Logan's Run - the original novel

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Today's element of recovered childhood is "Logan's Run" - a science fiction novel I read mostly in time spent riding Bob Farmer's school bus #23 in about 1977. It is rare that I read a book more than once, but I am sure I've read this one at least three times.

This novel dates from 1967, during war protest/youth movement days. The premise is this: What if "Never trust anyone over 30" were carried to the nth degree, to the point that, in exchange for a life of luxury, hedonism and leisure, all citizens were required to turn themselves in for "sleep" (read as "dirt nap") at the age of 21? Logan is a DS (Deep Sleep) agent, a police officer whose job it is to enforce the age limit using a pistol which fires a very unique assortment of ammunition.

(If you've only seen the movie and are saying to yourself, "That's not how I remember it," you're probably remembering right, as the movie diverged considerably from the novel. The subsequent TV series strayed even farther from the source novel.)

Authors are William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Nolan (imdb.com, wikipedia) has been prolific in the science fiction and horror literary genres and has several TV and movie screenplays to his credit, including a "Logan's Run" television series pilot. Nolan also produced two "Logan" sequel novels written without Johnson. Johnson's (imdb.com, wikipedia) credits seem to lie mostly in short stories and television, and he may be best known as writer of the debut episode of "Star Trek," titled "The Man Trap," which aired on Sept. 8, 1966. He also contributed eight "Twilight Zone" episodes. As of this writing both authors are still living and have surpassed their 80th birthdays.

I suspect this novel might have faded into obscurity had it not been rendered as a movie in 1976 and a perhaps mercifully short-lived TV series in 1977. I may address both of these in future posts. My copy of the book pictured here features art from the 1976 movie poster with likenesses of Michael York and Jenny Agutter as Logan and Jessica. This rather rare cover features tattered costumes reflective of the end of the movie, after the heroes had spent several days in the hostile land outside the city of domes. Another, more commonly-seen cover showed them in "pristine" costumes.

The novel is much more expansive in setting than the movie, taking place in multiple cities and in the wilderness, and culminates in a space launch, unlike the movie which is set only in the single, nameless domed city and in the ruins of Washington DC. I don't want to give away much about the book since it is still worth a read whether or not you've seen the movie.

There has been an imdb.com entry for a movie remake of "Logan's Run" for several years. The project was once slated to star Leonardo DiCaprio. As of this writing, the entry lists a 2010 release date, but no cast is listed. The lack of a final cast in late 2009 makes it seem very unlikely we'll see a movie in '10. If anything, it seems this project has taken steps backward from actual production and release, though a truer cinematic representation of this book would be interesting.