Stephen King Book #13: The Running Man (Published as Richard Bachman). 4/5

Book #13. The Running Man.
First published May, 1982

In many ways I am happy that I actually saw the movie “The Running Man” before I read the Bachman/King novel of the same name, of which the movie was apparently ‘adapted’ from. Why? Simply because apart from the name of the novel and the name of the protagonist and his adversary, there is almost no similarity between the two. The movie hints at a man convicted of a crime he didn’t commit being seconded to this ‘game show’ to pay for his crimes, and the course of events that follows. It is completely different from the book, and, as much as I love the movie, and can easily watch it any time, the book is much darker and less trivial.

The theme of the dystopian future is well explored, along with the state-run free-vee on at all times to distract the majority of the population from their lives. Abject poverty, constant and deathly sickness, with little hope for their own existence beyond the meagre offerings they have. It is a desolate and frightening picture being painted

All along, you are left in no doubt that The Running Man is a death sentence. No one gets out alive, and all you are doing is trying to earn money for your loved ones before you meet your end. The fact that all of those who are trying to be participants on these various game shows go through such a rigorous selection ‘process’ only adds to misery and frustration that is obvious in this future. In much the same way as the previous Bachman novel The Long Walk, this is a future with a dead end, and a very short road leading to it.

King manages to weave in plenty to this story despite its relatively short span. He successfully portrays the society of the future as well and truly divided between the have’s and the have-not’s. The have-nots are living in poverty, surrounded by crime and death as they try to maintain their meagre existence, leading as it does to trying to gain admission to these ‘game’ shows in order to find some money. The game shows are the lifeblood of the TV networks, as fodder for the state run free-vee which attempt to beguile the public from trying to question their existence by hypnotising them with this entertainment. On top of this, apart from the (not seen) government running almost like a police state, the high ranking network executives have the power and the money, and men like Killian are the ones who run the show. Within this, and throughout the novel, we see how this arrangement buries the truth of things such as how the air pollution levels are in the process of killing them all. And all the while, we read as Ben Richards tries to beat a crooked game and avoid his fate by being caught by the Hunters and publically executed on national television.

The tipping points of the novel are well explored. There is never any doubt that Richards is playing an unbalanced game. How much power and surveillance can the Hunters access? Though it is never revealed, it is suggested they have limitless power to access whatever they want to in order to track down their prey. The chase and confrontation at the YMCA gives the first opportunity for heart rates to rise and to guess Richards will be caught.
The interlude with the family of Bradley, and Richards’ appraisal of the dangers of the pollution, and his escape though the road blocks to get out of Boston, all act as the human side of the story, the tying in of the unreality of the story to basic human elements. It works well as a buffer to the outer aspects of the novel. The utter despair and stupidity of the mother of Richards’ next hiding place, who reveals his location and by default causes the death of her son instead of ‘saving’ him as she wanted to, throws the novel back into turmoil. From here, the kidnapping of Amelia Williams and her ultimate complicity in not only going along with what Richards needs her to do so he can stay alive, but also eventually lying for him to do so, and the part it plays in the final confrontation is electrifying. The reader shifts between the same emotions as the trilogy of characters involved – Richards, Williams and Evan McCone, the Chief Hunter who is awaiting their arrival at the airport, where they hope to escape. Between McCone threatening to kill Richards on the spot, Williams playing along with Richards’ story in the hope of having McCone believe she is telling the truth, and Richards just plain winging his responses in the hope they are bought by all and sundry, it is a scintillating period in the lead up to the final act.

Perhaps there are some holes, but the story is entertaining and thrilling along the way. If you aren’t investing your time trying to pick pieces out of the plot, and you are just happy to go along for the ride to the conclusion, you will have a good time and find yourself cheering for the underdog all the way through. I always find it is worth it when I revisit it.

Rating: “Killian, I’ll be back”. 4/5