Misery vs The Running Man: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Horror, Thriller, Fiction
Misery
Novelist Paul Sheldon has plans to make the difficult transition from writing historical romances featuring heroine Misery Chastain to publishing literary fiction. Annie Wilkes, Sheldon's number one fan, rescues the…
1 film adaptation
vs
The Running Man
“She was squinting at the thermometer in the white light coming through the window.”
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…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Readers rate Misery highest: Misery 4.2 · The Running Man 3.9.
- The Running Man is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 7 for Misery.
- Misery has the widest readership — 855105 ratings behind its score.
- The Running Man runs the darker storyline; Misery stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Want a one-evening read?
The Running Man
≈ 4h vs 7h for Misery
Want the crowd-tested pick?
Misery
855105 ratings vs 180207 for The Running Man
Just want the better-reviewed one?
Misery
4.2 vs 3.9 from readers
In the mood for something dark?
The Running Man
a darker storyline than Misery
Want something lighter?
Misery
an easier tone than The Running Man
Scores by source
| Misery | The Running Man | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (855105) | 3.9 (180207) |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (1323) | 3.7 (495) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (3) | 4.0 (20) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1023) | 4.5 (386) |
Reception
| Misery | The Running Man | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 855105 | 180207 |
| Editions | 99 | 40 |
| Citations | — | 11 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 543737 | 115990 |
| Reading it now | 19231 | 3452 |
| Written reviews | 41012 | 10658 |
| Wikipedia attention | 14535 | 20741 |
| Pages | 384 | 251 |