Customer Reviews

Logan's Run

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

You're probably way too familiar with the 1976 epic Sci Fi movie LOGAN'S RUN. Here is the original novel that inspired the book, but it's hardly recognizable as anything other than a similar theme. Yes, there is Logan and Jessica running from the Sandman named Francis in a post-apocalyptic world where life is ended when youth disappears. But here life ends at 21! There are no domed cities, the entire planet is controlled by the megacomputer, and Logan and Jessica encounter far more than they ever did in the movie. They fight for their lives in the Arctic, get caught in a Civil War recreation with androids, and face the wild jungle of Washington DC where lions and snakes prowl the capital city. SANCTUARY is very real, and society is fraying apart from youth tyranny. The book was an obvious reaction to the youth movement and flower power of the 60s. "Don't trust anyone over 30!" taken to the extreme. It's an easy read, and lots of fun! There is talk in Hollywood of a remake of this, so better to read it now because there are rumblings that they want to stick closer to the novel. And why not? The novel spawned two sequels!

Logan's Run is one of my favorite novels from a standpoint of plotting, back story and general premise.For those unfamiliar with it, Logan's Run is about a society in the future where no one is allowed to live past the age of 21. A person's age is determined by the color of the small crystal flower in the palm of his/her right hand. When the crystal starts to blink from red to black, it means you have 24 hours to report to a Sleepshop for mandatory euthanasia. At the end of this grace period, your flower turns black, and you become quarry for the DS men, an elite squad of police whose sole purpose is to eliminate the fugitives, or "Runners" as they are called.As I mentioned before, the book is a crackerjack example of plotting, and can be read in an afternoon. What makes it special is how each of its plot points is included for thematic or symbolic reasons. In other words, each episode in the novel is included because it reflects on the society in which its characters live, which in turn is a comment on its general premise.The premise in question is that a society cannot sustain a culture without wisdom, experience, and tradition. Those things, it argues, come with age. When the novel was published back in 1967, it was seen by some as a finger in the eye of the emerging youth culture.Like all good speculative fiction, it takes current issues and extrapolates them to their extremes. I'm pleased to say that this aspect of Logan's run hasn't lost any of its bite. We continue to live in a society where youth is equated with beauty, where the old are locked away and forgotten, and by a media-driven feeding frenzy over all things materialistic and fashionable. "Be young, have fun, drink Pepsi", indeed... Logan's Run picked these as important thematic concerns. Sadly, they are still with us.Important to the novel is the concept of a gigantic computer web that regulates every aspect of people's lives. In the novel, it is slowly dying. Since nobody lives long enough to learn anything complex, nobody knows how to repair it, or even knows that anything is wrong with it at all. The overall implication, is that runners or no runners, whether Logan fails or succeeds in his quest, the society depicted in the novel is eventually going to fall, and fall hard, due to its built-in inability to sustain itself. Where the novel falls short is in its characterizations and in its dialogue, which feels like it could have used a rewrite or two. In my opinion, a second or third draft for dialogue could have played the characters more subtly and believably. Instead, characters say things in very flat, unconvincing ways (especially Logan and Jessica, in their first real conversation together)that do help move the action forward, but don't make them very believable people.Still, all quibbles aside, a ripping read, full of action, suspense, and intriguing ideas.

Ok...most people over 30 (ironically) have seen "Logan's Run", and basically know what it's about.

Now picture this...there are no domes, and the life expectancy of the citizens is 21. There is no carrousel, people just have to show up to the local 7-11 on the last day of their lives to die. Logan (3, not 5) visits a drug clinic (the opposite of what you're thinking of), a brothel made of glass, and a "fire gallery". To get the book started, Logan meets his contact at sort of a party for peeping toms.

Sound bizarre? You're right, it is kinda strange, and it reads like it was written over a weekend. But it's compelling enough to option a script, and you can imagine how many rewrites it suffered to get to the screen.

Keep running, Logan.

I've read the other reviews for this book and have to chime in. I've read this book about two dozen times over the years and it continues to be one of my favorites of all time.

The world of Logan's Run (the novel) is one in which the idea of a youth-centric culture exists to the point where growing old is outlawed. In fact, on your 21st birthday (Last Day) you must report to be put to 'sleep' (think Soylent Green). Those who want to live longer must 'run' away to a mythical place called Sanctuary, but are pursued by the police called Sandmen who put them to sleep (get it?), but using a special bullet called a 'homer' which burns out the victim's nervous system.

Contrary to others here, the reason that Logan runs is to give meaning to his existence. The youth culture is all about fun, sex, drugs, and the like, and dying at 21 leaves little time to accomplish anything. Logan, being a Sandman on Last Day, believes that if he finds the legendary Sanctuary and destroys it, he will be remembered forever in song (no kidding). The book covers Logan's 'Run' through the complex maze toward Sanctuary put up by the underground that does not agree with the youth culture and wants things back the way they were. By the end of the book, Logan agrees.

This book is fun, adventurous, lyrical, and shows a ton more promise and imagination than the movie of the same name, which borrows the most basic concepts from the book, and changes the fantastic journey that Logan goes through from staunch conformist to idealistic rebel with the lame idea that a computer controls the world.

Read this book. The good news is that they've been planning a remake more true to the novel for some time. Hopefully we'll see Logan do a better Run in the near future.

The future Earth Logan-3 lives in has decided to exercise population control, as perhaps Earth now might well consider before it comes to such drastic measures as the people of this book have come arrived at in the 23rd century.
The premise is, essentially, life is well provided for in the future, provided you die on your 21st birthday, (a big difference from the liberally apportioned life-hood in the film, where you can live to your 30th). The book, therefore, deals with some subjects the film cannot; namely, early teenage sexuality. 'Sandmen', of which Logan-3 is one, are policemen who enforce the rule that people depart on their 'lastday' should they choose to hang out longer. The crystal flower imprinted in everyone's palm shows their progression-blinking from red to black on 'lastday'.
Logan-3, (Logan-5 in the film version), is on his lastday, as is the woman whom he (eventually) falls in love with. She is the sister of his last kill as a Sandman. He decides to follow her around in an attempt to find 'santuary', where 'runners (people not prepared to die) can go and live longer. She wants to live longer, Logan pretends this is his purpose as well, but in truth wants to destroy 'sanctuary'. The book contains their adventures in search of Sanctuary, travelling all over the world on the short 'lastday' in a maze built by the enigmatic 'oldest man alive', 42 year old Ballard. Logan and his companion are relentlessly chased by Francis, another Sandman.
The book is essentially a pulp-styled invention that moves along in breakneck speed from scene-to-scene and place-to-place. It contains several good scenes that were mixed together to form the film. The action is very good, and the cliffhanger endings of each chapter make the reader want to continue reading. An enjoyable read I recommend.

In a world suffering heavily from overpopulation, "Sleep" has become the "solution." As soon as the age of 21 is reached, the good citizen is expected to accept suicide for the benefit of society. Those that don't are known as runners and are viciously hunted down and killed. Logan used to be one of the hunters. Now he is one of the hunted.

This book is a chilling look at the impact of overpopulation and way that will effect policies in the future. In a world where population numbers are spirling out of control, "Logan's Run" is a window into what our world might become. This book deserves a spot on the bookshelves of every SF fan and a place in the back of every mind as a firm warning of what the future could hold.

In Logan's Run, Nolan paints a picture of a world in which population pressures have resulted in a world where every individual is euthanized on his or her 21st birthday. People live shallow lives in which physical pleasure is the main guiding principle. The scenario is, as might be imagined, frightening. The book opens just before the 21st birthday of Logan, the protagonist, whose job up to this point has been to hunt down those who resist euthanasia. It follows his experience as the imminence of his death sets in and he decides to try to evade the system.
The premise of this book is a fascinating one, but where I think it falls short is in how convincing it manages to make the situation. Nolan's depiction of the start of the euthanasia system smacks of the ridiculous: a young man, a prophet figure of sorts, suggests the practice and then becomes the first volunteer, after which the rest of the world throws their lot in with him. It's never satisfactorily explained how humans came to live in a world where emotion and kinship have been replaced by cold pragmatism. At the same time, the story makes one think about social norms and the people we choose to follow, as well as wonder about the nature of a world in which people have no future to live for. This book is a quick read--I highly recommend it to anyone who finds the topic of interest.

This is the work that the movie/TV Series was made from. I am not sure how they did it from this work, but hey, the series was not all that bad, I suppose. The book though is one of those that will stick with you. It may not the best SiFi out there, but it certainly can be classified as a classic and it is more than worth the read. I must admit to have given this one a couple of reads over the years (the first was in 1980) and am still rather fascinated with the story (read other reviews for plot, etc.). If you like a good story, one that may, to some taste, be a bit over the top, then this one is for you. You certainly will not be injured in reading it and more that likely will be glad you to the afternoon it took you to do so.

I'm a fan of the whole "Logan Trilogy" and looked forward to this comic adaptation. Unfortunately, the Bluewater adaptation only collect issues 1-4 of their 6-issue mini-series! According to Bluewater, issues 5 & 6 are going to print soon, so why print this collection of the six issue mini-series before it's even complete? That's a shame, because I found this comic adaptation to be pretty faithful to the original novel, and not the cheesy-but-lovable 1976 MGM movie. If this book had all six issues reprinted, it'd probably get a four star rating from me!

The author was trying for fast-paced adventure here, I hope, and nothing else. Because that's what this book is. Actually, it moves so fast, it somehow gets a childish feel to it, as if a teenager wrote it. The lack of characterization is almost shocking considering how good the movie was. The book is just a rapid series of pointless and not very exciting adventures in which Logan meets a foe, defeats him, moves on, and so on and so on and so on. In all honesty, I have seldom been this disapponted in a book.