Claude's Bookzone's Reviews > The Running Man

CW: (view spoiler)[Prostitution to get money for medicine, suicide in order to blow up building, swearing (hide spoiler)]

Well the movie is nothing like this novel! The movie was a gimmicky take on what is actually a very gritty book. Things are bleak in this futuristic world created by Stephen King during his ‘Bachman’ writing period. Desperate impoverished people enter themselves into televised game shows in order to earn money to feed their families. The outcome of these games often spells death for the contestants themselves but a shot at survival for their families. Ben Richards enters in order to earn money for his daughter's medical treatments. The concept is brilliant and this is evident by the number of authors that have clearly taken inspiration from this 1982 novel. The writing is quite rough and raw and this sets the tone perfectly for what is a fast paced story of a man struggling to reclaim some sense of control and purpose in his life. I didn’t find Ben to be a likeable character but I felt strongly and emotionally connected to what his continued survival meant in terms of ‘sticking it to the man’. An excellent ‘under-dog’ story of a man pushed to his limits in a relentless struggle to survive. Thoroughly recommend.