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A review by heathcliff
The Running Man by Stephen King, Richard Bachman
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Running Man is a precursor to so much of the dystopian fiction that we see today. The one which, to me, had the most similarities would be The Hunger Games triology.
So much of the ideas from the trilogy can be seen in this book that I wouldn’t be surprised if Suzanne Collins had taken it for inspiration (can’t find any actual reference to this when I did a cursory search, though).
But what King’s novella lacks is the detailed world building that would have made the themes and social commentary stronger. Who is the games council, and how did this world come to be? Who is exempt and who holds the true power? The set up for some of these story beats seemed vague and rushed and I wish more time was spent establishing the world order and how it came to be to make Richard’s’ experience more impactful.
So much of the ideas from the trilogy can be seen in this book that I wouldn’t be surprised if Suzanne Collins had taken it for inspiration (can’t find any actual reference to this when I did a cursory search, though).
But what King’s novella lacks is the detailed world building that would have made the themes and social commentary stronger. Who is the games council, and how did this world come to be? Who is exempt and who holds the true power? The set up for some of these story beats seemed vague and rushed and I wish more time was spent establishing the world order and how it came to be to make Richard’s’ experience more impactful.