The Bachman books

[davidbo32]

Absolutely LOVED The Long Walk, Rage, Thinner, and Blaze!

The Running Man and Roadwork were good, but I don't find myself drawn to read again and again like the ones I listed above.

HATED The Regulators! I found it hard to follow, and unlike other Kings and Bachmans, I couldn't fall in love with, or hate, the characters. I kept having to remind myself who each one was. I just couldn't get IN to the story like I usually do with SK/Bachman stories.

That's excactly how I felt about the Regulators, too. I just thought the story was lame and I didn't care what happened to the characters. Very different from the other Bachman books.

[Kick121]

I maybe the only one out there but I think Rage would be my favorite. I guess because its no longer in production and I consider it like a hidden gem of Kings writing.

[Evil Queen]

I have read all the Richard Bachman books except Blaze. I enjoyed them all apart from The Regulators. I think the Bachman books are darker, more sinister than regular Stephen King books, and always have an unhappy ending. Often they portray people who are in a hopeless, extreme situation, with their backs up against the wall.

I have a few questions regarding the Bachman books:

1. Does anybody know why Stephen King chose to write as Richard Bachman?
2. Why did he continue to write under the name of Richard Bachman after everybody knew that Richard Bachman is Stephen King?
3. What do you think is typical of the Bachman books? Do they have something in common, that is different from other S.K. books in a positive or negative way?
4.In what order would you rank the R. Bachman books?

I just finished reading The Bachman Books...all of it is greating writing in my opinion. There's an introduction of why he(King) decided to write under that name....I kind of wish he would have been able to continue to write more as Bachman...it's true, I think the Bachman stories are more dark & full of doom, no happily ever afters...Here's my list in the order I liked them:
1) The Long Walk
2) Roadwork
3) The Running Man
4) Rage
I know I've read Thinner, but it was so long ago, I'd have to read it again to form an opinion worthy of posting...& I haven't read The Regulators yet. I would definitely recommend these stories. King's imagination in this time period was absolutely incredible! The stories are horrific, & in some of the stories I felt so emotional, I cried, but I would definitely read these over & over....

[JohnDalglish]

I haven't read The Regulators yet.

Hi,

Could I suggest a re-read of Desperation before you read The Regulators?

Certainly by no means essential or anything, but I think it would add to your enjoyment of The Regulators.

Long days and pleasant nights

[xkittyx]

I've read them all, though it's been about 10 yrs since I read The Bachman Books collection. Within the past year or so I've re-read The Regulators (3rd time), Thinner (2nd time) and Blaze (2nd time). Out of those three, I'd say Blaze was probably my favorite for the story and the characters and the emotions I felt. However, The Regulators comes in a close second. I just really, really like that one, how it starts out, and the crazy things that happen, and Desperation is sort of high on my list of faves, so I guess I like Regulators for that little connection too. I'm more than overdue for a re-read of the rest of them though!