“The Running Man” by Stephen King: Leaving a Corrupted World Behind (BOOK REVIEW)

Leaving a Corrupted World Behind

Hey, Alex! What have you been reading lately?

I’ve been closely following the upcoming The Running Man movie adaptation by Paramount, directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell. I made a promise to a special someone that I will read and review the book before the movie premieres later this month, so here I am. As someone who isn’t the biggest Stephen King fan, I have to admit I really enjoyed this one. The Running Man is a brutal, fast-paced dystopia that dives into our obsession with violence as a source of entertainment.

Tell me more. What is the book about?

The year is 2025. Welcome to Co-Op City, where pollution chokes the air, poverty runs deep, and society feeds on televised suffering. Ben Richards is desperate – his baby daughter is sick, and his family can’t afford medicine. Out of options, he signs up for a deadly reality show called The Running Man, where he must survive being hunted across the country for thirty days. If he makes it, he becomes a billionaire. The catch? No one has ever been able to do it.

As Ben runs for his life, chased by professional killers and ordinary citizens alike, the novel becomes less about survival and more about how to stay present in a reality where fun equals bloodlust. King creates a world where murder raises TV ratings, and morality has been completely scrapped due to its low market value.

What are some strong and weak points of the book?

I found the structure of the novel very appealing. Each chapter counts down from 100 to 0, mirroring Ben’s shrinking odds and raising the tension with every page. The pacing is relentless and boosts the reader’s anxiety.

Another thing I liked is the environmental and class commentary tucked every now and then between the action. The rich wear nose filters and live comfortably while the poor quite literally struggle for air. People don’t unite against the system. Instead, they turn on one another, selling intel and backstabbing each other for benefits. It’s not the hunters that are the real threat for Richards here, but his acquaintances who are willing to expose him if it means they will receive a financial reward. He is truly on his own and can’t trust no one.

That said, some ideas feel underdeveloped. King throws out brilliant grains of truth about pollution, propaganda, and social conditioning but never quite ties them together. The ending, though shocking and powerful, leaves you with more questions than a sense of closure. It’s like you have to figure everything out on your own.

Ben Richards is far from perfect. He is known to throw offensive, misogynistic remarks at people. He considers himself a faithful husband and won’t cheat on his wife when provided with an opportunity. However, he does comment on how attractive and beautiful every other woman he meets is, which I find strange. Like in much of early King, the male gaze is heavy here. Ben wouldn’t act upon his sexual impulses and keeps his masculinity at a safe distance. There is a voyeuristic undertone to the story, with him constantly watching out, even when he should really be hiding from a nation that is trying to murder him. Ben, like everyone else, enjoys a good show. In his case, he finds entertainment in the face of women, not brutality.

Any final thoughts? Should I read it too?

Absolutely. Even if you’re not a Stephen King devotee, The Running Man is worth picking up. It’s such an underrated speculative fiction novel and arguably deserves a seat next to 1984 and Brave New World. It’s raw, bleak, and disturbingly relevant, especially in a world still obsessed with turning one’s misfortunes into content.

The final twist will wreck you in the best way possible. It’s bold, morally complex and might just be enough to encourage Richards himself to start working for the enemy. See for yourself.

In Margaret Atwood’s words, the future is nothing but an infinite number of possibilities. King doesn’t want to tell us which one is right. He simply warns us to stay away from the machine that paints a nightmare out of this future. The Running Man reminds us that spectacle always demands a sacrifice, and that the moment we start cheering for it, we’ve already lost. We should at once stop feeding on violence or seeking profit from it.

I am very excited to see how the new movie remake has adapted this story and am urging all of you to tune in.

Thank you so much!! Are there any similar books that you can recommend?

Definitely! Here are two all-time dystopian favourites to keep you thinking about power and propaganda:

🎯 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins — violence meets reality TV, where only the last one standing survives.

📺 1984 by George Orwell — the blueprint for modern dystopia; paranoia, surveillance, and the price of truth.

📲 limaistyping…

rating: ☀️☀️☀️☀️
tropes: ☄️ speculative fiction | 🔎 cat-and-mouse | 😰 high stakes | ⏳ countdown | 🥊 class divide
read if you like: game shows, Glen Powell, complex world building, gladiator battles, The Purge
look out for: 🫥 a place to hide | 👗 good-looking hostages | 🚪 exit plans | ✝️ monk costume | 💸 bounty money
"This feels like you're watching an apocalypse movie only to realise you have switched on the night news."