The Bachman Books: The Long Walk / Roadwork / The Running Man by Richard Bachman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


SPOILER FREE!

So The Bachman Books, if I understand correctly, are four novels written by Stephen King under the pseudonym 'Richard Bachman' as an experiment to see how his writing would be received without his name attached to it and with a deviation from his usual supernatural horror genre.

I found this concept fascinating as Stephen King is my favourite author, therefore I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it. Unfortunately, I discovered later on, that this edition excludes one of the four Bachman books.

Rage.

No, I'm not angry. "Rage" is the Bachman book that this collection does not include due to, I believe, the four school-shootings in the US that were linked to this book. Of course, this made me want to read it even more, so, not having an eBay account at the time, I asked my younger brother to utilise his Gen Z, computer-whizz skills, and track down and procure this elusive and mysterious novel for me.

He did. It arrived in the post shortly after, and as I rubbed my hands and licked my lips, opened the shady manuscript and began smelling the pages before starting to read, the horrific realisation dawned on me... it was a French edition!

Anyway, I digress. Back to the book and the three stories it DOES contain.

Book 1, The Long Walk. 4/5

This is a gripping, dystopian, harrowing tale about an annual event in which one hundred young boys volunteer for a gruelling 450-mile marathon walk, the prize for the winner being fame and fortune and anything their heart desires. The catch is that the participants must keep a constant speed of 4 mph. Without going into too much detail, stopping or dropping below the stipulated speed too many times, results in the participant being shot dead.
The story revolves around one of the participants, named Garraty.

What I liked.

King, as usual, crafts a vivid and gritty story, drawing the reader right into his world from the get go. The dialogue is brilliant. The characters are well developed and diverse and King's ability to tell a gripping story about something as seemingly monotonous and tedious as one hundred boys putting one foot in front of the other for 450 miles, is a testament to his ability as a story-teller. The aura of fear, tension and hopelessness he creates is palpable. I found my feet actually starting to hurt towards the last third of the book. I also found it very inspiring, as a fitness fanatic, as to how far the human body is capable of pushing itself, with enough drive, ambition and determination. One of the characters in particular, Stebbins, I found most inspiring due to his stoicism and toughness.

What I didn't like.

I found the concept of why so many young boys would volunteer for such an impossible event with a 99.9% chance of death, especially with the blessings of their parents, underexplained and underdeveloped. It was touched upon in the dialogue, but, in my opinion, not enough. Therefore I found the suspension of disbelief required, a little much.

The death of one of the significant supporting characters seemed like a lazy cop-out and also very underwhelming.

Book 2, Road Work 5/5

This is a dark, depressing tale about a man who has lost much, continues to lose more, and watches his world crumble around him. He has lost a child in the not-too-distant-past, and the city is planning on knocking down his (and others') house (with monetary compensation of course) for a large building project.

This story seems to get more hate and negative reviews of all the Bachman books. I myself, put off reading this one, due to the seemingly mundane synopsis of the story, in comparison to King's other works. I initially skipped this story the first time I read the book and came back to it for some unknown reason, a year later, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.

What I liked.

No dystopia. No apocalypse. No ghosts or ghouls. No fantastical worlds. Just a dark, gritty journey into an ordinary man's downward spiral in an ordinary world. King draws you deep into Barton Dawes's cerebrum. Showing you exactly how and why this man snaps. His motivations, his past, his trauma, his desires, his thought-processes, his problems, his gripes. The dialogue is brilliant and believable, and this could quite easily have been a real journal written by a real man, detailing the events that concluded with him being on the six o' clock news, newspaper stories and documentaries. I enjoyed every page and did not feel like it dragged at any point.

What I didn't like.

Nothing.

Book 3, The Running Man. 5/5

If you've seen the Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster that was based on this book. Forget it. Seriously, as much as I enjoyed the cheesy 80s action-flick for what it was, it has almost no similarity to this masterpiece.

The story is about an Average-Joe living in a dystopian America where a variety of reality-TV type games are televised. The biggest of these games being 'The Running Man.' A game which involves the contestant evading a group of hunters who are out to kill him, for a specific amount of time. The main character Ben Richards a is poor and desperate man, and participates in the game to win money for medical apparatus for his sick child.

What I liked.

Great world-building. King takes you deep into the dystopia and how it works. It is very prophetic and addresses many Orwellian concepts and themes brilliantly. You can smell the streets, the fear, the hate and the desperation. Ben Richards is a likeable character. He isn't a lantern-jawed, barrel-chested, cigar-smoking, invincible Arnie-esque action-hero. He is the average man. Though, at the same time, he comes across as masculine, confident, charming, sarcastic, tough and capable. King draws you into this man's mind and story and makes it impossible not to like him. The pace is blistering. Not a chapter, or even a page, wasted or too long, and the story keeps you on edge right up until the explosive, satisfying ending. Utterly phenomenal. Hollywood, you need to remake this film and do it properly this time!

What I didn't like.

Nothing.







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