herbivorehaunts's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Hard to rate as this is such a mixed bag. The best of the bunch is The Long Walk.
shidoesbooksbest's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Racial slurs
smithreads's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
quirkylitlover's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
pdxpiney's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
skolastic's review
3.0
In terms of individual books:
Rage: Definitely an early work by King, but kind of interesting, if you can stomach the school shooting-centric plot (and if you can find a copy, being that King has let it go out of print).
The Long Walk: An actual masterpiece, something that could easily have been published as a full-on King novel rather than one of the Bachman books. A long, unending scream of a book.
Roadwork: Just so-so, easily the most half-baked of all of these.
The Running Man: Somewhat interesting, but also half-baked and feeling kind of like a rehash of parts of The Long Walk (and those aren't parts Running Man finds a way to improve on).
Overall: interesting, but not necessary unless you're a King completionist. Seek out The Long Walk and skip the rest.
Rage: Definitely an early work by King, but kind of interesting, if you can stomach the school shooting-centric plot (and if you can find a copy, being that King has let it go out of print).
The Long Walk: An actual masterpiece, something that could easily have been published as a full-on King novel rather than one of the Bachman books. A long, unending scream of a book.
Roadwork: Just so-so, easily the most half-baked of all of these.
The Running Man: Somewhat interesting, but also half-baked and feeling kind of like a rehash of parts of The Long Walk (and those aren't parts Running Man finds a way to improve on).
Overall: interesting, but not necessary unless you're a King completionist. Seek out The Long Walk and skip the rest.
uniquereads's review
3.0
This book is a collection of Stephen King's early works. Before Carrie, before Salem, the Shining... this book is filled with four different stories. And yes, I'm going to go through each story.
1. Rage. This is a story about a teenager named Charlie. He obviously came from a terrible home. His dad drinks a lot, but he also beats up Charlie. Until one day, Charlie beat him up. He takes his father's gun and shoots two teachers and holds his Math classmates hostage for four hours. But the classmates realize why they were there. Ted, the scheming bully. That's how I understood it. I understand why the author took it off the market. Some of the characters didn’t have a resolution and the ending just didn’t have that satisfied conclusion. I gave it a 2/5.
2. The Long Walk: This story is about a group of male teenagers or almost teenagers who go on a long walk starting from the border of Canada and Maine to Massachusetts. They are given a 3 strikes, you're out kind of rule. They have to keep walking with no stops. The boys learned to pee backwards while walking at 4 mph. If you're walking at that pace, you're brisk walking. Just to give you an idea. You can't drop below 4 mph, or you're given a warning. After 3 warnings, you're shot in the head. It reminds me exactly of 100 beers on the wall. It was okay, but I hoped that something unnatural would happen. I don't know, like a bear or Sasquatch to attack them. Nope. That didn't happen at all. Just soldiers with remarkable accuracy, killing young men if they stop for any reason, faint, or have a seizure. No mention of the blond soldier. I would have liked more history and world building on the soldiers. And I didn't care for the ending. It reminded me of Poe's "Mask of the Red Death." A knockoff version of it that doesn’t make any sense. I gave this a 2 out of 5. I could actually see this becoming a movie if King worked on it.
3. Roadwork: George lost his son, Charlie to brain cancer. It shows a grieving father and how he basically lost everything. He lost his job of 20 years and his wife. It's a sad story. But it drags on forever. I gave this one a 3 out of 5 stars.
4. The Running Man: Of course, it doesn't coincide with the movie. I honestly like the book's version better. It's been so long since I've seen the movie. I know Arnold is in it, but I don't believe any of this happened in the movie. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Some parts dragged on forever. I gave this story a 3 out of 5 stars.
I think the first three had issues. The version that I have has a lot of errors in it. I have the 1986 mass media paperback edition. I'm going to admit there are a lot of words that were used that made me cringe. A lot of offensive words towards minorities and people who suffer from mental illnesses. I'm brutally honest here so don't shoot the messenger. Do I recommend it? Only if those issues don't bother you, and you aren't grossed out by certain scenes. I suggest taking a lot of days off to read it. It's a long read and a chore. I averaged it out to be a 2.5, I round up instead of down. So, I'm going with a 3.0 star.
1. Rage. This is a story about a teenager named Charlie. He obviously came from a terrible home. His dad drinks a lot, but he also beats up Charlie. Until one day, Charlie beat him up. He takes his father's gun and shoots two teachers and holds his Math classmates hostage for four hours. But the classmates realize why they were there. Ted, the scheming bully. That's how I understood it. I understand why the author took it off the market. Some of the characters didn’t have a resolution and the ending just didn’t have that satisfied conclusion. I gave it a 2/5.
2. The Long Walk: This story is about a group of male teenagers or almost teenagers who go on a long walk starting from the border of Canada and Maine to Massachusetts. They are given a 3 strikes, you're out kind of rule. They have to keep walking with no stops. The boys learned to pee backwards while walking at 4 mph. If you're walking at that pace, you're brisk walking. Just to give you an idea. You can't drop below 4 mph, or you're given a warning. After 3 warnings, you're shot in the head. It reminds me exactly of 100 beers on the wall. It was okay, but I hoped that something unnatural would happen. I don't know, like a bear or Sasquatch to attack them. Nope. That didn't happen at all. Just soldiers with remarkable accuracy, killing young men if they stop for any reason, faint, or have a seizure. No mention of the blond soldier. I would have liked more history and world building on the soldiers. And I didn't care for the ending. It reminded me of Poe's "Mask of the Red Death." A knockoff version of it that doesn’t make any sense. I gave this a 2 out of 5. I could actually see this becoming a movie if King worked on it.
3. Roadwork: George lost his son, Charlie to brain cancer. It shows a grieving father and how he basically lost everything. He lost his job of 20 years and his wife. It's a sad story. But it drags on forever. I gave this one a 3 out of 5 stars.
4. The Running Man: Of course, it doesn't coincide with the movie. I honestly like the book's version better. It's been so long since I've seen the movie. I know Arnold is in it, but I don't believe any of this happened in the movie. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Some parts dragged on forever. I gave this story a 3 out of 5 stars.
I think the first three had issues. The version that I have has a lot of errors in it. I have the 1986 mass media paperback edition. I'm going to admit there are a lot of words that were used that made me cringe. A lot of offensive words towards minorities and people who suffer from mental illnesses. I'm brutally honest here so don't shoot the messenger. Do I recommend it? Only if those issues don't bother you, and you aren't grossed out by certain scenes. I suggest taking a lot of days off to read it. It's a long read and a chore. I averaged it out to be a 2.5, I round up instead of down. So, I'm going with a 3.0 star.
nicholasbobbitt1997's review
4.0
What a good collection, considering King wasn't originally eager to have them associated with his name. The Long Walk and The Running Man stand out, for me, as being really excellent stories.
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