The Demolished Man

De: Alfred Bester

Narrado por: Gerard Doyle

In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises.

Terrorized in his dreams by The Man with No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.

©1951 Galaxy Publishing Corporation; copyright 1953 by Alfred Bester; copyright renewed 1979 by Alfred Bester; Introduction copyright 1996 by Harry Harrison (P)2017 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Bester's two superb books have stood the test of time. For nearly 60 years they've held their place on everybody's list of the 10 greatest SF novels" (Robert Silverberg, author)

A magnificent and ever relevant book

it was excellently narrated and despite being written more then 60 years ago is ever relevant in our day and age of corporations and complex and ambiguous motivations behind the behaviors of "world shakers" it shows great insight into the hearts and mind of man that would occupy such positions and the possible outcomes of their being left to their own devices. The worldbuilding is convincing and meticoulsly crafted . While some parts (such as female roles and women characters in general ) aren't quite up to date the compelling narrative and positive humanistic massage make this a very rewarding and affecting book

classic sci-fi - first Hugo award winner 1951

riffs colloquially called 'Pepsis'... tension apprehension and deception have begun. ESPers - the basis for countless sci-fi movies and books. the punch card computers and quick off world travel. pre neromancer and burning chrome... just saying. this is a sold root of the science fiction genre. recommend.

Demolishing the perfect murder

The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is a far future tale of a perfectly planned murder in the context of a society where a portion of humanity possesses mind reading powers. A rich business tycoon plans the perfect murder of a rival, but things go awry when a witness shows up. The tycoon battles a determined police investigator with the highest esp levels. At the same time, the tycoon is battling a personal demon that haunts his dreams that is partly to blame for his paranoid behaviors.

The main sci-fi element is the development of latent "esper" power of the human mind that only some individuals possess to varying degree ("peeping" the conscious, the unconscious, or the subconscious). This effectively precludes someone from lying or hiding information. Major portions of the solar system have been settled, although life in many respects is pretty typical of mid 20th century (the tale is set at the dawn of the 24th century). The use of logic computer for assessing adequacy of a criminal case for prosecution was an intriguing application for its time. Finally, mental illness and criminal punishment is treated by "demolition" whereby the subject's mental construct is broken down and permitted to re-establish itself through an accelerated childhood that recapitulates normal growth.

The narration is well done with excellent character distinction of both genders. Pacing and tone are well aligned to the story, especially given the multiple scenes of nightmares and other related mental instabilities.

Worth the time

I didn't like it as much as The Stars My Destination however the story is still very entertaining and way ahead of it's time.

Listen and read

I recommend listening while reading the book because typography plays an important role in the storytelling. Excellent book and well-narrated.