The Running Man

The Running Man is a short book, tightly written to be read and enjoyed quickly. The future world it depicts is vividly captured with a few essential details. The action is also fast paced and, though the novel differs from much of King's other work, the sardonic social commentary reveals a pleasing glimmer of King's characteristically twisted sense of humor. --Patrick O'Kelley

Product Description
Every night the whole nation watched the ultimate live game show on TV, as the contestants tried to beat annihilation at the hands of the hunters in order to win the billion dollar jackpot. And now there was a new contestant, the latest Running Man, staking his life while a nation watched.

When you think about it, there are a ton of action movies out there, but not very many action novels. Sure, you have a plethora of low-grade action series, such as Mack Bolan, Remo Williams, etc, but there aren't very many stand-alone, pure action novels. The Running Man is one, though, and from beginning to end it's a thrill a minute.

I grew up in the `80s, and of course loved the Schwarzenegger film, loosely based on this book. Matter of fact, I still do. But the movie just doesn't compare; whereas it's goofy, WWF-type fun, the novel is dark, brutal, and brimming with mean-spirited, hardcore action. Ben Richards, the scrawny, underfed, cynical protagonist of the novel, is a far cry from Schwarzenegger's he-man. This is one of the best features of the novel, witnessing the "pre-tubercular" Richards (per King's description, in his "The Importance of Being Bachman" foreword) take on the forces sent against him.

According to King, the novel was written over a 72-hour period, and the published version supposedly isn't much different than that first draft. This speed of writing is reflected in the novel: it chugs along like a No Doze-popping trucker. Whereas most King novels are bogged down by excessive description and detail (something King is normally criticized for by the literary critics), The Running Man is a trim, fat-free exercise in the concept of "less is more." A grander scheme (and theme) is hinted at in the subtext of the book, but like all good novels, it isn't beaten over your head; the story itself is the star, and after reading it you'll reflect on the little details ingrained within.

Since this is a Richard Bachman novel, expect his trademark, downer ending. However, the ride there is exciting and excellent, and this is one of the few Bachman/King books I would consider re-reading in the future. The novel begs for a more faithful film adaptation; the modicum of description, the streamlined action and characters, and the black humor dripping from the dialog all make the book read like a well-done, action-packed screenplay.

It's never been considered a part of the subgenre, but I think The Running Man is an early example of what has become known as cyberpunk. Though it doesn't feature the trademarks normally associated with the genre, such as computers and hackers, the atmosphere in which the novel takes place - a grim, technology-ravaged, depressing world in which a large wall separates the rich from the poor, and the media reigns supreme - could come straight out of William Gibson, or even the film "Blade Runner."

Simply put, The Running Man comes highly recommended, whether you're an action fan, a King aficionado, or even if you're looking for an introduction to the world of Stephen King/Richard Bachman.


An excellent thriller!!!   July 10, 2006
Erico (British Columbia, Canada)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

It's 2025. The world's poor live in abject poverty while the rich live in highrises ignoring the starving masses grovelling around them. Dissent is repressed by heavy handed police, and the ironically named Free Vee (the TV went out of style years ago) with its sadistic game shows. These macabre shows - with names like 'Fun Guns' and 'Dig Your Own Grave' - tempt desperate slum dwellers with quick cash but in order to obtain the prize money the contestants must put their body and pride on the line for the enjoyment of the millions of viewers across the world. One man, Ben Richards, driven by the inability to provide for his wife and influenza stricken daughter, decides to join the hundreds of impoverished who line up before the enourmous Games Building for a chance to win the elusive prizes. Richards however is different from the average drug addict or street bum who tries out for the games. He's fit and smart - exceptionally smart. So intelligent that he's picked for the most grueling show of all: 'The Running Man'. A game where the player must try to stay free as long as he can as he tries to hide from the rest of America and a group of elite special forces called the Hunters. If the contestant is caught before thirty days (an impossible goal) the game is over and the contestant killed.

I immiediatly began to enjoy the main character, Ben Richards from the very start. King creates a typical outcast of society, and rebel of authority but then adds a more sensitive side to the character. Balancing Richards' scathing wit with his powerful love for his family the author makes Richards both intensly charismatic and convincing. Defintely one of my favourite literary characters ever. However King doesn't stop there. The supporting characters are all really realistic as well especially people like Evan Mcone - the sinister leader of the Hunters - and Bradley - the streetwise visionary who is attempting to start a revolution.

King also adds a little bit of satire in his novel. In 'The Running Man' he brings to light how TV is a dangerous weapon which can be used against people. The Free Vee in his novel is a horrible object which pumps propaganda and manufactured happiness into the homes of millions across the nation. It easily suppresses the masses who would otherwise rise up in rebellion. With America today inudated with war propaganda and mindless reality TV shows it is not difficult to find the parallel between the story and reality. In times like these this novel gives an important warning that not everything you see on the boob tube is real.

The novel combines this satirical edge and realistic characters into an exciting storyline which will keep you 'running' through the book as fast as you can to reach the action packed conclusion. An excellent intelligent thriller every one should read.


Run For the Million   February 28, 2001
Scott Gaus (Saginaw, MI)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Citizen-neglecting government. Truth of horrible realism. Self-serving, spiteful nation. These are a few of the themes that are portrayed in Stephen King's novel The Running Man. This action packed thriller is one of King's best novels. There are 100 chapters in The Running Man, and at only 300 pages, there are only three pages in a chapter on average, giving this book an excellent plot and lots of action. There are many characters in the story, but the major character is Ben Richards, who enters a contest in the future in hopes of winning money to buy medicine for his daughter who has an unknown disease. The game is called 'The Running Man' and the game is just as it sounds. The contestants will be set loose onto the world where he will try to survive his enemy - the world. The individual who successfully kills Richards receives ten thousancd dollars from the government who runs the series of life-taking game shows including Treadmill to Bucks where heart-attack and stroke prone contestants run until they drop. Ben Richards must survive the horde for one month or die. He lays his trust on no one; doing so will get him killed. He must also survive the hunters, a trained group of people who's jobs are to hunt down and kill the contestants. Richards will do anything, incluiding killing others to survive, if not for the money, then to spite the government. The Running Man is a great book that any thrill-seeker would enjoy. It's a short read, only being about 300 pages, but a good one.


How could anyone not like this book?   January 23, 2000
Andy P.
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I read this book over the summer and after trying numerous other King books, this is my favorite. Strangely, I seem to enjoy the ones written under the pseudonym Bachman more than others. Maybe because they are more to the point and the alternate name allowed King more freedom, phycologically and legally. It is not considered horror, but it is scary. Read it, it's short.