@RUTGERS.ARPA:cobb%srvax.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (04/08/85)
From: cobb%srvax.DEC@decwrl.ARPA
I am going to review the early books by RICHARD BACHMAN (Stephen King) in
installments over the next week or two, first 'The Running Man'.
'The Running Man': This novel is set in the U.S. of the future, actually I
hope that the future turns out a little better than this. There is no social
security or food stamps in this future, the only way that people in need can
get help is to go on one of the government run television game shows. The TV
or (FREE VEE) is provided as a service by the government, TV sets are given to
everyone by the government. Most of the game shows are simply ways to make the
contestants look like fools, maybe to cause them a little pain. But, the most
popular show, (and the one with the biggest prizes) is called The Running Man.
In this show the contestant gets $100 for each hour he is not caught by the
game's hunters (caught means killed), the runner can go anywhere in the U.S.
that he wants. If the runner makes it 30 days, he gets a large fortune, of
course the record is 8 days, if the runner dies, the money he has earned goes
to his family. There are some rules that make this game harder to win, first,
the runner has to mail in two 15 minute video tapes every day to prove that he
is still alive (of course the hunters cannot use the mail to track him with,
the people who run the game promise the runners this !), second, these 15
minute tapes & still pictures of the runner are sent out every night on FreeVee
during the games time slot. There are rewards for information about the runner
available to the general public, and information leading to a kill merits a
large reward.
I liked the book, it does get slow in the last third of the story, but on
the whole it moved pretty well. The main character is one of the runners, he
has a sick daughter and he can't afford medical help. I don't want to say much
more about the plot, as I think any more would spoil the book for anyone who
does read it. As usual, King has done a fine job of character developement, and
the vivid descriptions of the U.S. of the future are quite easy to picture. I
would rate this book as a 7 (out of 10).
I got this book in an English edition which as of last week was still in
print. The other books were also available in the English editions, you might
try having your favorite book store order them from england for you. Since the
books are hard to find here, I don't think that they will stay in print in
England for very long.
KEN COBB