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Stephen King is famous for his gut-wrenching and gripping books, but there was also a time when he published a series of short novels under a pseudonym. Those who have read the books say there’s a reason for that, with many arguing the storylines were too messed up even to fit King’s name.
Between 1977 and 2007, King released a total of seven novels under the name Richard Bachman: Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man, Thinner, The Regulators and Blaze. He later admitted he used the pseudonym to see if his books could succeed without his name.
One of the most talked-about titles from that collection has now been turned into a new film.
And those who’ve read the original story say it’s one of the most thrilling and disturbing King works ever written.
One person said: “It is by far a book with the most messed up ending ever written. I mean it’s so messed up that it had to be published under a pseudonym and not Stephen King’s name originally.”
Another added: “I read it about 25 years ago but the memory of this book… gosh! One of the most thrilling books I’ve ever read.”
A third wrote: “So much is happening during every second of this book that it’s completely impossible to put down and the ending really stays with you.”
Someone else commented: “The Bachman books are so messed up (in the best way possible) that Stephen King himself couldn’t put his real name on them.”
The book they are talking about is The Running Man. It was first released in 1982 and is set in a dystopian version of the United States in 2025, where the economy has collapsed and violence is rising.
It follows Ben Richards, an ordinary man who takes part in a brutal televised game show to win money for his sick daughter.
Contestants are given a head start before being hunted by a team of hitmen. Each hour they survive earns them cash, but nobody has ever made it to the end.
The more Richards fights back, the more he becomes a threat to the system itself.
The book ends with a shocking finale that has left a lasting impression on readers for more than 40 years.
A brand-new movie adaptation of The Running Man is now coming to UK cinemas, directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, William H. Macy and Emilia Jones. The film had its premiere in London on November 5 and was released in the UK on November 12.
King himself once described the book as the work of “a young man who was angry, energetic, and infatuated with the art and the craft of writing”.
