The Running Man (1982)

The Running Man (1982) by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman: Almost unrecognizable as the novel that spawned the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, The Running Man is a gritty, grimy, raw slice of action-dystopia. Poor people compete in a variety of televised game shows (my favourite is Swim With Crocodiles, actually). Our protagonist is a skinny malcontent. Definitely not Schwarzenegger material. He's way more interesting and heroic than that, hoping against hope that he can strike a heroic blow against the System. 

And thanks to one of the greatest coincidences in the history of Stephen King, maybe our Ben Richards, contestant on The Running Man, may get to be that heroic spanner in the works! A reality show in which contestants are hunted to death for the amusement of the masses seems more relevant today than in 1982. The ending is probably unfilmable. I'll leave you to discover why. Recommended.