He could see the skyscrapers rising into the cloud now, high and clean. The highest of all was the Network Games Building, one hundred stories, the top half buried in cloud and smog cover.
It’s the year 2025.
The rich got richer and the poor got poorer.
The world is now controlled by the Games Network.
Enter our hero, Ben Richards . In a desperate bid to save his daughter, he went to the Network Games Building to try his hand at the big money makers. Ben ends up being chosen for the biggest one of all: The Running Man.
The Games Network has many different types of competitions designed for the participants to risk life and limb in exchange for live-saving money. The Running Man is the most dangerous, but also has the biggest payoff. Participants go on the run for 30 days, getting 12 hours head start before the Hunters come after them.
The goal: survive, when the whole country is against you. The Hunters are coming, and they will kill you. Anyone you pass on the street will get a cash reward for turning you in, with a bonus if their tip gets you killed.
This book was a fantastic view on a dystopian future. I really enjoyed the way that Ben played his own game despite all the hardships and everyone working against him.
Bravo, Mr Bachman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, I know that Richard Bachman is Stephen King’s pen-name, but I like the idea of reviewing it on its own merit, rather than with the stigma of being written by the great Stephen King.
Bookshelf Adventures 