Book Review | ‘The Running Man’ by Stephen King

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Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ben Richards, book review, Clint Eastwood, dystopian, Hunger Games, Running Man, stephen king

The Running Man by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“He understood well enough how a man with a choice between pride and responsibility will almost always choose pride–if responsibility robs him of his manhood.”

I was only looking for an entertaining read, something I would’t have to take too seriously and one that I knew would take me away from the copious amounts of marking and grading I had to do at the time.

Let’s put it this way; I got more than I bargained for! This book is all the above and then some. I first met with ‘The Running Man’ in the 1980’s film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger  At the time it felt very much like an ultra-futuristic, distant, dystopian nightmare that thrilled a lot of people with its American take on Orwellian themes.

I am not a big Stephen King fan; at the best of times I have lukewarm respect for his innovative imagery and ability to keep his audience entertained and slightly crapping themselves in certain creepy scenarios. However, I think I have become something of a convert with ‘The Running Man’. Nowadays I feel like I’m a more mature reader, and I can definitely appreciate his scary powers of second-guessing what the near future holds for mankind; which this piece of work definitely showcases.

For anyone who like me, was sitting on a fence in regards to King’s quality as a novelist is at an advantage. If you have never watched the film, or heard about the book then you are in luck, reading ‘The Running Man’ will give you a very clear answer.

Personally, I read this from a post 9/11 perspective. The novel depicts a corrupted America, whose political and social infrastructure rests on rotten foundations. More sinister tones of ‘The Hunger Games‘ prevail across the continent, where the poor are nothing but forgettable pawns that can be used to entertain the rich.

“In the year 2025, the best men don’t run for president, they run for their
lives. . .”

As I said before, the novel contains many parallels to that dark period in American history. It reflects the current culture of the corrupted ‘American Dream’, which Chuck Palahnuik very aptly describes as being able to “make your life into something you can sell.” And what is ‘The Running Man’ if not the reality show turned nightmare? King takes the capitalist, materialistic, consumerist attitude of America and shows us what it can turn into.

The writing is addictive and the pace is wonderfully set. King shows off all his skills as the reader is roped into following Ben Richards; who reads like a ‘last of his kind’ type of Clint Eastwood character fighting to save his baby girl who is slowly wasting away in front of his eyes. As a last resort, he enters the ‘Games’; as this is the only way he will ever find the money to save his family from poverty. What ensues is a true roller-coaster account of his fight to survive the ‘Games’ and save his family.

Even though this sounds like a plot that has been done to death; I recommend everybody give it a try. You will be surprised how fresh and original King’s version of events will be.

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Memorable Quote | ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury

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dystopian, fahrenheit 451, quotes, ray bradbury

Do you know that books smell like nutmeg or some spice from a foreign land? I loved to smell them when I was a boy. Lord, there were a lot of lovely books once, before we let them go.

I love finding quotes like this. Bradbury has summed up beautifully that evasive smell of books that we all love so much. Anyone know of any parfumier’s who have succeeded in bottling it?

Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. There is nothing magical in them at all. The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.

Book Review | ‘2BR02B’ by Kurt Vonnegut

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2br02b, book review, Dan Wakefield, dystopian, kurt vonnegut, librivox, New York, science fiction, short story, Slaughterhouse-Five

2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Your city thanks you; your country thanks you; your planet thanks you. But the deepest thanks of all is from future generations.”

In the not so distant future, immortality has become a reality. The proverbial fount of youth has been discovered (or rather ‘engineered’) by scientists. In a world where the average lifespan of a human is approx. 140 years, natural death is rare and far between (no terrible diseases, no aging). In fact, the only way people ever actually ‘die’, is through choice. In a world where youth is on tap, you’d think it would be a paradise, but not so. In a little over 16 pages, Vonnegut shows us the stark realities of over-population and what happens when mere mortals send the grim reaper on a semi-permanent sabbatical. Told from Vonneguts’ trademark humourous perspective, we are taken straight to a New York maternity clinic and shown the absurd consequences of playing god.

The dilemma we are presented with is that of an expectant father. As his wife is set to give birth to not one, but three babies, he begins to have very dark thoughts. In a society where life has become almost unlimited, the law regulates childbirth with an iron fist. Since ‘deaths’ are on a volunteer basis, birth-control has taken on a whole new dimension. The tragi-comedy here is whether our poor protagonist can find three people ‘willing’ to commit state-endorsed suicide so that his children can be born.

This extremely short story is well-written and best enjoyed either as an audio file or in e-book form. I found this gem through the librivox archives, and since listening to it have realised that it is available in many different formats. I really enjoyed this story, as it displays Vonnegut’s narrative strengths beautifully. The ending was particularly good, very punchy and to the point (as all v. short stories should be in my opinion).

This is short fiction at it’s best and no one should pass up the opportunity to experience it. The story only takes a few minutes to get through, but contains a powerful message that marries the present culture of youth-obsessed ‘body-beautiful’ with China’s own strict ‘birth-control’ regime. It seems the seeds of such a scenario already exist in world society, and that my friend, is scary stuff indeed.
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Book Review | ‘Cat’s Cradle’ by Kurt Vonnegut

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bokononism, cats cradle, dystopian, humour, kurt vonnegut, l ron hubbard, religion, science fiction, scientology

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

So you thought Scientology was wacky? Then you obviously haven’t read ‘Cat’s Cradle’. Forget Hubbards’ many layered, ‘brownie point’ rank system to reach the exalted state of ‘Xenu’; you need

‘Bokononism’. It’s not only completely rubbish and written by a mad man, but also insanely fun to implement. OK, I know it’s not ‘real’, but I really enjoyed the little sing-song calypso psalms that pepper the story every now and then.

‘Cat’s Cradle’ is, when all’s said and done, dystopian fiction. It looks at the delicate balance of the ecosystem, and how one crazy idea in the head of a crazy and very capable person can in effect, completely destroy life as we know it. Written in the first person, the story involves a writer obsessed with the scientist Hoenikker, the supposed ‘father’ of the atomic bomb and his attempts at writing a thesis around the day the bomb went off. During his research he gets to meet Hoenikkers weird and defective offspring, not to mention his work colleagues who give him insight into the frightening genius of the man.

What is evident is that a) Hoenikker’s scientific intelligence was off the scale, but b) had severe emotional lacks which means that c) he approached his work with all the curiosity of a child, but none of the responsibility of an adult. This revelation sends huge shock waves through our researcher, especially when he realises that the last project the good doctor was working on, was ‘Ice 9’; a sliver of which has the capacity to turn every water particle into ice. Some killing machine right? And where did the idea come from? A random crazy general from the American War Department who is constantly complaining how the Marines are fed up of working in all that mud all the time.

But the doctor died before it was ever realised, so we can breathe a sigh of relief, right? Right? No, we can’t. The nightmare scenario begins to unfold, as our poor researcher boards an airplane for the island of San Lorenzo which consequently will also be the very place where this strangest of Armageddon’s take place.

Dystopian fiction is usually quite depressing and grey, but Vonnegut changes all that. ‘Cat’s Cradle’ is in essence about a very upsetting scenario which despite all the light-hearted humour, still seems like it COULD happen in reality. But it is the humour that saves it from being just another ‘Brave New World’. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but makes very accurate observations about society and the ludicrous things we use science for. Vonnegut doesn’t beat you over the head with his message about weapons of mass destruction, but leaves a margin of seriousness within all the silliness for you to chew on.

This is an intellectual novel that is very easy to get into that also resonates deeply with current issues of climate change, war and destruction. Read this. You won’t regret it.

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Teaser Tuesday | Androgyny Is Not An Option: ‘The Passion of New Eve’

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angela carter, dystopian, meme, science fiction, teaser tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The quote for today’s Teaser Tuesday comes from Angela Carter’s ‘The Passion of New Eve’. At first it didn’t really notice it, but the title might be a play on ‘The Passion of the Christ’. I get the feeling I’ll be coming across a lot of biblical references on creation and the fall. 

The book itself is set in the near future between London and America. With dystopian landscapes galore, it really is a feast for the senses. This is the story of one man’s (Evelyn) journey through feminine sexuality. Without giving too much away, it’s an extraordinary story about sex-change, feminine revenge and weird woman cult’s. It’s a fantasy/ science-fiction/ psychological thriller type of book, which explores the mythologies built-up around gender roles. Even though I’m still at the beginning, I’m already hooked.

“I would go to the desert, to the waste heart of that vast country, the desert on which they turned their backs for fear it would remind them of emptiness – the desert, the arid zone, there to find, chimera of chimeras, there, in the ocean of sand, among bleached rocks of the untenanted part of the world, I thought I might find that most elusive of chimeras, myself.

And so, in the end, I did, although this self was a perfect stranger to me.”

Carter’s work is highly feminist and political in it’s approach to gender roles. When Evelyn is captured by a cult  and surgically changed into a woman (Eve), he begins to experience the inequalities facing the fairer sex. This is a very dark tale of transgression, but incredibly fascinating at the same time. I agree when they say that Angela Carter is the best woman writer of her time. ‘The Passion of New Eve’ is a rare post-feminist gem that should be read by all dystopian lovers.