Take a photo of a barcode or cover
spotsandprincedad 's review for:
The Running Man
by Stephen King, Richard Bachman
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to first accepted that this book is flawed. It is a dark, pessimistic, bleak look at the near future and it's reflected in the portrayal of women and minorities, especially black people, in this world. Some of the dialogue in this is embarrassingly bad, and is written in a kind of "future slang" that is essentially jive. It's not a good look for King in 2025.
That being said, I think this is an extremely strong work of science fiction that is very poignant still. It's themes of class disparity and environmental racism are presented in an interesting way, and the world building feels realistic and expansive. While this does still have the stinging misanthropy of a Bachman book, it delivers a deeply satisfying feeling whenever you see the protagonist survive for another hour and slowly come to a sense of solidarity between his "own people" as the game commissioner suggests.
Mr. beast would totally make the Running Man.
That being said, I think this is an extremely strong work of science fiction that is very poignant still. It's themes of class disparity and environmental racism are presented in an interesting way, and the world building feels realistic and expansive. While this does still have the stinging misanthropy of a Bachman book, it delivers a deeply satisfying feeling whenever you see the protagonist survive for another hour and slowly come to a sense of solidarity between his "own people" as the game commissioner suggests.
Mr. beast would totally make the Running Man.