Alfred Bester Books

Contents: · 5,271,009 · nv F&SF Mar ’54 · Ms. Found in a Champagne Bottle · ss Status, 1968 · Fondly Fahrenheit · nv F&SF Aug ’54 · Comment on “Fondly Fahrenheit” · ar · The Four-Hour Fugue · ss Analog Jun ’74 · The Men Who Murdered Mohammed · ss F&SF Oct ’58 · Disappearing Act · ss Star Science Fiction Stories #2, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballantine, 1953 · Hell Is Forever · na Unknown Aug ’42 · Adam and No Eve · ss Astounding Sep ’41 · Time Is the Traitor · nv F&SF Sep ’53 · Oddy and Id [“The Devil’s Invention”] · ss Astounding Aug ’50 · Hobson’s Choice · ss F&SF Aug ’52 · Star Light, Star Bright · ss F&SF Jul ’53 · They Don’t Make Life Like They Used To · nv F&SF Oct ’63 · Of Time and Third Avenue · ss F&SF Oct ’51 · Isaac Asimov · iv Publishers Weekly Apr 17 ’72 · The Pi Man · ss Star Light, Star Bright, Berkley/Putnam, 1976; revised from F&SF Oct ’59. · Something Up There Likes Me · nv Astounding, ed. Harry Harrison, Random, 1973 · My Affair with Science Fiction · ar Nova 4, ed. Harry Harrison, Walker, 1974

In this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hit men--and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive.

In the year 2301, guns are only museum pieces and benign telepaths sweep the minds of the populace to detect crimes before they happen. In 2301 murder is virtually impossible, but one man is about to change that ... Ben Reich, a psychopathic business magnate, has devised the ultimate scheme to eliminate the competition and destroy the order of his society. The Demolished Man is a masterpiece of imaginative suspense, set in a superbly imagined world in which everything has changed except the ancient instinct for murder.

Bester employs dazzling and enchanting storytelling techniques that keep readers engaged and on their toes. His narratives are dynamic and constantly evolving, ensuring a captivating reading experience filled with unexpected twists and turns.

A group of merry immortals request the help of the Cherokee physicist, Dr. Sequoya Guess to gain control of Extro, the Supercomputer that controls mechanical activity on Earth. With Extro's help they plan to rid the Earth of political repression & produce supermen out of ordinary humans. But Extro turns malevolent. The experiment turns into a deadly fight for Earth's future. Bester's 1st sf novel since The Stars My Destination was a major event--a fast-moving adventure set in the future. A band of immortals--as charming a bunch of eccentrics as you'll ever come across--recruit a new member, brilliant Cherokee physicist Sequoya Guess. Dr. Guess with group help gains control of Extro, the supercomputer that controls all mechanical activity on Earth. They plan to rid Earth of political repression & to further Guess' researches--which may lead to a great leap in human evolution to produce a super race. But Extro takes over Guess instead & turns malevolent. The task of the merry band suddenly becomes a fight in deadly earnest for the future of Earth. Sequoya Guess, whom they love, must be killed. How do you kill an immortal? www.BrickTowerPress.com

Price clipped and shelf worn dust jacket is in a protectiive sleeve, page edges tanned. Shipped from the U.K. All orders received before 3pm sent that weekday.

With a title more appropriate to a paperback romance and an author whose reputation was made in an entirely different genre, this posthumous thriller by one of the stellar lights of the golden age of science fiction seems unlikely to find an audience. Although Bester died in 1987, the book seems, in both style and perspective, to have been written well before that, perhaps not too far beyond its late 1950s setting. Beautiful model Julene Krebs attracts the attentions of both a high-powered advertising executive and a prominent research scientist. The two men become friendly as a result of their mutual interest in the girl, and she in turn becomes involved with each. Meanwhile, Bester offers what is presumably intended as satirical commentary on the advertising industry in general and TV commercials in particular, via a stream of embarrassingly awkward conversations and repartee in a variety of settings. There's a threatening, shadowy figure lurking about, as well as intimations of a dark secret in Julene's past, but these matters are so submerged in the plodding story that they seem unimportant--at least until a wild, violent night on Fire Island, N.Y. That's followed by a hurricane, a kidnapping and a thoroughly unbelievable bit of melodrama. In the end, after Bester skirts around an appalling view of rape and its victims, love triumphs over all

“Bester’s two superb books have stood the test of time. For nearly sixty years they’ve held their place on everybody’s list of the ten greatest sf novels” —Robert Silverberg Before his untimely death in 1987, Alfred Bester had established himself as one of the world’s greatest science fiction writers. From radio to television, short fiction to full-length novels, he created a body of work that will be continued to be enjoyed by generations of readers for all time. Now, Redemolished brings together, for the first time in one volume, the full range of his genius: The never before printed, complete 3,000 word prologue of his classic novel The Demolished Man (Winner of the first Hugo Award); The extraordinace-fiction tale, “Hell is Forever,” and Bester’s shocking pre-cyberpunk stories, such as “The Four Hour Fuge.” Included in this special edition are Bester’s writings on such noted celebrities as Woody Allen, Rex Stout, and Isaac Asimov.

Alfred Bester gehört nicht zu den Vielschreibern, aber das wenige, was er schreibt, ist von hoher Qualität. Unter den 11 Storys dieses Bandes befinden sich Meister-stücke wie »Geliebtes Fahrenheit« (Fondly Fahrenheit) – die Geschichte eines Roboters, der bei hohen Temperaturen»durchdreht«.Einige der hier vorgelegten Geschichten erschienen vor Jahren verstreut in Anthologien und verschwanden in den Truhen der Sammler. Zum ersten mal bekommt der deutsche SF-Leser mit dieser Ausgabe Gelegenheit, die besten und berühmtesten Storys Alfred Besters zu erwerben. Er wird bald herausfinden, weshalb Bester zu den größten Autoren der Science Fiction gerechnet wird. Alfred Bester wurde 1913 geboren und begann 1939 Science Fiction zu schreiben. Seine Romane »The Demolished Man«(Sturm aufs Universum) und »The Stars My Destination«(Die Rache der Kosmonauten) zählen zu den Spitzenleistungen der amerikanischen Science Fiction.