I loved the movie when I first saw Logan’s Run, I was too young to really understand what was going on, and while everyone my age was very excited over Farah Fawcett, this was my first introduction to Jenny Agutter, and I had one of my first crushes.

I’ve seen the film a number of times since then, but I never actually dug into the source material. So I put my library card to use and dug into the story that launched an iconic film, a short-lived television series, and a number of book sequels.

I was stunned to find it’s an incredibly short book, more of a novella, and that the film seemed to have more of a cohesive narrative than the book on which it was based. There are some big changes from book to screen, the age is changed from 21 to 30 for the film and carousel wasn’t even a thing in the book, people were simply expected to turn up when their palm crystal went black and surrender to Sleep.

Logan is there, Jessica is there, and they are pursued by Logan’s fellow sandman, Francis, but beyond a passing familiarity with one another, they are almost two separate beings, sharing a portion of DNA, enough to make them relatives, but maybe not directly.

In the novel, the story seems to pinball from short vignette to vignette as Logan, with Jessica in tow, makes a run for the rumoured safe haven of Sanctuary, to continue living past their Last Day. As they run through cities, and jump on mazecars that take them to the ocean depths and frozen prisons the pair leap from action piece to chase, to fight, to all manner of physical abuse in an attempt to keep on living.

We are shown a world run by a computer that keeps its young citizens doped and sexed to the gills with no drive, no creativity and no desire to be anything more.

But there are those who are beginning to want more, perhaps to know the children they give birth to instead of leaving them to robotic governesses, to learn and age, to discover more about themselves and the world.

There are a couple of fun twists that aren’t in the film, the biggest centring around Francis, but for the most part, there’s nothing really to sink your teeth into, nothing is really explored or expounded upon. The little glimpses of other peoples, beliefs, and behaviours are interesting but none of them are given any payoff and we are left to wonder about social structures, enforcement, and government, and why so many people seem to be content not only with a 21-year life span but to have no real responsibility or drive to be more.

Logan’s world is dying and only those who are sinking Sanctuary really seem to care, but even they are acting from a selfish drive, to live and not go quietly into that dark night. It was a quick and fascinating read, but honestly, I prefer the film.

There wasn’t enough substance in the novel for me. It should have been expanded a lot more. I get that it’s all supposed to take place within a 24-hour period, but after being such a fan of the film, I think I was hoping and expecting more.