Goodreads Review: The Running Man

The Running Man by Richard Bachman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow. That ending. I was all set to give this book two stars, but that ending sure was dynamo. It really makes up for a lot of the other boring parts (I'll get to those in a few).

First off, if you enjoy the movie, The Running Man, then you will likely be very disappointed with this book, because it's nothing like it. Like, not at all. That whole Smash TV, this-is-a-game-show-where-you-run-and-kill-for-your-life (And prizes!) aspect is all but absent here. Instead, what we get is a really elaborate, cross-country game of manhunt, where you are literally running for your life so as not to be murdered. Honestly, I preferred the game show concept in the movie more and was definitely hoping for something like that here. I mean, death games, Stephen Ki--er, I mean Richard Bachman. Where could you go wrong? But a lot of the book is straight up boring and missing the cheesy corn of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.

I know most people prefer the book to the film, but the potential of a murder game show could have made for an exceptional book if done right. Unfortunately (Or fortunately for those who prefer the book), there is no murder game show. Not really, anyway. And that leads to some really slow scenes that would have probably been handled better had Stephen Ki--sorry again. I mean, Richard Bachman, been more experienced as a writer. Instead, we get a book with loads of potential and a thrilling conclusion. But the rest of book, short as it is, is a bit of a slog.

A decent read, but don't expect the movie. It's nowhere to be found here.

View all my reviews