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73rd out of 121 books
—
52 voters
Immortality, Inc.
First published in 1959 as a startling, revolutionary novel of the future, then pushed to new cinematic limits as the feature film adaptation FREEJACK in 1992, Robert Sheckley's unsettling vision of Tomorrow now arrives in ebook format for the 21st century.
Thomas Blaine awoke in a white bed in a white room, and heard someone say, "He's alive now." Then they asked him his n...more
Thomas Blaine awoke in a white bed in a white room, and heard someone say, "He's alive now." Then they asked him his n...more
Mass Market Paperback, 250 pages
Published
October 1991
by Tor Books
(first published October 1959)
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Please…do NOT confuse this novel with the 1992 celluloid dump known as Freejack. Remember, the one featuring:
Emilio “I should’ve hung it up after The Outsiders” Estevez,
Mick “Acting be damned, I’m a rock god and can star in any movie I please, so suck it” Jagger, and
Sir Anthony “Who do I have to blow to get out of doing this movie…really…fine I’ll do the movie” Hopkins.
That movie was an infected wart and had nothing in common with this book.
Nothing. Ignore its existence.
On the other hand, f...more
Emilio “I should’ve hung it up after The Outsiders” Estevez,
Mick “Acting be damned, I’m a rock god and can star in any movie I please, so suck it” Jagger, and
Sir Anthony “Who do I have to blow to get out of doing this movie…really…fine I’ll do the movie” Hopkins.
That movie was an infected wart and had nothing in common with this book.
Nothing. Ignore its existence.
On the other hand, f...more
Another of the $2 vintage sci-fis blind-bought from a street vendor last week.
This one deals with a future in which life beyond death is scientific fact, if a somewhat ambiguous one. Lots of room for discussion of mind/body problems and weird test-case variations, but a lot of this is brushed aside with cursory treatment in favor of action. This, along with the sorta iffy pacing at least at first, really shows that this was written as a serial, which never really works best for novels. And Our p...more
This one deals with a future in which life beyond death is scientific fact, if a somewhat ambiguous one. Lots of room for discussion of mind/body problems and weird test-case variations, but a lot of this is brushed aside with cursory treatment in favor of action. This, along with the sorta iffy pacing at least at first, really shows that this was written as a serial, which never really works best for novels. And Our p...more
3 likes · like · see review
Робърт Шекли възкръсва у нас с “Корпорация “Безсмъртие” и “Цивилизация на статуса”
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/02/b...
Решението на “Колибри” да преиздадат класиците може само да бъде адмирирано предвид по-лесния достъп до тях. Затова с удоволствие започвам с представянето на тяхната поредица "Галактики” с Робърт Шекли и двата романа, сбрани в едно тяло - “Корпорация “Безсмъртие” и “Цивилизация на статуса”.
Бих казал, сполучлива комбинация – тематиката е различна, но стилът има определени схо...more
http://www.knigolandia.info/2011/02/b...
Решението на “Колибри” да преиздадат класиците може само да бъде адмирирано предвид по-лесния достъп до тях. Затова с удоволствие започвам с представянето на тяхната поредица "Галактики” с Робърт Шекли и двата романа, сбрани в едно тяло - “Корпорация “Безсмъртие” и “Цивилизация на статуса”.
Бих казал, сполучлива комбинация – тематиката е различна, но стилът има определени схо...more
Sheckley has that old New-Yorky style to his voice, much like Frederick Pohl, which is why he gets 3 stars instead of four because it's not my favorite. The story itself is fun and goofy, the main character is reasonably likable, the future described a little nutty but fun to inhabit for a day or two.
Basically, this guy Blaine dies in a car accident in the 1950s and is resurrected in a new body by an evil corporation in 2110. In the future, most of the notable advances have been psychic/spiritua...more
Basically, this guy Blaine dies in a car accident in the 1950s and is resurrected in a new body by an evil corporation in 2110. In the future, most of the notable advances have been psychic/spiritua...more
This is a story about a man (Thomas Blaine) who has been plucked from death in 1958 and brought into another body in 2110. It's a story about a future where scientists have figured out how to separate the being that is the mind/soul from the flesh of a person, thereby making immortality a real possibility. It's a story that if you like Futurama, you'll probably recognize parts of (notably, the suicide booths and the "underground" where the zombies are forced to reside).
On the surface, the story...more
On the surface, the story...more
3 likes · like · see review
Jul 25, 2010
Claudiu
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of 50s-60s sci-fi ideas
I had picked up this book a while ago, at a random book stall in the center of the city. It was almost raining, I was curious and got it on the impulse of the moment, without really checking it out first. Sci-Fi, the world of the future (as seen by a 50s writer...and character), transfer of the soul and so on...what's there to not like then?
I have enjoyed this book quite immensely. It has a great character to start off with, some intrigues here and there, and the whole world of 2110 to deal wit...more
I have enjoyed this book quite immensely. It has a great character to start off with, some intrigues here and there, and the whole world of 2110 to deal wit...more
1 like · like · see review
Tai buvo pirmoji man mokslinės fantastikos knyga. Sudaryta ji iš apsakymo apie kažkokioje planetoje gyvenančią gentį, kurios gyventojai privalo nusipelnyti gerais darbais mirties ir, be abejo, pomirtinio gyvenimo, dėl to kuo tragiškesnė ir dramatiškesnė mirtis, tuo jos vertė didesnė. Apsakymėlis - tai tarsi įvadas į visą romaną, tai supratau jau įpusėdama jį :)
Romanas apie žmogų, kuris iš praeities pernešamas kūnu - nešiku į ateitį, kur fizinis kūnas ir sąmonė gali laisvai būti atskirti vienas n...more
Romanas apie žmogų, kuris iš praeities pernešamas kūnu - nešiku į ateitį, kur fizinis kūnas ir sąmonė gali laisvai būti atskirti vienas n...more
1/5 hrs -- We're recording a talk on this Saturday. I'm a sucker for 'body swapping' (Old Man's War, Altered Carbon) (also space and chicks that kick ass). Life after death has been banished! I would call this Soft or Loose SF, but witty. For example there's time travel, with a pseudo-scientific explanation. This novel was the basis for that horrible 90's movie Freejack, with Mick Jagger and Emilio Estevez. They have suicide booths a la Futurama (a salute?).
Done.
There's some zombies, although th...more
Done.
There's some zombies, although th...more
Thomas Blaine awoke in a white bed in a white room, and heard someone say, "He's alive now." Then they asked him his name, age and marital status. Yes, that seemed normal enough---but what was this talk about "death trauma"?
Thus was Thomas Blaine introduced to the year 2110, where science had discovered the technique of transferring a man's consciousness from one body to another. Where a man's mind could be snatched from the past, when his body was at the point of death, and brought forward into...more
Thus was Thomas Blaine introduced to the year 2110, where science had discovered the technique of transferring a man's consciousness from one body to another. Where a man's mind could be snatched from the past, when his body was at the point of death, and brought forward into...more
Immortality Inc. is the story of a man suddenly in a future New York (2110). He had felt himself die in a head-on car crash back in 1958 and now he's in a new body with nary a scar on himself. His new body though will be harvested again for an aging wealthy businessman. Oh yeah, and there's a zombie after him.
The novel is actually very funny and the future New York and future earth seems plausible. At just under 200 pages, it's a quick read.
Immortality Inc. unfortunately is forever tied to the v...more
The novel is actually very funny and the future New York and future earth seems plausible. At just under 200 pages, it's a quick read.
Immortality Inc. unfortunately is forever tied to the v...more
This wasn't great literature, but it was a pretty good sci-fi story in the vain of Up the Line by Robert Silverberg, except, of course, in reverse. I enjoyed reading about a future with a solved Hereafter, but it was a little disconcerting to learn that humanity had already found a way to profit from it and discard its social rejects. The book is a very fast read and I wish Sheckley had developed some of the interesting ideas he just touched upon somewhat, like how religion functions in this fut...more
An entertaining yarn, although the obligatory-for-1959 romantic ending just doesn't ring true. There seem to be more than one versions of this book floating around: some parts I recall from when I read this book years ago are missing.
Total garbage, the story if you can call it that, weaves all over the place like a drunk lout. A lot of promising ideas.. are ruined in this story. Blech
Great book and amazing plot. Glad to see tribute to Sheckley in Futurama: Suicide booths, and Mars taken over by Chinese colonists is from this book :)
Interesting take on life after death of the body. Body and sole and brain as separate entities, and how it effects life in the future.
There are many good and interesting ideas in this book; it's just too bad that Sheckley's writing talents are up to doing them justice. A fairly entertaining read.
Very strange book
Looking forward to seeing the movie, however hear the movie isn't like the book...
Looking forward to seeing the movie, however hear the movie isn't like the book...
Fun book, loved how they mixed zombies, sci-fi & ghosts together. Nothing like the movie Freejack, 1000% better.
It just didn't meet my expectations. There were some interesting conversations about immortality, body swapping, time travel but overall it was just a bit boring story of a man who died in 1958 and woke up in 2110 in a different body.
And yeah, ZOMBIE ALERT!
And yeah, ZOMBIE ALERT!
Apr 12, 2012
Dreamer
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
author-american
Read back in 1973 when I was sweet sixteen according to my oldest diary.
May 20, 2013
James
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Kelaris
marked it as to-read
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One of science fiction's great humorists, Sheckley was a prolific short story writer beginning in 1952 with titles including "Specialist", "Pilgrimage to Earth", "Warm", "The Prize of Peril", and "Seventh Victim", collected in volumes from Untouched by Human Hands (1954) to Is That What People Do? (1984) and a five-volume set of Collected Stories (1991). His first novel, Immortality, Inc. (1958),...more
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20 de Mar 20:45
21 de Mar 01:34