The Running Man
About this book
The Running Man is a dystopian thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the omnibus The Bachman Books. The novel is set in a dystopian United States during the year 2025, in which the nation's economy is in ruins and world violence is rising. The story follows protagonist Ben Richards as he participates in the reality show The Running Man in which contestants, allowed to go anywhere in the world, are chased by the general public, who get a huge bounty if they kill him. The book has a total of 101 chapters, laid out in a "countdown" format. The first is titled "Minus 100 and Counting ..." with the numbers decreasing, ending with the last chapter called "Minus 000 and Counting" (or, in some versions, simply "000"). ---------- Also contained in: - [The Bachman Books][2] - The Bachman Books [1]: https://stephenking.com/library/bachman_novel/running_man_the.html [2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL81591W/The_Bachman_Books_(Rage_The_Long_Walk_Roadwork_The_Running_Man)
Reader Profile
3.9/5 · 180207 readers · 251 pages · ≈ 4 h 39 m · Moderate
How long does it take to read The Running Man?
About ≈ 4 h 39 m — 251 pages, assuming roughly 250 words per page at 225 words per minute.
How many pages is The Running Man?
251 pages in its most-read edition.
What genre is The Running Man?
It sits on the Horror, Science Fiction, Adventure shelves.
Has The Running Man been made into a movie or TV show?
Yes — screen adaptations include The Running Man (2025).
Is The Running Man in the public domain?
No — it is still under copyright.
Who are the main characters in The Running Man?
The main characters include Rolf, Dickie, Frankie.
Where does The Running Man take place?
It is set in United States, New York City, Boston during 2025.
Who wrote The Running Man?
Stephen King.