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Running Wild (Arena Books)
  
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Running Wild (Arena Books) (Paperback)

by J.G. Ballard (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 80 pages
  • Publisher: Arena Arrow; New edition edition (2 Nov 1989)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099730502
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099730507
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 872,593 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #92 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Ballard, J.G.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Short but sweet...and brutal, 10 Sep 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Running Wild (Modern classics) (Paperback)
JG Ballard has long been an inspiration to a wealth of modern writers, and although he does not represent a "modern generation" as well as JD Salinger once did, he has suffered several imitations such as Chuck Palaniuk and Douglas Coupland (both excellent authors in their own right). This shows just how accurate he can be when commenting on modern society.

"Running Wild" is a brutal account of the murder of an entire estate in London, and the abduction of all the children under 16 who lived there. The main character - Richard Greville - is a psychiatic expert who works for the London Police, and despite being told not to continue with the case by a wealth of Intendants, Super-Intendants and DCI's he is determined to find the killer and abducter. The ending of the novel is one of the most tense I have seen from Ballard.

This book seems to be a side-project for Ballard as it does not contain his usual flair or attention to detail, but it is an interesting read. I refrain from using the word enjoyable as the graphic description of several crime scenes is enough to turn anyone's stomach. Overall this is a competent book which attempts to address the casual view taken towards extreme, brutal and unpleasant crime, and the way that the Police are willing to dismiss evidense and opinion out of hand. Recommended if you like any other of Ballards major novels, if only to see how much he can condense into one novel.

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling, 16 April 2003
By sam (Norwich, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Running Wild (Modern classics) (Paperback)
As the first book I've read by Ballard I suppose I don't have much to compare it with, but I found this a nastily effective little tale.
The writing is minimal and precise which really helps the tension. It's a streamlined, measured story which stays to the point and avoids becoming stale by overstaying its welcome.
It works well because it is so understated and the central themes it raises stay with you after the chilling final chapter.
I would recomend reading it as quickly as possible, even in one sitting, to avoid the implausibilities of plot leaking through until afterwards. The central conceit is a little unlikely and the postscript is nothing short of ridiculous but while reading, these things just don't matter. It's a brilliant, tense read, with a genuine point to make about a self-satisfied society.
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4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Weak, 8 Oct 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Running Wild (Modern classics) (Paperback)
I am a fan of ballard and have read most of his work but I found this to be a weak effort. The story is predicatable and the end fairly self evident from the start. The book is also very short being a novella but i did not realise this when I bought it through Amazon.
Overall I have come to expect something deeper and more original from Ballard.
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