Stephen King (using the pen name of Richard Bachman for this collection of short stories)sure knows what he's doing. These four short stories (five, including the later added "Thinner") contain 2 of the BEST stories I've ever read or could ever imagine reading in all of my life. King's horror books are all very good, but what he writes about better than horror is psychosis. There's plenty of that here. I prefer King's short stories to his novels. He creates so much suspense that you just can't wait to find out how it all ends...

The first in the book is "Rage." Before reading this story, J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher In The Rye" was my favorite book. The main character in "Rage" is Charlie Decker, a high school student who has a tough time fitting into the cliques that all schools have. This creating several similarities to Holden Caulfield in Salinger's novel. Salinger created a classic, King twisted it as only he can. Caulfield didn't like his school's rule, or even more, society's rules and he tried to make a change and found he couldn't. This, at the end, landed poor young Holden in a nut ward. Decker, however, tried to fight back and make people realize his point of view.... and he had SOME success. Definately an impact on his peers, and whoever reads this book. When I finished this book, I was distraught. It was over. I wanted more... Any book that can pass "The Catcher In The Rye" in this category deserves a sequel, or at least one of those cheezy Movie of the Week deals on CBS.

Also, following up in my Top Ten Teen Tales is "The Long Walk," a futuristic concept of making teens walk, NONSTOP from state to state to get The Prize. It's the story of a contest that might actually work if they tried it.

The others I didn't care for as much. In "Road Work" an old man loses his job and is filled with revenge and self-pity. "The Running Man" was ruined when they allowed Arnold Schwarzenegger to be in the movie. And "Thinner" ... i don't know. I suppose if you believe in voo-doo witchcraft stuff, you may find it believable. That is what I like; Stories that are believable. This book had two GREAT ones, that more than make up for the three mediocre ones.



Recommended: Yes