Rage: A Story of One Fan’s Quest to Buy, well, Rage Told in two parts…

 

Part I: Background Story, and the Search

I went on a small Bachman kick earlier this year.  I audio-read The Long Walk, and The Running Man, respectively.  Leaving Rage, and, Roadwork as the only two (early) Bachman Books I have not read.  I wanted to read them, but I was unable to find Rage at my library or on Audible.  I eventually gave up and subsequently forgot about it until someone—from the U.K., I believe—in a Stephen King fan group I’m in posted about Rage not being in print anymore and almost impossible to get.  Prior to my reading the individuals’ post on Rage, I honestly had no idea that King decided to pull Rage from print.  I wasn’t sure if this was the case just in the U.K. or here in the states too.  I went on a search for it on Amazon, y nada. eBay, had some but in poor quality and high-priced—$50-$200.  The better quality ones were even more ridiculously high-priced—$300-$1000.  Then I remembered my wife had sent me a  link once to a website called, Abe Books.

As stated on their website:

“AbeBooks is an online marketplace for books. Millions of brand new books, used books, rare books, and out-of-print books are offered for sale through the AbeBooks websites from thousands of booksellers around the world.  Readers can find bestsellers, collectors can find rare books, students can find new and used textbooks, and treasure hunters can find long-lost books.” (I will post link in comments) So, I gave them a go.  And lo’ and behold, I found multiple options for The Bachman Books.  I had to wade through the options to ensure I got the best condition at the best price. Quite a few were “library editions”, which I don’t like.  Others had “markings” “highlights” inside the book. Again, no me gusta. I found one with the description, “great condition. May be a library edition”.  I was like, you don’t know?  So I messaged the seller.  Response came within 24hrs.  It was a library edition.  Dang it.

Then I found one that said some wear on spine and front cover, no markings inside book, no mention of being a former library book.  AND the price was reasonable (with free shipping. WOOT!)—$36 w/tax.  I ordered it 7.19 and got it today.  As you can see the exterior is not perfect, but for a used OOP book, it could be worse.  The spine is in good condition.  Some wear but not horrible.  The inside is perfect.  Not a single mar or page bent or torn.  Overall I’m quite happy with it.

Part II: The Why

So, having received my wonderful new breasure, (book-treasure), I realized I never found out the full story as to why King decided to pull Rage from circulation.  I knew it was b/c of school shootings, but I didn’t know the full story.  And even more shocking, I realized I didn’t even know what Rage was about.  I know, WTAF, right?!

Rage synopsis: A disturbed high-school student with authority problems kills one of his teachers and takes the rest of his class hostage.

Since it’s publication (1977), it was a controversial story.  But the controversy took a dramatic, and tragic, turn in the 80’s.  In ‘88 a student in CA took his humanities class hostage, citing he got the idea from Rage.  There would be 3 more school events—shootings and hostages—where in all cases the culprit owned a copy of Rage.  It was the last event in 1997 that made King decide to pull the book from circulation.

In ‘97 a “Kentucky 14-year-old fired on a prayer group at his school, killing three, while a copy of "Rage" was in his locker.”

King did not believe his novel alone caused the school shootings, but he regarded Rage as a “possible accelerant” affecting troubled people w/psychological problems.

Quote from King: “I pulled it because in my judgment it might be hurting people, and that made it the responsible thing to do,” King wrote.

I will post a link to the story in the comments.

I wanted this book b/c I am a huge SK fan.  I didn’t seek it b/c I wanted something controversial, or for some morbid satisfaction.  It was more b/c as an avid fan the thought of not owning, or reading, something by King was, in all honesty, depressing.

I love that this book has made its way home to my collection.  It was Ka.

I look forward to reading ‘Rage’, and ‘Roadwork’.

AbeBooks:

https://www.abebooks.com/

SK on Rage:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/school-shootings-drove-stephen-king-to-take-rage-off-shelves-2014-3%3famp

Audiobook: The Running Man by Richard Bachman (SK)

 

I’m on a Bachman kick of late. Read The Long Walk a few weeks ago, and now The Running Man. The only Bachman book I had ever read previously, and this was years ago, was Thinner. Absolutely loved it. For years I’ve been saying I need to read the rest of the so-called “Bachman books” but for some reason I just never did.

Sexxy Review: This book was a surprise for me. Having seen and enjoyed the movie—years ago—I was expecting something similar. The book and movie are worlds apart. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I did. Just in a different way than I enjoyed the movie. Though the novel had inflections of King, it was not a typical King novel. I honestly kept thinking I was listening to a Philip K. Dick novel. It was like a Richard K(ing) Dick novel. So, very cool.

Three of the biggest disparities (there’s a 4th but it’s a spoiler), are: 

1. The contestants aren’t necessarily criminals. They’re everyday shlubs who interviewed to be on the show.

2. They aren’t confined to a closed set/course. The “Runners” are out in the real world, no boundaries. They can go anywhere. Even fly to different states.

3. The “Hunters” are mentioned but not featured or fleshed out, save one, the lead Hunter, Evan McCone. And he isn’t featured or fleshed out much. Shows up towards the end. The police are the main antagonist. And the network.

Character disparities: 

1. Killian, played wonderfully by the late Richard Dawson in the movie, was a black man in the novel. And he wasn’t the emcee of the show. He was more of a producer. Personality-wise, both movie and novel character are in synch.

2. Ben Richards, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie, did not resemble, in either physique or personality to novel Richards. Novel Richards (NR) pyshique is lean, disheveled and worn to movie Richards (MR) clean-cut, bulky buff muscley frame. 

NR is a nobody, unemployed, disheveled, and desperate, but smart.

MR is a cop, respected until he goes against the killing of innocent citizens. 

NR is married (his wife is a prostitute) and has a daughter—who is sick w/influenza or some lung disease. Which is why he goes on the show. He wants to win the money to pay for doctors & treatment for her.

MR is single and childless and goes on the show b/c he was a prisoner and that’s how they treat criminals.

Novel Richards persona differs greatly from movie Richards. NR is a self-centered asshole with anger issues. He has moments of empathy, very light empathy. He puts others at risk, is rude and dickish. Not a very likable person.

MR has morals, and believes in doing the right thing and sacrificing himself for others.

3. Amber Mendez, played by Maria Conchita Alonso in the movie resembled novel Mendez personality, somewhat. In the movie her character is in almost the whole thing. Novel Amber is only in the last 20-30% of the book. She’s more of a convenience character.

Sub-characters are way off so I’m not even gonna get into it. The novel had some interesting and likable supporting characters. But only 1 or 2 were really given any depth. The rest were mentions or had shallow bios. In fact there is a serious lack of character development that is very un-King.

Audio review: The narrator, Kevin Kenerly, was awesome! I thought his reading, inflections, energy, and style were all perfect. Really brought the story and characters to life. I’m gonna look up more audiobooks by him.

Overall: Once I was able to purge the movie from my mind, I really enjoyed the novel. As I said already, it’s not a typical King novel. Which I keep saying even though I know it’s a Bachman-style novel. I think reading The Long Walk before Running Man helped me adjust to that. I liked the dystopian sci-fi aspect, and murderous game shows. Would’ve loved more in-depth character development and def more on the Hunters.

Final word: Out of the 4 original Bachman books, I still have Rage, and Roadwork left to read. Looking forward to them.

My rating for The Running Man: *📚📚📚📚

*trying a new rating system

Final Girls by Riley Sager

3 1/2 stars. Another enjoyable, if not predictable and at times bordering absurd, fhriller (fluff-thriller) by Riley Sager. This is my 2nd novel by Sager—Lock Every Door being the first. I feel the same way about Final as I do about Lock, they’re both entertaining. In the same way most action movies are fun, exciting, & thrilling, but lack depth and substance—so too are Sager’s novels.

“Final” was a cool nod to 80’s slasher flicks with a mystery whodunnit twist. It’s a page-turner, just not a scary yarn. More of a “I need to know what happens next” story. The ending was a bit weird and unnecessary.

I want to love Sager’s novels, but I can’t. I think one of the reasons is b/c of the intentional attempt of misdirection, and painfully forced (and at times, pointless) plot twists. If he’d focus on a more cohesive plot/story, and deeper character development I feel his novels would be so much richer. 

This is not to say they aren’t good novels, or aren’t worth reading. They most definitely are both good, and worth reading. His writing style still sucks me into the story. The layers are there and I want to keep peeling away to see what lay beneath. He builds suspense, mystery, and the desire to keep reading. He just falls short of great. IMHBO (In My Humble Bookie Opinion)

I definitely recommend Final Girls for a fhrilling good read!

Stay Booked! 📖 Happy Reading!

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

 I read this book b/c it was a Stephen King recommendation. 

SK (via Twitter): Looking for a suspense novel that will keep you up until way past midnight? Look no further than LOCK EVERY DOOR, by Riley Sager.

How could I NOT check it out?! I do have to say this upfront—I mistook his comment that it is a scary as hell, keep you up at night kind of book. It’s not. It’s a page-turning just one more page, just one more chapter, keep you up all night kind of book.

It’s an average suspense/mystery/thriller. I like the creepy goth bogie mysterious NY apartment building backdrop. The main character, Jules—which is her actual name, not a nickname—was fleshed out well. But I feel like the other characters in the book weren’t. There was a huge missed opportunity to ratchet up the creep factor. One character in particular, Lesley Evelyn, had the potential to be a modern Mrs. Danvers, but sadly fell way short. 

The predictability level was pretty high. I guessed one of the “villains” upon their introduction. And one of the other ones early on. There were scenes that didn’t make much sense, some scenes that were predictable, or led to predictable outcomes. Sager tries to confound the reader as to whether this is a story about ghosts/haunting, satanists, serial killer(s), cursed building and/or people, or malevolent rich white folks. There are aspects of it that I thought were unique and cool. And some aspects that were WTF and silly. I’m not sure why it was titled Lock Every Door. Doesn’t fit in with the story at all.

I don’t want this to come across as a negative review. I didn’t love it, but I did like it. Overall it was an enjoyable read. A definite page-turner. A Friller (fluff-thriller), if you will. A solid XX rating (=3 1/2 stars).

This was my first Sager novel, and it won’t be my last. In fact I’ve already started another one, Final Girls.

Read Lock Every Door for a frilling good time!

Mexican Gothic

 My first SBBRA of the year (Sexxy Book-Buddy Read-Along)—I’m still workshopping that—was an amazing book! Thank you, Janine Smith for joining me on this bookventure (book-adventure). I enjoyed the book, and our discussions immensely.

Sexxy Book Review:

Loved this book! Deliciously creepy, dark and foreboding. It starts off like a mix between the book, Rebecca, and the movie Gaslight—female character slow descent into madness. Driven mad by a man (naturally). The book exudes the same dark and ominous atmosphere of supernatural mystery thriller as the aforementioned book & movie, except the main protagonist, Noemí, is of stronger character. Morena-Garcia does an amazing job of crafting a suspenseful plot, and strong character driven story. It was a tense, riveting, engrossing and addictive story that had me saying—despite my eyes being heavy with sleep—“just one more page. One more chapter...”

I definitely recommend this book, and will most definitely be reading more by señora Morena-Garcia.

XXX rating.

Happy Reading! 📖 Stay Booked!

1st 10 Books Read in 2021

Reviewing the First 10 Books Read of 2021

The X’s are my Sexxy rating system. XXX is the highest rating.

Book 1: The Stand by Stephen King

Reread | Audio

Finished: 1.11.21

Book Synopsis: M-O-O-N spells deadly virus pandemic wipes out humanity; epic good vs evil end of days battle. AKA, 2020

My Synopsisexxy: Epic storytelling. Though some aspects of the book don’t resonate well now, this is still one of my favorite novels—all-time, and SK

Rating: XXX

Book 2: Airframe by Michael Crichton

Audio

Finished: 1.24.21

Book Synopsisexxy: Mysterious plane crash from Hong Kong to Denver—94 injured, 3 dead. Female protagonist who works for the airplane manufacturer must solve the mystery of the crash all while avoiding shadow threats, industrial espionage and shady coworkers.

My Synopsisexxy: It was ok. Not one of my faves. But I’m not sure if that’s b/c it was audio and I listened while I was working and my mind wandered a lot, or b/c it just wasn’t that great. I will have to read the physical book. Or listen again but when I can focus more on it.

Rating: X 1/2

Book 3: Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (Thrawn Trilogy.2) by Timothy Zahn

Reread | Audio

Finished: 1.28.21

Book Synopsis: Epic SW trilogy that follows Return of the Jedi. All the original characters are there; Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2. And some fantastic news characters; Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, and more!

My Synopsisexxy: If you love SW you will LOVE this series. I LOVE SW.

Rating: XXX

Book 4: Armada by Ernest Cline

Audio

Finished: 1.29.21

Book Synopsis: If the movie “The Last Starfighter” mated with the movie “Pixels”, Armada would be the love child.

My Synopsisexxy: The premise should have made this an enjoyable and fun read. Though it was fun, it lacked sorely in substance. IDK if it was b/c it was audio and I was working while listening, and therefore didn’t absorb the material well, but it felt disjointed. Because I enjoyed and loved Ready Player One so much, I was expecting more from this book.

Rating: X 1/2

Book 5: The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes.1)

Paperback

Finished: 1.30.21

Book Synopsis: Younger sister of Sherlock & Mycroft Holmes engages in sleuthing shenanigans and hijinks.

My Synopsisexxy: Another cool concept that was a bit of a let down. I watched the Netflix movie adaption and thought it brilliant. So I was super excited to read this book. I wanted to love it, but sadly only liked it. I think maybe b/c it was the first book in the series and therefore a building block. I will definitely read the subsequent novels in the series. If books 2 & 3 are meh, I will probably forego the remaining books in the series.

Rating: X 1/2

Book 6: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Reread | Audio

Finished: 2.3.21

Book Synopsis: YA dystopian nerd, and gamers wet dream with a lot of 80’s & 90’s references.

My Synopsisexxy: This is just a fun as fu(k and enormously enjoyable read. As a nerd it checks off all the boxes on a nerdy checklist; anti-social, 80’s & 90’s references to cartoons, toys, video games, comic books, books, movies and music. Classic underdog David vs Corporate asshat Goliath in an über virtual reality world, story.

Rating: XX 1/2

Book 7: In the Woods by Tana French

Audio

Finished: 2.15.21

Book Synopsis: Ireland Murder detectives with lovely Irish baroque’s investigate a grisly murder of a young girl.

My Synopsisexxy: I love a good murder mystery/crime drama, and this was a good one. My one complaint is that it felt like too much was going on. To the point I felt lost at times. But that may have been b/c it was audio and while I was working.

It was like a Guinness—stout and filling. (Shameless Irish simile. It was shyte. I regret nothing)

I did like it enough to add the second book in the series to my TRL.

Rating: XX

Book 8: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Sexxy Read-along | Ebook

Finished: 2.15.21

Book Synopsis: If the book, “Rebecca” mated with the movie “Gaslight”, Mexican Gothic would be the love child. Female protagonist’s slow descent into madness from being driven mad by a man (naturally).

My Synopsisexxy: Loved this book! Deliciously creepy, dark and foreboding. The book exudes the same dark and ominous atmosphere of supernatural mystery thriller as the aforementioned book & movie. I love the main protagonist, Noemí. Morena-Garcia does an amazing job of crafting a suspenseful plot and strong character driven story. It was a tense, riveting, engrossing and addictive story that had me saying—despite my eyes being heavy with sleep—“just one more page. One more chapter...”

Rating: XX 1/2

Book 9: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam

Hardcover

Finished: 2.21.21

Book Synopsis: “A powerful YA novel in verse about a boy who is wrongfully incarcerated.”

My Synopsisexxy: A timely and poignant story written in beautiful lyrical prose. Zoboi and Salaam (of the Central Park Five now Exonerated Five) offer readers a glimpse of the stark contrast of our justice system and how it treats whites and non-whites. Written from the perspective of the protagonist in prose. It’s so beautifully written. Heartbreaking, real, and hopeful.

Rating: XXX

Book 10: Eternity’s Wheel (InterWorld.3) by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, Mallory Reaves

Audio

Finished: 2.22.21

Book Synopsis: YA sci-fi novel about saving the InterWorld, multiverse and “everything in between”.

My Synopsisexxy: 1 kid, Joey Harker, from our earth, has doppelgängers all over the multiverse. They all have the same name but with various spellings, and physical iterations. They all are part of the InterWorld task force that protects InterWorld and the multiverse. There’s time travel, space travel, magic, science, aliens, binary entities, and a lot of confusion. The first two books were quite enjoyable. I don’t know if it’s b/c it’s been years since I read book 2 and subsequently lost interest, or b/c it was audio, or both, but this finale was not as enjoyable.

Rating: X

The Outsider by Stephen King

The Outsider series finale! I finished the book last night.  My initial rating was 3 1/2 stars on Goodreads (equivalent to X on the Sexxy rating system). But I’ve since updated that rating to 4 stars (XX seizing rating). It was a really good read. Addictive page turner. Dialogue and plot weren’t great at times, but overall a damn good story.  The reason I updated to a higher rating was b/c my wife asked how I liked the book and when I told her my thoughts on it it made me realize how much I liked it and why. In most SK books the villain, monster, naughty paranormal entity, etc you are given a description, tons of scenes & dialogue, and a sense of who/what they are.  But in “The Outsider” the heavy is kept in shadows. Barley any scene time except for some ethereal emanations and/or referenced by the novels’ other characters. No knowledge of the killer is given to the reader. The readers are kept in the dark as the characters are.  It’s fricken eerie. 

If it’s a serial killer, or a monster, or supernatural entity, it’s there. You know it’s there b/c it’s been fleshed out and brought to life. Scary for sure.  But with The Outsider, you don’t know anything about it. Speculation, myth, hints, whispers, nothing more. It’s suspenseful and creepy. 

There is a being out there that can become anyone. Not in a Talented Mr. Ripely way, but actually become the individual; appearance, thoughts, DNA, fingerprints.  It becomes a person when it scratches that individual. But it can also “mark” an individual and control them to do its bidding. Kind of like a Renfro (I think that’s the characters name) from Dracula. So this thing can virtually be anyone. And when it does complete its transformation, it does the most heinous and horrific acts to its victims, mainly kids. It leaves the innocent person’s fingerprints and DNA. Witnesses, reliable witnesses, people that know the accused personally testify they saw the accused. So the innocent person is jailed, tried and found guilty. Even if there’s contradicting evidence (witnesses placing the accused somewhere else during the crime). Often times, the innocent individual commits suicide or is killed in some seemingly random way. It mind-fucks the innocent individuals’ family into suicide or some other act that will get them killed. And The Outsider feeds off all that anger, suffering, sadness and violence

I def rec the book and the HBO adaption. HBO did a great job of staying true the novel and gave it a very eerie and creepy quality. Actors are all great in it. 

XX rating

Stay Booked! 📖 Happy Reading!

Book 1 2020: The Sisters Brothers

The Sisters Brothers

By

Patrick DeWitt

****There will be some light spoilers***

This was a fun book to read. Had all the right elements of humor, drama, action, and wit. I realized, while reading the book, that I’ve never read a ‘western’ before. Unless “The Dark Tower” series counts?  Which I think is not really a true western but more a western fantasy?  At any rate, this being my first western novel I must I say I quite enjoyed it. DeWitt wrote the antiheroes, The Sisters Brothers, in a natural way. Not trying to sell us on a sappy sad-ladened past in order for us to sympathize and root for them even though they were doing bad things. They suffered some as children and to be sure there is an element of tragedy, but we’re not burdened with the cliche roughneck men but deep down big softies angle. They are hardened men. They go about their business with neither joy nor remorse. Though Charlie does enjoy his work, it is more this how things are and I’m very good at what I do, rather than sadistic killer.  Eli is the more sensitive of the two, but he is by no means a sad sack. Eli does begin to question what they do and grows tired of the hitmen lifestyle. Charlie loves the way things are. Killing is 2nd nature to him. He loves booze and women. He’s not so keen on giving up his “career” as Eli is. The story is told from Eli’s POV and plays out in a series of events as they track down their intended target They are hired to kill a man, Hermann Warm, that has “wronged” their employer, The Commodore.  Along their path they have some adventures and misadventures and some awkward romance between Eli and two different women.  Eli makes the decision to be done with it all, but Charlie has no desire to quit. When they reach the hotel room of their contact, Morris, they discover that Morris isn’t there. But he did leave a journal behind. In it they discover the truth about the man, Warm, they are supposed to kill. He did not wrong The Commodore at all. He was a victim to The Commodore’s greed and cruelty.  Warm had invented a way to find gold by not the typical painstaking prospecting process, but through chemistry. He approached The Commodore to be a partner in the venture. The Commodore promises to back his expedition/experiment only to renege on the deal and threatens to kill Warm if he doesn’t give him the formula. Warm escapes and heads to California via the Oregon Trail. 

Morris, they learn from the journal, decided to leave the employment of The Commodore and partner up with Warm. 

By the time they reach their target they have come to the decision to change their livelihood. But doing so meant more killing. In the end there is redemption, but at a price. I like that DeWitt did not muddle the conclusion up with a BS cheesy cliche happy ending. 

The familial dynamic of the brothers was well done. I enjoyed the writing and dialogue. It was a fun read that seemed to go by quickly b/c the story was so enjoyable. 

This my first book by DeWitt and it won’t be my last. I highly rec it. 

XXX rating

Stay Booked! Happy Reading!