'I wanted to rub the human race in its own vomit, and force it to look in the mirror'

Running Wild

Running Wild

Adam Phillips and J. G. Ballard

A high-security luxury housing estate in the Thames Valley sees a disturbing outbreak of violence in this compelling novella, newly reissued with an introduction from Adam Phillips.

Pangbourne Village is exclusive, expensive and protected from the outside world by the very latest in security systems. A seeming idyll of family life; the perfect place to bring up a child. So why, in the space of ten minutes early one morning, were the thirty-two adult residents brutally murdered, and all thirteen children abducted? After months of fruitless investigation – and no word of the children or a ransom – the police are mystified. It is only when psychiatrist Richard Greville is called in that the truth behind the massacre gradually becomes clear.

This edition is part of a new commemorative series of Ballard’s works, featuring introductions from a number of his admirers (including Ali Smith, Iain Sinclair, Martin Amis and Ned Beauman) and brand-new cover designs from the artist Stanley Donwood.

Reviews of Running Wild

    • ‘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

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