Review
'A tight, macabre tale. . . A well-constructed and superbly written novella. As a malevolent gesture in the direction of facts we prefer to ignore, it provides a salutary chill.' Jonathan Coe, Guardian 'In words as crisp as a well-cut film, Ballard's gripping story shocks middle-class assumptions to the roots.' Mail on Sunday 'Has the impact of a black-and-white television documentary. The writing is elegant, taut and economical, the story gripping.' Sunday Times 'A particularly chilling fable . . . Ballard in a nutshell.' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian 'Simultaneously a detective novel, a psychological horror novel and a dystopian political novel. Running Wild may well be remembered as one of the major political novels of our time.' New York Review of Science Fiction
Ballard turns prophet again in this tale of schoolkids arming themselves to the teeth and commiting gross acts of violence. A psychiatrist attempts to find the reasons why a group of rich professionals are dead, and their children apparently kidnapped. Grenville is as baffled as everyone else, until he decides to spin the situation around - what if the children haven't been kidnapped at all but are the perpetrators of the massacre? (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
On the morning of 25 June 1988 the 32 adult residents of an exclusive estate in West London are brutally murdered and their 13 children abducted. Dr Richard Greville, Deputy Psychiatric Adviser to the London Metropolitan Police, is determined to follow up his ideas, even against police advice.