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A review by uncleanjoe
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
4.0
"For God's sake!" Tate murmured. "Be careful, man. Your murder's showing."
The Demolished Man has the honor of being the very first book to win the Hugo award in 1953, and seventy years later it remains a testament of things to come in science fiction literature. It draws many comparisons to PKD's The Minority Report, as both concern criminality in a future populated by telepaths (called "peepers" in The Demolished Man). Is it even possible to get away with murder when there are those around you who can read your murderous intentions? Thus The Demolished Man is an inverted detective story, following both the murder and the "peeper" detective on the case.
Although the story is a simple detective story, Bester's addition of science fiction elements sets it apart. For example we are give a few examples of communication between telepaths, which are presented on the page in an ingenious manner, using spacing and word placement to simulate a conversation happening between minds. I also thought the use of typography in names added an interesting futuristic flair to the novel, which perhaps predicted the usernames of today (names such as "@kins", "Wyg&" and "¼Maine")
That said, The Demolished Man does suffer a little bit of being a produce of the 50s. First, the conclusion gets a bit too Freudian for my liking, although it does make sense that psychology would be an important element in a telepathic society. Finally, the female characters range from the oversexualized object to the damsel in distress, all as thin as cardboard. Neither issues are surprising from a novel from this period, and I still thoroughly enjoyed Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy the works of Philip K Dick.
The Demolished Man has the honor of being the very first book to win the Hugo award in 1953, and seventy years later it remains a testament of things to come in science fiction literature. It draws many comparisons to PKD's The Minority Report, as both concern criminality in a future populated by telepaths (called "peepers" in The Demolished Man). Is it even possible to get away with murder when there are those around you who can read your murderous intentions? Thus The Demolished Man is an inverted detective story, following both the murder and the "peeper" detective on the case.
Although the story is a simple detective story, Bester's addition of science fiction elements sets it apart. For example we are give a few examples of communication between telepaths, which are presented on the page in an ingenious manner, using spacing and word placement to simulate a conversation happening between minds. I also thought the use of typography in names added an interesting futuristic flair to the novel, which perhaps predicted the usernames of today (names such as "@kins", "Wyg&" and "¼Maine")
That said, The Demolished Man does suffer a little bit of being a produce of the 50s. First, the conclusion gets a bit too Freudian for my liking, although it does make sense that psychology would be an important element in a telepathic society. Finally, the female characters range from the oversexualized object to the damsel in distress, all as thin as cardboard. Neither issues are surprising from a novel from this period, and I still thoroughly enjoyed Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy the works of Philip K Dick.