The Running Man by Richard Bachman / Stephen King is a 1982 dystopian sci-fi novel that recently came back into the spotlight with the new movie of the same name starring Hollywood’s recent darling Glen Powell. While I’m sure the movie is bound to be a action extravaganza, I was more curious about reading the book once I knew there the movie was based off one.
As mentioned, the Running Man is set in a totalitarian dystopian future where society is barely clinging on and the wealthy are the only people who have any form of control in this world. Funnily enough, the dystopian future is set in the year 2025. Our protagonist is Ben Richards, who is struggling to find a job and unable to take care of his family. as most people who are desperate in this new world, Ben turns to approaching the Games Network, a government-operated television station that runs violent game shows, the most popular of which is The Running Man. In this show, the participant is declared an enemy of the state, and with some money, a video camera, and a 12 hour head start, they are allowed to run and go anywhere. After the 12 hour mark, people are sent after the participant to hunt them down and kill them. The participant receieves 100$ for every hour they survives and an additional 100$ for every hunter they kill. Subsequently, any resident who provides the network information about the participant will also receive some rewards. The participant also needs to send in two recorded videos of themselves everyday otherwise their participation is forfeit and they will be hunted down with no gain whatsoever. The goal is to survive 30 days where the participant receives 1 billion dollars, but no one has ever made it to that point. Simple right? What does Ben have to lose?
The whole plot of the book follows this premise and what we get is this intense cat and mouse game pretty right out of the gate. The book isn’t too big and with the pace of the plot, it breezes by very quickly. It is entertaining and the fast pace makes this a very good read to get out of a slump. People who love action and thrillers will enjoy this book. All in all, a quick and decent read. Recommended.
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