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The Running Man Kindle Edition

by Stephen King (Author)

343 customer reviews

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A desperate man attempts to win a reality TV game where the only objective is to stay alive in this #1 national bestseller from Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman.

It was the ultimate death game in a nightmare future America. The year is 2025 and reality TV has grown to the point where people are willing to wager their lives for a chance at a billion-dollar jackpot. Ben Richards is desperate—he needs money to treat his daughter’s illness. His last chance is entering a game show called The Running Man where the goal is to avoid capture by Hunters who are employed to kill him. Surviving this month-long chase is another issue when everyone else on the planet is watching—and willing to turn him in for the reward.

With an introduction by Stephen King on “The Importance of Being Bachman.”

Length: 260 pages

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

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Product Details

File Size: 2813 KB
Print Length: 260 pages
Publisher: Scribner (January 1, 2016)
Publication Date: January 1, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B018ER7JWW
Text-to-Speech: Not enabled

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Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,844 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #342 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Suspense > Horror
- #346 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Movie Tie-Ins
- #1363 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > TV, Movie, Video Game Adaptations

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Customer Reviews

343

4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		52%
4 star		33%
3 star		11%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 106 people found the following review helpful

You can run but you can't hide.

By bonsai chicken on November 15, 2003

Format: Mass Market Paperback

It is the year 2025, TV is truly the opiate of the people, and society is divided sharply between the haves and the have-nots. Ben Richards' family is in the latter group. He's been unfairly blacklisted and his wife has had to resort to hooking to pay the bills. Meanwhile, his baby daughter lies ill with the flu - perfectly treatable if only they could afford it. Desperate and at the end of his rope, Richards opts to participate in a game show called "The Running Man." He is to become the quarry in a deadly hunt that will last no more than thirty days. For each day he successfully evades his pursuers, his family earns a large sum of money.
No one has ever lasted more than eight days.
The games network, of course, hardly plays fair. The rules require Ben to periodically mail in videos, thereby running the risk of giving his location away. And rewards are given for any information leading to his apprehension, so Richards is also playing against a bored and bloodthirsty public -- in other words, everyone. The ongoing hunt is very suspenseful, but it's when Richards finally confronts his true nemesis that things get really interesting.
As I was reading I couldn't help thinking that this story was ready-made for film. It moves along at a rapid pace, especially once the game is underway. It's not simplistic, but neither is it complicated enough that it should require much tampering. (I've not yet seen the movie, but from what I have heard they somehow dropped the ball. Too bad.)
The concept of reality TV probably seemed outrageous or at least far-fetched in 1982, when The Running Man first appeared. Now it seems disturbingly prescient. Though the book belongs in the science fiction genre, it is more frightening than many of his horror stories.Read more ›

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143 of 149 people found the following review helpful

Watch out for the spolier in "The Importance of Being Bachman" intro

By Amazon Customer on August 27, 2009

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

I am only leaving this review for one purpose, to warn you about a spoiler in the intro. Don't worry I am not going to spoil it for you to. In the intro by King called The Importance of Being Bachman, he quite literally tells you the ending. It took a lot of the fun out of the book, and I just wanted to let others know that the spoiler was in there.

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94 of 103 people found the following review helpful

WARNING

By Jo Garcia on July 5, 2010

Format: Mass Market Paperback

So this would have been the first Stephen King book I read cover to cover. I was REALLY excited with the story line and could not wait to start reading it. The mistake I made and am warning you about is that during the introduction "The Importance of Being Bachman" King gives away the ending!!! Not just a "Oh, and then something negative happens" but "Blah, blah, and then he blah blah" specifically. If you want to enjoy the book (as I am CERTAIN I would have) DO NOT READ THE INTRODUCTION!!!!

Who does that?? Yes, I get it, it has been republished so you want to add a note, but for those who would have picked up the book for the first time (never had seen the movie either so I don't know if it tells the true ending) the book has been ruined!!!. . . I always pictured Stephen King as a smart man. . . WRONG!

So please! Add a HUGE SPOILER warning before you give the ending of a book before the story even starts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

THRILLING, FAST-PACED AND HIGHLY ENJOYABLE READING

By A. Proctor alp7708@aol.com on July 8, 1999

Format: Mass Market Paperback

If you have ever wanted to read a book purely for the sake of enjoyment, then "The Running Man" is definately for you. Written by King in his early days, this work displays all of the author's talents outside of those involving horror to create a story that is impossible to put down, and prone to numerous re-readings, especially because of its size (just over 200 pp). Just to warn you, this book has NOTHING to do with the motion picture that starred good 'ol Arnold quite a few years back. If the movie did have anything to do with this book,...well, let's just say that it would have been much, much better. The story revolves around one of King's simplest but best literaty characters, Ben Richards, who exists in a futuristic world of disease, capitalism and the all-important "free-vee" that has brainwashed the planet and caused massive seperation in the classes. In order to save his wife and young daughter from a terrible fate, Richards enters the free-vee's most popular game-show, The Running Man, where he voluntarily becomes the most wanted man on earth in order to survive 30 days and receive his billion dollar prize. ANYBODY is capable of turing him in, and trust me, this element alone adds to the story in such a way that causes the pace becomes frantic and the excitement to reach a fever-pitch numerous times throughout the story. Whether or not you a King fan, this book is a DEFINATE MUST-READ. If you want to read a book for yourself and just for kicks, than look no further. Read "The Running Man!"

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

An excellent thriller!!!

By Erico on July 10, 2006

Format: Mass Market Paperback

It's 2025. The world's poor live in abject poverty while the rich live in highrises ignoring the starving masses grovelling around them. Dissent is repressed by heavy handed police, and the ironically named Free Vee (the TV went out of style years ago) with its sadistic game shows. These macabre shows - with names like 'Fun Guns' and 'Dig Your Own Grave' - tempt desperate slum dwellers with quick cash but in order to obtain the prize money the contestants must put their body and pride on the line for the enjoyment of the millions of viewers across the world. One man, Ben Richards, driven by the inability to provide for his wife and influenza stricken daughter, decides to join the hundreds of impoverished who line up before the enourmous Games Building for a chance to win the elusive prizes. Richards however is different from the average drug addict or street bum who tries out for the games. He's fit and smart - exceptionally smart. So intelligent that he's picked for the most grueling show of all: 'The Running Man'. A game where the player must try to stay free as long as he can as he tries to hide from the rest of America and a group of elite special forces called the Hunters. If the contestant is caught before thirty days (an impossible goal) the game is over and the contestant killed.

I immiediatly began to enjoy the main character, Ben Richards from the very start. King creates a typical outcast of society, and rebel of authority but then adds a more sensitive side to the character. Balancing Richards' scathing wit with his powerful love for his family the author makes Richards both intensly charismatic and convincing. Defintely one of my favourite literary characters ever. However King doesn't stop there.Read more ›

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See all 343 customer reviews (newest first)

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Not what I expected

This book was great! I loved Ben Richards. He is an awesome character. The writing was solid (of course) and the plot moved very quickly. I definitely recommend this book. Read more

Published 10 days ago by Lydia M

A must read for Stephen King fans

Very good book by Stephen King. Having seen the movie numerous times, the book wasn't what I expected. Dark and gritty, with snippets of humor and plenty of twists. Recommended!

Published 19 days ago by C. Driskell

Easy, breezy dystopian thriller

Well that was depressing. But exciting all the same.

This book is short and doesn't waste time. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Jesse

Okay for reading on a plane

I really enjoyed the campy action-packed film version of this story with Arnold, but the book, while okay, just wasn't up to the same level for me. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Frank Mundo

Worth the Read

This book... Honestly, I am extremely happy I picked up this book. I had just gotten out of reading a pretty bad book and needed something that would bring me back into my... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Kim Barletter

Steven King , the master .

Steven King , Need I say more ?

Published 2 months ago by Cavalry scout

I like all of Stephen kings books

I like all of Stephen kings books,although I've read this book before and liked it very much I've purchased audio and its even better.

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Great book, so different from the movie that it definitely merits a read from fans.

Published 2 months ago by Hendrik Sorensen

Five Stars

A great story !

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Visa

Scary comparison to our times

A classic. The movie is far more exciting but the book bestows a feeling of endless desperation with many current comparisons with what is happening in our own times.

Published 2 months ago by Matthew

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