Both from the same author, although originally from a different name. Interestingly, this predates The Running Man and is itself an important precursor to the death-game genre. King was therefore developing these ideas across several works.
Book· 1979· Science Fiction
The Long Walk
by Stephen King
The Long Walk: 3 recorded works trace back to it, and it draws on 1 recorded source.
What The Long Walk influenced
Works that record this one as a source, with the evidence a contributor gave.
Takami has identified King's novel as his favorite Stephen King novel and said it influenced his depiction of the totalitarian government and its deadly competition.
government-sanctioned contests where contestants are forced to participate in life-or-death situations
What influenced The Long Walk
The works this one is recorded as drawing on.
The connection is mainly in the “human beings become prey in a controlled hunt” concept.
- Predator → prey: In The Most Dangerous Game, Zaroff hunts humans for sport. In The Long Walk, the walkers are effectively the prey of the regime: they are placed in a lethal competition where survival itself becomes the spectacle.
- Game with lethal rules: Both stories turn killing/survival into a structured game governed by rules rather than ordinary violence.
- Entertainment/sport: Zaroff treats the hunt as recreation. The Long Walk transforms that idea into a national spectacle, with spectators following the contestants.
- Psychological survival: Both ask what happens to ordinary people when survival becomes the central objective and other humans become obstacles or threats.