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The Demolished Man (S.F. Masterworks) by…
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The Demolished Man (S.F. Masterworks) (original 1953; edition 1999)

by Alfred Bester (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
4,6601102,411 (3.9)219
In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in seventy years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a ten-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.… (more)
Member:Petulisa
Title:The Demolished Man (S.F. Masterworks)
Authors:Alfred Bester (Author)
Info:Gollancz (1999), 256 pages
Collections:Sci-fi, Etienne
Rating:
Tags:None

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The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)

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» See also 219 mentions

English (106)  French (2)  Italian (1)  Romanian (1)  All languages (110)
Showing 1-5 of 106 (next | show all)
3.75 (formerly 5/5)

This was my second read, and some of the flaws have become more apparent, knocking it down quite a bit (I had it at a 5!). But The Demolished Man is still a great read and I prefer it to Bester's The Stars, My Destination, even though I would say the latter is a greater accomplishment as a piece of science fiction (the world-building in that is unmatched). Demolished is smaller scale, but I find the lead anti-hero more compelling, and in general, it is a rare example of a character-driven story within a genre known for lacking substance.

I love the mad pace of it, the cat and mouse shenanigans set amidst a psychic-dominated future, where every thought is laid bare. When you boil it down, it's just a fun murder/mystery thriller set amongst a creatively realised sci-fi world, and the surreal off-the-wall presentation of the conclusion is icing. There's a cherry as well though - the cherry is Bester's unique writing voice and bizarre use of text formatting. Simply put, there's just nothing like it, and that alone makes it a worthy read, even if some elements don't totally hold up. ( )
  TheScribblingMan | Jul 29, 2023 |
Principalmente, O Homem Demolido não convence: sabemos desde o início que o protagonista matará e que terá problemas de ordem psicanalítica. Mas a execução, a fuga, os embates com a polícia, e a caracterização psicológica dos personagens secundários não convence (afora o fato de que o personagem principal é um playboy inconsequente). Li tudo como descuidado, e demasiado próximo do que seria um roteiro blockbuster, talvez de sucesso, mas furado. E acho que no fundo o freudianismo ajuda, dá o que é de interessante a esse polícial futurista, com telepatas. Mas é pouco. Ademais, que seja dito: mais um daqueles livros machistas em que as personagens femininas são todas bobas, fúteis ou inferiorizadas.

Vencedor do prêmio Hugo de 1953. ( )
  henrique_iwao | Aug 30, 2022 |
This was an entertaining twining of genres, the detective story paired with high-minded allegorical science fiction. There was an antic, hilarious quality to it that kept me off balance as the plot progressed quickly. This action boils over into a big, dreamy twilight-zone conclusion. Like The Stars My Destination (which I've been meaning to reread), the novel turns around a deranged protagonist whose interpretation of reality sets the whole story in motion. "The mind is the reality. You are what you think." It certainly concludes more generously and optimistically than a lot of books in these genres nowadays, which might be the most dated element of it in some ways. It's easy to see how big an influence this first Hugo winner was on the development of the genre and the challenge it presented to other sci-fi writers. I'm extremely surprised this hasn't been made into a big budget action flick. ( )
  invisiblecityzen | Mar 13, 2022 |
This was an entertaining twining of genres, the detective story paired with high-minded allegorical science fiction. There was an antic, hilarious quality to it that kept me off balance as the plot progressed quickly. This action boils over into a big, dreamy twilight-zone conclusion. Like The Stars My Destination (which I've been meaning to reread), the novel turns around a deranged protagonist whose interpretation of reality sets the whole story in motion. "The mind is the reality. You are what you think." It certainly concludes more generously and optimistically than a lot of books in these genres nowadays, which might be the most dated element of it in some ways. It's easy to see how big an influence this first Hugo winner was on the development of the genre and the challenge it presented to other sci-fi writers. I'm extremely surprised this hasn't been made into a big budget action flick. ( )
  invisiblecityzen | Mar 13, 2022 |
Winner of the first Hugo award, I liked it but didn't love it. My first objection, is that when I'm reading a mystery I don't like the perpetrator revealed until the end, I like to try to solve the mystery not solve how the cop will solve the crime. The only time I've liked a mystery set up that way is the old TV show Colombo. I like reading non-fiction about psychology, but I'm not crazy about "psychological" novels, and eper novels read like psychological novels to me. My final objection was that I guessed who the faceless man was about 2/3's of the way through the book.
Still really glad that I read this classic just wasn't blown away by it. I'm going to try "The Stars My Destination" next which I feel may be more to my tastes. ( )
  kevn57 | Dec 8, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 106 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (6 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Bester, Alfredprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bacon, C.W.Cover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Burns, JimCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Byttner, GöranTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Chesterman, AdrianCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
DiFate, VincentIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Doyle, GerardNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Figueroa, ManuelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gaiman, NeilForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Harrison, HarryIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lehman, SergeForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lippi, GiuseppeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Makarský, LubošTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Marcel, PatrickTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Meltzoff, StanleyCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Papy, JacquesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pınar, RehaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pepper, BobCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pukallus, HorstTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Serra, LauraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tamminen, ArviTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Viskupic, GaryCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vonnegut, KurtIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
To Horace Gold
First words
In the endless universe there is nothing new, nothing different.
Explosion! Concussion! The vault doors burst open.
Quotations
Tenser, said the Tensor. Tenser, said the Tensor. Tension, apprehension, and dissension have begun!
Its lucky for the world I'm willing to stop at one murder.   Together we could rape the universe.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (1)

In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in seventy years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a ten-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises. Terrorized in his dreams by The Man With No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.

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