Prolific author Alfred Bester wrote science fiction short stories, comic books (Green Lantern, Superman), travel essays, radio scripts, television scripts, mainstream novels, and two science fiction novels, which have become his main claim to fame. The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination (reviewed in September), are considered by many to be among the best ever written in that genre.
The Demolished Man is a police procedural story set in a future when a few people have developed varying levels of extrasensory perception. Known as Espers, and more colloquially as peepers, these individuals form an elite group who are pledged to act only for the public good and are particularly employed in the police force to stop a crime before it is committed, or to apprehend the rare exception who succeeds in criminal activity.
With the help of a peeper he has bribed to help him hide his intentions and actions, the head of a vast corporation plans and carries out the murder of his chief business rival. It is up to a peeper policeman to prove his guilt based on evidence alone, without the benefit of telepathy, to the satisfaction of the computer which serves as District Attorney.
This is a fast-moving and entertaining story, but it falls short of the excellence of The Stars My Destination. In particular, the ending is weak and more than a bit contrived. I would recommend it to die-hard Sci-Fi fans, but I do not consider it to be one of the best of the best.
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Good insights.The Demolished Man is a B+ potboiler TSMD is that one fine novel most people have in them but never write.
ReplyDeleteGood insights.The Demolished Man is a B+ potboiler TSMD is that one fine novel most people have in them but never write.
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