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Flight from Rebirth
Benny Rice is not what he seems to be. His tests for rebirth reveal all the necessary traits - compassion, health, energy, potential for creativity - but with the intelligence of a moron, which disqualifies him. But Benny's test scores must be re-examined in a crisis that endangers the existence of rebirth - and threatens more than Benny's life!
- GenresScience Fiction
Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
2 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
J.T. McIntosh
132 books5 followersJ. T. McIntosh is a pseudonym used by Scottish writer and journalist James Murdoch MacGregor.
Living largely in Aberdeen, Scotland, MacGregor used the McIntosh pseudonym (along with its variants J. T. MacIntosh, and J. T. M'Intosh) as well as "H. J. Murdoch", "Gregory Francis" (with Frank H. Parnell), and "Stuart Winsor" (with Jeff Mason) for all his science fiction work, which was the majority of his output, though he did publish books under his own name. His first story, "The Curfew Tolls", appeared in Astounding Science Fiction during 1950, and his first novel, World Out of Mind, was published during 1953. He did not publish any work after 1980.
In 2010, following his death in 2008, the National Library of Scotland purchased his literary papers and correspondence.
Along with John Mather and Edith Dell, he is credited for the screenplay for the colour feature film Satellite in the Sky (1956).
Living largely in Aberdeen, Scotland, MacGregor used the McIntosh pseudonym (along with its variants J. T. MacIntosh, and J. T. M'Intosh) as well as "H. J. Murdoch", "Gregory Francis" (with Frank H. Parnell), and "Stuart Winsor" (with Jeff Mason) for all his science fiction work, which was the majority of his output, though he did publish books under his own name. His first story, "The Curfew Tolls", appeared in Astounding Science Fiction during 1950, and his first novel, World Out of Mind, was published during 1953. He did not publish any work after 1980.
In 2010, following his death in 2008, the National Library of Scotland purchased his literary papers and correspondence.
Along with John Mather and Edith Dell, he is credited for the screenplay for the colour feature film Satellite in the Sky (1956).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 11, 2013
3.5 stars
Originally posted at FanLit.
I picked up Flight from Rebirth by J.T. McIntosh because it was on sale at Audible. I wasn’t familiar with the book or the author (J.T. McIntosh is a penname of James Murdoch MacGregor, a Scottish writer).
The story is about a man named Benny Rice who appears to be a pleasant mentally challenged man who works at a low-level job in a futuristic United States. It soon becomes apparent to the reader that Benny is a lot more functional than he seems. McIntosh teases us with this until the end — who is Benny? Is he really mentally challenged? If not, why is he pretending to be? Who is he hiding from, and why? Add to that his society’s strange process of Rebirth — reincarnation for the few people who’ve proved themselves worthy to carry on the human genome — and you’ve got quite a mystery.
It was this mystery and the fast pace that kept me intrigued by Flight from... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Originally posted at FanLit.
I picked up Flight from Rebirth by J.T. McIntosh because it was on sale at Audible. I wasn’t familiar with the book or the author (J.T. McIntosh is a penname of James Murdoch MacGregor, a Scottish writer).
The story is about a man named Benny Rice who appears to be a pleasant mentally challenged man who works at a low-level job in a futuristic United States. It soon becomes apparent to the reader that Benny is a lot more functional than he seems. McIntosh teases us with this until the end — who is Benny? Is he really mentally challenged? If not, why is he pretending to be? Who is he hiding from, and why? Add to that his society’s strange process of Rebirth — reincarnation for the few people who’ve proved themselves worthy to carry on the human genome — and you’ve got quite a mystery.
It was this mystery and the fast pace that kept me intrigued by Flight from... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
October 10, 2013
I picked up Flight from Rebirth by J.T. McIntosh because it was on sale at Audible. I wasn’t familiar with the book or the author (J.T. McIntosh is a penname of James Murdoch MacGregor, a Scottish writer).
The story is about a man named Benny Rice who appears to be a pleasant mentally challenged man who works at a low-level job in a futuristic United States. It soon becomes apparent to the reader that Benny is a lot more functional than he seems. McIntosh teases us with this until the end — who is Benny? Is he really mentally challenged? If not, why is he pretending to be? Who is he hiding from, and why? Add to that his society’s strange process of Rebirth — reincarnation for the few people who’ve proved themselves worthy to carry on the human genome — and you’ve got quite a mystery.
It was this mystery and the fast pace that kept me intrigued by Flight from... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The story is about a man named Benny Rice who appears to be a pleasant mentally challenged man who works at a low-level job in a futuristic United States. It soon becomes apparent to the reader that Benny is a lot more functional than he seems. McIntosh teases us with this until the end — who is Benny? Is he really mentally challenged? If not, why is he pretending to be? Who is he hiding from, and why? Add to that his society’s strange process of Rebirth — reincarnation for the few people who’ve proved themselves worthy to carry on the human genome — and you’ve got quite a mystery.
It was this mystery and the fast pace that kept me intrigued by Flight from... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
September 26, 2018
Just finished this title after picking it up in a fire sale at a local bokshop.
Its my type of 70s sci fi. Mostly talking, mostly ideas with the action kept to a minimum (save that for the movie remakes). Yet like most sci fi around this time, in the process of grasping at futuristic and fantastic concepts, the narrative can dawdle and meander and leave the reader wondering whether they have missed a few pages as the author starts (without warning) rambling about a new theme with a different pace and tone.
This book is no different. And when it comes to commenting on womens attractiveness for no reason other than to give the impression that these books were by men for men, this book is no different.
But this is part of what makes these scifi paperbacks from 60-70s the way they are. And I excuse their cultural peculiarities so as to engage with imaginative minds from the past who pondered the nature of humanity and existence that was dependent on the context of their world. A sci-fi book today that sets its story in the future that doesnt deal directly with climate change is bereft of any cultural value to preceeding generations because its fails to synthesise the current world and extrapolations of it. The extrapolations made about society by people living at a time when science was landing people on the moon are special for more reasons than good story structure.
Its my type of 70s sci fi. Mostly talking, mostly ideas with the action kept to a minimum (save that for the movie remakes). Yet like most sci fi around this time, in the process of grasping at futuristic and fantastic concepts, the narrative can dawdle and meander and leave the reader wondering whether they have missed a few pages as the author starts (without warning) rambling about a new theme with a different pace and tone.
This book is no different. And when it comes to commenting on womens attractiveness for no reason other than to give the impression that these books were by men for men, this book is no different.
But this is part of what makes these scifi paperbacks from 60-70s the way they are. And I excuse their cultural peculiarities so as to engage with imaginative minds from the past who pondered the nature of humanity and existence that was dependent on the context of their world. A sci-fi book today that sets its story in the future that doesnt deal directly with climate change is bereft of any cultural value to preceeding generations because its fails to synthesise the current world and extrapolations of it. The extrapolations made about society by people living at a time when science was landing people on the moon are special for more reasons than good story structure.
September 19, 2013
This is the second book I've read by this author (or this author's pseudonym anyway) and they've both been great. Like any sci-fi some of it is a little old-fashioned, but in this one there are some really prescient things. For one thing is the conflict between 1% and 99% only in this case it's brainpower not wealth that determines who is the 1%. The police in this also seem to operate similarly to the "precogs" in "Minority Report." Given the recent NSA scandal it's also amusing how the author suggests every democracy trends towards becoming a police state before trending back towards democracy. So maybe there's hope yet.
That is all.
That is all.
December 18, 2015
This was just ok. There are some interesting ideas and ethical questions presented, but ultimately the plot centered on a fairly standard chase-type of story.
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May 2, 2019I have the german edition: Flucht vor dem Leben
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews