Dawn of the Demi-Gods

An SF Classic of Genetic Engineering and Nanotechnology (The Demi-Gods Saga)

By: Raymond Z. Gallun

Narrated by: J T Farrell

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Were the new men and women human or monster?

Brought back to life via vitaplasm, did they have souls? Or were they somehow less than human, people minus X? 

Here's what Amazing Stories had to say about this moving, thoughtful, highly-prophetic novel of the future by three-time Nebula nominee Raymond Z. Gallun: "This is a novel with a cosmic theme that has always been of interest to all people at all times: the process of regeneration and recreation. Through vitaplasm innocent victims of disaster are restored almost to their own selves.... Then humans begin to realize that the artificial people are their superiors in every respect. Mob feeling changes Mitchell Prell, one of vitaplasm's inventors, into a scapegoat and forces him to flee the human community. Ed Dukas, his nephew, and Ed's wife, Barbara, try to use reason to combat the mounting hysteria which threatens to explode into a war of annihilation. When failure seems near, Ed, Barbara and Prell sacrifice their humanity by becoming artificial people in order to function more effectively. ...a suspenseful plot, unusual characterizations, relevant soul-searching on the place of scientific advances in everyday life." 

The Detroit Times raved that, "Gallun depicts scientific experiments on the Moon…an explosion that sears Earth…restoring persons through personality records…a struggle between restored people and natural humanity…life on the asteroids…thought reading machines…a journey to Mars…a starship expedition to Sirius… [Dawn of the Demi-Gods] is packed with action scientific style." (Also published as People Minus X, but Dawn of the Demi-Gods is the author's preferred title.) 

Raymond Z. Gallun (1911-94) began writing science fiction in 1929, produced his first acknowledged classic, the much anthologized Old Faithful, in 1934, stopped writing in the 1950s and then returned for a triumphant last decade in the mid-1970s-80s, that would see him nominated three times for the Nebula Award.

©1954, 2005 PageTurner (P)2019 PageTurner

Good story

I really liked the premise but it felt a bit rushed. Overall, I liked it and glad I had a chance to listen to it.

Very Good

So when I got this book I didn't read anything about it, so it wasn't what I thought it would be, but with that being said it turned out to be a very well written book that I throughly enjoyed.

Really Did NOT like this Story!

In the future technology gotten so much further and man kind nearly destroyed itself. Then Recordings of people memories or memories of people who knew them are recorded and downloaded into either android bodies or a new type of plasma skin bodies. Now there is a War developing btw the 2 types.

Rambled on

It was a good story but could have gone deeper and had a more of a thriller story. More philosophical and tying to evoke thoughts.

"The look like us, but aren't."

An old style science fiction story novella intent on covering ideas than developing rounded characters. When the moon's explosion killed large numbers of earth's population, Ed's uncle who was a scientist working there was scapegoated for it and later went into hiding. Unaccustomed to death, many of those who died are resurrected into new synthetic bodies. but realising that they are superior to normal flesh and blood, the population is divided and at war. Ed tries to reunite the two sides.

Elsewhere a fun story but rather dry in parts, too long with too much detail: my mind kept drifting away, especially in the latter half of the book. This wasn't helped by the narration: although very well performed, J.T.Carroll's voice for me held an almost hypnotic quality.

Would I recommend this story? Well, yes, I think so as it raised some interesting ideas. But perhaps it would be better to read the written text rather than listen to the audio despite the pleasant reading.