The Running Man

by Jon Ruddy

A journalist's country retreat turns into a nightmare confrontation with a walking corpse and a fanatical religious cult.

Genres: Horror

184 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Brad Middleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the cover declaring "demonic cultists torture and murder in their ruthless hunt for The Running Man" I expected, well, demonic cultists, torture, and murder. But this debut novel from renowned Maclean's journalist Jon Ruddy is less about those things, and more about the protagonist's interest in booze, sleeping around, and getting high. The story begins with a strange supernatural event that certainly piqued my interest, however it's slow-going after that with little action taking place until the final chapters. I couldn't help but wonder if the main character, freelance journalist Jake Willoughby, was based on Ruddy himself--and if he was under the influence of something when writing it. Here's hoping the next one in the queue, his haunted-house book The Rosedale Horror, is more entertaining with some actual horror elements!