The Running Man
from No. 1 bestseller Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, and a major film
Published on 23. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-3997-5567-2 (ISBN)
Description
In the reality TV show The Running Man, the only objective is to stay alive.
This 'slam-bang action suspense' (Vulture) from Stephen King is also a major motion picture.
It's not just a game when you're running for your life . . .
Ben Richards is a desperate man. He has no job and no money, and his young daughter urgently needs medical attention.
Out of options, he signs up for The Running Man: an ultraviolent reality television competition where the stakes could not be higher. Ben must stay alive for thirty days while an elite strike force, trained to kill, hunts for him. He will win a billion dollars if he can survive for a month.
So far, no one has lasted longer than eight days. Can Ben Richards win this ultimate game of life and death?
Publisher's note: Also available in the collection The Bachman Books.
'This dystopian tale has real pathos, and a point' Guardian
'America's greatest living novelist' Lee Child
This 'slam-bang action suspense' (Vulture) from Stephen King is also a major motion picture.
It's not just a game when you're running for your life . . .
Ben Richards is a desperate man. He has no job and no money, and his young daughter urgently needs medical attention.
Out of options, he signs up for The Running Man: an ultraviolent reality television competition where the stakes could not be higher. Ben must stay alive for thirty days while an elite strike force, trained to kill, hunts for him. He will win a billion dollars if he can survive for a month.
So far, no one has lasted longer than eight days. Can Ben Richards win this ultimate game of life and death?
Publisher's note: Also available in the collection The Bachman Books.
'This dystopian tale has real pathos, and a point' Guardian
'America's greatest living novelist' Lee Child
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
N/A
Dimensions
Height: 193 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
178 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3997-5567-2 (9781399755672)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Richard Bachman | Stephen King
The Running Man
from No. 1 bestseller Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman, and a major film
E-Book
06/2007
Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
€5.99
Available for download
Persons
STEPHEN KING is the author of more than seventy books, all of them worldwide bestsellers.
During the years 1966-1973, just before he published the seminal masterpiece Carrie, Stephen King wrote under two names. Under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, King wrote horror stories for magazines, followed by a series of novels, first published in the early 80s in the collection The Bachman Books. It was on publication of his next novel Thinner that people realised the author was in fact Stephen King.
King's recent bestsellers include Holly, You Like It Darker and Never Flinch. Many of his titles are the basis for major motion pictures, TV series and streamed events, including IT, The Institute, The Life of Chuck and The Shawshank Redemption, which is IMDb's top-rated movie of all time.
King is the recipient of The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence 2022, the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
During the years 1966-1973, just before he published the seminal masterpiece Carrie, Stephen King wrote under two names. Under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, King wrote horror stories for magazines, followed by a series of novels, first published in the early 80s in the collection The Bachman Books. It was on publication of his next novel Thinner that people realised the author was in fact Stephen King.
King's recent bestsellers include Holly, You Like It Darker and Never Flinch. Many of his titles are the basis for major motion pictures, TV series and streamed events, including IT, The Institute, The Life of Chuck and The Shawshank Redemption, which is IMDb's top-rated movie of all time.
King is the recipient of The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence 2022, the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.