Stephen King wrote an exercise book?!Well, count me in!womp, wompRandom Goodreader, it is with a heavy heart that I report this is not a book designed to get the flabby fan in shape.So what is it about?The skinny gist is that in a somewhat dystopian future (2025!), the United States economy is in the gutter. The have-nots really have not. Our hero, Ben Richards, is desperate to save his 18-month-old daughter from the pneumonia settling into her lungs due to the flu. Antibiotics are unaffordable,...

This is the first time I’ve read The Running Man as a standalone novel. It is completely different from the film adaptation. In this dystopian nightmare, family man Ben Richards is forced to compete in The Running Man to ensure his family’s survival. The show’s producers had no idea just how difficult Richards would be to kill. Dark, thrilling, and undeniably a hardcore dystopian classic, this is a must-read for fans of Richard Bachman. It’s a relentless, high-stakes ride that earns a solid four...

The future for Mr. Ben Richards is anything but bright. In the year 2025, everything is dreary: the economy has bottomed out, the poor are struggling more than ever, and a harsh, indifferent government cares only about maintaining its grip on power. Writing in 1982 under the pen name Richard Bachman to escape the constraints of his own fame, Stephen King crafted this novel to be as bleak as possible. While it may not be an accurate forecast of the future, it is undeniably entertaining—though be ...

The Art of Creating a MonsterHow many novels and films have told us about how media reshapes our minds? How it turns an ordinary person into a hero or an icon, how it transforms the oppressed into a bloodthirsty criminal, and how it manipulates consciousness to portray a dictator as a savior while painting a fair ruler as weak, unstable, and corrupt!Countless television programs and media campaigns have raised some up and cast others down without any shred of justice. How many screen-born monste...

Gladiator-style games, dystopian government systems fueled by consumerism, and corporations turning slaughter into prime-time entertainment—all these elements fuse together to create a true piece of literary history. This is one of my favorite, twisted, and inhumane sci-fi tropes, honed to perfection by the young master himself. While the debate over who influenced whom is endless, The Running Man is definitively the precursor to the genre, and that speaks for itself—sorry, Battle Royale and The...

While I’ve been binge-watching sci-fi and dystopian hits like "Black Mirror" or "The Handmaid's Tale," I stumbled across the novel The Running Man by Richard Bachman. I knew it had inspired the 1987 movie of the same name—a film I’m proud to admit I’m one of the few who actually loves. Naturally, I had to buy the book immediately. Stephen King wrote this during his "Bachman" phase, so some might call it a minor work, but honestly? Who cares. I bought it, and thank God I did! The concept of real...

Relentless. Stephen King’s 1982 novel, published under the pen name of his darker alter ego Richard Bachman, describes a feral dystopian landscape where overpopulation, unemployment, and a massive wealth gap—compounded by a crumbling healthcare system—have led to a Roman-style decadence of survival games and cheap entertainment for the masses. King’s malnourished and desperate Ben Richards is nothing like the character played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 Paul Michael Glaser film. In this...

I ended up reading The Running Man in just one day! This is such a fast-paced, action-packed book that will keep your adrenaline pumping from start to finish. If you’re looking for a gripping thriller by Richard Bachman, I highly recommend picking this one up!

Let me give you the most important information you need before you dive into this book: Do not read the foreword by Stephen King before you finish the story!! He spoils his own book's ending right there!Yeah, that really sucked because I knew what would eventually happen, and it was so suspenseful that it would have been awesome to be kept wondering if this poor guy would actually make it. But even knowing what I unfortunately knew, I was still on the edge of my seat for the entire book. That S...

After The Most Dangerous Game, there was The Running ManBefore The Hunger Games, there was The Running ManAfter 1984, there was The Running ManBefore reality TV, there was The Running ManThis is a disturbing and enthralling cautionary tale predicted by our forefathers, seen in new dystopian novels, and becoming all too real in this age of political turmoil, social media, and reality overload. If you are looking for a gripping dystopian book review, this classic is a must-read.One of King’s early...