Logan's Run

by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Hennepin County Library hardcover 148 pages

Published: 1967

Genre: Science Fiction

I had a vague notion of what this story was about since the movie premiered in 1976 and I remember seeing trailers for it. (I didn't go see it - I was only ten years old!) But my curiosity about it was piqued recently and I don't remember why, but I requested it from the library and read it.

I was not impressed. Some SciFi / dystopian fiction has a point to make and / or raises some deep questions. I remember the impending overpopulation crisis in my childhood, but this book just seemed like cheap thrills - sex and violence. Maybe I'm missing the point, but I watched a few YouTube clips last night and I definitely don't want to watch the movie. It looks worse than the book and most of the actors were over the age of 30!

In the book, you get a crystal implanted in your palm at birth. As it decays, it changes color. When you turn 21, it goes black and you need to "Sleep" (i.e. be put to death). If someone tries to avoid the mandated end of their life, they are called a "runner" and the DS tracks them and kills them. In the movie, the age limit is thirty, which is why I found it interesting that most of the principle actors (and mostly the men at that) were over that age.

The book caught my attention on page 70 with this description of Crazy Horse:

"And, with infinite slowness, the mammoth figure took its place against the Dakota sky: Tashunca-uitco. Crazy Horse. The ruthless Indian genius who directed the annihilation of Custer's Seventh on the Little Big Horn."

If I weren't so underwhelmed by this book, I'd include a picture of the entire page. I like the description of how Crazy Horse became a monument . . . started in 1948, it's still not done. The description of him as a "ruthless" genius who "directed the annihilation" of Custer is a far cry from Custer's Last Stand and what I've learned of Crazy Horse. Words have power . . .

 

This book was written in 1967 projecting the year 2116. From Wikipedia: "In the world of 2116, a person's maximum age is strictly legislated: 21 years, to the day. When people reach this Lastday they report to a Sleepshop in which they are willingly executed via a pleasure-inducing toxic gas."

 

The focus on pleasure and getting whatever you want until the end of your life at 21 just feels so incredibly empty and sad. My 2024 adult self kept saying, "the human brain isn't even fully developed until the mid-20s!" I also think it's interesting that the focus was pretty much just on America. Other cultures revere their elderly. You'd have a tough time trying to mandate killing everyone over the age of 21 across the entire globe.

 

I marked one other spot in the book. On pages 120-1, the authors write about the thirty-ninth amendment to the Constitution (Compulsory Birth Control Act). They also reference the year 2000 "as world population spiraled toward six billion" and "the Little War" which brought about this 21-year-old age restriction. SciFi is predicated upon what the author(s) think the future might bring. I understand that. But these specific pieces of info made me curious.

 

It's currently 2024. The Constitution has 27 amendments with the last being added in 1989. World population in 2000 was estimated at 6.1 billion (surpassing the authors' prediction a bit) and is currently estimated to be over eight billion.  

All in all, I just didn't like this book but now my curiosity is appeased!