"The King of Pain": New novel by author Seth Kaufman explores the darkly comic world of reality TV

July 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Seth Kaufman’s innovative debut THE KING OF PAIN is a side-splitting look at reality TV, torture, and the uncomfortable consequences of combining the two. Rick Salter, our reviled protagonist, is the creative mastermind behind the hit reality TV show “The King of Pain.” Heeding the public’s lust for the extreme, the show’s premise is simple: the contestant who lasts longest wins. But it’s the torture-inspired challenges that the contestants must endure that necessitates Rick’s battle-ready legal team and taps into a dark corner of the cultural zeitgeist that no one is ready to face.

The morning after a catastrophic media appearance that may destroy the show’s future, Rick wakes up to find himself trapped under his massive home entertainment system with nothing to help him escape except a mysterious book called “A History of Prisons.” Through his hazy memory he tries to recall how he reached this point and how many boundaries—professional, ethical, and personal—he’s had to break to get there.  

One of the first novels to address the most popular TV format of our time, THE KING OF PAIN strips the glitzy Hollywood veneer from our obsession with reality TV to make us confront the primal motivations that fuel our entertainment and just how far our limits can be stretched. Wild and sharply intelligent, Seth Kaufman draws on his background in entertainment journalism to explore how our modern-day fascination with media can, quite literally, trap us.

For more information, visit www.thekingofpainbook.com.

For publicity inquiries or review copies:
Leigh Huffine
leigh@regal-literary.com
212.684.7900