I have often said that the four early novels of Stephen King, published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman - "The Running Man", "Rage", "The Long Walk" and "Roadwork", are among my favorite works of the King. He allowed himself to conduct an experiment aimed at contrasting talent with popularity. The result is more than interesting - for example, we can take the novel "The Shining", which sells 28,000 copies when it is published under the Richard Bachman label, but later sells ten times more copies when it becomes clear that Bachman is actually Stephen King.

The new edition of "The Running Man" has made me read the book in a more beautiful format and a definitely better translation. The four mentioned books have a cult status among the fans of Stephen King, and if we just look at the successes of entire series like "The Hunger Games", "The Maze Runner", "Divergent", which, with all my respect, are just teenage copies of "The Long Walk" and "The Running Man". Not only that, but their value over the years is increasingly growing, and as evidence, we can take the novel "Rage", which was withdrawn from sale at the author's request, due to the subsequent influx of murders in American schools, and it is claimed that one of them was influenced by King's book. In my opinion, the writer is not to blame here, but unfortunately his prophetic visions have gradually transferred into the real world. However, after the events in New York on September 11, King considered temporarily withdrawing "The Running Man" as well.

In this review, I want to look not only at the book in question, but also at the characteristic features of the entire Bachman period of the King. I would like to focus on three points:

An ordinary person in an extraordinary story

King has often said that he prefers to write books about ordinary people in extraordinary stories rather than writing about extraordinary people in ordinary stories. In all the books published under the Bachman label, the hero is placed in a stressful, life-threatening situation in which it seems that he will end up with a fatal outcome. In "Roadwork", the hero barricaded himself in his own house, refusing to leave it so that it could be demolished as part of a community plan. In the similar and also beloved "Rage", a student shot a teacher and took all his classmates hostage, and the school was also surrounded. On the other hand, there are "The Long Walk" and "The Running Man". In both cases, the events take place in an anti-utopian environment, and in both, the main heroes participate in games of death in which they try to survive, and their chances are close to zero. In all the novels, the main heroes are from the lower strata of society, which makes the reader sympathize with them and care about them. In "The Running Man", Ben Richards loses his job, his daughter is seriously ill, which forces his wife to prostitute herself to buy medicine. Ben is ready for anything to live a decent life and participates in a life-threatening television game.

Dynamics from start to finish

In these books, King immerses us in the whirlwind of events right from the beginning. In "Rage", the teacher is killed, in "The Long Walk", the selected boys start the competition, and in "The Running Man", Richards almost immediately participates in the casting for the television show. All the details, background and characteristics of the heroes, etc., are clarified later, over time, as the information is given imperceptibly in small portions. This way, the dynamics of the novel is not lost, the hero is in constant tension, and so are the readers. All the tedious descriptions, biographies, reasons and behaviors are described gradually.

Simplified composition, social engagement

In the above-mentioned novels, there are no excessive philosophies, they are direct, there are no classic "existentialisms". Therefore, to many people, they seem naive. But time has proven the opposite. The author's views are confirmed. In "The Running Man", the main criticism is directed at the media and television. Their power over the minds of people. They turn them into a mass whose opinion is controlled through montages and selected information. The media direct the viewers against the participant, they turn him into a mass murderer, and the crowd blindly believes and greedily watches, seeking a bloody spectacle. Forgetting about the real problems of society.

I rarely watch TV, but whenever I take a look, I notice the dominance of these "Reality" shows, in which a group of people make fun of each other. I faintly remember one of these television competitions, maybe it was for some musical "idols" or talents. One of the participants was a slightly overweight girl, her vocal abilities were impressive, but in front of the eyes of all the viewers, her "PR" team advised her how to lose weight and only eat salads to please the "voters". I imagine how she felt in front of the cameras, she looked with a sense of guilt. And how do these voting and eliminations of children from such competitions affect them? Over time, these reality shows are becoming more and more scandalous and cruel. No wonder King's novel becomes reality again. In fact, the end of the book is quite telling, it painfully reminds of a disaster that happened a decade ago.

Unfortunately, in recent years, King has become very commercialized and also seems to be somewhat exhausted. I would be very happy if his dark half - Bachman, would reappear with such novels of 200 - 300 pages.

3.5 stars. This book is truly the best among the Bachman books up to this point. It offers a captivating and engaging read that keeps the reader hooked from start to finish. The story is well-crafted, with interesting characters and a plot that unfolds in a thrilling manner. The author's writing style is smooth and easy to follow, making it accessible to a wide range of readers. Whether you are a fan of Bachman's previous works or new to his writing, this book is definitely worth checking out. It showcases the author's talent and creativity, and leaves you eager to see what he will come up with next. Overall, it is a great addition to the Bachman collection and a must-read for any book lover.

Pues me ha gustado mucho. It is a dystopian book by Stephen King, written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman.

It presents a society that is highly divided into two major social classes: those who are worthless and those who are rich. Our protagonist belongs to the first class. He is a bit rebellious and, due to his personal circumstances, decides to participate in a contest to obtain money to support his family. The selection process for the contest seemed degrading to me and makes you fully immerse in the spirit of the novel.

The truth is that Stephen King writes extremely well. The novel gradually traps you. He enumerates the chapters in a decreasing order, and you eagerly wait to see what happens in chapter 0. The pace never slows down, and moreover, he describes the society of that dystopian world very vividly.

It is highly recommendable.

The battlefield that the streets constituted was only illuminated at night. During the day, it was merely a gray, deserted, and silent expanse that showed no more movement than that of the cats, rats, and large white worms that feasted on the garbage bags. There was no other smell but the fetid and unhealthy air of that happy year 2025.

Being a fugitive exhausted him. And a kind of animal instinct warned him, beyond all reason, that very soon he would be sleeping in a sewer under the edge of October, or in a ravine covered with thickets and rubble.

Could morality count for anything for a man alone and adrift?

The contradiction rooted like a bad weed in the deepest part of his being.

Richards fervently longed for peace, like a man yearning for water in the middle of the desert.

This story is a dystopia that is not very radical for these current times; considering that this story is from 1982 and is set in a supposed year 2025. Simply, humanity continued its "involutive" path... There are more restrictions in the way of life, more control, growing inequality, unemployment, and pollution (nothing that is very different from the current reality). Many things remained frozen in that time (the 80s) and there are no great technological advances aside from flying cars and some other details.

Throughout the story, some moral dilemmas and "perspective" questions are raised.

It is unpredictable and at times disconcerting (this is not necessarily either good or bad in this case).

The ending, I don't know exactly how to rate it... but I can say that it is extremely fun and bizarre. This is consistent with the introspection of the protagonist "Richards", with his constant mental debates and recurrent thoughts.

Richard Bachman and I are not friends.

We have never really had any significant interactions or conversations that could lead to the development of a friendship.

Perhaps it's because our interests and personalities simply don't align.

Richard seems to have his own set of friends and activities that he is involved in, and I have mine.

While we may see each other from time to time, it's always in passing and there has never been any real connection or attempt to get to know each other better.

Maybe in another life or under different circumstances, we could have been friends, but as it stands now, we are just two people who happen to know of each other.

And that's okay.

Not everyone we meet is meant to be a friend, and sometimes it's better to just accept that and move on.

There are plenty of other people out there who will share our interests and values and with whom we can form meaningful friendships.

So while Richard Bachman and I may not be friends, I'm sure we'll both continue to lead fulfilling lives without each other.

The Art of Monsters
How many stories and movies have told us how the media reshapes our minds?! How an ordinary person turns into a hero and an icon, and how the oppressed turns into a stupid criminal, and how it plays with our minds to imagine the dictator as a hero and a leader, and imagine the just ruler as weak, ridiculous, and corrupt!
How many TV programs or media campaigns have elevated some groups and degraded others without a just cause, and how many scenes on the screen have reversed the truth and beautified the false for the people.
This is not just one of those stories, and it can't even be compared to the mediocre film made from it with the mediocre hero always being Arnold Schwarzenegger.
More than thirty years ago, King wrote it, with the events taking place in a dark and dystopian future when the earth is on the verge of destruction and the media controls humanity under the leadership of a gang of villains driven by advertisements.
And since it was in 1982 and imagined the events taking place in 2025, he thought he was being too imaginative, but the reality exceeded what he imagined, and the end came as if it were the events of the famous September that led to the collapse of the Twin Towers in Manhattan. So what if the genius King had written it in the 1990s or now?

You are an enemy of the network. That's what they say on a freeway sign. I saw some of the mind-blowing things you did.
Richards asked: Do you know what's mind-blowing? I lit a cigarette from the dashboard of the car. I'll tell you. What's mind-blowing is that they fired one of them because he didn't want to work in a job at General Atomics that causes blindness. What's mind-blowing is that you sit at home and watch your wife earn grocery money from prostitution. What's mind-blowing is knowing that the network kills millions of people every year because of air pollution when they could make nose filters for six dollars each.

For another face of fear
There will be no revolution for hunger, and no epidemic will take over this planet even if we have to destroy it completely
The poor will continue to work and work and work to become even poorer, and the money will flow into the pockets of the rich
We will have to isolate the rich and the poor and put thick veils over everyone's eyes so that no one can see anything but themselves
The walls of the affluent communities will rise, and the hills of garbage and sewage in the poor neighborhoods will rise, and everyone will live side by side without anyone knowing anything about the other.

3.75 stars

As I persist in my pursuit of reading all the King books in sequence, I'm delighted to proclaim that I've actually completed yet another one! The last two I read (or endeavored to), Cujo and Roadwork, I had to abandon because I couldn't endure them. However, The Running Man rejuvenated my desire to continue reading.

We accompany Ben Richards, a destitute man, as he participates in a TV show. In this show, for each day he survives while on the run in a futuristic USA, he'll receive a specific sum of money that he aims to use to save his baby daughter Cathy from pneumonia. His resourcefulness renders him a popular contestant, but not in a favorable way... People are even more eager to capture and kill him.

First of all, even though this is a rather uncomplicated story, it's extremely exciting and fast-paced. It's also very easy to read, and the short chapters ensure that I never felt inundated with what was happening. The ending scene is particularly well-executed as all the tension accumulated in the novel reaches an all-time high, making the character's breaking point even more astonishing and impactful. The plot is also highly segmented with a clear introduction, which was excellent in the way it established the bureaucratic Free Vee and the manner in which the concepts about the company are subverted and corrupted throughout the novel. Tension and payoff are handled extremely well. And although King isn't renowned for his endings, this one was good.

The aspect of the novel that I particularly relished and was surprised by was the substantial amount of commentary on issues such as air pollution and the demonization of people by the media. I adored that the issues predominantly stem from the increased diseases caused by the smog and the inequality in adequate mask filtration systems between the wealthy and the poor. This conversation is highly relevant, especially with the coronavirus and the general issues related to climate change. Furthermore, media coverage and how it influences bias is a focal point of the thematic expression of the novel. It was thought-provoking to read about the reactions of the people versus the interactions of Richards with the Free Vee executives because their stark contrast illustrated how crucial having a shocking story is for the media industry, rather than depicting factual events.

Regrettably, as with the other early King novels, there was a hint of casual racism and misogyny that bothered me more than in the other books. There are two particular characters who are mistreated to such an extent (more so by the novel's narration) that some moments made the experience rather unpleasant. I'm aware that this was published in the 1980s, but nonetheless, it did reduce my enjoyment as it was simply uncomfortable.

Overall, I'm far more satisfied with The Running Man than the other King books I read in the previous months. I think I'll pick up another King novel soon and minimize the intervals I take between his books.

A dystopian novel by Stephen King, in which Ben Richards, a poor father in the future, decides to enter a contest to get money and save his daughter. The contest is called "The Fugitive" and it consists of trying to stay alive for as many days as possible (winning money per hour) while "hunters" who are practically intoxicated policemen look for you to kill you. It is everyone's favorite show, so the people who give tips on the whereabouts of the fugitive will also win some dollars.

Cruel and morbid are the two words that come to my mind and especially a great ending (something that King is not very good at).

I ended up giving it 3.8 out of 5 stars. It is a quick and entertaining read. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The concept of the contest is both fascinating and terrifying. You can't help but root for Ben Richards as he tries to outwit the hunters and stay alive. The characters are well-developed and the plot is full of twists and turns. Overall, it's a great addition to Stephen King's body of work.

DNF @ 45%

I do not know why, but this was such a torture to read. It's not that this is a terrible book. On the contrary, it might have some redeeming qualities. However, on the other hand, I had an extremely hard time concentrating on it. The plot, unfortunately, didn't intrigue me enough to make me truly want to know the story and be fully invested in it. It lacked that certain something that would have hooked me from the start and kept my attention throughout.

Plus, I didn't like the main character at all. He seemed rather boring to me. There was nothing about his personality or actions that made me interested in him or his journey. I found myself constantly losing interest whenever he was on the page.

I hope that this book will find its intended readers, those who will appreciate its unique qualities and be able to overlook its flaws. But it's surely not me. I just couldn't get into it and had to give up at 45%. Maybe someone else will have a different experience and be able to enjoy this book for what it is.

Ben Richards has a wife and a sickly daughter at home. He is desperately attempting to save them from the clutches of poverty and illness.

The only glimmer of hope seems to come in the form of The Running Man, a highly popular reality TV show. In this show, contestants are chased by hunters for their lives, while viewers eagerly await the opportunity to make some cash and gain notoriety by aiding in their capture.

Just like King's other novel published under the Bachman name, The Long Walk, this story seems to be more than just a fictional reality TV show. It appears to be an expose about our contemporary society. In both novels, the authorities are depicted in a negative light, and there seems to be no escape from the all-encompassing rule, power, influence, and sight of 'the man'. The odds of winning against them are increasingly low, yet the characters, due to their circumstances, are compelled to take that very gamble. All of this unfolds in front of an audience that is eager to consume death for their own pleasure.

In both cases, I found myself rooting for the protagonist characters, especially when their chances of survival were at their slimmest. Given the author who wrote these stories, I never felt like a happy ending was ever guaranteed, which further intensified the tension throughout. I can't say that this was a book that I actively 'enjoyed' reading, but it was indeed very thought-provoking and provided a lot to think about.

I simply cannot give this one more praise.

What a truly fitting end to a remarkable novel!

And the best part is that the book requires no sequels.

Please, do yourself a huge favour.

Buy a copy, pour yourself a pint of delicious beer, and then immerse yourself in this fast-paced novel.

It is jam-packed with non-stop action and thought-provoking dystopian philosophies, all mingled with a sprinkle of unexpected twists that will completely catch you off guard.

I particularly enjoyed the countdown sequence that was used to structure the short chapters.

It effectively raised the tension bar and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I strongly suspect that this book has heavily inspired popular stories like the Hunger Games and the all-new Squid Game.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Just whoa! I'm left completely speechless by this amazing piece of work.

It’s the year 2025 and society has transformed into something vastly different from what we know today.

Contrary to the claims of the past that the United States is the land of the free and the ultimate “American Dream” is within reach for anyone, the current system is designed to keep those below the poverty line trapped in their circumstances. However, there is a glimmer of hope in the form of “The Games”. By signing up as a participant, individuals can compete in a variety of perilous game shows with the aim of winning large cash prizes and lifting themselves and their families out of poverty.

The novel centers around Ben Richards, a man whose daughter has fallen seriously ill. With no means to afford a doctor and tired of his wife resorting to prostitution for income, Ben decides to sign up as a contestant. But his misfortune continues as he is cast in the most dangerous show of all, “The Running Man”. In this competition, the objective is to stay alive for 30 days. Sounds simple? Well, not quite. Contestants must hide from “The Hunters”, whose job is to find them and end their time on the show prematurely. Additionally, they need to avoid being spotted by the masses, as people can receive cash awards for reporting them. If that report leads to the contestant’s death, the reporter is eligible for an even higher cash reward.

Ben is constantly on the move, traveling across the United States in search of a place to hide, even if only for a short while. He limits his stay in one place to just a day or two, fearing that his location will be exposed as he mails in the required tapes daily. The allure of the final prize of $1 billion dollars keeps him going, as he attempts to stay on the run for as long as possible. While he does receive some assistance from a few disgruntled members of society, it does little to help as he battles his own paranoia and the urge to distrust everyone.

I understand that one must suspend disbelief when reading about someone else’s vision of the future, especially when it involves events that have already passed. However, I was disappointed by the lack of specifics regarding how society degenerated so rapidly in the 90s and early 2000s. Maybe it’s my inner crime fiction fan that craves more details, but I found myself longing to know the reasons behind the transformation, especially in a dystopian society. I NEED TO KNOW WHY.

Overall, I did enjoy the novel, although not to the same extent as some of King’s other works. It was still entertaining, but my need to understand the changes in society did somewhat detract from my enjoyment. Of course, this is not King’s fault, as he clearly intended it to be that way. Supposedly, he wrote the book in just a week, so detail was not his main focus.

I will say that the ending, specifically the very final chapter, was outstanding. I’m not sure if I’m giving anything away, but it’s the ultimate act of rebellion. I actually laughed out loud. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, but either way, it was a great conclusion.

*** Reviewers Note *** Yes, I’m aware that I still loved “A Long Walk” despite its lack of details about society’s descent into “The Long Walk” itself. However, I felt that this book suffered more in this regard, considering that society appears to be in a much worse state.

Also posted at Every Read Thing