ray Garraty - who enters the contest. He and others, including Pete McVries, Hank Olson, Art Baker, Barkovitch, and Stebbins. A bit predictable, but haunting and disturbing. Roadwork(4/5)- This one is interesting. It isn't the best in the collection, but it is still an excellent story. It is a character analysis of a schizophrenic man pushed over the verge. The stoy involves a man named Bart whose house and business are threatened by a new construction project. He speaks to his dead son Charlie in his head. It should be known that in these conversations, Bart is George and Charlie is Fred (they called each other by their middle names). The Running Man(4/5)- A fast paced story about a game show in the future where a man tries to avoid assassins. It is similar to The Long Walk just as Roadwork is similar to Rage. I like it, I just wish it had more of the philosophy that the others had. This one would be the best for young or immature readers while Roadwork would be really good for serious readers. All in all it is an excellent anthology filled with
(disturbing moments)
Great storytelling. I really liked King's characterization and philosophy. The stories are fairly short and can each be read in a single sitting (except maybe Roadwork). Read 'em. Ponder 'em. Love 'em.
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