In Running Dog (1978), survivalism, terrorism, and pornography are tiresomely current concerns in American society. The "responsibility of the press" for everything from teenage pregnancy to international hijackings is a related topic, and suspicion of more or less secret government activities (whether by public figures acting covertly or by ostensibly covert agencies acting in public arenas) is close behind.

In Running Dog, DeLillo combines each of these in a narrative that moves relentlessly and coldly toward the silence of meaningless death. The character of Mudger, a cross between a Green Beret, a C.I.A. spook, and the godfather of whatever subcultural hit squad one might care to name, embodies the characteristics of the totally self-centered and selfish super-patriot who has moved so far in that direction that he comes across as selfless and disembodied, unconcerned with any institution and totally absorbed in his own hobbies. He...