Alfred Bester
The Demolished Man (1951)
Author: Alfred Bester
Genre: Science Fiction (Philosophical Focus)
Plot Summary:
In this inaugural Hugo Award winner for Best Novel, Ben Reich, an exceedingly rich corporate capitalist, plans and executes the first murder in 79 years, of a rival competitor named Craye D'Courtney. This, among other societal foibles, has been kept in check through the rise of telepathy among a percentage of the population throughout the galaxy. Those with the ability, called ESPers, are divided among classes of expertise and held to certain societal regulations and Guild ethics. While Reich is a 'normal', he enlists the help of various ESPers through his villainous charm and instinct (most notably his analyst who is helping him come to terms with nightmares he is having about a Man with No Face). Bester propels the plot by melding the story with elements of the Mystery/Detective Police-Procedural; Reich's is tracked throughout by Lincoln Powell, 1st class ESPer and Prefect of the Police Psychotic Division. If Reich is caught, he faces "demolition". The question becomes not if he will get caught, but can his crime be ethically proved with 'normal' evidence? This genre-bending sci-fi classic is a dark, yet ultimately hopeful tale; a kind of Freudian fable on the ethics of the Unconscious. SPOILER: Powell 'peeps' Reich's brain and knows from the onset that he is the killer, but must employ a variety of inventive methods (and 'peeper tricks') to gather actual evidence for Reich's motive to kill a man, even after the victim agreed to provide him with the business merger he wanted. Yet, Powell eventually figures out that Reich's motive stems not from D'Courtney's financial competition, but the fact that he is Reich's father. The Man with No Face that haunts Reich, is deduced by Powell to be a psychological manifestation of Reich's own unconscious guilt over his outward, social evil. In a final, polemical reveal, Bester explains the mechanics of what Reich's "demolition" actually entails; not a brutally archaic form a capital punishment, but rather a literal rehabilitation of the mind, guiding the subject through its own destruction of the psyche, fully conscious of its potential, utilitarian rebirth.
Geographical Setting: the Solar System, mainly Earth; New York
Time Period: 2301
Appeal Characteristics:
Bester weaves this simple cat-and-mouse, detective/killer storyline into so much more with his framing the story in a futuristic, science-fiction setting concerned with the psychology of the mind. Rather than spend time on outlining this world for us, Bester jumps right in, giving us highly a imaginative setting as we immerse ourselves in the details of this emotionally familiar, yet seemingly beyond world. While the characterization may not be as engrossing as their actions taken, the two main characters of Reich and Powell are given various bits of introspection to guide the suspense. The police-procedural aspect of the novel does, in the end, take a backseat to philosophical musings of a more serious tone on the nature of human society. The pace erratically moves from leisurely to quick depending on the mood of the scene in question, with Bester sometimes giving cues for how fast a dialogue exchange may have occurred (though at less than 250 pages, the novel really does not have time to be considered slow). Perhaps most notable about Bester as a writer is his stylistically inventive use of the written word; using italics to signify telepathic communication among regularly displayed oral dialogue, and in a few instances actually graphically re-arranging the type set of letters on the page in a creative fashion as a suggestive metaphor for how one could interpret multiple, simultaneous communications between ESPers. Bester makes use of the rising study of psychology here, at times giving an almost literary nod to Freud in the use of 'peeper' psychology. The ending of the book relies heavily on a pop-psychoanalytic theory, which is used to explain the 'whydunit' section of the Powell's ending case briefing. Despite originally being published in the serialized digest-magazine "Galaxy", the novel could almost be considered a work of 'literary fiction' in its uniqueness at its time of publication.
Read-alikes: Those who enjoyed this book will most likely enjoy Bester's subsequent novel, The Stars My Destination (a.k.a. Tiger! Tiger!). It too makes inventive use of the written word and the psychology of the outsider individual (borrowing elements from the literary classic The Count of Monte Cristo), with a major plot focus on the action of 'jaunting'; human teleportation. Other themes, of non-corporeal communication, body modification, and psychosis (which also appear in The Demolished Man) will come to the forefront decades later as aspects of the "Cyberpunk" subgenre, exemplified by William Gibson's Neuromancer, who, retrospectively, may have borrowed a bit from this novel's idea of the 'Mass Cathexis Measure' in his development of 'the Matrix'; a "consensual hallucination" of mass-communication technology that allows people to 'jack in' their mind to an abstract world of data (both ideas, of course, before the invention of the Internet). If you are more interested in the Police-Procedural aspect of the story, but also intrigued by the use of a science-fiction framed setting and the aspect of telepathy, you might try Alan Dean Foster's The Mocking Program. It features a hard-boiled, intuit detective, on the trail of a murder case that is tied up with futuristic, cutting-edge technology in an urban setting. If you are interested in another take on the idea of telepathy and its more dystopic use by law enforcement, you should read Phillip K. Dick's short story The Minority Report (and, if you are so inclined, see the similarly themed, but plot and pace different Steven Spielberg film adaptation). Both the inventive use of the police-procedural in a sci-fi setting and its philosophical musings on the nature of humanity rebelling against society have much in common with this work by Bester. Bester's experimental writing style is fused with a jazz-like vocabulary; almost Beatnik, in its use of invented slang and rhythm. Certain words or phrases reappear frequently ('Jet', 'clever-up', etc.), as if the reader already understands their cultural usage. For those willing to consider a recommendation devoid of any science-fiction elements, one could make the interpretative leap and speculate that Bester may have influenced, or been influenced himself, by some of his contemporary New York writers and poets, best sampled in Ann Charters' The Portable Beat Reader. For fans of sci-fi television, I would suggest checking out the epic, pre-conceived five-season storyline of J. Michael Straczynski's Babylon 5. It has won numerous awards, including consecutive Hugh Awards in 1996-97 for Best Dramatic Presentation. This series, set aboard a space station in the middle of interstellar politics and commerce, includes a character named Alfred Bester, who was intentionally molded out of characteristics of Bester's writing, most notably that he is a telepathic police officer. Fans of entertainingly thoughtful, futuristic sci-fi mirroring real world themes and science should definitely check out this series, or its spin-off PsiCorps series of novels by J. Gregory Keyes, starting with Dark Genesis, that focus on the Bester character. Other classics dealing with psionic powers include Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human (1952) and A.E. van Vogt's Slan (1946). If readers liked the mystery angle, have them try Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel (1954) or Fritz Lieber's The Green Millenium (1953) and The Big Time (1957). If you really like the mystery/thriller aspect (and don't mind a suggestion that isn't SF), try Paul Cain's Fast One (1932). Also consider Katherine Kerr's Polar City Blues (1990) which also feature a murder mystery and the psionic element present in Bester's tale as well as David Silverberg's Dying Inside (1972) which features a psychic who pries into others thoughts...and then pays a price!
Red Flags: fairly graphic description of a gunshot wound; a secondary character is a devote hedonist, and the goings-on at one of her parties are intimated though not graphical described.
The Stars My Destination (1956)
Author: Alfred Bester
Genre: Science Fiction (Philosophical Focus)
Plot Summary:
The story begins with the discovery of jaunting, teleportation using the mind, and how society has been affected. One member of this society is Gully Foyle, a crewman on the ship Nomad from the Inner Planets. The Inner Planets and the Outer Planets are feuding and it is likely that the ship has been damaged during a skirmish. Foyle is the lone survivor. Revenge becomes the one thing that sustains him and motivates him to repair the ship. Unfortunately he is injured and is rescued by a strange society living
on an asteroid. They tattoo Foyle’s face with tiger markings and the word “Nomad” on his forehead. Foyle escapes and is picked up by the Inner Planets navy. Because of his injuries, Foyle must relearn the ability to jaunte, but the reader quickly learns Foyle no longer needs lessons. Presteign of Presteign is introduced. He is wealthy and powerful and he owns the Vorga, the ship Foyle is looking for so he can exact his revenge. He is after Foyle because he believes Foyle has PyrE and is willing to pay millions to retrieve this mysterious item that can change the tide of the war. Presteign’s daughter, Olivia, is also described. She is an albino that only sees things in waves: heat, radio, and others. Presteign’s men capture Foyle when he attempts to blow up the Vorga. They try to break Foyle so he will tell them the location of the Nomad, but he resists. His revenge keeps his mind focused and free of their torture. He is sent to an underground prison where he befriends Jiz. She educates him and he shares his plan for revenge. They escape and Jiz arranges for Foyle to have his tattoo removed. Although the ink is gone, the image of the tattoo appears when Foyle shows any emotion. Next they return to the asteroid for the PyrE, but they are followed. In the chaos Foyle leaves Jiz on the asteroid. Part two discusses the life of Geoffrey Fourmyle, a flamboyant character who turns out to be Foyle. He has used the past year to find crewmembers of the Vorga so he can find out who made the decision to leave him on the Nomad. Foyle/Fourmyle finds one crewman but is interrupted by the “The Burning Man”, a man in Foyle’s image with his clothes on fire. Foyle then attends Presteign’s party and is captivated
by Olivia. Foyle leaves the party and finds out the location of another crewman.
Determined to get the name of the person who left him for dead, Foyle travels to
the Moon and Mars. He uses violence and kidnapping to find his answers, but he starts to question his methods. SPOILER: Foyle finds out through the captain that Olivia Presteign was on the Vorga and gave the order not to rescue him. Foyle is injured during his escape from Mars and wakes to find himself with Olivia. She explains her actions and shocks Foyle. He realizes he no longer wants to be the
animal he has become. Meanwhile, the men looking for Foyle decide to detonate some of the PyrE as part of a trap for Foyle. Foyle is injured in the blast but the real reason for the manhunt is revealed: Foyle can space jaunte and time jaunte, two things
thought impossible. Foyle is “The Burning Man” who is visiting his past self through jauntes. Foyle comes face-to-face with his hunters and decides it is time for their secret, PyrE, to be exposed to the world. Foyle takes PyrE and distributes some of it to different parts of the world, thereby forcing the men to stop treating the people as ignorant children. His faith renewed, Foyle returns to the asteroid.
Geographical Setting: Earth, space, the Moon, Mars
Time Period: 25th century
Appeal Characteristics:
The story is in the third person, mostly from the aspect of Foyle and his drive for revenge. Foyle’s desperation is a major force propelling the storyline forward and keeps the readers involved because they want to know what lengths Foyle will go to to get his revenge. Sections start off broad, discussing political climate, geography, and other aspects of the setting, and then the story moves to focus on the characters. Mysteries and secrets exist within story, propelling it forward. The story is one of survival, revenge, and awareness and is told using action with dialogue. Even with the technological descriptions of the futuristic setting, a strong human element exists. Foyle, and to some degree supporting characters, change during the course of the story. The author uses different fonts to offset memos, thoughts, and other items from the action of the story.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoyed Alfred Bester’s style might consider his first novel, The Demolished Man (1951) that won the first Hugo award. For readers who would like novels with a similar pace, The Sirens of Titan (1959) by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1964) by Philip K. Dick are two choices. For a novel that deals
with human survival, but takes place in an alternate history, one choice is The Man in the High Castle (1962) by Philip K. Dick. For a psychological story with a flawed, common man as protagonist, a choice is Gateway (1997) by Frederik Pohl.
For books that deal with American excess, John Brunner has two that would be of interest: Stand on Zanzibar (1968) and The Sheep Look Up (1972).
Red Flags: violence, multiple references to sex
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