I wanted to kick start this year with a Stephen King book. Recently I came to know that Richard Bachman was a pseudonym for Stephen King. My last read of his was Thinner which was written under the same name. This seemed to be a dystopian story and I wanted to read such a setting from the master crafter himself.
The story is set in the dystopian future (2025)!. The Network controls everything in this world splitting them into two different worlds as in any dystopian setting. Ben Richards who is a part of the downtrodden part of this setting is jobless and penniless. He has a daughter who has a bad bout of pneumonia and he is not able to get her to a proper doctor. Ben decides to enter one of the Free Vee reality shows. He goes to auditions and is selected for one of the most brutal shows 'The Running Man'. He can win big money or die trying. The book follows Ben Richards as he tries to stay alive and play the game forward while fighting the Network.
The book is a fast-paced one that could be read in a day. Stephen King does a good job of pumping us with adrenaline throughout the read. The way the world is discriminated is well written with references from high rises, plush hotels and jets to sewers, run-down hotels and deserted malls. Pollution is an underlying factor that delineates the people in this book and he shows how much the society has stooped down or rather Network had held people in their make-believe world. The few main characters present in the book have their own paths cut out and they were quite interestingly written. The fast-paced narration makes sure that we run with 'The Running Man' till the end. The author succeeds in maintaining the emotions high throughout the story. Ben is high on emotions and we can sync with his emotions throughout. There was a twist at the end but then it was executed satisfactorily. The interactions between Ben and the lady he kidnapped were interestingly brought out. This gives a chance for the people from the brighter side of the world to actually view the world of the downtrodden. One could relate to the pollution, the high-mindedness of certain people and reality shows that feed on human emotions of the future (as per the story) which was interestingly the present year.
In short, an interesting and fast-paced dystopian story. However, the reader succeeds in connecting emotionally despite the pacing. There is supposedly an old movie starring Arnold based on this movie. Not sure how effective the movie is though.
For other reviews of Stephen King books, check out the below links.
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