Rage (written as Getting It On)[a] is a psychological thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, the first he published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

The fire triggers an alarm, but Charlie forces his classmates to stay in the room, killing a history teacher, Mr. Peter Vance, when he attempts to enter.

Over the following four hours, Charlie toys with the authority figures' attempt at negotiation, including the principal, the school psychologist, and the local police chief.

As his fellow students start identifying with Charlie, he unwittingly turns the class into an impromptu psychotherapy group, causing the participants to semi-voluntarily tell embarrassing secrets regarding themselves and each other.

The final chapters contain an inter-office memo concerning Ted's treatment and prognosis at the hospital where he is now a patient, and a letter from one of Charlie's friends describing developments in the students' lives during the months following this incident.

[1] The novel has been associated with several events: When King decided to let Rage fall out of print in the United States, it remained available only as part of The Bachman Books.

[8] King went on to describe his inspiration for stories such as Rage, which drew heavily upon his own frustrations and pains as a high school student.

[8] In an article on the ominous writings of Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho for Entertainment Weekly, King said: "Certainly in this sensitized day and age, my own college writing—including a short story called 'Cain Rose Up' and the novel Rage—would have raised red flags, and I'm certain someone would have tabbed me as mentally ill because of them..."[11] After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, he elaborated in a non-fiction essay, titled "Guns" (2013),[12] on why he let Rage go out of print.