Stephen King's 10 Best Non-Horror Tales
7. Rage
Rage may very well be the most controversial of Stephen King's novels. First published under Richard Bachman at a time when King's writing was simply too voluminous, and with King wanting to explore how his work would be received minus his famous name, it is the story of a school shooting, before the subject became extremely sensitive in America.
The novel, first published in 1977, tells the tale of Charlie Decker, expelled from school after attacking a teacher with a pipe wrench. Decker storms out of a disciplinary meeting to retrieve a gun from his locker, setting it ablaze in the process, and proceeds to take his algebra class hostage, fatally shooting the teacher.
Over the course of the story, Decker admits he's unsure of his motivations and will likely regret them; meanwhile some of his fellow students become sympathetic towards him, and many reveal rather startling secrets about themselves. By the end, her allows all but one student to go free, and attempts suicide by cop, only to fail and be put under psychiatric care.
Following a number of school shootings said to be inspired by the novel - the last being that of Michael Carneal, who killed three students and injured five more, and was found to have a copy of the novel in his possession - King allowed the book to go out of print.