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ellereadsalottt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Stephen King not mention breasts challenge 😮💨
Also, you can make your protagonist anything, so why make him racist and misogynist and fatphobic instead of just revolutionary? This man is so awful when the impact of the story could have been so so strong with a more moral protagonist.
Having said that, this was great. The story was so interesting. I loved the premise and a lot of the execution. I loved the glimpses at the dystopian world the working classes live in and those in the more polluted cities. I loved the reality tv element. I loved the adventure and the fight back from the working class. I just wish the main character wasn’t painful to be in the head of… and that it didn’t descent into a film sequence right at the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Violence
lindsaybethlyons's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Appreciated the dystopia and general plot. Did not appreciate all of the racist language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, and Car accident
Minor: Homophobia and Rape
tara_siobhan's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
isabelleceline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
sighclopss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Quick read 3.5⭐
This concept again plays on (as many of Kings works do) the age old "humans are the real monsters" trope. In a totalitarian future, society is kept in check with entertainment of human suffering (not much of a difference from what the 2020's of our current lives have to offer.) I think there's lots of good concepts in this one, and considering it was written over 40 years ago it can be eerie what elements have been prophesied in a way.
In terms of writing, it's not as waffle-ly as some of King's other works, this one definitely made a good go at an "action" genre, while still having the in-depth complex character thought that I enjoy about King's books.
This concept again plays on (as many of Kings works do) the age old "humans are the real monsters" trope. In a totalitarian future, society is kept in check with entertainment of human suffering (not much of a difference from what the 2020's of our current lives have to offer.) I think there's lots of good concepts in this one, and considering it was written over 40 years ago it can be eerie what elements have been prophesied in a way.
In terms of writing, it's not as waffle-ly as some of King's other works, this one definitely made a good go at an "action" genre, while still having the in-depth complex character thought that I enjoy about King's books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury
voicenextdoor's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
voxlunae's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I've nearly read all of King's books, and I committed this year to finishing the ones I haven't gotten to yet. The problem is, the ones I haven't gotten to are pretty much all of the ones that are supposed bad to middling, including the Bachmann books and some of the bad '80s years. The Running Man wasn't terrible, but it's a rough hang, to be sure. The premise is interesting, and the world-building is effective, but it paints a picture of such a dreary and dismal world, where pretty much everyone is deplorable and vile. The casual racism, sexism, classism, fatphobia, murder, etc. just make this a really unpleasant journey, despite the propulsive plot and the messaging at its core.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia
dibiz116's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this book, but I feel like there are just so much better dystopian reality tv books out there (including King/Bachman's other book The Long Walk). I imagine this was fairly original in its year of publication (1999) but even aside from that I don't feel like this had the depth of character that Stephen King is known for and that I have grown to love so much. I know the Bachman books tend to be much faster paced and less suspenseful, but this didn't accomplish the balance the other Bachman books do (the adrenaline packed character study that is Roadwork will forever be one of my favorite books so it's not an issue with King's style when writing as Bachman). It honestly feels like he tried to make something too fast paced for his own writing style and ended up with a story that fell flat. It didn't help that the attempted social commentary didn't make sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Violence
timmeh's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nadia's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I spent a lot of this book bored and not caring about the main character at all...I still didn't really care about him come the end but I was more intrigued and curious to see how it all unfolded!
Also, obviously not a fan of the racial slurs used at all!
Also, obviously not a fan of the racial slurs used at all!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia