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slothroptightpants's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
on_a_sunbeam's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A sci-fi murder mystery that was a gosh danged SCI-FI MURDER MYSTERY. Positives: the formatting/peeping is super creative and fun, the mystery is actually very good with some excellent twists and loose ends that get sewn up, the characters are fun, and it has a solid ending.
Negatives:Barbara and Powells’ relationship was a little too Jacob from Twilight for my tastes.
I could write an essay on Powell, the guy’s insane
Negatives:
I could write an essay on Powell, the guy’s insane
aarony22's review against another edition
1.0
huh
we are not compatible
i understood nothing for some reason
we are not compatible
i understood nothing for some reason
robram's review against another edition
4.0
I read this first as a 10 year old and am sure I didn't fully understand it. Having now re-read it, it's fascinating. Written in 1954, it doesn't seem to have aged too badly, plot-wise, although the main protagonist is a bit of a shit and horrible to women. Very old-school, cerebral sci fi.
k24m's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
fireblend's review against another edition
5.0
What I expected: a proto-cyberpunk crime thriller in a futuristic world featuring clever mind-reading tricks, constant second guessing and a battle of wits between a genius assassin and a world hunting him.
What I got: a comedy of errors led by the world's biggest disaster of a man, constantly failing his way out of trouble. Ben Reich has to be up there with the most successfully incompetent people I've had the pleasure of following in a story.
This was a pleasure to read, breezy and full of cool ideas and ridiculous plans going sideways.
What I got: a comedy of errors led by the world's biggest disaster of a man, constantly failing his way out of trouble. Ben Reich has to be up there with the most successfully incompetent people I've had the pleasure of following in a story.
This was a pleasure to read, breezy and full of cool ideas and ridiculous plans going sideways.
sevenlefts's review against another edition
3.0
Another in my list of science fiction classics that I'm tackling this summer. The Demolished man was the winner of the first Hugo Award in 1953.
A strange mix of science fiction and police procedural, I wasn't sure what to think of this novel. The concept of a telepathic professional class was interesting, and the way Bester used typography to portray different types of thought-communication between "peepers" was quite clever.
However, it was hard to ignore that it reads like what a person in 1953 would imagine that the year 2301 would be like -- lots of space bubbles and flying cars, an amazing amount of paperwork still around, and computers being scarce and highly specialized. It also has a weird 50's approach to relations between men and women and psychology in general -- heavy on the Freud. The whole vibe was one of The Maltese Falcon meets Guys and Dolls -- with some of it in space!
But, it's still a good story. And really quite amusing at times.
A strange mix of science fiction and police procedural, I wasn't sure what to think of this novel. The concept of a telepathic professional class was interesting, and the way Bester used typography to portray different types of thought-communication between "peepers" was quite clever.
However, it was hard to ignore that it reads like what a person in 1953 would imagine that the year 2301 would be like -- lots of space bubbles and flying cars, an amazing amount of paperwork still around, and computers being scarce and highly specialized. It also has a weird 50's approach to relations between men and women and psychology in general -- heavy on the Freud. The whole vibe was one of The Maltese Falcon meets Guys and Dolls -- with some of it in space!
But, it's still a good story. And really quite amusing at times.
mrfb's review against another edition
4.0
I think Bester's experience wriitng comics is pretty evident in this book, though I can't decide if it makes things dynamic and engaging or just pulpy.
The big sci-fi social commentary moments scattered throughout feel kind of out of place most of the time, but for me the big draw was the concepts of telepathy that Bester was writing about, which were executed phenomenally well. In the early chapters there's some instances of very experimental typography/layouts for conversations, though it was hardly seen in the last two thirds of the story.
Also, romance subplots in scifi stories continue to be terrible and awkward for everyone involved.
The big sci-fi social commentary moments scattered throughout feel kind of out of place most of the time, but for me the big draw was the concepts of telepathy that Bester was writing about, which were executed phenomenally well. In the early chapters there's some instances of very experimental typography/layouts for conversations, though it was hardly seen in the last two thirds of the story.
Also, romance subplots in scifi stories continue to be terrible and awkward for everyone involved.
mistercow's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0