Rage by Stephen King

Hey readers. I’m here with a book review for Rage by Richard Bachman (Stephen King). On King’s website, it says “No future printings will be made of this novel at Stephen’s request due to the sensitive nature of the content.” https://stephenking.com/works/novel/rage.html King asked the publisher to let it go out of print after it was found in the locker of a teenager involved in a school shooting. Knowing this, I’ve put off reading it until now.

About The Book 📚

Title: Rage

Author: Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

Publication Date: First published 1977

Publisher: Signet

Suggested Reader Age: 18+

Genre: Psychological Thriller

“A disturbed high-school student with authority problems kills one of his teachers and takes the rest of his class hostage. Over the course of one long, tense and unbearable hot afternoon, Charlie Decker explains what led him to this drastic sequence of events, while at the same time deconstructing the personalities of his classmates, forcing each one to justify his or her existence.”

My Review

“When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain.”
― Stephen King, Rage

There’s a forward by King explaining why he published five novels under the name Bachman. This can also be found on the Goodreads author page for Richard Bachman.

› Rage takes place at Placerville High School. A teenager named Charles Decker shoots his algebra teacher and then holds the entire class captive. Over the next few hours, they all get to know each other in ways they never would have. With flashbacks, we learn how Charlie became so full of fury. Rage was originally called Getting It On, which may have been a more suitable name considering the number of strange sex stories the students shared. This was a really weird story, and not what I expected.

› Although this was written in 1977 it feels oddly familiar with the discussion about bullying and school violence. A bizarre relationship and understanding develop between Charlie and some of his classmates. I’m sure there’s enough here to discuss Stockholm syndrome. Rage talks about many social topics such as race, injustice, mental illness, and abuse.

› We’ve all felt insecure, awkward, emotional, and angry as our teenage brains changed. Having friends help us get through it, but what about the people who don’t have any friends, or don’t trust anyone enough to share their feelings?

› I really can’t stand the way women are portrayed, the dialogue was inauthentic, the writing cliche and repetitive. I enjoyed the other Bachman books more, and will share a review for them soon.

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 6

› Atmosphere: 7

› Writing Style: 4

› Plot: 5

› Intrigue: 6

› Logic: 7

› Enjoyment: 6

Average 5.9

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★

› Final Thoughts
• Rage is a memorable story that was just ok for me. Rage reminded me of Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. A book about an “open house” turned into an apartment hostage. I gave it ★★★★★. Check out my review: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman