#791 in our old book database. Not rated.

Hard to find book because of the inclusion of Rage. ( )

Rage: I re-read this for the first time in literal decades. I had zero remembrance of the book and I'm not sure I would have appreciated this Columbine meets The Breakfast Club short novel. The first thing I was struck by (as I always am with King) is just how compelling his writing is. The second thing is his honesty. He never makes any bones about people's humanness. It's all right there. I'll give Rage 4 stars.

The Long Walk:

Roadwork:

The Running Man:

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. ( )

Great read - don't own because I gave it away. Got a stand-alone copy of The Long Walk though, which was my favorite story from this collection. If I could have kept just that story and the preface by Stephen King, I would have. A neat insight into what drove the use of a pseudonym. ( )