Book Review: "The Running Man" by Stephen King

I have no idea why I chose to read this but it was just there and so I did. Sometimes, you just need some Stephen King in your life. I feel like during the Halloween season you'll probably see more of this from me but yet again, I read this one on my phone. The Running Man is a very interesting dystopian story and, as we know, another dystopian story by Stephen King has recently been adapted and so if you haven't read The Long Walk then I would highly recommend it. However, this review is about The Running Man so let's get back on topic...

In a grim future America (I mean, a lot of America is pretty grim, but the future is especially grim), society is deeply divided by class, with the wealthy living comfortably while the poor struggle in slums plagued by disease, unemployment, and pollution (it therefore makes sense that it is set in 2025). I'll stop with the quips, but honestly you can see why this basis surprises nobody but instead presents Stephen King as some sort of savant.

Television has become the dominant cultural force, run by the Games Network, which produces violent reality shows designed to pacify the masses. Among them is "The Running Man", a lethal contest where desperate participants are hunted by “Hunters” and must evade capture for 30 days to win a fortune. Stephen King definitely critiques capitalism and the media but this is taking it a step slightly further as he dips his horror toes into dystopia. I have to say, I enjoyed this. There was something quite terrifying about watching this weird, slow, short-chaptered build to something where you didn't quite know how it was going to work out.

Ben Richards, an unemployed factory worker, lives in Co-Op City with his wife Sheila and their gravely ill 18-month-old daughter Cathy. (One more quip: you actually cannot make this shit up) Unable to afford medicine, he reluctantly applies to the Games Network. Unlike many contestants who are broken or passive, Richards is intelligent, defiant, and determined to use the system’s cruelty against itself. After humiliating interviews with sadistic executives, he is chosen for The Running Man, mainly because his rebellious, working-class anger makes for “good television.” I think we've all thought about this when watching television - about what makes good television and how TV contestants are chosen. If you haven't I apologise because I think about it a lot when watching TV. I thoroughly believe that people are chosen for TV based on how pompous and/or volatile they are.

As the game begins, Ben Richards dyes his hair, wears disguises, and moves through the underbelly of America, constantly aware that ordinary people might betray him for money. The book’s tension comes from Richards’ gritty intelligence: he knows how to manipulate appearances, bluff his way through situations, and calculate the odds. He quickly realises that the Network’s propaganda paints him as a dangerous criminal to incite hatred and ensure viewers root for his death. This is an incredible comment on the way in which the media twists the perceptions of everyday people through propaganda and I think that Stephen King is quite clever for including this twist.

During this, Richards begins to witness the full extent of the poverty, illness, and desperation afflicting the working class. In one sequence, he is aided by sympathetic individuals who resent the Network, including a group of rebels who show him the devastating effects of industrial pollution on the environment and public health. These encounters fuel his transformation from a father fighting for his child into a man with a broader awareness of systemic injustice. I mean what is more incredible than a network of underground rebels who help you out in your time of need? This is probably the part of the book I enjoyed the most.

I'm not going to lie, it wasn't a 'scary' Stephen King novel like Salem's Lot and it didn't gross the ever loving daylights out of me like Dreamcatcher, but it was definitely one I was glad I read. On top of that, whilst I was reading it, I logged on to Netflix only to see that the movie had been placed at the top of my recommendations. I think I'll go and watch that now...