From the Bookshelf of The Great Hugo Read…

The Demolished Man

Alfred Bester

Start date: January 1, 2013

Finish date: January 31, 2013

Discussion: The Demolished Man

Discussion leader: D.L. Thurston

Why we're reading this: Inaugural Hugo winner, awarded at Worldcon Philadelphia in September of 1953.
[close] Inaugural Hugo winner, awarded at Worldcon Philadelphia in September of 1953.

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Showing 2 of 2 topics — 3 comments total

The Demolished Man

Favorite Part
By D.L. · 2 posts · 11 views

last updated Mar 07, 2013 11:43PM

Protagonist and Antagonist
By D.L. · 1 post · 7 views

last updated Jan 10, 2013 09:00AM

What Members Thought

Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: top-one-hundred, sci-fi

It was really fascinating to try to see this book through the eyes of it's contemporaries, give or take a few decades. I've read a lot of classics, and I'm ashamed that I had never gotten around to this one until this late. As a cat-and-mouse tale it was solid and fascinating. As a malicious psychological examination of megalomania, ethics, and daddy issues, the book really shines.
The style is very good for the day. I've read much, much worse, but honestly, it's still good even for today's writi ...more

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Dec 13, 2012 D.L. Thurston rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: hugo-winning-novels

I loved this novel. I just want to start right there. I absolutely loved this novel.

I came to this book through a personal goal of reading all the past Hugo winners. First winner, first book I read. I wasn't sure what to expect from the book, and I was fully braced to not like it. Or, at least, question whether this was the best science fiction could do in 1952. From the very beginning, seeing telepathic party games, watching encoded messages get subtly misread, this book blindsided me and dragg I loved this novel. I just want to start right there. I absolutely loved this novel.

I came to this book through a personal goal of reading all the past Hugo winners. First winner, first book I read. I wasn't sure what to expect from the book, and I was fully braced to not like it. Or, at least, question whether this was the best science fiction could do in 1952. From the very beginning, seeing telepathic party games, watching encoded messages get subtly misread, this book blindsided me and dragged me along for a fantastic ride.

Not only can I understand how this was the best of science fiction in 1952, it could hold its own with the best science fiction of any year or decade. In style, it feels very modern. Not timeless, not in that sense of books that feel from a specific era but transcend that era. No, it specifically feels very modern. 95% of the plot and the book feels like something that could have been written in the last five years. Perhaps because several of the plot elements presage cyberpunk.

That's not to say there aren't elements that feel dated. There are. The notion of using telegraph-style codebooks in the 2300? Dated. But forgivable as it serves as a central element to the plot.

On the flip side, the include of character names like Wyg&, @kins, and ¼maine are a little silly in the text, but don't feel impossible as society has moved towards more concise communications. Text messages. Twitter. Even this review box is counting down my allowed characters. Those are precious characters shaved.

The telepathy in the book is presented as well as I've seen it anywhere. Espers play games where they weave sentences together, they morph words into rebuses, they send images to each other as part of conversations. It's the verbal/visual mix of thought rather than treating telepathy as just speech without moving lips. Perhaps the only better example of telepathic communication I've read are in John Scalzi's Old Man's War series.

The Demolished Man has, in short, left me in good spirits for the rest of the Hugo winners. I don't expect them to all be as good, but I am now primed to be surprised as I go. ...more

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Oct 13, 2010 Jeff Stockett rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: hugo-award-winning-novels, science-fiction

I recently set a goal to read all of the Hugo Award winning novels and I'm so glad I did because I wouldn't have discovered this book otherwise.

This was the first novel ever to win the Hugo, and it was very deserving of that award.

I really liked this book. Admittedly, it seemed a little slow in getting started. But once it got going I couldn't put it down. I read the last 150 pages in one sitting.

Imagine a world where a large portion of the population is telepathic. When you walk into a store, t I recently set a goal to read all of the Hugo Award winning novels and I'm so glad I did because I wouldn't have discovered this book otherwise.

This was the first novel ever to win the Hugo, and it was very deserving of that award.

I really liked this book. Admittedly, it seemed a little slow in getting started. But once it got going I couldn't put it down. I read the last 150 pages in one sitting.

Imagine a world where a large portion of the population is telepathic. When you walk into a store, the salesman reads your mind and shows you exactly what you want. Therapists can read your mind and interpret your dreams without you ever saying a word. Policemen can find out that you committed a crime just by reading your thoughts.

But what if your thoughts were not permissible in courts? (This book said nothing about the Constitution, but mind reading seems like a violation of the 4th amendment to me.)

This is a crime novel set in that world. We get to follow the criminal, as well as the law enforcement. It was a fascinating read. I loved that even though we knew what the criminal was thinking, we didn't discover his full motive until the very end.

Throughout the book, I had to know, "Who is the man with no face?" "What does it mean to be the Demolished Man?" The answers were surprising and exciting.

Isaac Asimov (one of my favorite authors) said this book was, "One of the all-time classics of science fiction." And I agree with him.

There are certain passages that just stick with you. Like the Litany against Fear in Frank Herbert's Dune. One such passage is Ben Reich's little song that helps to hide his mind from telepaths (on p. 43 in my copy). For the rest of my life, if I ever want to hide something I'll be singing to myself, "Tension, apprehension and dissension have begun."

I'll finish by sharing this passage from the book. It's such an excellent paragraph. I'm going to mark it as a spoiler because it is the last paragraph in the book. However, I don't feel it spoils the plot, because it is a commentary about the fate of the Universe and not specifically about the characters or events of the book. Nevertheless, read at your own risk:

(view spoiler)
...more

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