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Title: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester ISBN: 0-679-76781-9 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 02 July, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.49 (59 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Crime and Punishment...Sci-Fi Style
Comment: Alright, so this was not crime and punishment, but that is exactly why I picked it up. Every once in a while I get the itch to read something that is Science Fiction, but I find it hard to find sci-fi books that are my style. I prefer the sci-fi I read to be interpretations or depictions of our future (as in the future of "Earthlings." For example, I really liked 'Farenheit 451' (~Bradbury) and 'Brave New World' (~Huxley). This book was exactly what I like to read. Despite taking place in a future where ESP is a skill you'd have on your resume, this book contained well-developed, "real" characters. The psychological development of the characters was excellent. You get a good sense of Ben Reich's myriad of feelings as he tries to pull off a crime that is virtually impossible to pull off. The mistakes he makes, the effort he goes through to escape his antagonist, the emotions he feels as he's being pursued...all make for a fast-paced storyline (I read this book in one evening all in one sitting). There is so much I could say about this book, but if I had to pick one thing that I really enjoyed it was the sense of chase...you're on edge to see if Reich gets away with murder. In that sense it really made me think about Farenheit 451 (which could've been why I liked it so much). Overall, this book had solid characters and a good theme...I recommed it.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the best SF novels I've read recently
Comment: I just finished reading this incredible book. I was a little apprehensive because it was written in the 1950's - not that the stories weren't good back then, but sometimes they are obviously dated and have that certain early sci-fi "feel". However, I was stunned to find that this book sounded as if it could have been written this year - except for a few things that dated it, e.g., use of the word "Negro." The subtlety and the complicated facets of this futuristic society were deftly woven in a very innovative manner which I would have associated more with modern SF. I really enjoyed the thriller/crime novel plot and disagree with the reviewer who felt it didn't seem like science fiction at points - if it felt that way, that's because of the skillfulness of the writing! The plot moved quickly and kept me entirely mesmerized (although because of the plot twists and some pretty complicated ideas I sometimes had to reread parts!). What might have improved the book or at least made it even more fascinating was further or clearer explication of Reich being "the type of man" who only comes every few centuries or so, who can "bend society to his own reality" - an interesting concept but only vaguely sketched. All in all, however, a really wonderful, intense tale which I highly recommend.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the science fiction greats
Comment: (First, just to make something clear: this book has no connection to the Snipes/Stallone stinker movie _Demolition Man_.)
Bester's first novel (after years of short stories, comics, and radio) also won the first Hugo Award, and deserved it. This is cyberpunk mayhem thirty years before anyone invented the term, a lightning ride through language, deception, and murder. The book I find it most closely resembles is Paul Cain's crime thriller _Fast One_, duplicating its speed and moral relativism.
In Bester's imagined future, Espers (telepaths) make murder impossible to commit, so mad industrialist Ben Reich just has to find a way to get away with it. The plot follows policeman Lincoln Powell, a powerful esper, in his quest to nail Reich, and Reich's delirious evasions. At stake may be the whole of society.
I have only one negative thing to say for this book: it still isn't as good as Bester's other great novel, _The Stars My Destination_. Buy both of them today and plunge into the best of science fiction.
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Title: The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester ISBN: 0679767800 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 02 July, 1996 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon ISBN: 0375703713 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 December, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Virtual Unrealities : The Short Fiction of Alfred Bester by Roger Zelazny, Alfred Bester ISBN: 0679767835 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny ISBN: 0380014033 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 January, 1969 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. ISBN: 0553379267 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 02 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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