#561 in our old book database. Not rated.

I have to admit Stephen King truly surprised me with his works outside the horror genre. The Running Man is story of a very near future by the looks of it (I almost choked when I saw years and events mentioned in this 1982 book) in which [amongst other things] social welfare (Wage Agreement Law had so ...... upsetting name) did not turn exactly the good way. Under the ever watchful eye of the state (again,brrr) one is evaluated and marked in how he goes with his master.....sorry state corporations (well for this novel only one corporation G/A - again very close to heart ...... oh wait this happens only over there, on the faaaarr east (wink, wink)). If he or she does not go with the flow they get marked and basically expelled from the society (no work, no money) and gets into position of forever living on state stipend that is so low that (which is unbelievable) black markets and you know general vices exists and flourish (as one of the characters says - vice is enemy of revolt so it is empowered).

In this heavily socially divided world our protagonist, Ben Richards, decides to offer his very life to help his own family, wife and young daughter, to survive. He would like to do this you know normal way (earning money to support his family) but he is a marked man and cannot get employment no matter how much he tries. His sacrifice comes in a way of participating in high risk TV show The Running Game where he is hunted by almost everyone wanting to kill him and needs to survive as long as possible (every day, every death he causes to his hunters has a price) to get the money required.

And this TV show (most radical form of dozen of them) is organized by Games Council that is part of media Network that is de facto ruler of the state (similar to 1984 you have TV devices that are obsession of the populace, need to be present everywhere but - due to the shocking vote sometimes in 2000's (novel timeline) - can be turned off (I mean, really :):):)) Network runs all these TV shows in order to for all means and purposes weed out the bright and desperate people in the low social caste (others are more or less happy with gaping open-mouthed and drooling at the TV and screaming death to everyone Network points at (again, pretty chilly and too close to heart, right?)).

Stephen King portrays the society so socially divided that either he has a very keen eye or situation was so bad like forever so it was not that difficult to predict how things will develop (in which case my question is what is wrong with the people?). Police is used by state to quell those state does not like and support those state likes (oh, those protests last year), media plays a role of policy maker instead of news providers and basically becomes more and more tool for controlling the masses by raising hysteria and hate to feed that very hysteria ad infinitum (again, like last year, various shamers, fear mongering .... just incredible) so they do not think about anything else except where to vent the aggression piled up due to the hard living, rich people live in the isolated and heavily protected areas where poor people are not allowed even to step in, undesirable people in media are portrayed as neanderthals and savages, their families as so deviant and so low on the scale that they're dehumanized almost completely (again, so close and familiar today). What terrifies the most is access to knowledge - without corporate license one cannot join the library (pure evil) and people are forced to stay where they are int he social structure, food for the machinery that just chews people and spits nothing out except letting a wind out from time to time through crematorium chimneys.

As story progresses Richards will encounter other people and will become aware of more critical issues that are forced on the socially-low population (and what a wonder, this is health related.....to many contemporary issues). He will become aware of the resistance movement and repressive regime destroying everything that opposes it but very ending was a twist. People very rarely act for great ideas themselves but usually for personal reasons. And in this case things do not get more personal for Richards.

Twist is very much in vein of The Odessa File, when evil-doers get surprised by motivation of the forces against them. Unlike The Odessa File though, and in vein with other Stephen King's novels ending is not a happy one although it is very realistic (considering the world novel takes place in).

All in all good dystopian SF novel. And one that makes me look at any dystopian novel through a very different prism from now on - people, these books are warnings not blueprints for living. These are not worlds anyone would like to live in (unless having some serious issues).

Recommended. ( )

I never could quite put my finger on the reason I didn't like the Bachman stories as well as those written as King until I listened to the author's note. He says he was an angry young man, and they were angry books. I think this nails it exactly - this is an angry book missing much of the sly humor that makes King so enjoyable. Still, the story and its characters sucked me right in, and even knowing how the story would end didn't dim the experience. Full disclosure, the vivid descriptions did have me gagging a little near the end, and I don't gross out easily. I downloaded this version from Audible, and Kevin Kenerly did an outstanding job on the narration. ( )

Pretty good quick read. Has all the dystopian elements. At times the book reminded me of 1984, Hunger Games, and the film Idiocracy. I have never seen the movie The Running Man with Arnold Swarzenegger but I am looking forward to seeing it now. ( )

Nowhere close to the movie and that is a great thing. I have no problem with the movie as it is entertaining, if silly. However, this novel is a fast-paced scifi thriller and was a blast to read. A very dark and dystopian story where the underclass gets the chance to win money via TV game shows. But there are no ordinary game shows and the stakes are literally life and limb. The movie did get the basic premise down but there are little similarities from there. This book was much more enjoyable than I had expected it to be. ( )