The Bachman Books

1985 collection of Stephen King novels

The Bachman Books

First edition cover

Author| Stephen King
Language| English
Genre| Horror, speculative fiction
Publisher| NAL

Publication date

| October 4, 1985
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 692
ISBN| 978-0-453-00507-4

The Bachman Books is a collection of short novels by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman between 1977 and 1982. It made The New York Times Best Seller list upon its release in 1985.[1]

## History

[edit]

The book was released in 1985 after the publication of the first hardcover Bachman novel Thinner in order to introduce Bachman to fans who did not know about King's work under this pseudonym (little of which was still in circulation at the time). This omnibus also collected these early novels in hardcover for the first time, as they were all originally published in paperback. It opens with an introduction by King called "Why I Was Bachman", explaining how and why he took on the persona of Richard Bachman, as well as how it was found out by the public. Another version with a new introduction "The Importance of Being Bachman" was published in 1996 to coincide with the release of a new Bachman novel The Regulators.

## Contents

[edit]

Novels collected in The Bachman Books:

* Rage (1977)
* The Long Walk (1979)
* Roadwork (1981)
* The Running Man (1982)

## Editions

[edit]

The US editions of this collection and the novel Rage were allowed to go out of print by the author and publisher because of the 1997 Heath High School shooting. The remaining three novels are still in print and are published as separate books.

The Bachman Books is still in print in the United Kingdom although it no longer contains Rage. In a footnote to the preface of the more recent Bachman novel Blaze (dated 30 January 2007), King wrote of Rage: "Now out of print, and a good thing."

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Paperback Best Sellers". The New York Times. November 10, 1985.

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Stephen King

* Bibliography
* Short fiction
* Unpublished and uncollected
* Awards and nominations

Novels|

* Carrie (1974)
* 'Salem's Lot (1975)
* The Shining (1977)
* The Stand (1978)
* The Dead Zone (1979)
* Firestarter (1980)
* Cujo (1981)
* Christine (1983)
* Pet Sematary (1983)
* Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)
* The Talisman (1984)
* It (1986)
* The Eyes of the Dragon (1987)
* Misery (1987)
* The Tommyknockers (1987)
* The Dark Half (1989)
* Needful Things (1991)
* Gerald's Game (1992)
* Dolores Claiborne (1992)
* Insomnia (1994)
* Rose Madder (1995)
* The Green Mile (1996)
* Desperation (1996)
* Bag of Bones (1998)
* The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)
* The Plant (2000; unfinished)
* Dreamcatcher (2001)
* Black House (2001)
* From a Buick 8 (2002)
* The Colorado Kid (2005)
* Cell (2006)
* Lisey's Story (2006)
* Duma Key (2008)
* Under the Dome (2009)
* 11/22/63 (2011)
* Joyland (2013)
* Doctor Sleep (2013)
* Mr. Mercedes (2014)
* Revival (2014)
* Finders Keepers (2015)
* End of Watch (2016)
* Gwendy's Button Box (2017)
* Sleeping Beauties (2017)
* The Outsider (2018)
* Elevation (2018)
* The Institute (2019)
* Later (2021)
* Billy Summers (2021)
* Gwendy's Final Task (2022)
* Fairy Tale (2022)
* Holly (2023)
* Never Flinch (2025)
* Talisman 3 (TBA)

| The Dark Tower series|

* The Gunslinger (1982)
* The Drawing of the Three (1987)
* The Waste Lands (1991)
* Wizard and Glass (1997)
* Wolves of the Calla (2003)
* Song of Susannah (2004)
* The Dark Tower (2004)
* The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)

|

Richard Bachman novels|

* Rage (1977)
* The Long Walk (1979)
* Roadwork (1981)
* The Running Man (1982)
* Thinner (1984)
* The Bachman Books (1985)
* The Regulators (1996)
* Blaze (2007)

Short fiction
collections|

* Night Shift (1978)
* Different Seasons (1982)
* Skeleton Crew (1985)
* Four Past Midnight (1990)
* Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)
* Hearts in Atlantis (1999)
* Everything's Eventual (2002)
* Just After Sunset (2008)
* Full Dark, No Stars (2010)
* The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015)
* If It Bleeds (2020)
* You Like It Darker (2024)

Nonfiction|

* Danse Macabre (1981)
* Nightmares in the Sky (1988)
* On Writing (2000)
* Secret Windows (2000)
* Faithful (2004)
* "Guns" (2013)

Screenplays|

* Creepshow (1982)
* Cat's Eye (1985)
* Silver Bullet (1985)
* Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director)
* Pet Sematary (1989)
* Sleepwalkers (1992)
* A Good Marriage (2014)
* Cell (2016)

Teleplays|

* "Sorry, Right Number" (1987)
* Golden Years (1991)
* The Stand (1994)
* The Shining (1997)
* "Chinga" (1998)
* Storm of the Century (1999)
* Rose Red (2002)
* Kingdom Hospital (2004)
* Desperation (2006)
* "Heads Will Roll" (2014)
* The Stand (2020–21)
* Lisey's Story (2021)

Comics|

* Heroes for Hope (1985)
* American Vampire (2010)

Musical
collaborations|

* Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
* Black Ribbons (2010)
* Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2012)

Anthologies
edited|

* The Best American Short Stories 2007 (2007)
* Six Scary Stories (2016)
* Flight or Fright (2018)

In-universe
concepts|

| Characters|

* Carrie White
* Margaret White
* Sue Snell
* Rita Desjardin
* Kurt Barlow
* Richard Straker
* Father Callahan
* Jack Torrance
* Danny Torrance
* Wendy Torrance
* Dick Hallorann
* Rose the Hat
* Roland Deschain
* Randall Flagg
* Crimson King
* It
* Bill Denbrough
* Beverly Marsh
* Richie Tozier
* Georgie Denbrough
* Gage Creed
* Johnny Smith
* Annie Wilkes
* Tanya Robertson
* Holly Gibney

|

Locations|

* Castle Rock
* Derry
* Jerusalem's Lot
* Shawshank State Prison
* All-World

Family|

* Tabitha King (wife)
* Joe Hill (son)
* Owen King (son)

Related|

* List of adaptations
* Dollar Baby
* Bibliography of works on Stephen King
* Raymond H. Fogler Library archives
* Rock Bottom Remainders
* People, Places and Things
* Philtrum Press
* Six Stories
* Stephen King Goes to the Movies
* Charlie the Choo-Choo
* Hearts in Suspension
* The Secretary of Dreams
* King on Screen

* Category

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