''Logan in Overtime'' is a novel by

Paul Quarrington Paul Lewis Quarrington (July 22, 1953 – January 21, 2010) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, musician and educator. Background Born in Toronto as the middle of three sons in the family of four of Bruce Quarrington,

, published in 1990 by

Doubleday Canada Doubleday Canada is an imprint of the publishing company Penguin Random House Canada. The company used to be known as Forboys. It was incorporated in 1936, and since 1945 it has been known as Doubleday Canada Limited. In 1986 parent company Doubl ...

. The novel was actually written much earlier in Quarrington's career, even preceding his 1987 novel ''

King Leary ''King Leary'' is a novel by Canadian humorist Paul Quarrington, published in 1987 by Doubleday Canada. The novel is part of an unofficial trilogy with Quarrington's earlier ''The Life of Hope'' and his later '' Logan in Overtime''."Tale of a go ...

''.Jeffrey M. Heath, ''Profiles in Canadian Literature, Volume 8''.

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult and children's fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history, biography, politics and arts. Dundurn has about 2500 books in print, ...

, 1991. . Chapter "Paul Quarrington", pp. 147-154. It was slated for publication by

Avon Books Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reach ...

in 1986, but was delayed after that company discontinued its Canadian fiction line. The novel's core theme explores the ways in which modern life needlessly complicates and ruins the simple pleasures in life.Michael Buma, ''Refereeing Identity: The Cultural Work of Canadian Hockey Novels''. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2012. . p. 61. Its central character, Mars Logan, is a washed-up

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who was forced to retire from the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

due to his bad knees and is now consigned to playing for the Falconbridge Falcons, an oldtimers league team in

Falconbridge Falconbridge may refer to: *Falconbridge Ltd., a Canadian mining company *Falconbridge, Middlesex County, Ontario *Falconbridge, Greater Sudbury, Ontario People: *Lord Falconbridge, an alternative title for barons, viscounts, and earls of Fauconbe ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

."The skates need sharpening". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', March 3, 1990. He also has a personal passion for

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

, due to a persistent belief that his professional hockey career ended because aliens from

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

intentionally wrecked his knees, although he is so dissatisfied with his life that he spends most of his free time too drunk to clearly see the sky or identify the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

s. The plot is set in motion when a game against the Hope Blazers goes into

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. With both teams persistently unable to score the winning goal, a national media frenzy — even attracting the anchors of ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

'' to town — is ignited as the game approaches a new record for the longest overtime game in the entire history of the sport. Ultimately, as the game enters its fifth day, the two teams decide to settle the game with a simple round of

shinny Shinny (also shinney, pick-up hockey, pond hockey, or "outdoor puck") is an informal type of hockey played on ice. It is also used as another term for street hockey. There are no formal rules or specific positions, and often, there are no goalte ...

on a nearby pond, setting the stage for the game's resolution and for Logan's own victory over his personal demons. The novel forms an unofficial trilogy with Quarrington's other novels ''

The Life of Hope ''The Life of Hope'' is a novel by Paul Quarrington, published in 1985 by Doubleday Canada."Free love and hope". ''The Globe and Mail'', September 21, 1985. It is part of an unofficial trilogy with Quarrington's later novels '' King Leary'' and '' ...

'' and ''King Leary''; ''The Life of Hope'', although not about hockey, is set in the same town of Hope whose Blazers who are the opposing team in ''Logan'', and the protagonist in ''King Leary'' lives in South Grouse, the same town where Logan was born and raised. In 2016, Canadian film production company Arc Multimedia optioned rights to a feature film adaptation of the novel, tentatively slated to begin production in 2017."“Logan in Overtime” optioned by Arc Multimedia
Arc Multimedia, February 14, 2016.

References

{{reflist, 2 1990 Canadian novels Novels by Paul Quarrington Greater Sudbury in fiction Novels about ice hockey Novels set in Northern Ontario Canadian novels adapted into films Doubleday Canada books