Book Review: Logan's Run (William F Nolan and George Clayton Johnson)

The Logan's Run film has been a seminal staple of sci-fi cinema my whole life. It's a film that presents its unique premise with plenty of flair and adventure. It seemed essential that I had to read the original book to see where this marvelous movie came from, and how it compared.

The book is as short, breezy, and pulpy as they come. It wastes no time in establishing the funky world Logan 5 lives in, and the madcap quest he embarks on. It's a sprawling adventure that goes all over the place, from one perilous situation to another. There are definitely unique ideas and vivid settings to behold, and it is quite a wonderful sci-fi adventure at times.

Unfortunately, I did find some things to be rather wonky. Strange as it may seem, I thought the plot of the movie adaptation was handled better - it made more sense to me that Logan would be put on a mission, rather than how it is in the book, where on his very last day of living he decides to try and find Sanctuary on his own initiative. Mort importantly, the events of the book are so tightly-packed, it's almost dizzying. Logan goes from one city to another, through canyons and glaciers, confronting Sandmen and killer robots and a crazy nursery and everything. Little time is spent in between the peril to settle down and get to know the characters and their world (world-building is effectively shown, but it still feels like a lot condensed into a very small space). In the end, the actual plot and sequence of events is very random.  It's exciting at times, but not always compelling.

As far as characters go, surprisingly little is said about them. Despite all his strength and determination, I didn't think Logan's motivation was that strong, and there wasn't much for the reader to relate to. Other characters are quite flat.

Ideas and the world-building are immense, but once again, I felt the movie handled them better. The book details multiple cities worldwide, rather than just one. I can't say I can comprehend how the world as a whole could condone and conform to the system that's described, but the whole idea of controlling population by limiting age is a naturally compelling one (even if limiting it to 21 seems rather young).

The prose is pretty trim, tight, and easy to read. It might even come off as rather brusque in style. Descriptions are minimal, and most details about the world and the premise behind it are more shown rather than told. Action is always moving, dialogue is not bad, and the book overall gets the job done fine and dandy.

It is a fairly enjoyable piece of pulp sci-fi, but I personally value the movie more - its plotting is hammered out better, and its pacing much more even, whereas the book is tight and nonstop. I feel it's a little too fast and loose, and it doesn't quite capitalize on characters, concepts, and plotting as well as the movie does. It's worthwhile for sci-fi fans, but this is one rare case where I believe the movie is better.

3.5/5