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Logan #3
Logan's Search
Logan is running again, with the fate of the world in his hands. Earth is free and at peace at last. But not the Earth on which Logan stands. For him a nightmare has just begun...In the 23rd century on Parallel Earth your 21st Birthday is your Lastday. Parallel Earth is a dazzling paradise of pleasure and infinite joy. Here, in a terrifying computerized society controlled by ruthless police assassins, is the world that Logan once destroyed. Now his fate is to live that horror once again.
145 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
3 people are currently reading
682 people want to read
About the author
William F. Nolan
372 books239 followersWilliam F. Nolan is best known as the co-author (with George Clayton Johnson) of Logan's Run -- a science fiction novel that went on to become a movie, a television series and is about to become a movie again -- and as single author of its sequels. His short stories have been selected for scores of anthologies and textbooks and he is twice winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Special Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
Nolan was born in 1928 in Kansas City Missouri. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as an artist for Hallmark Cards. He moved to California in the late 1940s and studied at San Diego State College. He began concentrating on writing rather than art and, in 1952, was introduced by fellow Missouri native (and established writer) Ray Bradbury to another young up-and-coming author, Charles Beaumont. Moving to the Los Angeles area in 1953, Nolan became along with Bradbury, Beaumont, and Richard Matheson part of the "inner core" of the soon-to-be highly influential "Southern California Group" of writers. By 1956 Nolan was a full-time writer. Since 1951 he has sold more than 1500 stories, articles, books, and other works.
Although Nolan wrote roughly 2000 pieces, to include biographies, short stories, poetry, and novels, Logan’s Run retains its hold on the public consciousness as a political fable and dystopian warning. As Nolan has stated: “That I am known at all is still astonishing to me... "
He passed away at the age of 93 due to complications from an infection.
Nolan was born in 1928 in Kansas City Missouri. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute and worked as an artist for Hallmark Cards. He moved to California in the late 1940s and studied at San Diego State College. He began concentrating on writing rather than art and, in 1952, was introduced by fellow Missouri native (and established writer) Ray Bradbury to another young up-and-coming author, Charles Beaumont. Moving to the Los Angeles area in 1953, Nolan became along with Bradbury, Beaumont, and Richard Matheson part of the "inner core" of the soon-to-be highly influential "Southern California Group" of writers. By 1956 Nolan was a full-time writer. Since 1951 he has sold more than 1500 stories, articles, books, and other works.
Although Nolan wrote roughly 2000 pieces, to include biographies, short stories, poetry, and novels, Logan’s Run retains its hold on the public consciousness as a political fable and dystopian warning. As Nolan has stated: “That I am known at all is still astonishing to me... "
He passed away at the age of 93 due to complications from an infection.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
July 29, 2012
Continuing in the low tradition established in the previous book, this is simply one of the worst books ever written. Had there not been a movie based on the first book, I'm certain this book would never have seen publication. The plot is a string of ridiculous, over-used movie tropes, and the writing is almost non-existent. It's written as if even the author could barely sustain any interest in the story. Avoid this book!
July 25, 2015
Control of the afterlife
13 December 2012
So the question that I and many others are probably asking is why did Nolan actually write this book. Based on the quick blurb that I read this book is basically a rehash of the first. It seems that all of the sudden there are parallel Earths and all of a sudden Logan is sent to another Earth where he has to start all over again. I guess that the difference here should be that Logan has the benefit of hindsight, but despite the fact that he is aware that when he destroyed the last civilisation it resulted in humanity's return to the stone age, he goes ahead and does it again.
What I want to talk about is the idea of the control of the afterlife. To be able to control people's belief of the afterlife is a rather powerful weapon, and it has been one that has been used, and is still used, by religions throughout history. The one great unknown is death, and by making a claim that one knows what happens beyond death, and what one must do to to make it the best afterlife possible, can bring many people flocking into your arms. People, in the guise of prophets, have used this power to subjugate the masses. The truth is though that we, as humans, have no idea what lies behind death, but we, as humans, have one desire: to pass through to a good, as opposed to a bad, afterlife.
What one considers to be a good or bad afterlife differs, and in many ways the comfortable one seems to be what some term as annihilation: we cease to exist. To cease to exist is a unfathomable concept because many of us have no idea what it is like not to exist. As Descate said, 'I think therefore I am,' and because we are always thinking it is almost impossible to know what it is like not to think. Okay, there is sleep, but the thing with sleep is that it is almost instantaneous for us, so when we sleep it can feel like eight hours takes only a matter of seconds for us. No wonder when we awaken we can be disorientated.
Now, one may wonder why I am attacking religion's use of the afterlife when I myself am a Christian. It is because I believe that Jesus came back from the dead, which qualifies him to speak about the afterlife. This wasn't some near-death experience (remember, near-death suggests that you don't actually die) because he was in the ground for three days. Now, the big thing that Jesus said was that to have a good afterlife was not a matter of being good. In fact nobody could actually be that good to be able to earn their way into a good afterlife. In many ways the Egyptians were right when judgement involved weighing your evil deeds against that of a feather (noting that your good deeds did not actually cancel out your evil deeds - in fact they did not do anything for you).
Christ's point was always about having a relationship with God. Now, that does not mean that we live selfish and disrespectful lives because the whole idea is that by being one of Christ's followers we would like to imitate him. Think of when we were children: we would want to be like our heroes to a point that we would imitate them. For instance, in my life I really liked Popeye and would like to be like Popeye to the point that I wanted to eat spinach because it would make me strong like Popeye. That is the same thing, namely we see what Jesus did and how he treated people, and how he stood up for the weak against those who, in worldly terms, were strong. Thus those who truly love him would want to do the same. Remember, God is no fool, and simply going to church, singing the songs, and even leading Bible studies does not actually count as fire insurance.
13 December 2012
So the question that I and many others are probably asking is why did Nolan actually write this book. Based on the quick blurb that I read this book is basically a rehash of the first. It seems that all of the sudden there are parallel Earths and all of a sudden Logan is sent to another Earth where he has to start all over again. I guess that the difference here should be that Logan has the benefit of hindsight, but despite the fact that he is aware that when he destroyed the last civilisation it resulted in humanity's return to the stone age, he goes ahead and does it again.
What I want to talk about is the idea of the control of the afterlife. To be able to control people's belief of the afterlife is a rather powerful weapon, and it has been one that has been used, and is still used, by religions throughout history. The one great unknown is death, and by making a claim that one knows what happens beyond death, and what one must do to to make it the best afterlife possible, can bring many people flocking into your arms. People, in the guise of prophets, have used this power to subjugate the masses. The truth is though that we, as humans, have no idea what lies behind death, but we, as humans, have one desire: to pass through to a good, as opposed to a bad, afterlife.
What one considers to be a good or bad afterlife differs, and in many ways the comfortable one seems to be what some term as annihilation: we cease to exist. To cease to exist is a unfathomable concept because many of us have no idea what it is like not to exist. As Descate said, 'I think therefore I am,' and because we are always thinking it is almost impossible to know what it is like not to think. Okay, there is sleep, but the thing with sleep is that it is almost instantaneous for us, so when we sleep it can feel like eight hours takes only a matter of seconds for us. No wonder when we awaken we can be disorientated.
Now, one may wonder why I am attacking religion's use of the afterlife when I myself am a Christian. It is because I believe that Jesus came back from the dead, which qualifies him to speak about the afterlife. This wasn't some near-death experience (remember, near-death suggests that you don't actually die) because he was in the ground for three days. Now, the big thing that Jesus said was that to have a good afterlife was not a matter of being good. In fact nobody could actually be that good to be able to earn their way into a good afterlife. In many ways the Egyptians were right when judgement involved weighing your evil deeds against that of a feather (noting that your good deeds did not actually cancel out your evil deeds - in fact they did not do anything for you).
Christ's point was always about having a relationship with God. Now, that does not mean that we live selfish and disrespectful lives because the whole idea is that by being one of Christ's followers we would like to imitate him. Think of when we were children: we would want to be like our heroes to a point that we would imitate them. For instance, in my life I really liked Popeye and would like to be like Popeye to the point that I wanted to eat spinach because it would make me strong like Popeye. That is the same thing, namely we see what Jesus did and how he treated people, and how he stood up for the weak against those who, in worldly terms, were strong. Thus those who truly love him would want to do the same. Remember, God is no fool, and simply going to church, singing the songs, and even leading Bible studies does not actually count as fire insurance.
February 5, 2012
The weakest of the novellas composing Logan: A trilogy, Logan's Search is essentially a reboot of Logan's Run and like most reboots, the worse for wear. There are differences, but not enough to justify a 3rd book. Taken by itstelf, it reminds one of average pulp fiction.
February 10, 2014
The best thing about this book is the ending, the way its utter stupidity just rolls off you. Because, by then, you've long ago realized that Nolan had one fresh idea for this series, and that was thirteen years earlier.
Ok, check it out: this time, Logan is abducted by aliens. Regrettably not Whitley Strieber's aliens who, had they rectally probed him, would have found Nolan's head.
These aliens then proceed to transport Logan back in time to a parallel Earth, where Sandmen still pursue Runners. And they give him a mission: to destroy this system, just as he helped to destroy it on his own world. Only this time it's a bit different. Instead of The Thinker controlling things, there's something else -- someone else -- pulling the strings: a man who thinks he's a God.
That's a lot of sf chestnuts for one short book.
But it gets worse. For instead of working out the details of this plot, Nolan spends half the novel on a couple of different ones, the longest, if not the dumbest of which, begins when Logan is falsely accused of illegal drug use and sentenced to death -- in a "Most Dangerous Game" kind of way in the Serengeti.
A book more completely bereft of imagination is hard to conceive.
Ok, check it out: this time, Logan is abducted by aliens. Regrettably not Whitley Strieber's aliens who, had they rectally probed him, would have found Nolan's head.
These aliens then proceed to transport Logan back in time to a parallel Earth, where Sandmen still pursue Runners. And they give him a mission: to destroy this system, just as he helped to destroy it on his own world. Only this time it's a bit different. Instead of The Thinker controlling things, there's something else -- someone else -- pulling the strings: a man who thinks he's a God.
That's a lot of sf chestnuts for one short book.
But it gets worse. For instead of working out the details of this plot, Nolan spends half the novel on a couple of different ones, the longest, if not the dumbest of which, begins when Logan is falsely accused of illegal drug use and sentenced to death -- in a "Most Dangerous Game" kind of way in the Serengeti.
A book more completely bereft of imagination is hard to conceive.
December 3, 2020
The third book of Logan's Run features an alien abduction, parallel worlds, and other really cool sci-fi tropes. I enjoyed it. Was it great literature? No. Was it fun escapism for a few hours? Yes.
January 24, 2014
WHAT THE F***?! Aliens??? SERIOUSLY??? No, just no.
April 23, 2023
Unlike the first novel (which I knew from the film) and the second novel (which I had owned and read as a pre-teen), this one was brand new to me.
My first thought as we get through the starting chapters is that Nolan was clearly influenced by Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Logan finds himself abducted by aliens. Taking a character out of their known element and into a new can be revealing and allow for character growth. However, the author instead uses this as a method to go back and rehash some of the earlier concepts of his now-defunct world with his same main characters Logan and Jessica now back to a younger age (thanks to a parallel Earth and a body-swap maneuver). Sounds off-the-wall? Yes, it is.
Now this is not a new concept in sci-fi. I've seen variants of it before, especially in some comic books I'd read in my younger days. It can sometimes work but often times it does not. Here, for me, it definitely does not. It seems like the author was still cashing in on the interest of the property that came out of the 1976 film. Maybe he managed to get a book deal with Bantam for follow-ups and this one was fulfilling the contract. In either case, I was getting very tired very quickly with this one. Thankfully, like its predecessors, this one was comparatively shorter (145 pages) than most novels published today so I was able to get through it at a decent pace.
My first thought as we get through the starting chapters is that Nolan was clearly influenced by Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Logan finds himself abducted by aliens. Taking a character out of their known element and into a new can be revealing and allow for character growth. However, the author instead uses this as a method to go back and rehash some of the earlier concepts of his now-defunct world with his same main characters Logan and Jessica now back to a younger age (thanks to a parallel Earth and a body-swap maneuver). Sounds off-the-wall? Yes, it is.
Now this is not a new concept in sci-fi. I've seen variants of it before, especially in some comic books I'd read in my younger days. It can sometimes work but often times it does not. Here, for me, it definitely does not. It seems like the author was still cashing in on the interest of the property that came out of the 1976 film. Maybe he managed to get a book deal with Bantam for follow-ups and this one was fulfilling the contract. In either case, I was getting very tired very quickly with this one. Thankfully, like its predecessors, this one was comparatively shorter (145 pages) than most novels published today so I was able to get through it at a decent pace.
July 16, 2014
There is not a lot to these stores, but this was by far the worst of the three. This was an attempt to give the feel of the first story. It gets a young Logan and Jessica running in a world where people still need to sleep at 21. He doesn't do this so well. It involves aliens and alternate dimensions.
At the end, the motivation of the aliens is never revealed, in fact, a revelation at the end further complicates the issue.
There is a subplot about acquiring a gun that has absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever.
At the end, the motivation of the aliens is never revealed, in fact, a revelation at the end further complicates the issue.
There is a subplot about acquiring a gun that has absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever.
April 26, 2019
This book is basically Logan Does Dallas. There is so much wrong with the book. Women are infantilized and sexualized to the point of ridiculousness. In three books, Jessica never gets past the "Oh, Logan," stage of character growth. She is raped, kidnapped, loses a child, enslaved, cheated on (pair-bonding means nothing apparently) and still has no spine and is unable to fight. Even in the world that Logan is sent to, she is essentially a sex puppet.
The rest of the story is ridiculous and predictable.
The rest of the story is ridiculous and predictable.
September 3, 2013
Very ordinary. I struggled to finish this book. The first of the series is imaginative and well paced, if not particularly well written. By this book, Nolan has run out of ideas and attempts a rehash of the first story, with extra aliens, alternate universes and telepathy. He shouldn't have bothered.
December 8, 2025
I’m not really going to review Logan’s Search. I like the book. I think it’s a better book that Logan’s World.
In this book, aliens from another dimension come to take Logan out of his happily ever after with Jessica and Jaq and send him to a parallel earth to bring down the same computer controlled limited lifespan that he did on Earth.
In other words, to do Logan’s Run all over again.
It isn’t as bad as it sounds. In a way, it allows the author to rethink various parts of Logan’s Run. To have it be a different story but toward a similar end and think differently about the world.
But it’s not a book I can recommend. I liked it. But if someone were to ask me if they should read it, I’d say, no - Logan’s Run tells you all you need to know.
I’m a fan of the ‘franchise’ but I haven’t seen the TV show or even read the multiple comic book series. I may someday, but right now I just read the three books and can only really recommend the first.
To be fair, they were published in 1967, 1977 and 1980. Far enough apart that I feel it’s fair to say they weren’t planned as a series. It’s shows.
I’m giving Logan’s Search 3 stars.
March 18, 2019
While I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, the third and final book felt very unnecessary. In some ways, a retread of the first story, Logan is mystifyingly abducted (by aliens!!!) and taken to a parallel world in which the system he helped bring down in Book 1 is still actively purging citizens once they reach 21. A lot of plot decisions feel overwrought and pretty unrelated in an effort to provide something for Logan to do and take him to different, exotic locations. Things wrap up head-spinningly fast for a short novel that takes its sweet time getting to the climax. Of the three, this is the only book I struggled to finish. One minor point, I feel like the title of book 2 (Logan's World) would have been a better title for Book 3...and vice versa. I still enjoy reading about the ideas presented in Logan's Run and would read more. I'd heard somewhere that Nolan had written to other (e-???)books in this universe, but I've yet to find copies.
October 29, 2023
LOGAN'S SEARCH
1980
Logan gets abducted by aliens to free an alternate Earth.
Logan flies cross country to help another community when he was abducted by aliens.
ABDUCTED. BY. ALIENS.
They gave him an ultimatum, free an Earth from an alternate universe, or never be allowed to return home to his family. He was given instructions and a time frame and sent to this alternate-Earth.
Again, we are sent on a journey with meaningless side-quests that lead up to an unsatisfying conclusion. There are two more books in this series, but after this ordeal, I have decided to pass on them: #4 LOGAN'S RETURN, #5 LOGAN'S JOURNEY. Books four and five actually get higher marks than two and three, but I don't know if I want to be bothered with tracking them down.
1980
Logan gets abducted by aliens to free an alternate Earth.
Logan flies cross country to help another community when he was abducted by aliens.
ABDUCTED. BY. ALIENS.
They gave him an ultimatum, free an Earth from an alternate universe, or never be allowed to return home to his family. He was given instructions and a time frame and sent to this alternate-Earth.
Again, we are sent on a journey with meaningless side-quests that lead up to an unsatisfying conclusion. There are two more books in this series, but after this ordeal, I have decided to pass on them: #4 LOGAN'S RETURN, #5 LOGAN'S JOURNEY. Books four and five actually get higher marks than two and three, but I don't know if I want to be bothered with tracking them down.
November 10, 2020
I can't believe all the negatively based reviews on this book. Science fiction utilizing the 2 most famous sci fi words that give it essence ... "What if?" Sent to a parallel world to relive what he already went through before and able to make changes where he could or try to. I read this book back when it first came out when my dad bought it I was only 9 and loved it. I have all 3 books and in their own way are unique to sci fi writing perfectly. No this is not written with George Clayton Johnson like the original but has enough to keep you reading. I would love to see a movie remake more in line with the book as well as the other 2 on big screen too.
April 29, 2023
The final book in the Logan Trilogy feels like a desperate attempt to keep the character relevant and reads like a mish-mash of plot elements from the original Star Trek series.
Logan is brought to a parallel Earth by a group of non-corporeal beings to free them from the same society that he escaped from. Once again put into the role of Sandman, he encounters the duplicate versions of Jessica and Francis and faces a series of challenges that pre-date the video game era but have a similar format, defeating one Boss after another to reach his ultimate goal.
An unnecessary sequel.
Logan is brought to a parallel Earth by a group of non-corporeal beings to free them from the same society that he escaped from. Once again put into the role of Sandman, he encounters the duplicate versions of Jessica and Francis and faces a series of challenges that pre-date the video game era but have a similar format, defeating one Boss after another to reach his ultimate goal.
An unnecessary sequel.
December 20, 2017
A slightly disappointing conclusion to a very good idea, it really concluded everything that was opened in book 2 (the real disappointment in this series). One of the good questions asked in this novel is is a person really free if there actions are in any way impeded; limited, socially or by any other force. How free are we any way?
April 4, 2018
I don't understand why these books are out of print. All 3 are actually really good. The 3rd - Logan's Search is fascinating because it goes into a parallel Earth so several characters come back who originally died off in earlier books. It was a really good ending to the trilogy.
October 22, 2020
Not near as good as the first, or even the second. But had to read for continuity. It was rushed, an afterthought, maybe a need for money that prompted this one. Terrible way to end a good set of of books. Nolan should have stopped at the first.
June 19, 2023
He should have left it at one book. Using the same characters for more bizarre story lines is a reach. The books are all short and the characters are not developed enough to really need multiple books.
August 28, 2025
A great addition to continue the story of Logan. Did it have an overall point? Not at all. Was it still an awesome adventure? Absolutely. I think the idea of the parallel universes was a fun way to expand on how much more the world of Logan’s could hold.
May 17, 2019
Nostalgia for the Logan's Run movie pushed me to read this book. The premise isn't quite as strong, but it does serve up a nice twist at the end.
March 7, 2020
Much better than the Logan's World, still not so good to call the reading a pleasure. Not bad, sometimes rather interesting.
April 17, 2021
Not nearly as good as the first book, but still a good book.
September 22, 2021
Another action book this time ETs abduct him and send him to a parallel world where he has to destroy the AI and kill his friend for their amusement. Honestly pretty crap.
September 16, 2022
I was wrong about the previous instalment in the series. This is officially the weirdest story I have ever read.
September 15, 2024
Was better than I expected, definitely worth the 2 hours
January 14, 2021
Spoilers below.
I did not read this book as fast as the first two in the series. The third installment was much better than Logan's Search. It had an established main plot for the entire book, not several throughout the whole 145 pages like the second installment.
My favorite part of the whole series is the romance aspect. Logan was transformed by Jessica and she is and always was his first thought and concern. No matter what state of mind or planet or Jessica it was, she was the constant that kept him going. To keep him from giving up. To keep him fighting the ruthless Central Computer System.
My one complaint, as it was with all three, was that it didn't have established secondary characters. This book not too many where enough of a constant to get to in depth but something would have been nice. I was waiting for the explanation on how the Master came to power, how he found the hidden Nirvana. I knew it wasn't coming as the remaining pages kept getting fewer and fewer.
I thought Logan's ability to have telepathic conversations were going to play a part, but that was solely the few pages from book two that just dropped off the idea board.
It did establish enough of a difference between the parallel worlds to keep it fresh, with new locations, people and side missions.
As always this book was another easy read. If written well enough, these three books could be a great movie trilogy. I found aspects from all three books littered throughout that formed the basis of the old movie that was made.
Maybe I will pick up the comics some time and start to read them. There can be endless journeys for Logan to go on as the world post-computer control continues moving forward.
I did not read this book as fast as the first two in the series. The third installment was much better than Logan's Search. It had an established main plot for the entire book, not several throughout the whole 145 pages like the second installment.
My favorite part of the whole series is the romance aspect. Logan was transformed by Jessica and she is and always was his first thought and concern. No matter what state of mind or planet or Jessica it was, she was the constant that kept him going. To keep him from giving up. To keep him fighting the ruthless Central Computer System.
My one complaint, as it was with all three, was that it didn't have established secondary characters. This book not too many where enough of a constant to get to in depth but something would have been nice. I was waiting for the explanation on how the Master came to power, how he found the hidden Nirvana. I knew it wasn't coming as the remaining pages kept getting fewer and fewer.
I thought Logan's ability to have telepathic conversations were going to play a part, but that was solely the few pages from book two that just dropped off the idea board.
It did establish enough of a difference between the parallel worlds to keep it fresh, with new locations, people and side missions.
As always this book was another easy read. If written well enough, these three books could be a great movie trilogy. I found aspects from all three books littered throughout that formed the basis of the old movie that was made.
Maybe I will pick up the comics some time and start to read them. There can be endless journeys for Logan to go on as the world post-computer control continues moving forward.
January 19, 2016
The weakest of the three novels that started in my opinion. We move from a dated yet realistic ideal to aliens kidnapping and transplanting our hero in an alternate reality to fight for the future of that world as well. Of course there's a twist, but it's basically the same story, told from a slightly different perspective. Basically been there, done that. Logan is starting to achieve superhero status in this book ; while he can be hurt, he usually wins, sometimes by the arrival of the coincidence factor.
An enjoyable but far lighter read than the others. Still worth the read.
An enjoyable but far lighter read than the others. Still worth the read.
July 31, 2017
How often can you say the third book in a series is better than its predecessors? "Logan's Search" does the impossible, raising the stakes while simultaneously taking a step backwards. By sending an older, wiser Logan into a parallel universe to play out a distorted version of his adventure from "Logan's Run," the novel builds on the world established by the past two books while taking a new look at some of the best elements of the past narrative. Highly recommended to anyone who made it this far in the series.
July 1, 2024
(2 July, 2022)
This was terrible, a complete waste of time. I could have used that time to scrub the dead skin off my body using a midly abrasive loofah, or to scream obscenities at a random street corner, or even to write a small recipe book on how to cook centaurs, harpies and other extinct species!
Logan's back and, well... no one should give a shit at this point. I did and paid dearly for it (see above paragraph). Aliens, yeah I know! Anyhoo, aliens, alternate Earths, time warp and lazy-ass writing makes for a very forgetful story.
That's it, this is my entire review!
This was terrible, a complete waste of time. I could have used that time to scrub the dead skin off my body using a midly abrasive loofah, or to scream obscenities at a random street corner, or even to write a small recipe book on how to cook centaurs, harpies and other extinct species!
Logan's back and, well... no one should give a shit at this point. I did and paid dearly for it (see above paragraph). Aliens, yeah I know! Anyhoo, aliens, alternate Earths, time warp and lazy-ass writing makes for a very forgetful story.
That's it, this is my entire review!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews