A Novel Critique

An anomoly among Stephen King books, even under the name Bachman: The Running Man is King's only novel-length foray into science fiction. There could be cases made for both the Bachman book The Long Walk and the self-authored book The Tommyknockers; a closer inspection reveals the former to be more of a future dystopia than true sf, the latter being horror with sci-fi trappings.

The Running Man, King states, was written in under 72 hours, and as one reads the book, the speed shows. This does not mean this, the fourth of the Bachman Books, is bad, just fast -- and in that swiftness some things fall by the wayside. To examine:

The book concerns a man named Ben Richards, who inhabits a bleak future: the government has been partaialy if not completely usurped by the powers that Free-Vee: television has become the ruler. The Richards' are poor and their child is sick, and Ben realizes early on that the only way to afford the outrageously expensive medicine is to become a contestant on one of the Game Shows. This is not an easy decision, because these Game Shows are nothing like Wheel of Fortune (wasn't that a different King book?)

Richards goes though a series of challenging mental and physical tests, then is selected to be a contestant on a show called The Running Man. The purpose is simple: the contestant has to stay alive for thirty days. He has Hunters after him, and the entire free world has instructions to inform the Games commision of Richards' whereabouts. The way the Games commision moniters Richards' existance is via a succession of videos Richards has to make of himself: he takes the vids, drps them in a mailbox, and they are forwarded to the Games Building.

In essance, it's Richards against the world.

Halfway through his Run, Richards meets a young kid named Stacey and his brother Bradley. Until this point, the novel has been sharp, sci-fi action; when he meets the brothers, his Run takes on a purpose. Bradley has discovered the government is even worse than it seems to be. The air has gotten increasingly worse in the future, and people need nose filters to survive for very long. The goverment keeps the good filters from the poor, giving the best to the rich. And, seeing as the Games commision is at least partially responsible for the government (and Richards' own misery), Ben decides that retaliation is the way to go.

After a series of near-misses and the taking of hostages, Richards eventually finds himself winning free passage on a Lockheed plane, the head of the Games commision. It seems that Richards is far too good at The Running Man, and he wants Richards to disappear with full pay. Give the public the appearance of Richards having lost. But Richards has different ideas on his mind. The final chapters are a bloodbath, with Richards literally ahving to hold himself together as he completes his mission.

The Running Man is a swiftly moving novel, with tendancies toward stereotype and weak characterization. It is the least of the Bachman Books, but in no discernable way "bad." If one goes into the novel expecting a fast-paced, exciting science fiction novel, with hints of a deeper story, the end result will not be disappointing.

Personal Observations

I recently went through all the Bachman books in a cycle, beginning with the first, Rage and ending with the most recent, The Regulators. I liked them all, but found The Running Man to be slightly lacking. It has all the "Bachman" qualities -- a solitary "hero," a downbeat ending, the use of a "clock" to tick down the hours. But still -- it just seems to mostly be a surface novel. Almost nothing underneath.

Don't get me wrong, I actually do like the book. As I've mentioned, it's exciting and you can read it fast. But it's light, and maybe that can only be attributed to King's swift writing of it. We hate to wait for new novels, but the wait, unfortunately, is necessary.

I don't yet have this one in its original paperback - but I'll have it by this summer! Woo-hoo! Then, I'll have all the Bachman Books in their original cover and condition! Yey!

2005 Note: I've had this novel in its original paperback for about eight years now. Wow, could I really have been 22 when I first wrote this page?

Film Adaptation

The Running Man, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is about the furthest one can get from its source work without edging into Lawnmower Man name-dropping status only. It's not a bad movie, but the principal story has changed. In this incarnation, Richards doesn't have the purpose of getting medicine for his child or even the later "air crimes" purpose. He is a trumped up "criminal" set upon the show The Running Man by Killian (played well, oddly enough, by Richard Dawson). He also, of course, has weaker friends who will die before him, and a beautiful love interest in the form of Maria Conchito Alonzo. The Hunters have become "supervillains" appearing more like costumed WWF wrestlers with gimmicks than serious-minded bounty hunters.

The film is primarily a vehicle for Arnold, and in that, it doesn't let us down. As an adaption, well, it leaves a little something to be desired. If the book somewhat lacks a deeper meaning, the movie obliterates one.

On a final note: for a Schwartzeneggar film, the ending seems a bit pale. If anything, the ending is the one part of the book I would have thought the director would have left in (with Arnold narrowly escaping, of course). It would have meant a bigger explosion, and maybe -- maybe -- given the film some depth. Oh well.

This page has been visited times since April 25th, 1998.