Roadwork: Underread and underrated

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The Walkin' Dude

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
47
267
30
Charlotte, NC
I don't know many people who have taken the time to read Roadwork, but I greatly enjoyed it. You really get into Bart's mindset and see how he gradually spirals down deeper and deeper. I think the book starts out too slowly but it only gets better as it goes along. I was also beyond excited to see Father Callahan pop up, even with a different name. Also pretty cool that Bart takes the same drug Roland takes (mescaline) in The Gunslinger.
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
I just re-read this one after reading it originally many years ago. I can't remember ever being as frustrated and disgusted by a main character in any SK story. He basically flushed everything good he had left in his life down the toilet because he was selfish and stubborn. I found myself thinking "You Idiot, just freaking sell it and quit lying to everyone!" about 20 times while reading it. I wanted to slap him upside the head.
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
I just re-read this one after reading it originally many years ago. I can't remember ever being as frustrated and disgusted by a main character in any SK story. He basically flushed everything good he had left in his life down the toilet because he was selfish and stubborn. I found myself thinking "You Idiot, just freaking sell it and quit lying to everyone!" about 20 times while reading it. I wanted to slap him upside the head.

These are the characters that Stephen King writes. So real they upset you.
Yep.
 

wolf lady

New Member
Apr 18, 2017
3
10
80
PITTSBURGH, PA
I don't know many people who have taken the time to read Roadwork, but I greatly enjoyed it. You really get into Bart's mindset and see how he gradually spirals down deeper and deeper. I think the book starts out too slowly but it only gets better as it goes along. I was also beyond excited to see Father Callahan pop up, even with a different name. Also pretty cool that Bart takes the same drug Roland takes (mescaline) in The Gunslinger.
I read this book years ago and it is very well written and holds your attention until the end. kudos to anyone who decides to read this, was written in typical King style, had some of us fooled for a while.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
roadword.jpg
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
52,243
157,324
Maine
Has anyone compared Robert McCammon to King? Swan's song as compaired to The Last Stand? And there has never been a different picture on the flyleaf so is it our fav King doing his thing again?
No, Robert McCammon and Stephen King are different people. :smile2: There is a separate thread for Robert McCammon here on the Board and Swan Song is often compared to The Stand.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Has anyone compared Robert McCammon to King? Swan's song as compaired to The Last Stand? And there has never been a different picture on the flyleaf so is it our fav King doing his thing again?
....yes, there is an entire McCammon Thread here on the Board.....and I'm not sure what you're asking about the flyleaf?.....he has many different author photos...for sure he's still writing.....
 

Zone D Dad

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2017
359
1,829
Chicago Suburbs
I first read Roadwork many years ago. I had The Bachman Books collection (the one with Rage in it) and I initially put off reading it because it didn't grab me the way the other books did, but I eventually slogged my way through it. I re-read it maybe ten years ago, maybe more, and liked it so much better. It's interesting to me that he wrote that character way back in the early seventies. Bart Dawes strikes me as the creation of a more world-weary writer.

Wish I knew where my copy went. My oldest son had to buy The Long Walk on its own because I couldn't find the book in the attic. He loved it BTW...
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Roadwork is definitely an underrated novel from early in King's career. I imagine that his writing would have taken a far different turn than it did if Roadwork was accepted for publication before Carrie was. While it's not my favorite 'Bachman' novel (that award goes to The Long Walk), it is still a good read.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
This is my least favorite SK story. Maybe I was in the wrong state of mind while reading it, idk. It seemed to drag. It also seems very dated where other King stories do not. By far my least favorite, whether warranted or not. Just my O.
...drag?....sort of, but remember-he was quite a young struggling writer at the time, but all the elements were there....
 

Zone D Dad

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2017
359
1,829
Chicago Suburbs
This is my least favorite SK story. Maybe I was in the wrong state of mind while reading it, idk. It seemed to drag. It also seems very dated where other King stories do not. By far my least favorite, whether warranted or not. Just my O.

It's my least favorite of those contained in The Bachman Books. While I initially didn't like it all that much, my perspective changed with age. I think everyone has a somewhat self-destructive side, or faced obstacles in their lives in which they just refuse to accept the events unfolding in front of them. I know I've had those moments.
 

Steffen

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,233
12,800
I really liked this story in my Bachman collection (the nice oversized soft-cover one that includes Rage). It would make for a decent little Netflix film except in 2018 a story about some guy holding out against construction of a highway through his house probably may not be as timely as it was back in the 70s. Still, it's a great read about one man's self-destructive downward spiral, and demonstrated that even at an early age, King had a gift for sharply delineated characters.