The Running Man

Novel

The protagonist, Ben Richards, needs money for medicine for his gravely ill daughter. He walks into a TV studio where he can try to qualify for any number of violent TV contests. Show contestants win money according to whether, or for how long, they manage to survive their appointed tasks—such as a heart-attack-prone person running on a treadmill. Richards is selected for the most elite of these games, The Running Man.

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To play the game, Richards is deemed an enemy of the state and then released to the outside world. There he must evade so-called "hunters" (essentially gladiators) for a month—earning a small amount of money for each day, and a billion dollars should he manage to survive the entire month. The 'runner' can travel anywhere in the world, if he can arrange anonymous transport. The hunters are aided by members of the public, who receive cash for providing information on the whereabouts of the runner. Every day the runner must videotape a message, which he must mail to the TV show. If the runner is caught, he or she is killed live on TV.

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The hero of the book ultimately ends his game by flying a plane into the headquarters of the TV network that operates the game, gaining his revenge on the corporation, but dying in the process.

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The dystopian theme resembles that of another of King's books written as Bachman, The Long Walk. Both books appear in King's novel collection The Bachman Books.

Related Topics:
Dystopian - The Long Walk - The Bachman Books

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