Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Aaron's Book of the Week :: Logan's Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

Logan's RunThe Book of the Week is the first paperback printing of Logan's Run (1967), by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. This is in honor of Mr. Nolan, who was recently named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

Logan's Run was the basis for the 1976 film, which was weak overall but had some redeeming moments and remains a guilty pleasure for many of us, as well as a 1977-78 TV series, which was unremittingly awful. Logan's Run describes a future world in which young people have seized control and do not suffer anyone to live past the age of 21 (30 in the movie). A remake of Logan's Run is said to be in the works.

While Logan's Run and its sequels (which Nolan wrote alone) remain Nolan's best remembered works, in recent years he has had greater impact in the genre of horror than science fiction and has been named a "Living Legend" by the International Horror Guild. In addition to science fiction and horror, he has published mysteries, thrillers, westerns, mainstream fiction and non-fiction, and has also written many scripts for Hollywood.

William F. Nolan is the tenth author to be named Author Emeritus by the SFWA. The award is a bit of a backhanded compliment, essentially indicating that the author is very good but not quite good enough ever to be named Grand Master, SFWA's highest career honor. Many have denounced the Author Emeritus concept for this reason, including this year's Grand Master, Harlan Ellison. Starting next week, Book of the Week will pay tribute to the distinguished career of Harlan Ellison.

No comments: