By the time I got to Logan’s Search, the Logan series had reached the point where I was starting to wonder where William F Nolan could actually take it next. Logan’s Run had a wonderfully simple and provocative premise, while Logan’s World at least had the interesting idea of exploring what happens after the old order has been torn down. With Logan’s Search, though, I found myself increasingly aware that the series has become less interesting with each entry.

That isn’t to say there is nothing worthwhile here. Nolan is still playing with some of the ideas that made the original novel so effective, particularly questions about identity, freedom, authority and what it actually means to be human in a society that wants to impose its own definition of normality.

The problem is that the sense of discovery has largely gone.

One of the things I enjoyed about Logan’s Run was the process of gradually realising just how deeply dysfunctional its supposedly perfect society was. Logan’s World shifted the focus towards the consequences of changing that society. By this point, however, the central questions feel increasingly familiar. We know this world, we know its problems and we know that Logan is going to be thrown into another situation where he has to question the assumptions surrounding him.

There are still some interesting ideas around the edges. Nolan continues to explore the tension between the individual and society, particularly the way institutions can decide what is acceptable behaviour and then convince people that conformity is somehow in their own interests. There is also a recurring concern with identity and whether we can really understand ourselves when other people, or society as a whole, are constantly telling us who we should be.

That gives the novel some useful social commentary, although I didn’t find it quite as sharp as in the earlier books. The original Logan’s Run had a very clear target in its criticism of conformity, the obsession with youth and the willingness to surrender freedom for comfort. Here, the ideas feel more scattered. Nolan raises questions about control and individuality, but they don’t always develop into anything particularly profound.

I think that is probably the biggest issue I had with Logan’s Search. The further the series goes, the more it feels like the ideas are being stretched rather than developed. What was once a clever and unsettling premise has gradually become a framework for another adventure, and the adventure itself isn’t always strong enough to compensate.

The writing remains brisk and accessible, though, and there is something quite appealing about the old-fashioned directness of these books. Nolan doesn’t get bogged down in enormous amounts of exposition, and the story keeps moving. On the other hand, that same economy means that some of the characters and situations feel underdeveloped. There are moments when I wanted the novel to stop rushing forward and spend a little more time exploring the consequences of what was happening.

The Audible audiobook is once again enhanced by Oliver Wyman’s narration. He brings plenty of energy to the performance and handles the pace of the story well. His delivery gives the characters enough personality to keep things moving, even when the material itself isn’t quite as compelling as it was earlier in the series.

So where does that leave me with Logan’s Search? Probably somewhere in the middle. I didn’t dislike it, but neither did I find myself particularly excited by it. There are still worthwhile ideas here, and Nolan’s continued interest in freedom, identity, conformity and social control gives the book some substance.

Unfortunately, the law of diminishing returns has definitely started to apply. Each entry has felt a little less surprising and a little less substantial than the one before it, and by this point I was beginning to feel that the original novel had said most of what needed saying.

As an old-school science fiction adventure, Logan’s Search remains perfectly readable and Oliver Wyman makes it an enjoyable listen. I just wish the series had continued to find new things to say rather than gradually circling around ideas that were explored more effectively in the books that came before it.

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