Roadwork, 45th Anniv Ed * Stephen King (Richard Bachman)

When a heartless local bureaucracy threatens to demolish both his home and his place of work to make way for a new highway extension, a mild-mannered man undergoes a severe psychological breakdown, launching a violent, single-minded crusade to defend his property.

The Story: Originally written under Stephen King's famous Richard Bachman pseudonym, this high-tension 45th anniversary commemorative edition transforms a slow-burn tale of modern progress into an exceptionally dark, gripping psychological thriller. The narrative completely avoids the supernatural elements found in King's typical horror logs. Instead, it establishes an unsettling, character-first framework that examines how structural societal adjustments can break a completely ordinary person's mind.

The plot follows Barton Dawes, an unremarkable man whose stability permanently fracture when the city announces the construction of Highway 784. The new route is scheduled to plow directly through the laundry plant where Bart makes a living and the cozy house where he has built a life. While the heartless legislative machine treats the demolition as basic infrastructure metrics, the threat of losing his memories triggers a massive, volatile burnout of Bart's mental circuit breaker.

Rather than taking the eviction notice lying down, Bart enters a strict countdown where his single-minded obsession drives his wife, coworkers, and closest friends away. Finding himself in absolute isolation, he turns to dangerous, violent means to stall the project. Shifting smoothly from tense domestic arguments to back-alley deals for weapons and explosives, the plot builds excellent drawing-room tension as Bart waits to ignite a catastrophic final confrontation with the demolition crew and city authorities. Originally published in 1981, this special anniversary paperback from Pocket Books is as an essential showpiece for psychological thriller shelves.

Perfect For: Devotees of traditional, fast-reading psychological suspense, classic Stephen King collectors, and fans of slow-burn vigilante stories like the works of Richard Bachman, Jack Ketchum, or Cormac McCarthy; and book clubs exploring the dark, early corners of King's legendary literary career.

Published 2025 by Pocket Books.

Psychological Thrillers / Suspense / Small-Town & Rural Fiction / Bureaucratic Horror / Richard Bachman Canon