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The Demolished Man

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The Demolished Man

By: Alfred Bester
Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
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About this listen

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 Adventure Science Fiction Fiction

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Critic reviews

"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)
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The core ideas are exquisitely laid out by Bester, this is as much SF as it is a psychological thriller. Rarely are concepts like telepathy and madness explored well in SF, but both are handled with great skill by the Author, the world he creates is interesting and integral to the story. Wonderful writing throughout, both lead characters of Reich and Powell are distinct, motivated and well executed.

My only complaint is that the final chapter is a total mess, a long exposition of what was mostly already expertly revealed in the previous chapter. We get to see a rather rushed description of demolition and a happy ending for some of the other characters before the book ends. Honestly it's a very sour note to end an otherwise brilliant book.

The Stars My Destination is Superior but the demolished man delivers. The Performance of Gerard Doyle being excellent here as well, distinct character voices and a natural flow. Recommended.

Deserved to be thought of as a classic.

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Alfred Bester, the godfather of modern SF.
triller, SF, crime novel, fantasy, you decide.

another masterpiece by Bester

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truly gripping and origional. hard to believe it was written in the 1950s. well read by the narrator as well.

amazing book

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Yes, it is old fashioned and of it's time, but all the better for it. Narrator was a good match and handled everything really well. I loved the book so I'm happy to report they got it right.

Vintage Sci fi classic

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Alfred Bester tells stories with such ease. The plots are brilliant and the uncanny ideas he seemingly come up with at will and discards at equal speed is incredible. His stories have everything you want in such a tale. It is easy to see why he is hailed a master storyteller. A breeze and pleasure to read or listen to. The narrator was adequate. Nothing special added by his narration.

Classic fast paced sci-fi adventure

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I honestly don't know what to say about this book! It's a bit insane really - PKD level mindduckery. I really enjoyed it, even though I'm not sure I 100% knew what was going on all the time! I think I'm going to have to listen to this whole thing again because I'm sure I missed bits.
The weird daddy/baby thing is creepy af though. Apart from that, I really liked this book.
The narration is perfect for the time period (of writing) and suited the story really well.

The Demolished Man

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