The Running Man
The Running Man is a dystopian thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the omnibus The Bachman Books. The novel is set in a dystopian United States during the year 2025, in which the nation's economy is in ruins and world violence is rising. The story follows protagonist Ben Richards as he participates in the reality show The Running Man in which contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are chased by the general public, who get a huge bounty if they kill him. The book has a total of 101 chapters, laid out in a "countdown" format. The first is titled "Minus 100 and Counting..." with the numbers decreasing, ending with the last chapter called "Minus 000 and Counting" (or, in some versions, simply "000").
Stats for nerds
4recommend
13mentions
13people
2013–2025years
31% recommend69% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I've recently picked up reading for a second time, after being an avid reader when I was younger.
Like any habit, start small and keep at it for a while ! I started by reading more long form articles on any subject I was interested in, or reading Wikipedia articles when I wanted to find some information. I then moved into a few 100 pages ish novels (Roadside Picnic is a great sci-fi read) and short stories (Stephen King is great, things like Running man for example), and then I found one larger book at a time that I wanted to get through, while reading shorter stories and articles every day or so. Focus on being interested in the book and the way it's written more so than what you are getting out of it - you'll get there!
I'd love to give you recommendations if you have any things that interest you!
- Well it isn't like novels and books haven't been warning of the danger. My favorite being Stephen King's The Running Man and the first movie made from it; both are good for reasons.
What we see in a video can equally change what is portrayed by careful selection of the what leads to the event being shown as well as what follows. The other threat to justice is video existing that is not entered into evidence whether by procedural means or deceit. Throw in that not only is the image portion valuable and subject to manipulation but audio is far easier to tamper with.
- The Godfather -Mario Puzo
The Running Man -Richard Bachman (A Stephen King pen name)
Never Split The Difference -Chris Voss
"The Godfather" is a classic that features my 2nd favorite evil genius Don Corleone (Hannibal Lecter being the 1st). Great character development and a fine tale to boot.
"The Running Man" isn't Kings best, but there's something about it, well that book and "The Long Walk"--also by Bachman, that makes it an entertaining read.
"Never Split the Difference" is the best negotiating book I've ever read and, I have negotiated deals for a living at various times in my career.
- Lots, I guess highlights would be...
Pavane by Keith Roberts
The Spire by William Golding
Running Man by Stephen King
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
- And before that there was The Running Man and The Long Walk both by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) that were about deadly game shows / contests in futuristic dystopias.
- IIRC, Stephen King's "The Running Man" and "The Long Walk" predate both Battle Royale and Hunger Games and deal with similar themes.
