Community Thoughts on Rage (Bachman Novel):
Posted By: Unknowable - January 28th, 2012 11:16:27 pm EST
This book ponders deep into the teenage psyche. Mr. King, bring back this book.
Posted By: Lint - December 18th, 2011 9:14:43 am EST
i have the paperback, but it has been read so many times the first 19 pages are torn off. I only need those 19 pages! :-)
Posted By: Cthulhu1999 - October 18th, 2011 12:25:58 pm EDT
I have this book as The Bachman Books I cant believe Stephen King let this book go out-of-print. Definitely my favorite book. Also The Bachman Books cost me $5!!!!!!!
Posted By: Blackjack - October 17th, 2011 2:24:54 am EDT
I wish to hell I could find this.
Posted By: Jeff - September 29th, 2011 7:40:54 pm EDT
I recently stumbled upon an old copy of The Bachman Books in the library and read this story in about an hour and a half. It's honestly a shame Stephen had to censor himself because of the decisions of those whack-jobs this book inspired. It makes me wonder: will authors find themselves censoring themselves in the future if their books contain elements that might give terrorists ideas?
Posted By: Sunny - September 28th, 2011 4:35:36 am EDT
This is my favourite book ever -- I don't have other to say.
Posted By: Bob - September 6th, 2011 1:58:54 pm EDT
i love this site
Posted By: JT - August 1st, 2011 10:05:36 pm EDT
It's a shame that Stephen King no longer wanted to have this printed. I would have liked to read it. But I can also understand why. I know the decision was made after a school shooting in Paducah, KY at Heath High School where the shooter, Micheal Carneal, was found with the book in his locker. I moved to Paducah 2 months after the shooting and still live there.
Posted By: Ikhider - July 11th, 2011 11:51:21 pm EDT
It is unfortunate that Stephen King chose to let this work go out of print. In reading the text, I got the sense that the protagonist, Charlie, is a troubled person who makes a series of bad, impulsive decisions. Rather than glorifying violence, it is a study of the motives of a killer. This work is an expression, and the reader can reflect on the consequences of Charlie's actions. Perhaps killers, and I am theorizing, do what they do because reflection and empathy is not a factor in her/his actions. I do not think the work depicts Charlie's actions as justified. As the work progresses, Charlie corners himself and destroys his future. I got a sense of claustrophobia with Charlie. At the same time, the book indicts the adults who runs an oppressive double standard system. Both the adults and Charlie are ugly characters. To ban this text will cause a mystique and will likely make fans more curious to read a text that King disowned. Rather than ban and censor ideas, it is better to dialogue them as that could be a way to defuse rage. I suggest Stephen King allow this work to remain in print, but with a preface to compare and contrast the time it was written, with the present day. I understand King's concerns about school violence, however, as he observes--had he composed this work as a student at present, he would have been further marginalized. Put another way; given that SK considered himself an outsider in youth, how much more marginalized would he be if the system singled him out to be 'processed' for writing a story like this? Apparently, 'Rage' was a kind of response to his own troubled youth. In the advent of the internet, this text will not 'disappear'. Hence I urge SK to take responsibility for this text, stand by it and use it as a dialog piece. Use this as a way to ask questions and encourage reflection. Disowning a text has the air of an unflushed toilet, not that I think it excrement.
Posted By: Marie - June 22nd, 2011 4:15:43 pm EDT
Very good and fascinating book in my opinion. I really enjoyed reading it. And I don't think it could inspire teens to run amok (I'm one myself and the typical outlier; people are used to call me "psycho" for example 'cause I like Stephen King), more the opposite. Because it shows that all people around our ages are filled with problems in reality, not only the outliers, it makes them more humans, not only the monsters who hurt you any day if you know this. And in the end Charlie has nothing from it, or? And poor Ted of course also not. And if a guy is really that broken that he makes such... cruelity and kills without any sense it's not the fault of a book or a game or agressive music, those are problems inside the person.
Posted By: Victor - June 8th, 2011 10:37:00 pm EDT
I think its stupid that this book is banned. At least kids are reading they can control their actions. I am trying to find the Bachman books but its ging to be hard I am determined. Many other books and movies are like this. I just recently watched a movie called rampage about a guy that build a bullet-proof suit and just went on a rampage shooting over half of his towns people!
Posted By: Walker - May 24th, 2011 5:41:37 pm EDT
Why ban this and let Cain Rose Up be a Dollar Baby (and in print)?
Posted By: Cowboy - May 15th, 2011 10:22:02 am EDT
Oh how I loved this story. I read it in the Alamance county jail. I began reading the story and laughed out loud. I have re read this story several times. I know Stephen King stopped the printing of it due to all the killings at schools around the country. I urge any and all King fans to read this one if you haven't. Sincerely from durham Nc Chad Harris
Posted By: Cannonball - April 20th, 2011 3:57:56 pm EDT
@sk rules.......... Have you thought about all the copies of this novel that people own. What if these were to fall into the hands of a high school student . According to your logic it would be possible for a school shooting to easily occur again. Are we then supposed to round up all existing copies and get rid of them also? BOOKS are NOT the cause of school shootings.
Posted By: C. Deck - March 23rd, 2011 9:11:15 pm EDT
As some people think that these events could not happen in real life...to you i say art thou blind??....have you ever been in a high school or middle school classroom??...kids talk about this kid of stuff all the time....the only difference bettween this story and real life are the fact most of the time kids arn't held up by another teacher with guns or wepons...although their have been several cases of this happening...so look around and you will see what a sick place we really do live in.
Posted By: S.K.Rules - March 5th, 2011 4:00:29 pm EST
The shootings happened whether you liked it or not the happened. The book got the blame because they all had a copy of it and it was band. It is not going to be republished in case anyone else will copy the storie line. So stop asking!
Posted By: Double Dee - February 17th, 2011 8:52:10 am EST
This is closer to the actual pulse of teenagers heart and the angst in their cloudy minds than The Breakfast Club, a movie for which Mr. Stephen King should have been given a writing credit. The spirits are the same, and instead of a John Hughes candy shell, Mr. King lets the yolk all hang out. Bravo.
Posted By: DanielJ - February 12th, 2011 8:02:22 am EST
I really hope Stephen King brings Rage back into print. Having read it, and to be very blunt, I think Carrie is closer to school-shooter-porn than Rage is. This book will not make anybody do bad things, and letting it fall out of print is a shame for literature.;
Posted By: Bguy85 - January 28th, 2011 5:30:34 pm EST
I am about forty pages away from the conclusion of "Rage." As I read this book, I marvel at the detached feelings all the students have towards life. I can understand why this book has been discontinued. It is NOT a realistic book, what with the majority of the students in the classroom rooting for Charlie (the student with the gun). The way King wrote this book makes the gunman into the hero, and the adults in authority into the villains. I am now at the part where the students being held hostage start opening up emotionally. one girl even tells everyone about her sex-life. I find this book to be a sick fantasy of a struggling youth who fears and detests authority. I do not think that this novel caused that person to bring a gun to school, but I don't think it helped matters either. This book must be read with the knowledge that violence solves nothing, and that the mutual support of Charlie's classmates is anything but realistic.
Posted By: Edwards - January 18th, 2011 9:04:35 pm EST
Did the book really make the person become a killer or did the person already have problems? Would the guy have done something messed even if he hadn't read the book? Books alone DO NOT cause people to kill other people. They might inspire a certain way of doing something twisted but a book CANNOT make anyone do anything. It seems like there is a correlation but that does not make it a causal relationship.
Posted By: S.K.Rules - January 16th, 2011 11:36:48 am EST
@the ones who have replied to my thoughts. Just letting you know books CAN make people do crazy things I was watching the film "zodiac" based on the "true story" and the killers inspiration was the story "the mist dangerous game" and I looked it up on the Internet and the story is real and there was a guy who read the story and kidnapped women and let them loose in a forest and he chased after them with a hunting knife and a shotgun nearly identical to the story. So Rage making these kids hold there school hostage isn't such a crazy idea after all. And just to point out lots if people read "the most dangerous game" and lots of people read rage and only a couple followed the storie to what they did sure, but it can happen.
Posted By: *sevens* - January 11th, 2011 11:21:20 pm EST
"RAGE". The title is a summary of this novel, in and of itself. I found "Rage" to be an expertly crafted interpretation of "mental-illness", and find it's (out-of-print) unnavailability has only heightened the personal value,I hold within my own copies.
Posted By: Edwards - January 5th, 2011 9:38:23 am EST
@S.K.Rules I respect Mr. King's decision I just don't necessarily agree with it.
Posted By: S.K.Rules - January 2nd, 2011 11:49:16 am EST
@the guy who posted on 11/20/2010, why is it banned then, SK was the one who banned it after the shootings and each one had a copy of the novel. I'm not saying the minute they put the book down they grabbed a gun and held a school hostage, they probably read the book (and probably felt similar emotions to what Charlie felt and went through some stress and at a low point felling depressed they then held the school hostage using the book as inspiration.
Posted By: Bickleej - December 14th, 2010 4:24:21 pm EST
This was book #5 in my Stephen King quest. It took me a while to track down, but it was definitly worth it. A brilliant psychological drama through the mind of an overly stressed teenage boy. It does disappoint me that Mr. King is no longer allowing this book to be published, but I most certainly respect his wishes even though I disagree.
Posted By: Anonymous - November 20th, 2010 10:16:05 pm EST
@S.K.Rules You really blame a book for a couple of idiots killing people and holding them hostage? Those kids didn't read this book just to read it, they probably read the book because they wanted to read something twisted. They didn't read the book and then all of a sudden decided to hold their school hostage. That's a ridiculous idea.
Posted By: S.K.Rules - October 24th, 2010 1:40:33 pm EDT
First off I would like to say even before I read the Rage I was for it being banned ( wheather I liked the story or not ) because it made a few people hold there school hostage why would ANYONE want to put that book back on sale. I mean what if it does get released and it's someone you care about that gets held hostage? Any way I didn't really get the book I didn't really think it was that great anyway I mean Charlie isn't really even holding anyone hostage I mean what about that girl who went to the toilet and CAME BACK, why would anyone do that? And Charlie did threaten to shot one of them. It storie in my mind was a good read but not really worth reselling it for what the storie line is and how it might that some innocent peoples lifes.
Posted By: Anonymous - September 19th, 2010 10:32:32 am EDT
This was only published once? Never again? What ever are King fans to do? This one would be terrifically scary; teens mortify me.
Posted By: Rachel Peters - July 27th, 2010 3:41:05 pm EDT
This scared me and not in a spooky supernatural way. In a holy s balls people can just snap one day. Teenagers scare me anyway! There was some empathy there under the horror.
Posted By: Anonymous - June 18th, 2010 5:33:37 am EDT
Not only do I have a copy of this book hardback but I found an audio recording of it as well. Listening to it is even more chilling and effective for me than the original reading I did in high school. I don't think it should be banned (I would have liked to hear a new audio edition like the other Bachman Books got) but I respect Mr. King's wishes.
Posted By: Widehead - June 9th, 2010 10:50:56 pm EDT
I dug out my yellowing copy of the Bachman Books a couple of months ago and was pleasantly surprised. Rage is an entertaining and thought-provoking read. I am behind Mr. King's withdrawal of the book from sale (unlike most people here) as it reads far too much like a how-to guide.
Posted By: Gilbert - April 28th, 2010 8:33:41 am EDT
Rage is a splendid novel, delving deep into the psychie of a student in distress. What he goes through is both great and disturbing. His talking with the students always seems life like to me, as does his communication with officials over the P.A. system. And his back story is something that isn't held back by feeling dated. It feels like it could happen at anytime, even I could relate to some parts of it at times. And what's more, I actually own 2 copies of this book, I own the Bachman Book collection it's included in, and a single French version of it (both purchased for 0.99). I hope someday that the book is rereleased because banning this is like arresting athiests or beating metal heads, they may not be a part of society, but they're their own. Bottom line though, Rage is one of the best books I've ever read, and I hope that people realize they're ignorance and rerelease it someday.
Posted By: Eddie - April 3rd, 2010 8:25:05 pm EDT
I finally got a hold of a copy of the Bachman Books on the cheap. I got it for $3.15. I don't think they knew it was out of print. Rage is the best of the four by far.
Posted By: Atticus Black - March 24th, 2010 11:41:24 pm EDT
Well I did find myself a copy of the Bachman Books with Rage included. It was by far one of the best books I have ever read. Why take it out of print? On the subject of school shootings i found it wasn't that bad. It would be nice to see it back in print
Posted By: John B. - January 8th, 2010 3:45:39 pm EST
I, too, read "Rage" while in junior high school and could relate to the main character. Anger and frustration go hand-in-hand for most jr. and sr. high school students who feel alienated and/or alone. The story was cathartic for me. At no point, however, did I consider taking one of my father's guns to school and going postal on the kids or teachers I didn't like (or who didn't like me). So I too, Mr. King, am sorry to hear you no longer allow this story to be published. I think that most boys who read -- and who would read -- "Rage" were comforted knowing they were not alone in feeling left out and angry. It was about this time if memory serves that parents were blaming song lyrics by heavy metal bands such as Judas Priest and Motley Crue for suicides committed by some young people. I owned albums by these groups but again, found them cathartic and not instructional guides on how to end my life. I hope that perhaps some day you will allow "Rage" to be published again.
Posted By: Chilly73 - December 13th, 2009 10:40:47 pm EST
Mr King, I read The Bachman Books in high school, along with many other of your fantastic works. I only have to say this. Banning this collection is similar to suppression of freedom of choice. Just because a few people have problems doesn't mean there are those of us who should suffer for it. I call for a complete reprint of Richard Bachman's works!!
Posted By: Atticus Black - December 6th, 2009 12:27:07 am EST
The search for this book has sent me to many used bookstores. Please put it back in print. Personaly i'm thinking that we have much worse things going on today and some of the kids who went on rampages probably used the book as something unrelated to blame.
Posted By: Karen99 - October 26th, 2009 9:17:40 pm EDT
I read rage when it first came out. At the time I was about 15 years old (similar) to the main character. Even then, I thought that the story really described very well what was going on in the boys head. Seems to me that the story tells the reader what not to do more than what to do. I do agree that times have changed, and if the story got into the wrong hands, it could be a disaster.It really is a shame since it is a great story and so well written. I felt almost like I was sitting in that classroom feeling all the things the other students must have felt- very scary, but great!
Posted By: Shunt1974 - August 24th, 2009 10:14:33 pm EDT
the thing i got from this story is this. That we all have secrects and demons some times we have to sit down and allow them to show, if you dont in the case of ted jones who refused to let the demon out it cost him is sanity,
Posted By: Edwards - May 16th, 2009 9:34:16 am EDT
Mr. King I also think that Rage is one of your best books. I have read several of your books including all of the Bachman Books. I also think that It is not you that should be blamed for a stupid kid that can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy. I would also like to request that you consider the reprint of the Bachman books. Although I don't know if you read these but, thank you for your consideration.
Posted By: Anonymous - February 20th, 2009 10:01:49 am EST
Mr. King, I really like this book, and I think that you should put it back on print. I know that what that kid did was wrong, but I think that this shouldn't be discontinued due to a few kids and their actions. Besides, the book isn't as bad as what we are currently seeing today in the news with all that is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, please Mr. King; would you read all of our community thoughts on "Rage," and think about putting it back on print. Also, would you think about putting "The Bachman Books" back on print? That anthology is by far, I would say one your best works - since it was one your earliest printings in your library.
Posted By: Anonymous - January 27th, 2009 5:36:03 pm EST
just about as good as it can get. When I read this book a year or two ago in Middle School, it changed the way I viewed EVERYTHING!
Posted By: A.G.Wooding - January 22nd, 2009 6:43:51 pm EST
It's a blow that Stephen King has stopped the release of this story. It is a fantastic piece and King always said that fiction is truth wrapped up in a lie. This story is a perfect example of that quote.
Posted By: LeoN WiNgsteiN - December 30th, 2008 8:21:34 pm EST
I read this book expecting the greatness of Dreamcatcher, but found that it was not as good of a book. It had great points to think about, and made great arguments about provocative subjects, but the story was lacking.
Posted By: Anonymous - December 22nd, 2008 6:26:44 pm EST
i read this book in middle school and i thought it was the best book that i had read in a long time. i kinda agreed with the main character. but here i am in high school and had no thought of anything near this book until i saw it on the internet.
Posted By: Hammertime - December 1st, 2008 8:53:56 pm EST
perfection, i read it in high school, it really gets into the heart of the character, this is the only book ever that i have read over and over, i want to become a writer because of this
Posted By: Raydecker - November 29th, 2008 12:13:47 pm EST
I think that it was irresponsible of Mr. King to disallow this incredible work of art from being published. I am a big fan of Stephen King and I feel that his stories from Mr. Bachman are his best work. I am going to be an English/Special Ed. teacher and I am grateful for having read Rage twice. Once when I was sixteen and just a month after I turned 30 which was this year. I feel that all teachers should have to read this book because it gives tremendous insight on what can be going through the mind of a troubled student. Self-censorship is respectable to some degree, but I also feel that it is wreckless and irresponsible. Please put this book back into print, Steve. It is a brilliant piece of art.
Posted By: Tommek - November 11th, 2008 3:28:16 am EST
I think this is one of the best books King's ever written. Some people say that the story is cruel, student kills two teachers, but after shootings in US and recently in Finland this story doesn't look so harmful for me. The real world is much worse.
Posted By: King Jacob - October 31st, 2008 9:37:48 pm EDT
I want so badly to get my hands on this book. I'll have to order it from overseas I guess. Anyway, I'm sorry that so many people condemned this novel. As a school student, I can kind of understand why it's out of print. But as a fan of heavy metal acts like Slayer, Marylin Manson, and Rammstein (all of which have been blamed for causing school shootings), I can honestly tell you that many people probably love this novel regardless of how many crazy people have blamed their actions on this novel. In the same way, I love the bands I love because they speak to me. Anyway, I vow to get my hands on this novel. I do not doubt that I will love it.
Posted By: Mishl - October 16th, 2008 8:55:16 pm EDT
Is the version released in The Bachman Books collection exactly the same as the original novel ?
Posted By: UpInSmoke - October 5th, 2008 12:41:28 am EDT
I was so lucky to read this story when I found it in my library at my high school. It was part of The Bachman Books collection. Hopefully I can find this story somewhere in the future.
Posted By: Heiny - October 1st, 2008 3:29:55 pm EDT
One of the most exiting stories I've ever read.......always makes me think what I would probably do in such situation, if I had a gun....
Posted By: Kaare - August 11th, 2008 11:09:35 am EDT
A very short book, but fantastic; it definitely makes you look at high school shootings from a different perspective; I'm sad that it went out of print so long ago.
Posted By: Lauren - July 31st, 2008 12:07:08 am EDT
I have been reading Stephen King's novels since I was in the 3rd grade. My father would preview one, and deem it acceptable, I would follow in his footsteps, read it and then we'd discuss. Rage is by far my favorite book I've ever read. It spoke to me.
Posted By: Rjt65 - July 24th, 2008 5:26:23 pm EDT
A story that anyone who went to public school can relate to in some way. I enjoyed this as part of the combined Bachman books. It is a shame that this story had to be pulled due to the new fad of school shootings. I suggest all get older copies of the Bachman Books with this story included!
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